“...What?”
Noth couldn’t understand why he was bringing up the children. They were of course too young for him to bring along to such a repulsive place, but even more so than that… How did they find out about them? Honestly he really shouldn’t have been shocked that someone had been keeping tabs on him, but the fact that they even clearly knew that his siblings were all ‘beautiful’ was a bit too much for Noth. Perhaps it was obvious that such a thing would be easy to find out now, especially since he had openly brought them along with him when he became a lord and had let them run around the place doing whatever. But just when…? It was a naive thought, but Noth had truly believed that he’d kept them all relatively out of the public’s eye. Now that he thought back on it, however, he realized just how much he’d actually shoved them into everyone’s faces, instead.
His mind was always so busy thinking about everything, and yet somehow he kept managing to get blindsided by things that he really should have noticed.
Marquise Tyrell could clearly see just how much his comment had shaken Noth. He practically looked like the cat who ate the canary as he raised his chin triumphantly and kept speaking.
“Yes, I dare say it was quite a bit of a hot topic before your arrival today. ‘The forsaken child that blossomed into a noble overnight likes to keep three little children with him no matter where he goes’. There was much speculation that the woman you brought with them might actually be their mother since she was seen taking care of them, but well… That was until the reports of one of them being a small Krysthid boy came out.”
Noth’s shoulders trembled slightly at the mention of the boy who must have been Helt, and his eyes grew just a tad bit wider. This wasn’t some kind of bluff or idle gossip, they really knew about the kids. And oddly enough, instead of being simply angry that someone had dared to peep into his private life to this extent, he was completely scared what such news leaking out might have meant for the children.
The Marquise was of course eating Noth’s reaction up. His voice audibly raised a pitch in his excitement as he continued on.
“I can’t say it’s anything new, hearing about the wealthy taking in a lovely boy or two. And with him being a Krysthid, I’m sure the boy must be quite the sight to behold. No one here could fault you for deciding to keep such a pretty thing around; It’s almost like being an art collector in a way, don’t you think? And if we’re talking about masterpieces, well…”
The man looked back to the other Marquise who had been catching his breath behind him. Harold seemed to have calmed down enough that he was able to catch Tyrell's signal, and so he slithered forward once more, joining in quickly when he realized they’d found a working means of attack.
“Oh, you must be talking about the lavender beauty, yes?”
“Quite. I heard from a respectable bishop’s escort knights who saw her in person just how amazingly lovely she was. What was it they said? 'She was so absolutely gorgeous that they lost their minds'? Either she has a very nice [Gift], or she’s just incredibly beautiful. Whichever it is, I’m sure it must be quite a pleasure to have such a girl ‘working’ under you.”
Noth’s hold on his glass grew dangerously tight. He couldn’t stand what the disgusting man was insinuating about Jean. He was keeping his beloved little sister for what?! The girl was just barely over 10, and the Marquise was painting her in whatever dirty light that he deemed fit! That was Noth's family, dammit! His glass began to shake from his boiling rage, and a small bit of liquid splashed out.
As Noth’s agitation became more and more clear, Marquise Harold jumped back in, hoping to repay the humiliation he’d once received even greater. However, his tongue was not quite as eloquent as his cohort's, and his mocking came out much more direct and raunchy.
“And I hear the girl is even named like a noble, just like they do in the high class brothels! You can’t tell me that she isn’t your lapcat with a name like that, right?”
Noth’s trembling hand stopped, but his teeth felt like they were about to crack from the force he was exerting on them. For the first time, he lamented that he hadn’t asked Jean to change her name if it meant that everyone would make assumptions about her like this. It was true, in the naming conventions of the country, everyone's birth names had a combination of their two parent's names in some way. This was to pay homage to your family and heritage. In a world where it was believed that a [Gift] could be inherited through blood, heritage had its own unique importance. To have a name that didn't have something to do with your parent's names, while not being a noble, never meant anything good. Most likely it just meant that you were lying or trying to hide your past, but even if it was truly your name, nothing would change. Everyone would just assume that you were doing something horribly shameful that you wouldn't want to reflect on your heritage, or that you had been disowned by your family for very bad reasons. A majority of whores and mercenaries had made up names, with the whores going for something more fancy and noble sounding, while the mercenaries would go for something more epic or from folklore. Telling someone one of those types of names immediately let them guess what you were. And Jean's name, to a vast majority, would make them think that she was selling herself. It wasn't the most blatant of any of the names by far, but it was still quite unmistakable. Noth had heard of Jean’s past, and he knew what such an association would mean to her. The fact that people were bound to treat her in the way she absolutely hated the most just because of her name was… terrible.
However, time stops for no one, no matter how deeply they might be stuck in their regrets, and so the Marquise pair continued on, doing their best to not lose their momentum. They would layer on as many insults to the teen’s honour as they could until he was ready to break, just as they’d been told. Marquise Tyrell began first.
“Yes, we’ve heard the rumours about the two beautiful children, and as I’ve said, it’s quite understandable why anyone would want to keep them around. But I can’t really say I understand your choice with the last one, you know? There are the occasional collectors of oddities that like to keep around a forsaken child, but…”
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When he stealthily glanced at his partner, Marquise Harold jumped in.
“Well, I’ve heard that her colouration is quite unique, wouldn’t you say? She’s supposedly completely ashen, from head to toe. There are those out there who find such an uncommon thing to be something of worth, but I myself think keeping such a [Gift]less thing would be more akin to keeping a strange pet. After all, can you even count such a thing as a human being?”
Marquise Tyrell let out a small faux gasp and cutely covered his mouth, feigning shock.
“Oh dear, perhaps you shouldn’t say such things. Have you forgotten that this poor boy was once such a pitiful beast like her?”
Marquise Harold's face held no such playful shame to it, instead his broad malicious smile showed every last ounce of his feelings on it.
“You have a point. I suppose what they say is true, birds of a feather really do flock together.”
As the two leaned towards each other and laughed, the surrounding nobles who’d been watching from afar also joined in, tittering at the crude joke, supplying a few of their own, and even adding in whatever made up gossip they could. A hoard of unscrupulous adults full of unsavoury thoughts. Noth could hear it all loudly, as plain as day. He could also feel the power inside of him starting to flare, and his eyes beginning to heat with his fury. His beloved family, who’d never done anything wrong, had been turned into some kind of mockery for these fools' enjoyment. A part of him thought that he should feel proud holding back for as long as he did, while another part argued that perhaps his angel was right and that he should remove such stains from existence. However, he still strained to fight against his growing anger, thinking that if he gave in that it would only mean the two Marquises, and therefore the Pope, had bested him.
And then Marquise Harold cast out the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“Well, I must say that all this talk has made me quite curious. Wouldn’t you be interested in letting me get a look at one of those pets of yours for a night or two? I do like to appreciate beauty, after all. Perhaps I could also help you to make them even more beautiful.”
The man leaned in with a ridiculing sneer on his face.
“Of course I’d prefer the pretty lapcat of yours, but I wouldn’t even complain if it was that little have-not girl, either. It might just be worth it to figure out what’s so good about her that made you keep something so worthless.”
Yes, maybe Noth had been too patient with these horrible people. Adults that were willing to say such disgusting things about children, maybe they didn’t deserve to exist, just as Serris thought. The belief that these were just awful people instead of awful monsters was becoming harder and harder to believe.
Noth felt an itch to expose the men for who they really were.
His eyes were literally hot with the desire to look at them with the full brunt of his angel’s power.
Who cares where he was, who cares who saw the spectacle he was about to make?
They all deserved whatever carnage was about to ensue anyways.
The world didn’t need such filthy people with their filthy thoughts polluting it.
He could feel the arms of Serris slithering around him from behind. The whispers of the angel sounded a bit too much like the whispers of a demon.
Her words made Noth feel like his head was swimming in lava. He felt too hot, too flustered, to make the right decision. With his emotions running amok, his control over the two conflicting powers inside of him grew loose, and a war seemed to begin raging inside of him over which would win out and manifest. In such a situation of anger and fatigue, he felt like the only option he had was to believe what the voice whispering in his ear was telling him to do. His eyes began to glow with power, and desperately moved to look upon his victims-
-Are you sure you want to listen to her right now?-
Just before his vision reached his targets, a low but powerful voice resonated deep inside of him, stopping him in his tracks. It was like time stood still as soon as he heard it.
-But I don’t think this will make you happy.-
Noth’s burning gaze dimmed a bit to the voice of reason inside of him. How ironic that the monster from his unreachable past had become the only thing stopping him.
-If you’d like, I can save you from all of this.-
Noth closed his eyes and steadied himself. No, he didn’t want to put his problems onto someone who didn’t deserve to deal with them.
-But you’re not giving your problems to someone else; You’re me, and I’m you. All I want is for you to be happy this time. If you need to be saved for that to happen, then I’ll save you anytime.-
The teen couldn’t help but smile at the sentiment. Unlike having to trust in others, it was much more secure of a feeling knowing you had something inside of you that you could depend on. Noth silently thanked the voice for clearing his head, feeling the swirling of the two holy and demonic powers inside of him no longer threatening to overpower him. Yes, he didn’t come here to get angry. He came here to best the people who thought they could threaten him as they pleased.
-...Let me at least help you reach a satisfying end to this situation. I have a few ideas that might be of help to you.-
It would be rude to keep rejecting his own sincere help like this when he could certainly use it. Noth nodded and let the voice deep inside of him weigh in.
Noth’s sudden smiling nod in this situation had of course caught the eye of Marquise Harold, only less than an arm’s length away. He frowned, thinking that the reaction was wrong, and came a bit closer.
“What-?”
Suddenly the contents of Noth’s drink were dumped into the man’s face. Marquise Harold sputtered and straightened up, frantically wiping at the alcohol that was threatening to enter his eyes. And when he finally managed to fish all the liquid away and open them, the empty glass in Noth’s hand went hurtling past the Marquise’ eyes, narrowly missing both Marquise Harold and Marquise Tyrell, and crashed into a nearby wall. As Harold trembled for a moment in confusion and fear of what just happened, Noth gave him an almost apologetic smile, one that clearly didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’m sorry, my hand slipped. I guess I’m not used to alcohol just yet.”