The Duke and I ✧. 𐙚 ˚ ~ Prologue
dedicating this chapter to @ken-kozu for hounding me into actually writing this 😅 you’re a real one 🤍
The birth of Kento Nanami was widely celebrated throughout his village, with many taking off work to celebrate the joyous occasion.
Being the sole heir to one of England's oldest and richest dukedoms, he was special, envisaged, he was everything his father had been waiting for.
After fifteen years of marriage, the Duke and his Duchess had managed to conceive five times. With only two being carried to full term, both the infants being stillborn, and a heavy warning issued by both surgeons and physicians alike of the impending dangers threatening the Duchess's life. The Duke was going to have to settle for the fact that the dukedom would pass out of the Nanami family.
The duchess had other plans. After a six-month recuperative period, she opened up the connecting doors between their bedrooms, and the duke continued his quest for a son.
Five months later, the duchess informed the duke she was with child. He ensured that nothing would cause this pregnancy to go awry, confining the duchess to her bed and bringing in a regular physician to visit daily.
He took no chances; he was determined to have a son. He would have a son, and the dukedom would remain in the Nanami lineage.
The pains began a month early, and when the moment of truth arrived, after the birth of the Kento, the duke rode off to celebrate, shouting good fortune to anyone who would listen.
Meanwhile, the duchess, who had been bleeding steadily since the birth, slipped into unconsciousness and then finally just slipped away. Alone.
After a brief period of grieving, the duke got on with raising his son.
Once Kento's second birthday had struck, the duke was ready to take his son's education into his own hands. A pony had been purchased, a small gun had been selected for the future use of fox hunting, and tutors specialising in every subject known to man.
His nurse, Shuzenji, argued that the young boy was too young for such activities, but the duke thought nothing of it, believing that it was never too early to start the young duke's education.
But he wasn't a duke, not yet. He was a young boy. A toddler.
The duke crouched beside his son, who was building an asymmetrical castle with his blocks on the floor. The duke, who hadn't seen his son in several months, was pleased with Kento's growth. He was a sturdy, healthy young boy with shiny blonde hair and deep hazel eyes.
"What are you building there, son?"
Kento only smiled and pointed.
The duke frowned at the lack of verbal response. "Doesn't he speak?" he asked, facing the nurse.
Shuzenji shook her head. "Not yet, your grace."
"He's two. Shouldn't he be speaking?"
"Some children take longer than others, your grace. He's clearly a bright young boy."
"Of course he's bright. He's a Nanami."
The nurse just nodded. She always nodded when the duke went on his egocentric rants about the Nanami bloodline. "Maybe," she suggested, "he just doesn't have anything to say."
Two years later, he wasn't so certain. He began questioning his staff if they had tampered with the small boy. Shuzenji tried to plead for the young boy's case, praising his ability to write. However, the duke saw no use in it.
He turned to Kento, rage burning in his eyes. "Talk to me, damn you!"
Kento shrank back in fear, his lower lip wobbling.
"Your grace!" Shuzenji said firmly. "You're scaring the child."
"Maybe he needs scaring. Maybe what he needs is a good dose of discipline. A good paddling might help him find his voice." He said, grabbing the silver-backed brush that Shuzenji uses on Kento's hair, stalking towards his son. "I'll make you talk, you stupid little-"
Nurse Shuzenji gasped. The duke dropped the brush. It was the first time they'd ever heard Kento's voice. The duke's face soon turns pale as Kento's subsequent attempts are flooded with stutters and unfinished sentences. Head in hands, muttering how his son was an idiot, nurse Shuzenji was quick to sing Kento's praises.
"You should be giving the boy praise! Four years you've been waiting for him to speak, and-"
"And he's an idiot!" Hastings roared. "A bloody little idiot!"
Kento's eyes flooded with tears.
The duke threw several insults before turning to Kento, who was sniffling and wiping his tears, trying to appear strong in the presence of his father. "I can't even look at him, I can't bear to look at him."
Was the last thing he said before walking out of the room.
Nurse Shuzenji pulled the boy into a comforting embrace, praising his first attempts at speaking, his intellect, and encouraging him to keep trying. Kento fell into her warm embrace and sobbed. "We'll show him," she vowed. "He'll eat his words if it's the last thing I do."
Nurse Shuzenji proved true to her word. While the Duke of Hastings abandoned his son for London and acted as if his son didn't exist, Shuzenji spent every day teaching Kento how to sound out words and syllables, praising him endlessly when he got something right, encouraging him when he didn't.
The progress was slow, but noticeable. By the time Kento turned six, his stuttering had improved significantly; by age eight, he was speaking entire sentences without error. He stumbled when he was upset, but Shuzenji reminded him to remain calm, and the words would come naturally.
Kento was determined, he was smart, and most importantly, he was damned stubborn. Finally, at the age of eleven, Kento, without hesitation, turned to Nurse Shuzenji and said, "I think it is time we went to see my father."
It was clear upon their arrival that the duke had erased Kento from his thoughts and those around him. His frequent decision to wear black and his lack of conversation on the topic had led those to believe Kento had passed on.
Nurse Shuzenji, outraged by the new information, demanded to see the duke immediately. She did her best to think of solutions to soothe the situation, but was quick to anger once she laid eyes on the duke, seeing Kento looked a splitting image of the man who'd given up on him, and that lit a fire in her.
"You, sir," she seethed, "are despicable."
"And you, madam, are fired. No one speaks to the Duke of Hastings that way," he spat. "No one!"
"Not even the king?" Kento was quick to defend the woman who had essentially raised him.
However, the situation quickly went south as the duke cruelly taunted the young boy, causing Kento to stutter. The situation soon frustrated the young boy, leaving him unable to articulate himself, leading him to panic.
The duke stalked toward the door. "You are my worst failure," he hissed at his son. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but God help me if I ever lay eyes on you again."
"Your grace!" Nurse Shuzenji said firmly. "That is no way to speak to a child!"
"Get him out of my sight," he spat at her. "You can keep your job just so long as you keep him away from me."
"Wait!" Kento took a deep breath, still seething in anger. "I am your son." The duke turned slowly toward his son, with a look never seen before in his eyes. Pride. Barely there, just about.
"I am your son," Kento said louder, "and I am not d-" Kento felt his throat closing up. He panicked. "I am not d-d-d-"
"Go home," the duke said lowly. "There is no place for you here."
The rejection stung Kento in a way he'd never felt before; the pain entered his bones and swirled around his heart. As hatred flooded his body, he made his vow.
If he couldn't be the son his father wanted, then he'd be the exact opposite...
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