Chapter 11: The Kitchen Boy's Secret

"They think I'm just a fat, clumsy kitchen orphan who can't carry a single tray, but my bloodline holds secrets they wouldn't dare imagine."

Milo's round face hardened with unexpected fury as he bandaged his scraped knuckles by the hearth. His small hands trembled slightly, but this time it wasn't from fear.

The kitchen was quieter than usual, with most of the servants already gone for the night. Elara sat beside Milo on a low wooden bench, carefully examining the bruises on his hands while a bowl of warm water rested between them.

"Stop moving your fingers. You're making this harder than it needs to be."

"I'm fine, Luna. It's only a few scratches."

Elara gave him a warning look. "You nearly ran through half the mansion because you thought I was about to be poisoned. The least you can do is allow me to clean your hands properly."

Milo lowered his head, embarrassed by the attention. "I didn't want anything to happen to you. You're the only person here who treats me like I matter."

Elara paused, then gently wiped the dirt from his knuckles. "You do matter, Milo. Don't ever let anyone convince you otherwise."

He stared at the floor, swallowing hard. For a moment, he looked much younger than twelve, like a little boy who had spent too many years learning how to hide his pain.

"Is that why you were so frightened when you saw Vivian?" Elara asked, noticing the way his shoulders had stiffened whenever the woman's name came up.

Milo nodded slowly. "I've seen people like her before. They smile when they're hurting someone because they think nobody can stop them."

"Tell me what you know about Rowena."

His fingers curled around the edge of his bandage. "She hated me. Whenever I dropped something or made a mistake, she would call me useless and remind everyone that I was only a kitchen orphan who should be grateful for having a place to sleep."

Elara's expression darkened, but she allowed him to continue.

"Sometimes she would give me special food and tell me it would make me stronger. Other times, she would make me drink bitter tea because she said I needed medicine for my clumsiness."

"Did you drink it?"

Milo nodded, looking ashamed. "I didn't have a choice. If I refused, she would take away my meals or make me work until midnight. I thought she was trying to help me."

Elara's hand stopped moving.

"Do you remember what the tea looked or smelled like?"

"It was usually dark, and sometimes it tasted bitter. I didn't think much about it because she always told me it was medicine."

Elara's stomach tightened as she remembered the Glutton Root found in her own food. Rowena had used it to suppress her wolf, cloud her mind, and keep her body trapped in a condition that made everyone look down on her.

"How long has she been doing this to you?"

"Since I was little. I don't remember exactly when it started, but she always made sure I ate whatever she gave me."

Elara stared at him, her fingers tightening around the cloth.

"That monster."

Milo looked up quickly. "Please don't be angry, Luna. I didn't know what she was doing."

"I'm not angry with you. I'm angry that she got away with hurting you for so long."

She remembered Rowena's confession and the name she had mentioned when Elara exposed the poisoned porridge. Queen Selene had given the orders, and Rowena had carried them out without caring who suffered.

It was becoming clear that their cruelty wasn't limited to one girl in Red Moon. Anyone they considered weak, inconvenient, or unworthy could become another target.

"Did Rowena ever say why she was giving you those things?"

Milo shook his head. "She only said I was too clumsy to have a wolf. She told me that some people were born useless, and I should stop expecting anything special from life."

Elara's eyes flashed.

"Listen to me carefully, Milo. Having a wolf doesn't make someone valuable, and being born without one doesn't make someone useless. Those people only want you to believe that because it makes you easier to control."

He looked at her with uncertain eyes. "But what if they're right? I've never felt anything inside me. No wolf, no strength, nothing."

"Then perhaps nobody has given your wolf a chance to wake up."

Elara dipped a fresh cloth into the warm water and gently pressed it against the bruising around his wrist. Milo winced slightly, and she immediately loosened her touch.

"Sorry. Tell me if it hurts."

"It's okay."

She continued cleaning the scraped skin, but before she could finish, something unusual happened. A faint silver glow appeared beneath Milo's wrist, moving like a thin stream of light under his skin.

Elara froze.

"Milo, don't move."

He looked down, his eyes widening. "Luna, what is that?"

The glow spread from his wrist towards his forearm, growing brighter with every passing second. A strange warmth filled the space between them, and the air around the hearth suddenly seemed to tremble.

Milo pulled his hand back in fright.

"What's happening to me?"

Elara caught his wrist gently. "Don't panic. I'm right here."

A sharp chime suddenly rang inside her mind, much louder than the usual System notifications.

*[DING! EMERGENCY LINEAGE DETECTION!]*

*[UNKNOWN ROYAL BLOODLINE IDENTIFIED!]*

*[SUBJECT: MILO STONE.]*

*[TRUE IDENTITY: HEIR OF THE MURDERED BETA KING!]*

*[WARNING! THE SUBJECT'S ANCESTRAL WOLF HAS BEEN SUPPRESSED BY LONG-TERM GLUTTON ROOT EXPOSURE!]*

*[HISTORICAL RECORD DETECTED: THE FORMER BETA KING'S BLOODLINE WAS WIPED OUT FOLLOWING A ROYAL CONSPIRACY ORDERED BY QUEEN SELENE!]*

Elara's eyes widened as she read the notification twice.

*Milo? The little kitchen boy?*

Another message appeared before she could process the first.

*[ANCESTRAL SEAL WEAKENING!]*

*[DORMANT WOLF AWAKENING IN PROGRESS!]*

Milo gasped as a sudden rush of energy flooded his body. He grabbed the edge of the bench, his small shoulders shaking as the silver light travelled across his arms and disappeared beneath his skin.

"Something is happening! My chest feels strange, and my hands are burning!"

Elara moved closer, holding his shoulders firmly. "Look at me, Milo. Breathe slowly. Don't fight whatever is happening."

"I can't control it!"

"Then don't try to control everything at once. Just breathe."

A deep growl suddenly escaped the boy's throat.

Both of them froze.

Milo stared at his own hands, then slowly lifted his head. His eyes had changed, showing a faint silver shine that hadn't been there before, while the roundness of his face seemed subtly less pronounced.

His body was still small and chubby, but something about his posture had changed. His shoulders looked stronger, and his movements carried a confidence that had been missing before.

Elara's mouth opened slightly.

"Milo?"

He looked at her, breathing heavily. "Luna, I heard something."

"What did you hear?"

"A voice. It sounded like someone was calling me from very far away. It kept telling me to wake up."

Elara's expression softened.

"That must be your wolf."

Milo's eyes filled with tears. "I have a wolf?"

The question came out so quietly that Elara felt her heart tighten. This boy had spent years being told he was worthless, and now he was discovering that the very thing he had been denied had been inside him all along.

She pulled him into a gentle embrace.

"Yes, Milo. You have a wolf."

He buried his face against her shoulder, and a few tears escaped before he could stop them. Elara rubbed his back, allowing him a moment to understand what had happened.

"Rowena told me I would never be anything," he whispered. "She said nobody would ever want someone like me."

Elara pulled back enough to look into his eyes.

"Rowena was wrong. Queen Selene was wrong, and everyone who helped them hurt you was wrong."

Milo wiped his face with the back of his hand. "But why would they do this to me? What did my family ever do to them?"

Elara glanced towards the fading silver glow on his wrist.

"Your bloodline was important to them, Milo. Someone wanted your family erased, and they believed keeping you weak would make sure nobody ever discovered who you really were."

"Does that mean they killed my family?"

The sadness in his voice made Elara pause. She didn't want to give him answers she didn't have, but the System had already revealed enough to show that his past was far darker than he imagined.

"It means someone took away your right to know your own family. We'll find out the rest together."

Milo nodded slowly, his little hands curling into fists.

For the first time, he didn't look like a frightened kitchen boy waiting for someone to insult him. There was something new in his eyes, something strong and determined that made Elara smile proudly.

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.

"From now on, Milo, you aren't just a kitchen boy. You're going to be my right hand, and together we'll make them pay for every drop of poison."

Elara's eyes glowed as the last traces of silver light disappeared beneath Milo's skin.