The maids and servants quickly busied themselves at the news of the Count’s return. Rihannan stood on the second floor stairway and waited for the door to open.
Today, in her previous life, she’d been a busybody crying her heart out and missing her dead mother. That day, she ran out in delight hearing that her father had returned. She wanted to see his face as soon as possible to fill up the loneliness invading her heart.
All she wanted and sought for was comfort and consolation and to share the mourning from the loss of her mother and his wife. He was the only one who understood and could possibly share the same sadness, and she even expected that even his heartless father would embrace her in his arms…
But reality was far from the truth.
What she saw when she ran out the door was a little girl holding her father’s big hands. The moment she saw the child’s happy, twinkling eyes, she had a hunch that the child was somehow related to him.
And well, she found out very quickly.
He didn’t hesitate to confirm it himself.
She was her half-sister, Leticia Alessin.
Ever since he abandoned the traumatized child who’d recently lost her mother and brought in an illegitimate child without her knowing, Rihannan lost everything.
She was never the same after that.
Rihannan suddenly recalled what her father said at the time.
“Rihannan, this is the child who had to grow up alone in the outside world because of you and your mother. I hope you treat her well. Please, Rihannan.”
Reminiscing over the past, Rihannan tightened her grip on the stairway railings for a moment. She glared at the door, the one that was tightly closed while her fingernails scraped the dark mahogany wood.
For the next few years or so, she lived a life without problems, at least she thought so. At the time, Rihannan had no idea, but Count Alessin paid diligent attention to the outside eyes as he was in a position to manage the properties inherited by his daughter as guardian. If anything should happen to Rihannan, it was obvious her maternal relatives in Arundell and Crichton would certainly come forward demanding an explanation.
So he tried, he tried extremely hard in not allowing rumors regarding Rihannan spread outside, and she was deftly cut in the middle to prevent her from contacting them personally.
The years hadn’t been good to her. Rihannan never felt at ease due to Leticia’s veiled bullying of her. She could get away with many things; she was father’s favorite.
Fortunately, the harassment and bullying never crossed a certain line. Leticia coveted her clothing and jewels and her father would ascend to her requests.
That was tolerable and somewhat acceptable.
Only after Rihannan was pronounced Queen that Leticia…
When the young king was old enough to marry, Hertia thought of Rihannan. She would be his bride. She lacked in nothing and she’d be the perfect candidate. And too boot, she was the Hersia’s goddaughter, making it all the more pleasant.
In fact, Rihannan was the only queen candidate chosen.
“She and I share the same father… why is she the only to become queen candidate? Why am I not given a chance?”
One day and shortly after the letter arrived from the Queen, Rihannan happened by chance to see the figure of Leticia clinging to her father in tears. Dressed in expensive clothes and accessories, she made a desperate appeal.
“Leticia, this is beyond my control and something I can’t do. The Queen herself appointed Rihannan, and we can do nothing but obey the Queen’s orders.”
“Can’t you send a letter to the capital? She can’t be Queen! I can’t stand her becoming Queen! Father, what am I to do when she becomes Queen? Don’t let her go anywhere, father!”
“If we don’t send Rihannan away, the Queen will send someone here herself. That’ll make things worse.”
“I’m the only daughter you really love, but I can’t even be your real daughter!”
The laws of the country did not recognize illegitimate children. It was the same for the nobles and royalty. If Leticia’s mother was still alive and remarried Count Alessin after the death of Rihannan’s mother, it’d have been a different story, but the child would have been stigmatized for life as illegitimate for they did not marry officially when she gave birth to Leticia. And if Leticia’s mother was of aristocracy, she’d have no problem mingling with other members of nobility, but that too was difficult. Her mother was a commoner and there was no changing that.
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Leticia lived in the house not as the Count’s biological daughter but as a foster daughter. She could have nothing legally unless she was of biological blood. She had no wealth nor social status in truth and it is for this reason alone that Count Alessin used Ned Gowan to embezzle money early on.
It was to give to Leticia, otherwise, she’d not have anything.