House of the Rising Sun.
That was the title that was given to the dukedom of Soleil a family known for all their A and S Class Hunters that were blessed with strong elemental powers that can swallow the world with fire.
There wasn't really any official ranking between the seven dukedoms of Serene, however, it was as if everyone knew that if there was it was the house of Soleil that would come first in power, in numbers, and in the territory. The authority and influence that family had was not something anyone could just brush off. The reason why the Emperor was comfortably seated on the throne was because he has the favor of the Soleil.
With that kind of power, people looked at the family both in awe and with mouth-foaming envy. It wasn't really a secret how many of the nobles were waiting for the downfall of the Soleil.
When the duke had his first son Calix, the expectations were high. Everyone was curious. Even before the eldest's coming-of-age, people were throwing predictions about his designation.
As expected, Calix awakened as a Class A Hunter who has summoner magic. People were both amazed and scared as Calix summoned a fire Minotaur who acted as his guardian and friend. Despite being a Class A hunter, Calix successfully completed 10 Class A++ missions before he even reached the age of 18.
The high expectations for the second son of Duke Evan Soleil were the same. His coming-of-age had been the talk of the whole country for some time especially when Alexander awakened as a Class S Restorer. A first in the history of the Soleil. People expected the second son to be neglected and disowned by the duke and duchess however they were proved wrong by Alexander after his feat of restoring an entire town at only the age of nine and quickly cemented his name as one of the greatest Restorers.
The expectations died down on the third son of the dukedom. People were not interested knowing that the child would most likely not going to be a Crown Prince candidate nor the heir for the dukedom, especially with the feat that his older brothers have shown not only that, the youngest was 12 years apart from Alexander and 16 years apart from Calix.
However, on the day that Xanthe was born, the entire Empire felt the flow of his overwhelming mana enough to disrupt the others. Duchess Amara had been one of the best Guides in the whole dukedom and tried to help her newborn child balance his mana the moment she did the guiding, Xanthe was thrown into a pain that forced him to defend himself because of this the duchess was quickly thrown into a life-and-death situation. Duke Evan immediately called for the best Guides in the dukedom while the Acolytes worked on saving the duchess' life.
The Guides that came to help Xanthe were not as fortunate as his mother and were all killed the moment they started guiding him. Left with no choice, Duke Evans tried to help calm down his own son, at the sound of his voice and his gentle touch, Xanthe retrieved his mana and his crying stopped.
Rumors about the powerful son of Duke Soleil spread around the nation in no time. It called for an emergency meeting in the Empire where the council and the Emperor had to decide whether a newborn baby was a threat or not.
In order to appease the council and save their son, the duke and the duchess agreed to isolate their youngest. He was given the estate up in the north of the Soleil Dukedom where the sun rarely shines and the weather was harsh and cold. He was only given a few servants that came from both the Soleil and the Imperial Palace.
The duchess who ended up with a poor health after the birth was plagued with guilt that she couldn't even visit her own son. She longed and cried to hold her baby but her and Duke Evan couldn't do a single thing.
They have to convince the Empire. Xanthe's survival was their priority.
It was never their intentions and if they had their choice, they would have kept Xanthe in the Soleil palace and gave him a loving and normal childhood. Xanthe was after all supposedly free from any responsibilities or expectations.
He was meant to be just a kid who will enjoy his time.
.
.
.
Xanthe closed the book with a loud thud, his eyes darted towards the huge moon covered in clouds, framed by his window. The loud footsteps filled his ear. They were getting louder and louder by the minute.
The sound was then followed by grunts and clashing sounds of metal against metal. He could hear someone chocking on their own blood. His ears could easily pick up the sound of someone losing his breathe.
Calmly, Xanthe stood up from his bed and grabbed his silk robe, putting it on and never bother tying it. Walking to the table, he reached for the bottle of wine, pouring himself a generous amount on his glass. Picking it up, he swirled it around before taking a whiff of the scent. He noted the smell of apple and Ceddar wood. Waylen really paid attention to what he liked but then out of all, Waylen had served him the longest. If the idiots outside failed to protect his butler, he'll fucking kill them together with the intruders.
The door of his room was kicked open, its hinges falling off. The glass door of his balcony shattered and in seconds he was surrounded by silhouettes of men wearing nothing but the color of black from head to toe. The pungent smell of their killing intent flooded the entire place.
How fucking adorable, Xanthe thought.
"My vacation just fucking started," He bitterly spat as he finished the wine in his glass. The silence that followed was eerie. Xanthe's red eyes gleamed in the dark.
The moment his empty glass touched the marble table, the tension was broken and countless men began attacking him. With an unnerving calmness, Xanthe called for his sword. He can see how several pairs of eyes widened in recognition of the sword that materialized in his hand. With ease, the youngest Soleil swung the sword taking lives like it's nothing.
Clack!
Slash!
It was like an intricate dance, a rhythm that can't be broken. Xanthe's footwork was incredible and fast. No one could seem to match his speed. Not a single one could land a hit.
As the last man fell on the muddied floor, caked with spilled blood, Xanthe swung his sword, cleaning the blood off it before it turned into dust that disappeared into thin air.
He let out a sigh, "Waylen," the young Soleil called.
Waylen was already by the door, "I already prepared another room for you, your highness."
Xanthe only nod and walked out of the room. The moment his foot was out, purple fire spread through the bodies, eating them. The sound of hissing and cackle filled the room. They could hear someone groaning in pain, asking for help. It was ignored. Waylen who had been used to the sight didn't even flinch as he followed the blond noble.
"How many were left?" He asked.
"None, your highness." Waylen replied.
The hunter turned to look at him with a furrowed brows. "How many were there before?"
"We have at least 30 guards for the mansion."
"Thirty and none were left?"
"Yes," Waylen replied. "I'll immediately send a letter for them to send new guards.
"No," Xanthe dismissed as he continued to walk towards his room for tonight. "Don't bother, they're useless. You can protect yourself well, right?"
"Yes, your highness."
"So are the cooks and maids, right?"
"Of course, your highness. They were all well trained by you."
"Then there's no need for the guards," Xanthe replied staring at the littered corpses on the hallway. Calling for flames, he burned them all leaving nothing even the ashes.
Waylen eyed a burning corpse before finally speaking, "You seemed to have no problem using the sword and your flames today, your highness."
It took seconds before Xanthe replied. "I think I discovered something," he stopped on his track, staring at the view outside the tall window. The young Soleil looked at his butler who practically raised him. "You are Hunter, Waylen, right..."
"That's right, your highness."
"Then you need guiding, right?"
"Yes, your highness. We have three guides in the mansion. Two of them are maids and another is a gardener."
Xanthe let out a hum as a response. "How does... guiding supposed to feel?"
The question surprised Waylen a bit. Xanthe required guiding since he was young. He refused it because guiding was nothing but pain for him. Just remembering a small Xanthe writhing in pain because of something that was supposed to help him was unbearable for Waylen. The duke and the duchess also suffered watching their son in pain. However, Xanthe endured. Whether he liked it or not, he needed guiding or his mana will be uncontrollable.
Through all those years, his young master never bothered asking how guiding should feel. Xanthe just automatically equate guiding to pain. He hated it. He doesn't want it but he had to do it.
It was a torture to him.
"Well, it's warm and comforting... you feel your mana flow all over your body with ease. They settled down in you nicely. You feel all exhaustion go away. You feel... warm and fuzzy." Waylen smiled. "You feel light and comforted."
Their eyes briefly met and Waylen was quick to bow down.
Xanthe turned around, "I see." He began walking again and that was the last thing he said before he got inside his room and slept.