It has been four days since Armaros had been exiled and his absence in the mansion was felt quite it's occupants, especially Mary as she is the one who was tasked with taking care of him as she missed him greatly. But it wasn't like she wasn't the only one as his sisters had also been affected by his absence.
He would always greets his sisters when he meets them and they were so used to being greeted by him everyday that it felt different when he wasn't there.
On the fifth day, Valeria woke up with a bright smile on her face as it is her birthday where she becomes 7 years old as she opened her eyes to be greeted by Armaros like all of her previous birthdays.
But the only thing that greeted her was the silence of her room which caused her to be stunned for a moment before she remembered the event that happened a few days ago.
"Right. Brother Armaros was exiled." Valeria said as she felt a little sad at that.
But she shook her head at that as she gained a determined expression.
"No, it doesn't matter. I'm a Dawnbringer, I don't need him to be with me." Valeria said as she waited for her nanny to come.
After that she went through the day, however her previous statement was for naught as she felt sadness as she went through the day.
Armaros would always speak to her during her birthdays and treated her like she was very special and with importance, something that she was used to. And now not being showered with the same affection during a day like this has effected her.
Her family doesn't care much about birthdays and focus more on the skill and power of it's members, which is why her sisters reacted to her normally. They acted like the day of her birthday was like any other day, except for her nanny as she was the only one who had wished her happy birthday, but it didn't feel the same when her brother did it.
"This is the day you were born Valeria. It's a special day for you." Armaros had said to her when she was 5 years old.
At the time she didn't think much about it, but now with his absence and the way her own family was acting, she felt sad that to the others the day of her birth wasn't of importance.
As she was walking she saw her mother walking, presumably to do some work as she went towards her, followed by her nanny as she tried to stop her.
"Valeria. Is there a reason for you to approach me?" Aurelia asked her as she looked at her child.
"M-Mother, this is the day I was born and I... Um, I just want to hear you say "happy birthday" to me for today." Valeria said nervously as she looked down.
Aurelia looked at her daughter at that as she remembered seeing Armaros greeting his sisters, his nanny and herself during their birthdays. She didn't think much about it as her family never celebrated her birthdays so she just looked at her daughter.
"Happy Birthday Valeria." Aurelia said to her in a cold tone.
Valeria froze when she heard that, as her mother had said those words in a cold tone in contrast to the warmth she felt from Armaros who would wish her that.
Despite that, Valeria nodded her head and looked down as she thanked her mother before she walked away followed by her nanny who greeted the Matriarch as she walked by.
Aurelia watched them go as she remembered whenever Armaros would greet her during her birthdays as she stood stone faced before she turned and went on her way.
Valeria went to her room as she told her nanny to leave her alone for a while before she jumped on her bed and grabbed a pillow and hugged it as she laid there while remembering how her mother had greeted her.
'It's not the same. Mother didn't have the same warmth that brother did.' Valeria thought to herself as she laid there.
She laid on the bed for a few moments before she got another. She still has four more sisters whom she could ask after all, and when she remembered that she jumped out of her bed with some anticipation.
However, it died out when she was met with the same response from them, ranging from bored to annoyed and indifferent. After that she went back to her room and told her nanny to not call for her until it was time to eat.
"I don't even have a present." Valeria said out loud as she remembered how Armaros would give her presents on her birthdays before she covered herself using the blanket.
At the same time, his absence was also felt by his sisters and parent. As the warmth that they usually felt was missing from the mansion, as everyone in their home, bar themselves would call them with respect and they have grown used to that.
Armaros was the only one who greeted them with a smile, warmth and eagerness that was foreign for them as even the girls own nannies call them with respect, after all.
Claudia sat on the couch in her room as she was cleaning one of her swords as she looked at the door to her room for a moment, as she thought that she would hear Armaros open it and greet her. But when she realised what she was thinking she turned her head away and clicked her tongue.
'Why in the world am I thinking like that? He isn't important.' Claudia thought to herself as she kept on cleaning her weapon.
Arianne who was in her own room was reading a book as she tried to keep her mind off of the thoughts related to her brother, and her sister asking her to wish her happy birthday also resulted in her remembering how he had wished her and treated her during her own birthdays as well.
He was the only one who treated her like that in the mansion, which she didn't think was anything special at the moment, but now remembering that she knowing how he was exiled from the clan, she couldn't help it as she thought about her brother.
'Why are my thoughts going back to him? It was only my birthday, it wasn't anything special.' Arianne thought to herself as she read the book which she had once seen her brother read.
Solana and Fleur are in the training arena as they are fighting against each other as they crossed their swords and kept on attacking each other before they jumped back and panted a bit from the attacks.
"That was great lady Solana, lady Fleur." Their instructor praised them with smiles on their faces.
Both girls nodded at that, though their minds weren't in it as they had too noticed the absence of their older brother, and they also realised that they missed his presence in the mansion as they would be able to see him at least thrice, not to mention the fact that he would praise them for their growth, and unlike the instructor who talks as if they still have to grow more, he only ever praised them for their growth and not the fact that they still have more to go.
And despite how they are acting, they were still affected by his absence as if the warmth that they usually felt in their home was gone. But they dismissed it like their sisters, considering it as being something that they, as members of the Dawnbringer Clan, do not need.
The last is Aurelia, as she is in her office as she is working through the papers that are needed to be done and the commands she needs to do to make sure that her clan is running smoothly. But even someone like her was affected by the absence of her son.
She is used to seeing him and being greeted by him, so not seeing him for the past five days has also had its effect on her as well, though she has tried to ignore it, though she looked at the bracelet that her son had gifted to her on her birthday, it was when he was three four years old when he had given her that.
She had seen it a day ago and decided to wear it due to a strange feeling in her heart, she was confused about it but she didn't think much about it as she wore the gift, not like it will objectively change anything nor will it hinder her in anyway so she didn't mind wearing it.
'Get a hold of yourself Aurelia. He was weak and the verdict was given. Now I have to focus on running the clan smoothly.' Aurelia thought to herself as she decided to focus on her current work.