Chapter 1: The Birth of Lucian

The storm outside the Duke's estate howled as if the heavens themselves were in pain. Inside, the air was thick with tension. Lucian's mother, pale and trembling, gripped the edge of the bed, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Push, my lady, one more time," the midwife urged, her voice strained.

The cry of pain that followed seemed to shake the walls. 

Lucian's mother squeezed her eyes shut, clenching her teeth. Just a little longer, just a little longer... Her mind echoed with the hope that this would be over soon, that she could finally hold her child, and feel him breathe in her arms. 

The door to the chamber creaked open. She could feel the Duke's presence before she even saw him. Cold, distant, unwavering.

He was here.

His footsteps were slow and deliberate, and then—he stood there, his gaze fixed on her. She could feel his eyes on her, colder than the storm outside.

She barely had time to turn her head before the midwife's voice was drowned out by a faint, wet cry. 

My Child.

Her heart swelled with something pure, something full of life, as her baby cried his first. But even as she reached for him, a sharp, suffocating coldness filled the room.

She felt the Duke's power, felt the weight of his gaze, heavy on her son.

Her hand faltered, and she barely caught Lucian before he slipped from her grasp. Her eyes searched his tiny face, still flushed from birth. She felt tears brimming, but she kept them at bay. He's perfect. He's perfect…

The Duke's gaze never left them. The moment stretched, painfully long, and then—He raised his hand.

She gasped, her heart skipping a beat. She knew what he was doing. She had seen it before. He was testing the child's elemental affinity, even after he had done the testing she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

But why was he so still? Why wasn't there a spark?

Please, please—

The Duke's eyes flickered briefly with something close to indifference. He slowly pulled his hand away.

A chill entered the room.

"He has no affinity," the Duke said flatly. His voice, always so cold, now carried a bite. "None. A weak failure of a child." 

Lucian's mother felt her chest tighten as if her heart itself had cracked open. She wanted to speak, to say something—anything—but the words died in her throat. 

No. No, that can't be… She gazed at her son, the purest thing in her world. How could the Duke say that? How could he? 

"He's our son," she whispered, barely audible, her voice breaking. Her hand trembled as she reached out to him, but the Duke had already turned, his back to her. His silhouette, towering and cold, was already moving toward the door.

He didn't even look back.

Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to speak again. "Please… don't call him that. Don't… don't say he's worthless…"

But the Duke didn't stop. His words lingered in the air like ice. "A child with no power is nothing." 

He was gone before she could respond, the door clicking shut behind him.

Lucian's mother looked down at her son—her little Lucian. He was quiet now, his small hands curled in her grasp. How could this happen? How could the Duke see him like this? The world felt so heavy. The weight of it all pressed against her chest. She had nothing to offer him. 

You're not worthless, my sweet boy. I'll make sure you know that. 

The storm outside raged louder, but inside, it was silent. 

I'll protect you, no matter what.

---

The days following Lucian's birth passed in a haze for his mother. The house, cold and vast, felt even emptier now, as though the Duke's rejection had sucked the warmth from the very walls. Her son, the one bright light in her life, seemed so fragile, so small in her arms. And yet, every time she looked at him, she saw the purity of his soul—a brightness the Duke would never understand.

She could already feel the change in him, the way his body seemed to reject the taint of this world. He would be something different. She knew it even if she was not that strong as if her heart was telling her that her child is something even when he has no affinity.

Lucian's cries grew softer with each passing day, and soon, the only sound that filled the large, empty halls of the Duke's estate was the sound of her own thoughts. The servants moved about but avoided her, eyes averted whenever they passed. She had seen them whispering behind her back. The Duke's son. A worthless child.

But to her, Lucian was everything. She did not care about his affinity or his power. She loved him for who he was—pure and untainted, untouched by the greed and ambition that tainted this world.

Lucian's first week passed quietly, and his mother's desperation began to settle into something more resolute. She wouldn't let him grow up like the others. She would protect him, keep him from the cruelty of this world, and most of all, she would love him. Even if no one else would.

She gazed out the window one evening, watching as the Duke's guards patrolled the estate grounds below. The moonlight cast long shadows on the cobblestones, and in that moment, something inside her hardened.

Lucian was not a failure. He was not worthless. She would make sure the world saw his worth. But first, she needed to keep him safe. She needed to keep him close.

"My Lady," a voice called softly from behind her.

She turned, startled for a moment before her eyes softened. It was her handmaiden, Selene. She had been by her side ever since the pregnancy had begun to show, a silent witness to everything that had transpired. 

"Is everything all right?" Selene asked, her voice quiet but concerned. "I... I heard what the Duke said."

Lucian's mother nodded, turning back to the window. She could feel the sting of those words again, but she would not let them break her. 

"He doesn't understand," Lucian's mother murmured, almost to herself. "But Lucian is perfect. He is destined for greatness, you just have to wait for the right time." 

Selene hesitated before stepping closer. "Is that why you've been so distant?" She gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're afraid of what might happen to him, aren't you?"

Lucian's mother stiffened, but only for a moment. She could feel the truth of Selene's words weighing on her, but she would not allow herself to succumb to fear. Not now. Not when her son had just been born into a world full of endless possibilities.

"I am not afraid," she said, her voice resolute. "I will make sure that Lucian is not crushed by their expectations. He will not be defined by his affinity or his lack of power. He is more than that."

Selene nodded, though there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "You're a strong woman, my lady. I believe you."

Lucian's mother finally turned, meeting Selene's gaze, and said "And if he ever feels that he is not enough… if he feels alone…" Her voice faltered, but she quickly steadied herself. "I will be there. He will never be alone."

She has already made a dangerous plan for how she is going to keep her son safe.

The silence between them stretched, thick with unspoken understanding. 

Outside, the storm began to die down, leaving only the whisper of wind through the trees. The house, though cold, was still her home. And Lucian—her son, her purest joy—was still here.

She doesn't need the world's recognition to love her child even if he has no affinity.