"I hate you."
That was the very first sentence my father ever said to me when I was born.
"Why were you even born? Why did that woman hide your existence from me?"
My father looked at me coldly, as though I were some lowly creature who had caused his downfall.
"Because of you, my reputation was ruined. I lost the right of inheritance to my own brother. Now they all laugh at me behind my back."
"So everything is your fault, Baron. I wish you would die in hell."
Baron stood there, his lifeless, indifferent eyes staring down at the floor without saying a word.
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"
Crash!
The wine glass he was drinking from was hurled straight at Baron's face, knocking him down. He clutched his forehead.
Blood slowly trickled down, covering his left eye's vision.
His father walked over, knelt down, and stared straight into Baron's eyes with a face full of murderous intent.
"But you're actually very lucky. You possess an incredibly powerful skill that no one in this family can match, even I'm jealous of it."
"So why don't you help me reclaim my place as heir? Like how a filial son should take care of his father. I bet you can do it, right?"
Then he stood up, opened the door, grabbed Baron and threw him out.
"I hope you don't bring shame to my bloodline or to the entire Libert family."
Slam!
The door slammed shut, the sound echoing through the entire mansion. Baron lay there, blood pooling on the floor.
He couldn't cry. He couldn't feel sad. He couldn't even get angry.
Every day was like this — and it only got worse as time passed.
It always made him wonder: did he have any purpose in this world at all?
Why did his mother give birth to him, then die and leave him in this family?
Was that love? Baron didn't know anymore.
He struggled to stand up. His vision was blurry, making it hard to see around him.
"Hey."
A childish voice came from behind, followed by a hard smack to the back of his head.
Baron fell again, painfully looking up at the one who struck him.
"What? Are you mad? Mad just because of my harmless little prank?"
It was his half-brother — the legitimate son his father was most proud of.
William Vista Libert.
Needless to say, how spoiled he was — even his name sounded far more proper than Baron's.
William crouched down, looking at Baron with disgust.
"Ugh, blood? Don't you know how to keep yourself clean at all?"
A kick landed squarely on Baron's face. A tooth flew out of his mouth.
"I still don't understand why my father keeps you around. Is it really because of that skill everyone keeps talking about? I don't know how strong it is, but the fact that you're still alive pisses me off more than anything!"
"Father always calls you into his room. He spends more time with you than with me. It makes me so jealous."
William's hand crackled with electricity as a proud, arrogant smile spread across his face.
"Jealous… of trash like you!!"
William activated his skill on Baron, subjecting him to excruciating torture.
"William!"
A mature woman's voice rang out, making William stop.
"Mother!" William turned around, smiled brightly, and walked toward her.
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Huh? But it's just Baron."
"Yes, but if you keep beating him like that, he'll lose all his usefulness! And look — you've dirtied your hands. Give me your hand."
The mother inspected her son's hand, wiped it clean with a handkerchief, then patted his head.
"Next time you hit him, do it more lightly. At least let him live until tomorrow."
"Yes, Mother!"
"Good. Now go play somewhere."
William happily walked away. The woman watched her son disappear, then turned her gaze to Baron.
Her eyes looked at him like a demon's.
"You're lucky. If you weren't already so badly injured, I would have broken your legs. My son's hand got dirty because of filthy trash like you."
She walked over, opened the door, gave Baron one last glance, then went into his father's room.
…
Baron stood up and dragged himself forward.
As he limped along, several servants avoided him with looks of contempt. Visiting relatives who saw him mocked him, some even tried to provoke him.
Baron just kept limping, kept going, until he finally stopped in front of a door and opened it.
Inside the room was horrifying — never cleaned, everything in chaos.
Every night his father, drunk, would come in and abuse him.
Sometimes his father's wife would come too, whipping him viciously.
Even William would occasionally enter just to test his skills on Baron's body.
Everything continued like that, never stopping.
As if he were completely unnecessary… yet still kept around because of his skill.
The relatives acted concerned, but in truth they didn't care about anything except his skill.
They even mocked him for being "lucky" — lucky enough to receive this endless torment.
Just because of a skill? Was no one ever going to look at Baron Libert and see there was more to him than that? Or did they only see the value he might bring in the future?
Baron Libert was like an empty shell, being stuffed full of endless negativity that never stopped.
Inside him there was no such thing as love — because no one had ever shown it to him.
'Of course. Baron Libert is nothing but the loyal dog of the Libert family,' Baron thought bitterly, lying on the bed in pain.
Knock knock.
A knock came, then the door slowly opened. A girl appeared — about two or three years older than Baron.
She had bright aqua hair, eyes the same color, and wore clothing that looked like a mix between a maid outfit and shinobi attire.
"William's personal maid. Why are you here?" Baron said bluntly without looking at her.
She was the maid who always followed William. Just by observing, Baron could tell William had feelings for her.
But she was quiet, reserved, always obeyed orders and never did anything unnecessary.
In Baron's eyes, she was just another loyal dog.
Yet somehow, this loyal dog came to help him.
She looked at Baron, then held out a first-aid kit.
"I'm a servant. My duty is to serve the nobles — and that includes you."
"Then why didn't you save me when I was being tortured, you liar?"
"I understand what you mean. But I belong to the Libert family's assassin division. I have no right to interfere in family matters, no matter how much I want to. If I break the rules, I die."
"Then get lost. I've never needed pity or this 'duty' crap from someone like you." Baron waved her away.
She looked at him for a moment, then gently took his hand.
"Because I have no power to speak up, this is the only thing I can do. I don't know how to help you more than by treating your wounds — because that's the only thing I'm allowed to do for you."
She began wrapping bandages around Baron's head.
"There's only one thing I wish for: that you become strong enough that they can no longer do anything to you. When that day comes, you can take revenge on the entire family — kill everyone, including me. That's fine."
Her eyes met Baron's lifeless ones.
"…And I also hope that someday someone will care about you and make you change. Just seeing your smile… even once… would be enough to make me feel fulfilled."
It was because of that very day that Baron developed the personality he has now. Although Kai was the one who changed him later, the one who laid the foundation for that personality… was her.
Raiko.
That was her name.