Among the many villains in the game, Kael Frost was someone special. He wasn't evil to the core like many other villains.
If the main characters had tried to understand him better, then maybe he wouldn't have become the villain that he was.
But as the saying goes, villains aren't born—they're made.
Kael was the heir to the House Frost. It was the strongest dukedom, only below the royal family in the Veltran Empire.
Being born in such a prestigious house came with its own perks.
Since childhood, Kael never took his life seriously. He never trained in his life. He took everything for granted.
His father, Castor Frost, disliked such behaviour and tried to bring Kael onto the right path as the family heir.
But all his efforts were wasted, as Kael didn't try to improve at all. This made his father neglect him. His family also started to neglect him as if he never existed.
One day, Castor decided to name Kael's younger brother, Kevin, as the heir to the Frost Dukedom.
Hearing this enraged Kael. He felt insulted that someone younger than him was given his title only because he never trained.
Kael believed that as the Frosts had huge armies and military might, there was no need for him to do anything except comfortably rule his territory.
He wasn't entirely wrong, but still, a ruler had to have decent power to at least be capable enough to command such massive forces.
Seeing that his father was dead set on making his younger brother the heir, Kael began behaving in even more pathetic ways.
At the mere age of 15 years, he drowned himself in the pleasure of drinking, drugs, and other things that nobles generally do.
With each passing day, his relations with his family hit rock bottom.
One day, the royal family held a grand banquet in celebration of the First Princess Diana's birthday.
The Frosts, along with all nobles from the entire empire, were invited to the banquet.
Kael, being a childhood friend of the princess, had to attend the banquet despite his protests.
"At least for today, behave properly! The emperor expects great things from you. Don't disappoint him." Castor held Kael's arm while speaking to him, looking into his eyes.
"How about you lick his arse yourself rather than preaching to me, huh?" Kael muttered under his breath.
"What!! What did you just say? Repeat it." Castor got enraged hearing Kael.
"How about we go to the banquet instead of debating here?" the duchess intervened before things escalated.
Alia couldn't help but feel concerned about the well-being of her family. Since Kevin was named as the heir, a single day hadn't passed that the father and son duo hadn't fought.
Kael's behaviour had become even more disgraceful.
She just wanted a happy family—was it too much to ask for?
After some thought, Castor let go of the topic, and the Frosts departed for the banquet.
The banquet was at the royal palace. The entire place was decorated from top to bottom. It felt like arriving in heaven, with lights covering every perimeter of the palace.
After entering the banquet hall, the duke, along with the duchess and Kael's siblings, went to greet the royal family. Kael held a glass of wine in his hand, which was a clear disrespect to the royals, as one had to have some basic sense before greeting the other party.
The Emperor, Mair Veltra, stood along with his family at the front end of the hall, greeting the nobles that came his way.
"It's good to see you in good health, Mair," Castor greeted the emperor in his dominating voice.
One cannot call the emperor by his name, as that is a form of disrespect towards the crown. But Castor was one of the few people in the world who could do so.
The name Frost wasn't to be underestimated.
"Ha ha! Looks like the hunter's here with his pack." Emperor Mair greeted the duke with a light-hearted tone.
Before becoming the emperor, both of them were best buddies since their academy days.
Princess Diana stood at the forefront with her father, as the person in whose name the party was hosted.
Diana bowed her head towards Duke Frost as a way of greeting him and acknowledging his presence at today's banquet.
Then she turned towards Kael and the other Frost youngsters, presenting the knuckles of her right hand.
It was customary for the young noble children to greet royal blood by kissing the knuckles of their hand. Kevin stepped forward with his usual grace. "Your beauty is as splendid as they say, Your Highness," he greeted with a light kiss on Diana's hand.
He was soon followed by Victoria Frost, Kael's elder sister, and then Alicia Frost, the youngest of the Frost siblings.
When Kael's turn came, instead of following the custom, he ignored the princess.
"TSK! Am I some servant to kiss her filthy hands! Of course, I can honour her with a kiss on those lips. How about it, Diana?" was what he said with a deadpan look in his eyes.
The emperor raised a brow but didn't say anything. He knew about Kael's vulgar tone and antics.
But the same couldn't be said about the duke.
Before Diana could say anything, Kael earned a tight slap across the face from Castor, who felt humiliated by such disgraceful behaviour from his eldest son.
Getting slapped in front of the entire empire made the last threads of patience disappear from Kael's mind.
He threw the wine glass in his hand forcefully across the wall.
"Every time, you just try to insult me, humiliate me, and now you slapped me in front of these filthy vermin! Have you gone nuts, you motherfucker!"
Everyone gasped at this sudden turn of events.
Alia was quick to come out of her shock. She quickly grabbed Kael's arm and tried to lead him to some other place to calm the situation.