Chapter 68. Heather Vulcan.
"What... what did you say..." Hugh slammed his desk in rage, peach blossom eyes glowing with fury.
He stared down at the messenger, a young boy with rust-colored hair and eyes.
"I... a... a... a... supre... supreme..." he began to stutter, shaking under Hugh’s stare, cursing his luck for having to deliver bad news to the Vulcan firstborn.
Said to be the calmest and kindest of the Vulcan siblings, well, that was in the past.
After returning from the academy, he became a tyrant, especially to people related to the Raijin clan, and the poor messenger belonged to that clan.
"Speak up, you worm..." Hugh spat, his gaze filled with contempt and disgust.
"Don’t treat him like that, brother..." The door creaked open, revealing a beautiful woman.
Round face, gentle eyebrows, rosy lips, and wild archid-colored hair.
Her face a mirror image of Hugh Vulcan.
Heather Vulcan, the younger twin of Hugh.
She stepped through the door gracefully, her peach blossom eyes glowing subtly under the dim luminance of the study.
The kneeling messenger turned to her. "Miss Heather, welcome," he rose and bowed respectfully, relief washing over him.
Heather had just arrived from the academy.
Though both were twins, it was imperative for her, a noblewomen to spend a fewmore semesters learning household and estate management, domestic and craft skills, as well as building social skills, making her graduate later than her brother.
"Brother, why are you treating him like this?" Heather pouted. "You didn’t even come to greet me at the gate..."
Hugh only stared at his sister. His rage subsided, his gaze softening with sorrow.
Heather didn’t notice her brother’s gaze, her attention turning to the messenger.
"Thank you... What did you do for my brother to treat you like this?" She looked at him, eyebrows raised, gaze full of concern.
The twins were the warmest of the siblings, gentle like the petals of a peach blossom. It was rare for twins to share the same trait, but they did.
But now...
Hugh had turned prickly after their mother’s predicament, directing his bitter rage at the servants and guards.
Most didn’t know why he behaved like that.
Believing the academy might have changed him.
Only a handful, the head butlers and maids, aware that the second mistress was in the left wing, no one allowed there.
People only assumed she had joined the battle or something, unaware she was paying for her crimes right in the estate.
Heather, who had just arrived, was unaware of her mother’s state as well.
"Leave us..." Hugh roared, the messenger bolting without a second thought.
"Huh?" Heather was left wide-eyed.
The messenger hadn’t even answered her, his head drooped when she asked what he had done wrong.
Who could speak in a situation like that?
"Hey, why are you treating the servants like that..." Heather folded her arms in annoyance.
"You will understand if you see for yourself," Hugh said, his voice solemn, his head drooped in sadness and pity.
He loved their mother, but Heather more so than he did.
He could only pity her for the sight she was about to behold.
He walked slowly towards the confused Heather, her mouth partly open, poised to speak.
"I am sorry..." He embraced his sister, the latter lost for words.
"What happened?" Her gaze turned sharp. Her brother only acted like this in dire situations.
He looked like a sheltered kid. Not to mention, he looked more like her than she did him, which meant he looked a bit feminine, his features more beautiful than handsome.
He thus barely showed any touchy feelings that might cause rumours to spread. Kind, yes, but not touchy.
"Brother, speak. What has happened..." She released the embrace, Hugh’s face coming into view, tears dripping down his cheeks.
"A Vulcan in tears?" Her gaze turned cold.
"What could make the heir of the Vulcan Kingdom cry?" she wondered.
"Follow me..." Hugh composed himself. He rarely showed this side to anyone except her.
They were twins after all, sharing everything together, her weakness, his too.
She followed, confused, trying to figure out what it might be.
" A girl, impossible, Hugh will never get too attached..."
As they passed through the hallway, maids bowed, guards saluted, their fear-filled faces instantly changing as they noticed her behind Hugh.
"All the servants dislike him..." Heather was even more confused.
This was never the case before the academy.
"What happened... is this because of the dead Supreme in Pryrewood?"
The rumours had spread to the extent that she had caught a whiff.
Wondering if Aiden might have punished him for not acting fast enough, but she quickly shook her head.
"That wouldn’t make him cry unless..." she paused, noticing the number of guards and maids had lessened to none.
They moved towards the left wing, yet no one was in sight, the grass overgrown, hiding the pavement underneath.
"Did Mom leave for the war as well?" she wondered out loud, considering the state of the estate.
"..." A pained expression was visible on Hugh’s face as he heard her words, his back turned to her, and thus she didn’t notice.
"No wonder you are upset with them. The estate is filthy. It’s not like Mother died on the battlefield..." She paused, halting in her tracks.
Realization dawned in her eyes.
That was the only reason Hugh could cry and the estate be so unkempt.
"No mother is a Brigid not to mention father will be by her side on the battlefield" she shook the thought from her head, her mother couldn’t be dead.
Hugh turned to her. "Mother isn’t dead," he said, his tone low, as if he didn’t want to accept reality.
At least, this was the impression Heather got.
" Huh" this only made her more worried, the fact that Hugh had cried and now the clear denial in his voice.
"You can go see for yourself..." He gestured to the gate. Heather, still wearing a look of confusion, entered hesitantly, the misty air hitting her nose.
She unconsciously scrunched her nose, a white fan with a cherry blossom tree embroidered on the side appearing in her hands.
She waved it a few times, a gust of wind pushing back the musty air and dust.
Though dim, with barely any luminance, she located the curtain. This had been her home for many years, after all.
"Some light." She opened the curtains, the brilliant golden rays of the sun exposing the truth before her very eyes.
Wide-eyed, she looked on.
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A/N
1/1
New character introduced.