Chapter 4: The Outcast's Invitation.
"Young master, I've come to inform you that the lord has requested your presence at the main hall at once," Isabella said, her voice maintaining a steady, tone that lacked any peaks of excitement or signs of nervousness.
Despite the gravity of a summons from the head of the house, her expression remained a tad flat, similar to someone who had long ago lost all interest in the world around her and had resigned herself to a bland life.
She stood by the door with her hands clasped neatly in front of her, her dull emerald eyes fixed on a point just past Spencer's shoulder, waiting for his acknowledgment with a patience that felt almost eerie.
Spencer felt a flicker of genuine surprise ripple through him, though he fought to keep his features as composed as the maid's.
'A guest? Just who could it be that would prompt my father to specifically call for my attention?' he mused inwardly, his mind racing through the limited knowledge he had inherited from the previous occupant of this body.
He knew all too well that his father seldom requested his presence for social functions or official business; in fact, the man was less of a father in the traditional sense and more of a social climber who was obsessed with his own image.
To Lord Luminous, appearance was everything, and that often meant shunning or hiding his eldest son, whom he viewed as a living blemish on the family's prestigious reputation.
"Do you know who the guest is?" Spencer asked, his voice echoing slightly in the quiet luxury of the bedroom as he stood up from the plush chair he had been occupying.
He watched Isabella closely, searching for even a hint of a secret or a slip in her professional mask, but her demeanor remained as impenetrable as a stone wall.
"I'm afraid not, young master," she replied simply, her tone offering no room for further interrogation and suggesting that the information had been withheld from the servant staff as a whole.
Hearing her reply, Spencer let out a slow, heavy sigh that seemed to carry the weight of his growing apprehension, though a part of him was already pondering how he might turn this unexpected meeting into something that benefited himself.
"Alright, help me get dressed then," he commanded, finally moving away from his thoughts and getting up from the bed. He knew that showing up late to a summons from the Patriarch would only provide his enemies with more ammunition, and if he was going to step into the viper's nest of the main hall, he needed to look the part of a nobleman, even if he was a despised one.
Isabella nodded in silent reply, moving over to fetch the garments laid out for the day. She moved subtly, once more showing no signs of panic like always.
*******
Fast forward a few moments later, and the heavy, ornate doors of the main hall creaked open to allow Spencer entry into the heart of the Luminous estate.
The hall told much of the family's immense wealth, featuring soaring ceilings adorned with frescoes and massive chandeliers that cast a brilliant, unforgiving light over everyone gathered below.
Upon entering, Spencer's gaze immediately fell upon the central gathering, where his father stood in a position of prominence, flanked by his two brothers, step-mothers and four sisters.
The visual contrast between him and the rest of the group was obvious and striking; unlike him, every single one of his siblings possessed the signature looks of the Luminous household, heads of shimmering silver hair that glistened beneath the light like polished jem stones and piercing blue eyes that resembled the coldest depths of a winter sky.
They looked like a stunning group, a portrait of noble perfection that seemed to radiate an aura of natural superiority.
As for why Spencer looked so radically different from the rest of his kin, it was a point of bitter history that had defined his entire existence.
While he was indeed a Luminous by blood, he took on his mother's prominent features rather than his father's, a fact that had haunted his every step since the day he was born.
In the past, the glaring difference in his appearance, his black hair and green eyes, had been such a point of contention that his own father had publicly labeled him a child born from an illicit affair outside of wedlock, casting doubt on his very right to exist within these walls.
It was only after a series of extensive and humiliating examinations by high-ranking mages brought in from the capital that it was proven, beyond a shadow of a clinical doubt, that he was indeed the Lord's biological son.
However, that biological confirmation had done nothing to change the tragic fate of his mother, a woman who had been driven to an early grave by the sheer weight of grief and the relentless stress of the accusations leveled against her.
Rather than grieving her passing or seeking to make amends for his cruelty, the man they called his father had moved on with a chilling lack of remorse.
Lord Luminous had quickly taken a second wife to secure his legacy, but that union had initially only produced a girl, which brought deep displeasure to a man who was desperately looking for a powerful male heir to carry the name.
It was only after he took a third wife that he finally received the male heir he craved, though at almost the exact same time, his second wife also managed to conceive a male child.
Such a series of events had brought about a permanent state of distraught and hidden warfare within the household.
Neither the second nor the third wife wished to relinquish their status as the potential mother of the future Patriarch, leading to a household divided by ambition and spite.
In the end, as if the heavens were mocking their rivalry, both women became pregnant a third time; the second wife gave birth to another daughter, while the third wife birthed a set of twin girls.
With the numbers of their offspring now tied, both wives had been forced to temporarily put their open resentment aside, forming a cold truce while the children began to grow.
This truce, however, only paved the way for a new competition focused entirely on the children's inherent magical and martial talents.
For a time, it seemed it would result in another frustrating tie, as all six of his younger siblings turned out to be exceptionally talented, each showing great promise in their respective fields.
While the wives were on the verge of frustration once more, the news that he, the firstborn and only child of the late first wife, was in fact completely untalented, served as a source of twisted joy for both of them.
His failure was their greatest victory; it meant they no longer had to fight for a secondary place in the hierarchy, but could instead truly set their sights on the main seat of power.
If one of their sons could one day inherit the household as its Patriarch, they could live out their lives in absolute comfort and security.
And that was exactly how the years of systematic maltreatment had started; as was stated before, no one in the family or the staff did anything to stop it.
In this harsh world where the strong were revered and the weak were trampled into the dirt, no one cared for a talentless person like him, viewing him only as a stepping stone or a target for their scorn.
As he walked further into the hall, the visual divide became even more apparent through their attire.
His step-siblings all donned stunning, pure white outfits, the signature look of the Luminous family that symbolized their "pure" and "radiant" lineage.
Spencer, on the other hand, was forced to wear a deep red attire adorned with intricate gold embroidery. While the outfit was undeniably stunning and high in quality, its color was a deliberate choice meant to make him look ostracized and separated from the rest of his family.
He stood out like a drop of blood on fresh snow, a constant reminder to everyone present that he was the outsider who didn't truly belong no matter what he did.