Mathilda was my first name and Douglas was my surname

I was the eldest daughter born in the eleventh generation of the Douglas family.

Despite their commoner origins, my family is very wealthy, if not one of the wealthiest families on the human continent.

Twelve generations ago, one of our ancestors gave birth to a child of light, which gave our family an exponential boost in wealth and fame.

My ancestor, like every other child of light, was taken away from them and raised far away in a noble family who looked after him until he was old enough to stand on his own.

Unlike many other cases for children of light, our ancestor was told his origins, and unlike even fewer cases, tried to find who his real parents could be.

He was twenty-three when he discovered his true parents; for them, the child who had been taken from them was no longer what he was; instead of a crying child, it was a grown man that was returned to them, a man who didn’t even have the name, his mother initially gave him.

To found traces of his parents, our ancestor joined the paladin order, and he did pretty well, since not only he managed to track his family’s trace, but also managed to become in his late forty-one of the seven of Holy Paladin.

Our ancestor's status as Holy Paladins, as well as the name "Douglas" we received from him, allowed our family to prosper for generations after his death.

Our family's main activity initially involved teaching and training for commoners who would later become knights in service to nobility or members of the legion, but it later expanded to the domain of road transport between the three human nations under the close supervision of the church.

That being said, our family made a lot of concessions throughout the century, one of which was not having any open relations with commoners. We were allowed to keep a second name just like any respectable nobles, and as such, it was expected of us to act like one. The concept of cousins wasn’t accepted in our family, only the future head of the family was allowed to have children. This rule was established by our family first and foremost to keep our lineage pure from an outsider, to avoid heritage conflict, and most importantly as proof of good faith to the Church.

It was in that family that was born, For the first part of my life, I was raised along with my brother like any other noble child, taught with the firm belief of the teaching of the Cult of the Seven Apostle, and with the clear goal that I would be the one who would one day succeed my father.

At first, I was everything one would from an heir of the Douglas family, even though I never met my actual mother, and not being particularly close with my father, I was still nonetheless very satisfied with my situation.

But it all changed when I slowly approaching 30, at that age I already began to be particularly active in the family business, I can even say that at the time I already made a name for myself. During that period of my life, two things important things happened, the first, being the fact that the time I would be chosen as the head of our family was getting closer and closer, the second one is me realizing that I would most like never ascend to that position for one reason: I was barren.

I had my first clue on the matter when I reached 23 or so, in seven years of trying I finally came into acceptance of the fact that: I Mathilda would never have any children, or at least that was what I thought before reaching 30.

In my thirteenth birthday year, I was accorded what I have always been wishing for all those seven past years: A child, my child.

For me, it was a miracle that was accorded by seven, and I can certainly say that it was a miracle since it didn’t take me long to realize that the child I was eagerly waiting for was most likely just like our ancestor: a Child of Light.

I was very well placed to know what kind of fate would await me and my child, just like my ancestor, just like every other Child of Light, he would most likely be separated from me and entrusted to a random noble that I think I would be able to trace track with my family connection, but it doesn’t change the fact that he would be separated from me, so I took a decision that I would qualify as rash but I would have still have taken if I were to go back in time: I ran away from my family.

One might expect from a powerful family like ours to be at least able to perform some defiance to the law, but I was painfully aware that our family wasn’t in a position for that, our family attained his position by relying on our ancestor name, name that he received during his time where he was entrusted to the noble family that took him in, and most importantly I knew that my father would definitely willingly and even delightfully offer my child to the church, to give our family an even better image.

Giving consideration to what would most likely arise from my birth, I took the decision to ran the farthest away from at least my family since it wasn’t really possible to run away somewhere where the church wouldn’t be.

After taking to leave no trace behind, I ran away with two of my most loyal servants: Lidy, who was a young girl around my age, and Gertrude a woman who took care of me since my very young age, we went into hiding here in Beaumont, in a small town neither led by a noble family nor closely tied to any of them.

Except maybe from several small incidents that occurred very on a weekly basis during the two last months, it was nothing that could’ve arisen suspicion from the townspeople, I could say that everything went without much complication, even the birth, despite not being an easy one I was still able to get through it without too much sequel.

After almost three weeks in hiding my little miracle was born, a small and healthy boy, he had my eyes, maybe not my face but it was my child, no doubt to it, nobody would take him from me, or so I wished.

I didn’t even have the opportunity to give him the name I wanted to give him that a group of men that I immediately recognized as my father’s men broke in, to restrain us, and by us, I meant Lidy and me.

From how fast and how swift they debarked to where we were it could’ve only meant one thing: that someone betrayed me, and that someone was no one other than Gertrude.

Gertrude who I thought could be someone to be trusted revealed to be loyal only to my father. She was ordered to assist me until my birth, only to inform them when the big day would come.

Being restrained and weakened as I was, all I could do was helplessly watch her take away from me my child.

For an entire day, I was heavily guarded by the men dispatched by my father but after that, I was finally freed before they departed without explaining anything.

Despite the desperation and sorrow, I felt back then I still did my best to track where they could’ve taken my son, and to my biggest surprise someone came back to me, it was Gertrude, she revealed to me where she brought my child: Beaufort local Church, that was her order from father: to entrust the child to the Church, at that point, with our ran he no longer could boast that his family gave birth to yet another child of light so all he could do was to choke out any rumor of his daughter trying to hide from the church a child of light.

For Gertrude, what was she trying to accomplish by telling me where was the child? Was she trying to find forgiveness? How exactly was she expecting me to react? Those are questions I will never have answers to, maybe I should have given her the time to explain herself, though I doubt her fate would’ve been different if I did gave her the time to explain herself?

I'm not sure why I did it, what train of thought led me to that, but the following days I found myself in Beaufort begging the Bartholomeo family, who had a very close tie to our family due to their familial business, to find a way to give me back or at least to provide me the opportunity to meet my child once. I was well aware at the time that it was outside of what their family could do, but I still did it out of pure desperation.

It was unsurprising that their responses were that they couldn't help, but they did advise me to contact the Aubrecht family, the ruling family of Beaumont, and, more importantly, the family who bore one of the youngest ever designed Holy Paladins: Armand Aubrecht.

I immediately followed their advice and the same day, I requested an audience with the head of the Ducal family, despite the suddenty of my request I was still received by Aurelien Aubrecht, the head of the Aubrecht family.

I presented my request to him, knowing that it would be in vain once more; their family had no particular connections with my family, and it wasn't like I could offer much in the position I was in; for them, I was just a commoner like any other, and I was asking something out of them with nothing to return in exchange.

To my surprise, he did not say outright no, but instead went to discuss the matter with his wife and finally invited her, Emilie Aubrecht, the daughter of the previous Edouard family head, to our conversation. She was carrying a 6-month-old belly, and inside was the Duchy's future heir.

To my surprise, he did not say outright no, but instead went to discuss the matter with his wife, and then invited her, Emilie Aubrecht, the daughter of the previous Edouard family head, to our conversation. She was carrying the Duchy's future heir inside a 6-month-old belly.

They announced to me that they had a way to help me with my matter, I would have the opportunity to meet my child as much as I wanted, but in exchange, there were three things they expected from me, first they told me that it might take time, how many time? I wasn’t told, and the second was that they wanted me to assist her, Aurelie Aubrecht for the remaining months left for her pregnancy. At first, I was lost about the meaning of their second request but they made it clear: They wanted me to accompany her for the remaining month of her pregnancy, and the last one was to reveal to them what name I planned to give my child.

This is how I somehow ended up being the Duchess Aurelie Aubrecht lady in maid, I was expecting some move from my father but strangely there weren’t any.

For my request, I was never told how or what exactly they would do, but as time went by and the more I got acquainted with them and the people they were close to, I somehow figured out what they planned to do.

The reason why the lady wanted me to become her lady’s maid was to replace the one who should’ve been here instead of me: her sister-in-law, the late wife of Emilien Edouard, the lady’s big brother, and the second reason they wanted me around was that because I gave birth to a child of light, so in a way, they believed that I would bring luck to both the baby and her just by being around.

Three months later, though with some complication on the lady’s part, the baby was born, a blonde healthy boy, he was given the name Luke.

Not too long after that event, I was immediately muted as Lord’s Luke nanny and it’s only then that I finally received the opportunity to meet him again, he was bigger, than the last time I saw him, but it was him, the same eyes, and he even grew hair that was very similar to mine.

That’s right, I finally got to see child back, the miracle that was accorded to me by the seven.

During the time, I was acting as Lady Emilie Lady’s maid, her brother who was still mourning his wife was requesting to the church to allow him to have the keep of my son.

After two months of request from the Edouard Family head and pressure from the Aubrecht family side, the guard of the child was finally given to Emilien Aubrecht.

Even though I wasn’t the one to give him, his name for his Baptismal, he still got the name I wanted to give him: Damian.

It has been settled that he would from then on would live as the second son of Lord Emilien and that I would be living as Mathilda, his cousin’s nanny, to avoid any problem relating to the church in the future.

Though not as a mother, I was very satisfied with my position of Lord Luke’nannies, I was given plenty of opportunities to interact with Damian since he, Lord Phillip, Lord Luke were raised as if they were born from the same mother and father.

I even sent Lidy who was still accompanying me since the beginning to help out with Lord Emilien with Damian and Phillip, with the time where they would not be together with Lord Luke.

I wasn't really an expert with dealing with children because the only child I ever met was my little brother, so it was more of a growing together than anything else, so all I could do was try to take care of the best of my ability and giving them the love and attention they deserve, I think I may have slightly overdone on the two last because I believe it was because of that that Syrus was assigned to his position as Lord Luke’s valet.

Except that nothing else particularly problematic occurred.

Damian grew up surrounded by people who loved him, two brothers, a loving father, an uncle and aunt, me and Lidy, it was more than I could have possibly given him.

He took very early on notice of the difference between him and Phillip but he didn’t seem to particularly mind it. In fact, it might have been their difference that made them particularly close.

When he turned 15, the time came for me to bid farewell to him, or should I say to them. We made the decision not to reveal that I was his mother unless he formally asked for it, which he never did, but we all knew he knew.

There was a particular reason why I never got any other news from my father, he died 15 years before, his last orders were to take away my child from and to entrust it to the church, which is what Gertrude did. From how presented, I could go home but I still chose to stay in the Aubrecht family's castle as Governess; it wasn't a particularly difficult job to do, almost as simple as Cyrus's job as a head attendant, who at the time where Lord Luke was away didn't have any master to truly serve to properly speak.

I freed Lidy from my order, not that she hadn’t done all of this willingly, reason supplementary for me to free her from me and to reward her for all those loyal times she served me.

Not even two years later I heard from Lord Emilien that Damian has joined the Paladin Order, it didn’t please me at first but when I heard of the name of the one who take care of him there, I immediately ease up, under that person wing he would surely be okay.

Nearly 8 months after Lord Luke’s sudden returns to Beaumont I was summoned to the Rosetta Manor.

I wasn’t told anything before my arrival so I was very surprised to see that beautiful black-haired woman deeply yet painfully asleep in this room.

I had heard from Syrus stories of this girl since Lord Luke’s young age, since I wasn’t allowed to accompany them in their hunting session all I knew of her were descriptions I got from them.

It may sound horrible coming from me, but the first thing I cried when I realized what had happened was to ask Luke, Lord Emilien, and Vicar Serena why they had allowed things to devolve so far.

After all, even though we still had no real explanation for the appearance of Children of light, we all knew what happened how a pregnancy from both a commoner and noble would end up.

True, they survived past the eighth month, their disposition was very unique, but what about the last one; for me what they were doing was assisting a murder.

That being said at that point there was nothing else to do but to watch how things would evolve for her and for them.

When the day finally came, we finally got her out of her slumber to proceed to the delivery.

It was only then that I got the opportunity to talk to her, after getting to know who I was, she requested two things of me the first being to do anything possible to do to save them and the second one being that if something was to happen to her, she wanted me to give the name she had chosen for them.

Hearing her demand, reminded me of the one I was before, the one who left everything behind for her child, the one who thought she received a miracle from the seven.

She was like me, but unlike me, she knew very well that miracles come with a price.

I swore on my name that with me around they all would be safe and even if something were to really happen to her I would definitely give them the name she wanted.

In the end, I wasn’t able to honor none of the promises I swore to fulfill.

She was able to survive but was in no state to be described as a complete human.

As for the two twins she was waiting for, none of them survived.

The reason Lord Emilien, Lord Luke, and Vicar Serana allowed all of this to go this far was that they thought that it would be different since she was a boring twin, and in fact, it was different, but it didn’t change the fate awaiting them.

They were two boys, if they were alive their mother would’ve wanted to call them Aaron and Adriant.

At the time, We weren’t really sure of what happened to their mother so we were still wondering about what exactly happened to her when I heard that sound coming from the cradle where the lifeless children were.

I have no words to describe the fright I felt when I heard that baby cooing coming from one of the children, weakly moving inside the white shroud he seemed to have managed to remove from his head.

Those red little eyes were staring at me, that night I witnessed a true miracle.

It was very presumptuous of me but I was the one who suggested the name Ronandt which came from Aaron and Adriant.

That night, I made another oath, one that I would keep even if it meant losing my life for the sake of that child: I will protect him as much as I would protect my own flesh and blood.

It is my duty to protect that child in her mother stead, I will never allow anything bad happen to him even if for that i’ll have to …

“Madam Mathilda your orders?”

“The child has been extradited back to the Rosetta manor, for some reason the church is looking for him. Six priests were sent in advance before I could contact you. Go to the Rosetta manor, hurry up and catch up with them.”

“And?”

“Kill them all.”

“If there are witnesses?”

“Kill them all. Except maybe for the butler and the masked woman accompanying him. Except that you know what you have to do.”

“Understood, but do you understand that we aren’t as fast as noble right?”

“This is why I told you to hurry up.”

“Okay, I hope you won’t forget this favor our family is offering you. We are hoping that you will one day repay it in time and in due.”

“Yes, I won’t.”

Please, Syrus, Young Lord hold on just a little bit, the renfort I’ve sent are coming from you.