On the carriage ride back to our family home, with my anger subsided and my head cooled, I kept thinking of the conversation I had with the prince.
How could I let him taunt me like that? I kept blaming myself for the sudden outburst of anger.
Assaulting a prince is a criminal offense, one punishable by death. While what I did wouldn’t be counted as assault, I can't imagine what would have happened if the glass I threw had landed and shattered on his highness’s face.
Now what? I’m sure I’ve made my position clear, the prince would have to find another faction to authorize his ship’s docking. His next best choice is the Clifonues, but like us, they are cautious of who to side with. Last time I heard they’ve made several substantial donations to the Lusian Navy, the supporters of the eldest prince of Lusian, prince Brendan. Safe to say the Clifonues wouldn't give corporate with prince Jeremy unless they want to risk losing favors with prince Brendan. He could try and make a deal with the foreign power or the docks near the slums but none of them are dumb enough to aid his plan, not without some put outrageous demands.
But something Prince Jeremy said stuck in my head, he said that my brother, Kaine wants to be the head of our family. That’s nothing new, I’ve known about it for years but that he will get rid of me if that's what it takes. While I don't believe in what prince Jeremy said one bit, I kept thinking back to the ball and wonder what business Kaine has with the bank. If it comes down to it, will our family bond stand or will he take me out of the picture to get to what he wants?
As I changed out of my blue tailored coat and into more casual clothing, my manservant Graham approached me.
“Master Irwin, your father requests your presence.”, Graham said.
“ I’ll be there shortly.”, I replied as the servants struggled to get me off of my formal attire.
“ He’ll be waiting in his study whenever you’re ready .”, Graham exits the room as he said this.
I walk through the starlit hallway, guided by the faint candlelight I eventually arrive at my father’s study. Before it, I then take a deep breath and knock on the door.
“Come in.”, his low guttural voice comes through the door.
I open the door and inside sits a brawny man whose left face is covered in a flesh-colored scar, from his left eye all the way to his left cheek. Atop his head is jet black hairs covered in strands of gray, this and the wrinkles on his forehead indicates his age to be somewhere around his mid-50s.
This man in front of me is my father, the current head of the Ingalls, perhaps it's the scar, perhaps it's his imposing figure, but whenever I’m alone with him I couldn't help but feel intimidated by him. You could probably guess we didn’t have much father-son bonding time growing up. He is the kind of man who puts his role and duty as the head above his role as a father.
“I heard you had dinner with prince Jeremy.”, my father asked me.
“I did……. It's funny he’s offered to join him in his quest to the throne. An offer, of course, I refused.”
“Good.”
“Father, there’s something you should know……”, I told him of the conversation I had with the prince.
“I think we should leave Azlar, at least until the commotion clears.”
“We certainly will not!”
“How do you expect us to ever show our faces around here if we flee Azlar like a bunch of cowards? How will our allies see us? How will our enemies see us, huh? Not to mention we’d be leaving all our assets here unattended, generations and generations of hard work could be wasted.”
“And here I thought you are smarter than your siblings.”
He paused before giving his thought.
“Prince Jeremy is the last person I’d expect to start an uprising, he might have the heart of the people but he doesn’t have the money, connection or the military support to do so. Even if he manages to stage it, all he’d be doing is giving prince Brendon and his supporters an excuse to clear the competition so he’s either lying or bluffing. Besides if what the prince has planned is indeed so disastrous, the queen’s hound will sort it out, that’s what they are for.”
When he laid out the whole situation it made it seem like it was just me overreacting.
“Is that all you’ve called me here to talk about?”, I asked him.
“No, there is another matter. I called you here to inform you that I’m designating you as the next head of the Ingalls. It will be made official in the next house meet. You can prepare yourself by managing some of our docks, their ledgers will be available for you to look at starting tomorrow.”
“Why me? You know I'm not interested in becoming the head.”
“This isn’t about what you want, it's about what’s best for the family. Your brother is not suited to be the head, he’s too rash. No matter how hard he tries to disguise it, he hasn't changed, still a kid prone to be driven by his emotions.”
“Then what will happen to him? What will happen to Kaine?”, I asked.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
“Your brother, he’ll get a piece of land by the Lusian countryside. We have some properties there, if he doesn’t do anything stupid he can live out a comfortable life there. But if he tries anything like his uncle, there goes the extent of my mercy.”
I want to say something to refute him but as often as our conversation goes, he’s not looking for my opinion nor my approval. No, his mind has been set, he’s just informing me what’s about to happen.
“You may leave now and close the door on your way out.”, he said to me as he went back to work on whatever is on his desk.
I exit the room with pent up frustration.
In the hallway, I met my brother walking towards me, which I assumed he’s here to see our father as well.
I reach out to him, wanting to ask him the burning question on my mind, to hear from him whether what the prince said is true.
“Kaine…...”
“Yes, brother?”
Yet when confronted with Kaine’s gaze, nothing came out of my mouth.
He already told me what he was doing with the bank, if I ask again doesn’t that mean I don't trust him. Would I rather trust the words of someone barely know than that of my own brother? I swallowed whatever I was going to say to him.
“Nothing…… Are you here to see father?”
“Yes, I am. Do you have a clue what he’s calling me for?”, my brother asked me.
“No….”, I could only imagine how he would take the news, he’s the one working so hard to try and become the head.
I pat him on the shoulder, to which he gave me a weird look, and we passed each other in the hallway. After a while, I heard the shouting from my father’s study, I paused my steps, then I hastened my steps once more.
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It's raining in Azlar, the stormy could cast a gloomy shadow over the city as well as in my heart.
Today is the last day of the prince’s offer, and while I deduced the prince’s supposed plan is just a bluff I feel uneasy not knowing what the prince would do when he finds out I’m not complying to his wishes.
Boom. The loud sound of thunder shakes the earth.
*Knock. Knock.*
Someone’s at the door to my room.
“Come in.”, I responded.
The door opened, there stood our little sister. A bookish girl of average height in a black and white dress and a head full of long silver hair.
“Caroline.”
“Brother.”, she smiled at me as she greeted me.
Unlike what you think of when you imagine a typical sibling dynamic, Caroline is the closest ever to the perfect little sister. She’s adored by everyone, me and Kaine included, even our father seems to like her objectively more than the both us. If there’s an animal to describe her, that would be a kitten, sure, not everyone is a cat person but nobody ever hates a kitten, that would be unthinkable. It’s a bit of a surprise to see her here, you see, when our mother died Caroline took it the hardest. She wouldn’t come out of her room for weeks, that was also the time when our father started educating me and my brother on the duties that come with being born into this life of luxury. When she finally left her room, we tried to apologize for not being there for her but all of us know that we can go back to how we were before. Despite how many excuses or apologize we make for ourselves, we left her to drown in her own sorrow. That's why whenever we’re with her we try to make it up to her as much as possible. In case you’re curious as to how our mother died, its poison. Just another day in Azlar.
“I heard you’re going to Junction station tomorrow.”
“Yes, no need to worry, it's just some confusion in the ledgers I need to clear up with them.”, I told her. That was an understatement, somebody thought they were being clever by fidgeting with the numbers on the ledger. They think they are so clever but never thought there are other smart people in the world that can see through their deceit. Doesn’t matter, they are going to pay back what they stole from Ingalls with everything they have.
“Why? Is there anything you need?”
“Well, it's just that…. I was wondering if you can read me a story, just like you used to do for when I was a kid.”
“Why do you look so shocked?”, she said. I could only imagine what expression’s on my face looked like.
“It's been a long time since you ask me to do anything. Let alone asking me to spend time with you, I was under the impression you began to hate me or something. ”
“Of course not, I… It’s just that you two were learning how to run the family business, I don’t want to be a bother to you guys. But since you’re taking over for father, you’ll be busier dealing with more important things, this could be the last time we’d spend time together.”
Years of confusion, apparently we just needed to talk to each other.
“I'll always have time for my little sister.”, I smiled as I told her.
“Now what do you want me to read?”
“It's this book.”, she hands the book she’s holding, something that passed my mind since I’ve grown accustomed to her always having a book in her possession wherever she’s going.
“Let’s see. Maggie the Witch.”, as I read the title of the book, my sister sits on the armrest of my chair, waiting for me to read it’s pages. Just like how we used to.
“There was once a witch named Maggie
She lives on a blue mountain hill.
Maggie loved to read
So much so, every inch of her house was packed with bookcases.
They were filled with all sorts of books and collections
But it wasn’t enough for Maggie.
So one day she had a plan,
A plan to get her all the books she could read for eternity.
……..”
As I finish the story, I find my sister fell asleep on the armrest. With the storm outside subsided, I relished myself in this moment of bliss, being the only nice thing to happen the past couple of days.
A moment of respite for the long week ahead.