Tyrant's Obsession With The Heiress-Chapter 54: A Curse That Brings Back Old Wounds

Born and bred for war, Orpheus had little to no understanding of peace and love in his life.

Dirnaan tribesmen were often recruited as mercenaries or hired by foreign rulers to be enlisted in their armies.

They did not receive hefty sums for their services for they were compensated through other means, such as food and basic necessities to fill their inventories in a land of never-ending winter.

That was all Orpheus had known for it was all he was taught as the chief's son.

Being born with no wealth or titles to his name, he quickly understood from his father's teachings that he had to destroy and take what he strived for by force.

As all Dirnaan tribesmen did. Even the women.

The particular memory Orpheus recalled reflected him as a boy no older than seven years of age.

It was a harsh winter day like any other out in the middle of the Frosthowl Peaks, where the straw huts of his tribesmen were built.

Straw did little to protect them from the harsh winter winds but it was all they could afford during these difficult times for the village was bordering on famine.

They could not find work for months, and around this time of year, when winter was at its peak, little to no travellers passed through the mountains for them to intercept and rob.

Still, the boys of his age were forced to continue their sword training or their wrestling matches until their limbs were numb with the cold.

Orpheus was nearing one such state while he duelled with his father.

He was forced to abandon his only fur coat sewn from the fur of a bear his father had killed with his bare hands.

His body was exposed to the harsh cold and frostbite crept quickly onto his shivering skin.

"Get up!" The Dirnaan chief boomed when his son collapsed from exhaustion. "Is this the extent of your skills, Kaius?"

Ah yes, Kaius.

That was his birth name.

It had been so long since he last heard it; he'd forgotten that Orpheus was a name that was chosen and not given.

Exhausted to the bone, Kaius took up his wooden training sword, which was nearly the length of his entire body at his age.

His teeth chattered, but he knew very well he had to keep going if he was to prove himself worthy to his father.

"Forgive me, father," Kaius apologised, finding his footing firmly this time.

However, a strong backhand had swept across his face and the force pushed him to the ground.

The hit stung and his cheek was already throbbing when the tears had come but he had to force them down before they spilt onto his cheeks.

Lycidus Van Merikh, the chief of the seven Dirnaan tribes, never took well to even the smallest show of weakness.

"What did I say about forgiveness, boy?" Lycidus stood tall over his son, his chest heaving with anger. "Van Merikh men do not forgive nor do we ask for forgiveness."

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Kaius nodded solemnly, standing up quickly again so that he didn't appear weak before his father.

"Yes, father," he answered robotically, as if his mind were adrift elsewhere.

"Pathetic," Lycidus scoffed and walked away without another word.

Kaius stood there in the middle of the village while snow hailed from above.

His tears rushed forward but he hurriedly brushed them away, lest one of his father's hunters would have seen him and reported it to their chief.

Here, in Frosthowl Peak, men did not cry.

When Orpheus came to, snapping out of his dream, he shook his head.

The memory was clear in his mind and it reopened old wounds.

Of course it did.

Bringing back old wounds to the surface was one of his curse's favourite pastimes.

Orpheus glanced out of the window, looking down into the bailey where the yard of corpses strung up on poles was on display.

For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of regret for the horrors he created.

He remembered each knight under Sir Gerald's command whom he impaled with his bare ends.

But there was one in particular who put up quite a persistent fight before Orpheus had gutted him with his bare hand.

Sir Dane d'Almaine.

Orpheus commended the man for his strength and courage for Sir Dane had charged him single-handedly without fear.

The man's only downfall was that he was ordinary and didn't possess any magical abilities; otherwise, he'd undoubtedly have become a part of the Van Merikh army through submission rather than a casualty.

So why did he dishonour the man in the first place by impaling him for all to see?

And then suddenly remembered his father's words: "Remember, Kaius, always stake your prey for other prey to see. Let them know what you are capable of, and if it draws in predators, show them that you are the darkness of the night. You are Orpheus."

Everything that Lady Karina was, everything that she had shown him, everything she had tried to make him understand went against every principle instilled in him as a Dirnaan monster.

How could he change who he was?

The world she knew was far too different from the one he was bred in.

Perhaps they would never find common ground and perhaps he would never become the man she wanted.

If that were true, why did it hurt him so much when he imagined the scenarios she painted for him earlier?

Orpheus banged his fist against the lancet window, shattering the glass.

He poured all his rage, confusion, and conflict into the punch and was unbothered by the fact that the tiny glass shards had pierced his hand in certain places.

He had shed the blood of others without a care, so what did it matter if a few drops of his own blood were spilt?

"Forgiveness is cowardly." Orpheus murmured to himself, clenching his fists as he watched a thin stream of blood trickle down his arm. "What does it mean to be remorseful? I cannot apologise for something I am not sorry for."

While Orpheus did understand Lady Karina's perspective after imagining her and their son in those situations, he still couldn't manifest the feeling of remorse.

How did one feel remorse?

How did one find it in their heart to be apologetic?

Those were foreign emotions to Orpheus for he never once felt them in his life, so how could he feel them now?

"Perhaps... I should ask her to teach me."

If it was for Lady Karina, he was willing to learn.