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But despite his young age — the boy\'s eyes were dull. If not to say blank.

Silently swaying back and forth in the rain, he sought to postpone his return home as late as possible. For more than anything, the boy hated this very place. Not counting the people who lived there.

The illustrious Ashford clan, one of the three founders of the kingdom of Azeroth, had remained great for generations. Its authority could perhaps be compared even to that of the Imperial family.

People respected and revered them, and children knew the names of Ashford\'s heirs from birth. It went on for a very, very long time… Until one day it all fell apart like a house of cards.

The previous Archduke had made a big mistake: when, of his three sons, he «bet on» the eldest and gave him the title. After his father\'s death — William Ashford inherited the entire fortune and became the next head of the family.

This is where it all began.

As it turned out — William was just not ready to get his hands on so much power. He was frivolous and weak in character, and therefore could not withstand the pressure of the public.

As a result, three years after inheriting the title — William Ashford began to drink. Forgetting his main duties, he did nothing but entertain himself or attend social events. About the same time he had a son.

Henry Ashford was the firstborn of the famous Archduke family, and from the outside it seemed: he was very lucky. Not everyone is born with a diamond spoon in his mouth. But in fact… As he grew older, he only dreamed of leaving that house.

Henry\'s mother was an aristocrat from a noble family — who at first was very happy to be able to marry the head of the Ashford family. But after a couple of years, she was very disappointed in her husband.

The original picture of a noble and statuesque Archduke dissipated — when she saw the real William. A drunkard and a slacker who spent his days with a bottle. With his secretary as head…

It wasn\'t what she wanted at all.

It only got worse from there. Alcohol was followed by casinos, billiards and other things: on which William successfully squandered the family fortune. Already the whole of secular society knew — that the current Archduke was a loser and laughed at him.

The Archduchess was in despair and did not know what to do. Her husband did not want to listen to her at all.

Since the birth of Henry had to stay in an environment where parents were always fighting and quarreling. They were so wrapped up in their own problems that they didn\'t care how their son felt. In other words, no one here gave a damn about him.

Henry was living in hell and dreaming of when it would finally be over. And at one point, it seemed the gods heard his prayers…

When the boy was five years old, he had a baby sister. She was named after William\'s mother, Adeline Ashford. And after her arrival, everything in the house suddenly got better.

Both parents were fascinated by the newborn. The mother of the day around the cradle, and his father even abandoned alcohol and began to pay attention to the family. There was a long-awaited peace in the Archdiocese.

Henry was happier than ever before. At last his family was normal! His parents were no longer quarreling, and the scandals and carousing had receded into the background. He wanted it to go on forever.

Little Adeline was adored by everyone in the family. And Henry, too, felt a special sympathy for his little sister — it was thanks to her that her parents began to live peacefully. He wasn\'t even jealous of the fact that they paid more attention to her than to him. For as long as there was peace in the house, it didn\'t matter.

However… And this «paradise» proved to be short-lived.

For a few years after her birth, the baby died. At the age of three, Adelina fell ill with a serious infection and none of the empire\'s healers were able to save her. Her parents had never left her bedside and hoped that their daughter would recover sooner.

But she did. And the Ashford family mourned.

The old life Henry had dreaded came again. And even worse than before.

That child had been the only «glue» that had held the family together for the last time. And when he was gone, everything began to fall apart.

Unable to cope with the loss of his daughter, William plunged into a full-blown binge, and the Archduchess left home. Tired of tolerating her husband\'s habits, the woman found a lover on the side and moved into his home.

When her mother left, Henry clung to her and wept. He begged her to take him with her. But all she said was that it was better for him to stay here. And that\'s when the boy realized she simply didn\'t need him.

So he stayed in the same house with his alcoholic father. Meanwhile, the Archdukes were nevertheless not officially divorced. Such a procedure was considered condemned in high society. And in order to save face somehow: they continued to pretend to be a family.

The parents lived in separate houses, but attended social events together. But that didn\'t help their reputation one bit.

After all, every dog in the empire knew — that the Archduke\'s family was bursting at the seams. The worst of it was little Henry.

The other children openly laughed and mocked him, insulting his family as «flawed. Finger-pointing, pushing and kicking… The boy had to just put up with it. After all, his father and mother would not care even if he complained.

In the end, the king himself wondered about the Ashford family\'s position in the empire. Since they represented the country as much as the imperial family — this situation seemed simply unacceptable… The current Archduke was blatantly disgracing Azeroth among other countries.

Among the ministers there began to be talk of demoting the Archdukeate of Ashford in the title. But a final decision had not yet been made.

In short, the situation was worse than ever. And Henry, who had only recently turned eight, had to cope with it all…

«If only they would all die…!»

Clenching his teeth, the boy longed for just that. For everyone who bullied him to die. Even his parents. He wanted to be alone in this world and not have anyone else pointing a finger at him.

Ignoring the rain, Henry had been at the playground for hours. He didn\'t want to go back home, where his father was on another binge. He probably wouldn\'t even notice that his son had disappeared…

The boy rocked back and forth at full speed, wishing he could forget the whole world. The swings squeaked with rust and his expensive shoes were covered with mud.

A merry-go-round of colorful splotches swirled around, and the downpour didn\'t stop. Henry thought he was alone here until he heard voices nearby.

As it turned out, four drunken commoners had accidentally wandered into the playground. They looked like homeless people. Seeing an unaccompanied child, they became interested.

Henry became agitated and slowed down. The men approached him swiftly.

— What is this here! — One of the men chuckled, «Boy, why are you here alone? Where are your parents?

— …

Henry was silent, clutching harder at the handles of the swing.

The other man gasped when he saw what he was wearing.

— He looks like one of those,» he said, referring to the aristocrats, «Look at his clothes!

The others noticed it, too. Henry\'s costume stood out against what the children of the commoners usually wore. The expensive fabric and the gold trim on it were striking.

— And that\'s right! — The boy\'s not a commoner, that\'s for sure. The son of a duke?

The others obviously liked the idea. Not every day could catch such a valuable «fish» — the child of noblemen and without a crowd of guards. A truly fortunate coincidence.

— Do you think his parents will give us much for him?

— How about four hundred gold pieces?

— That\'s too little! If they\'re noblemen, they have a lot of money. Two thousand will do.

The men cackled, anticipating their soonest «gilding.»

— Hey!» the commoner grabbed Henry by the scruff of the neck.

The boy was terribly frightened and went all pale.

— No! Let me go…!

— Keep still,» said the man, «if you keep quiet, we won\'t hurt you.

— No! I don\'t want to!

These men were going to kidnap him to demand a ransom from the Archduke. Against four adults, the little child was clearly helpless.

In the end, while Henry was trying to break free from their grip and escape, he accidentally bit one of the kidnappers. The man couldn\'t take it anymore and got angry.

— You little puppy…!

The man\'s hand came up to strike him, and Henry had already closed his eyes in fright. But…

In the next second, his attempts to pull him away came to an abrupt halt.

The hand that had held him tightly before suddenly stopped, and the boy fell to the ground. In shock, he watched what was happening in front of him.

Another boy his age appeared out of nowhere on the playground. But he was… Very unusual.

The shadow flashed very fast and looked like a baby predator. Henry was speechless when he caught this unbelievable sight: the child alone had massacred several adult men, and they could do nothing. Soon there were four bloody corpses on the ground.

Henry shuddered. The fight lasted only a couple of minutes and ended in absolute victory for this boy.

What the hell was going on!

Henry was even more frightened when the boy began to approach him. He wiped his hands on one of the kidnappers clothes and looked at him.

Short black hair and scarlet eyes. Dressed all in dark clothes, and the same cold-blooded expression remained on his face. Henry vaguely suspected: that in absentia he had already heard of him somewhere. Or rather, about his family.

In any case, after Henry had seen what he had just done: he could not remain calm. He feared that now the same fate would follow for him.

m _v,l_e _mp|y|r chapter

Henry was about to beg for mercy when this boy began to take action. He expected to die. But instead… He held out his hand.

Henry was taken aback and didn\'t know what to say.

— Are you all right? — In an even voice, the strange peer asked him.

— I–I… Y-yes…

— Then get up.

Henry somehow grabbed hold of the palm outstretched to prevent him from falling again. They came to a level with each other.

— Wh-who are you…? — was all he could squeeze out.

— My name is Raymond,» the boy answered calmly, as well.

— I\'m… I\'m Henry.

— Why are you here alone?

Henry didn\'t answer at first.

— I didn\'t want to go home…

Raymond\'s gaze flickered. It sounded so familiar…

— And your friends?

— I… I don\'t have any.

The boy\'s eyes grew even wider. He hadn\'t expected to accidentally meet someone like himself. The same indifferent outcast to everyone else.

Slowly he held out his hand. Then he suddenly suggested:

— Let\'s be friends, then.