Chapter 8: Happy Birthday

Leon walked toward the stairs, and then he saw his brother coming from the opposite side of the hallway as well, with two maids and two guards behind him. He carried an aloof air about him, the kind that came from being a young master and the son of a count in the most powerful empire.

He looked at Leon with no emotion, then let out a subtle smile. "Hello, brother. Happy birthday," he said, but his tone made it clear he was not wishing it with all the goodness of his heart.

Leon had known that his stepmother did not like him, and with the way he had sprung up and was being referred to as a genius, he knew that she would hate him even more and would be telling her son all sorts of things against him. That was how nobles were. It was always a battle between them, and he did not mind that at all, as long as it remained within the realms of speaking and they did not come for him with the intention to harm him.

"Hello, William. Happy birthday," Leon responded.

William smiled in response and then continued down the stairs without saying anything more. Leon watched him go down with calm eyes.

"I’ll have to be cautious. He may be young now, but he is already getting conditioned to be a problem for me."

"What did you say, young master?" Tesha asked.

"Nothing, let’s go."

He walked down the stairs as well, making it into the large sitting room. The moment he walked in, he saw a ton of gifts scattered across the floors, packed in different colorful boxes. Food and cakes were all around.

Leon scratched the back of his head as he looked at all of this. This was very overkill.

"Happy birthday, Leon," his sister said and rushed toward him. He had learned her name, Elanor. She was the youngest daughter of Lily. She was seven now, having grown quite a bit in that time.

She rushed over and hugged her little brother, picking him up and spinning him around.

’I’ll never get used to this. They are way too touchy,’ Leon complained in his mind as he was spun around. He had never had sisters in his life at all, no siblings. He was an only child to parents that never cared about him at all.

Their experimental child. That was exactly what he was. His father had been a well-known neurosurgeon and his mother a researcher in human development and evolution.

The two of them were eccentric people that simply decided to have a kid together so that they could see just how much their proper research could sculpt the perfect child.

The result was him. Luke was considered a proper genius, and whichever room he walked into, he managed to pull all the attention, but even that was not enough for his high-achieving parents, who simply wanted him to be the best human specimen alive.

Luke had never had a normal childhood. The only time he ever got free was when he left for college, and there he found reading novels, and he got invested in it.

He was not used to this sort of love and affection.

His eldest sister, who was now eleven, came over as well. Mira. She was cold and distant from everyone, even their mum, and loved to be left alone, but the only person she loved being around was Leon.

She was obsessed with her little brother, especially how he came to read by her side when she was reading.

Mira walked over and snatched him from Elanor. "Stop it, you’ll make him dizzy."

Elanor looked at her with a sharp, angry gaze.

"You do this always. Why do you always have to have him?"

"Because I’m his eldest sister and know how to take care of him," Mira shot back and walked to a chair with Leon in her arms, leaving Elanor pouting there.

William sat alone beside his mother and sister. She had trained him to become some sort of independent young man that would take over the count position, so he hated being around people and looked down on everyone, including his very own sister.

His sister, Scarlet, was the eldest here. She was now thirteen and was a year from becoming someone considered an adult. She looked well-grown and well-trained. She kept to herself like an elegant lady.

But Leon knew her better than most in this house because he knew that she loved to unwind. She loved to talk a lot, and when he started talking, they started talking and somehow grew a lot closer.

They both knew that her mother would have an issue with her speaking to him, but she did not care, and they simply kept it on the low. Leon came to her when she trained magic with Lady Ash, and the three of them ended up speaking and having fun.

"Happy birthday, Leon," she said with a soft smile and then went back to what she was doing, observing a magic crystal that was in her hands. Her mother frowned but said nothing. She knew what was happening, as she had eyes all over the house, but she never said anything. After all, her daughter would soon leave for an academy, and she would not have to worry about this sort of stuff anymore.

Her full focus was to raise the perfect count to take over from his father.

The birthday proceeded normally after that. They ate, opened gifts, and more. After they were done, Leon had to slip out because Mira was not allowing him out of her sight. Even his maids did not know when he left.

He headed out to the training ground to find Ash. When he arrived there, he saw her, much more of a woman now, seventeen years old, with a body that could send men to war. She moved her wand with grace as she cast a water spell that created a twisting vortex of water around her.