Her voice was soft, almost like a whisper, and the short and simple name rolled out of her lips easily. Whether it was a mistake or on purpose, Raven was the one with an answer. However, the people in the pin-drop silent hallway thought differently.
''...!''
From their perspective, Raven was someone who was scared of her entire family, especially her siblings. Whenever she spoke to anyone of them, she always stuttered, and her body trembled in deep fear. It was as if she wanted to faint at any second. To most of them, it was annoying because it would seem as if they had bullied her. Also, someone as weak as Raven was not on the same level as them.
In their family, weakness was a taboo. Raven, the weakest person among them was a taboo. They looked down on her because of that.
Now that same taboo said the name of the feared second young master of the Langston family. A son that the Grand duke favored for many years and has more chance than the first born son and young master of succeeding Grand duke. How could the weak fourth young lady who always fainted at the sight of blood say his name so naturally?! Her elder siblings did not have the gut to even look at him in the eye, yet she, a person at the bottom of the food chain did something like this!
The head maid fearfully shook on the spot. Just thinking about everything made her head a little dizzy. First, the fourth young lady did not cry or embarrass herself like always, second she caught the latter smiling to herself in a creepy manner, now she said the name of the second young master! Wasn't her warning of the Grand duke not enough?!
Was there something wrong with the fourth young lady in the head?!
Didn't the fourth young lady know the second young master was someone exactly like the Grand duke?! Even if they were the only children of the purest blood, she was the least favored child of the Grand duke. With a word from the second young master, she could lose her life because of this disrespect, and the Grand duke wouldn't say a word about it. The quiet sixth madam might even be happy that she was gone.
The head maid was also same as them. She did not care one bit about the fourth young lady's life, but she feared the second young master deep within her aging bones. He was someone with no tiny bit of humanity left in him.
''S-Secon….'' When the head maid wanted to ease the tense atmosphere, a screeching voice was faster than her.
''How dare a lowly blood speak of my young master's name?!''
'Hmm…?' Raven silently arched an eyebrow.
'A lowly blood?' Still fixed on the vibrant eyes exactly like hers, she wondered about the person's funny choice of words.
Wait a minute…wasn't she a grand duke's daughter? According to noble hierarchy, people were supposed to respect her….right?
''Remove your gaze this instant!''
'Who's he?'
The voice similar to a wailing pig, took Raven's attention from the second eldest sibling, who was quite attractive and pleasing to the eyes. Her gaze then landed on the man beside him, and sizing up the average appearance irked her a bit.
She was just marveling at a handsome man if she must be honest, but this ugly man had to spoil that moment of admiration.
Probably noticing the annoyance in her eyes, the man increased the volume of his voice, and was practically screaming in the hallway.
''You should be grateful that you are his excellency's daughter!''
''You should also be grateful that you are my young master's youngest sister!''
It was as if Raven's stare had flamed the fury in his heart.
''If it weren't for what happened years ago, you wouldn't have been born!''
''You are the weakest among the young masters and young mistresses, and you still have the nerve to be prancing around so arrogantly!''
''A disgrace to the Langston family and our ancestors!''
''His excellency is so generous….''
This man that was still unknown to Raven, kept on screeching in the hallways. His voice was so loud that she did not doubt the people in the dining hall hearing the irritating voice.
Despite the disturbance, no one bothered to stop him around here. Raven sensed the head maid's stare, and flicked her eyes to her.
The head maid almost jumped on the spot, not expecting her gaze. She hurriedly avoided Raven's gaze, somewhat feeling guilty and uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable?
The head maid was almost startled at her thoughts. Why was she feeling discomfort because of the weak fourth young lady?
As someone by the Grand duke's side, her hands have been tainted with blood of many. Compared to her, the fourth young lady was someone who always fainted at the sight of a drop of blood.
Yet, she was feeling uncomfortable? The head maid could not fathom her own thoughts. Why exactly did she have this feeling because of someone weaker than herself? Her brows creased together into confusion. Without thinking, the head maid raised her eyes again, and still met the fourth young lady's stare. For some reason, she sensed the latter was amused while staring at herself.
The reason behind that amusement….It was as if the fourth young lady knew her exact thoughts. Was that the reason why she was feeling uncomfortable? Not having an answer, the head maid lowered her gaze, still keeping quiet and keeping her thoughts to herself.
Perhaps she was feeling a little dizzy. She would have to fix up her messy sleep schedule.
''Haha…'' Raven couldn't hold in her laughter any longer.
Just as the head maid assumed, her action was quite amusing to Raven. This was someone the original owner had small affection for, yet she was just standing by like an audience to this situation.
''How dare you laugh?! Are his excellency and my young master a source of amusement?!"
Oh right. She still needed to deal with him. Raven recalled that she was in the middle of someone admonishing herself.
But seriously, who was this man? For him to yell in the Grand duke's manor like it was nothing, it was quite arrogant of him.
'Izer's subordinate?' Raven felt that was likely since the man made it clear with the title 'my young master.' There was also no like him in the original owner's memories, meaning the original owner did interact with him. Well…she hardly interacted with people of her family.
Raven turned her gaze to Izer who has not made a sound. He only stood quietly like a statue, and kept on herself. Raven wasn't surprised to meet his blank gaze. She also used this opportunity to ogle at the attractive man. It wasn't everyday she would meet someone close to her standards.
Ebony hair like the original owner's, vibrant red eyes like the original owner's…they were undoubtedly siblings. If it weren't for their different mothers, Raven might have believed that they were the closest blood-related siblings.
'His name feels familiar though.'