Christopher Reviarra passed by his sister snacking in the living room. It was obvious the girl was displeased based on her begrudging face. Without warning her, Christopher approached her from behind and started scrubbing her hair.
The sudden force flinging her hair and head back and forth sideways caught Sol off guard. She panicked and grabbed for the offending hand before turning around to see her brother’s crafty smile. Cheeks inflated like a small squirrel, Sol immediately ripped into him.
“Why does everyone like messing my hair up?!” The comment left Christopher at a loss for a moment as he examined his captured hand. He could only chuckle before replying. “Hehe… What can I say, your troubled face makes me want to pick on you a little… Anyways, what’s going on? Why the long face?”
“If you think this Lady is going to let you off that easily, then you’ve underestimated this Lady!” Despite saying so, Sol had already released his hand and returned to nibbling on her grapes. Without turning around, she opened up with nearly a whisper.
“Father is hesitating to take action against the Royals. I’ve tried to explain the benefits of taking them down and plan for the Reviarra household’s future as much as possible, yet the old fart is still hesitating! How much more harassment and threats do I have to take before he finally acts? Is it my death? Do I have to die before he finally understands that the Royal family is too corrupt to allow any form of competition or insult? At this rate, I may as well present my neck to that damned Queen and King.”
Christopher was able to feel her frustrations leak out. Perhaps due to his youth, Christopher wasn’t as supportive of the Royal family. Especially since he saw how the Royal family was targeting Sol. Hearing his sister’s complaints about their stubborn father, Christopher felt there was a backstory he was unaware of.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Sol, have those Princes done something again?” Her response followed immediately. “Oh, nothing much. The fools just sent 500 men to assassinate me during my recent trip.”
Sweat broke out across Christopher’s back. He grabbed Sol’s shoulder and spun her around. With a heavy gaze, he immediately pursued. “Is that true? Did you tell father?”
“Of course I told him! Why do you think I’m so mad? I even gave him an entire plan to bring down those idiots without hurting the Reviarra prestige and yet he’s still hesitating!”
“What about mother? Have you told her yet?”
“Of course not! Mother would freak out if she knew I was targeted again… Hey, you’re supposed to be father’s successor… Can you convince him? I’m only a daughter, so maybe your words will weigh a bit more…”
Christopher remained silent for a while in thought. He was already 15 years old and held a strong understanding of the current political environment. Due to his position as the Reviarra successor, Christopher was privy to the more hidden workings of the Royal family than his sister.
In fact, he understood exactly why his father was so stubborn on the topic. Even he felt a sense of fear to tackle the behemoth that was the Royal family. Unlike Sol’s naivety, Christopher knew the force behind the Royal’s couldn’t be underestimated.
That family held their position for so long because all opposing elements were wiped out whenever they appeared by the group backing them. Lost in his thoughts, Christopher failed to see the disappointment flash across Sol’s eyes.
She grabbed her grapes and walked away leaving her brother behind. Just as Christopher was about to catch up to her, a servant interrupted him and notified him of his father’s summons. He took a final glance at Sol’s back before he headed towards his father’s office with an air of determination.
While Christopher was being notified, Duke Reviarra and An exchanged their opinions on the situation. Despite what Duke Reviarra displayed to his daughter, he was already considering how to split from the Royal family.
There may not be a traitorous bone in his body, however he had no qualms about abandoning his position if it would save his family. In fact, his deal with King Blonsall was supposed to remove Sol from the Royal family’s line of fire, yet that deal was already broken twice now.
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Such results were enough for Duke Reviarra to rethink his position. His major hesitation was no longer focused around his loyalty or job, but rather the citizens of Arcgate. If he chose to follow Sol’s guidance, it was highly possible war would erupt between Arcgate and Blonsall Kingdom.
Fundamentally, his daughter’s plans were too optimistic. There was no doubt that Duke Reviarra was surprised by the depth of planning his daughter invested into the designs and it was clear he was unable to predict the outcome without Sol’s guidance.
The problem lay in that Duke Reviarra was only one man and his expertise lay in statecraft and political navigation. While he might not be able to pluck out the second and third order effects, what about others?
The Royal family is surrounded by experts and there are constant meetings to report on and issues cropping up in the Kingdom. Should the Reviarra household end up as a reported ‘problem’ then the response would be near immediate and at full power. “How much support will you provide the Reviarra household if the Royals target us?”
If Sol were in the room, she would be surprised by the degree of coldness exuding from An. The snarky attitude and teasing atmosphere was gone. Despite that, he still conversed with Duke Reviarra in a rather relaxed manner.
“You’re asking the wrong question. I’m not here for your family, I’m here for Sol. If anyone threatens her, I’ll step in to keep her alive. Remember, I’ll keep her alive, but that’s it. She needs to grow on her own if you want her to survive and danger is part of that. As far as support for your family goes, I’ll handle any unnatural enemies that join in, but I don’t intend to prevent your loss if the battle swings that way.”
“That’s fine. The Reviarra household has withstood the test of time for more than one reason… Christopher, come in.” A knock echoed through the room and Duke Reviarra acknowledged his son’s entrance. The teen entered the room with a glaring expression. Both An and the Duke exchanged curious glances.
“Father, Sol just told me what happened. Do you plan on remaining with the Royals after this? It’s impossible for them to let Sol go. The longer she survives, the more they’ll target our entire family instead of just her. Although it’s risky, our family has long since paid back what we owed them. It’s about time for a change in power.”
Duke Reviarra only glanced at his son before waving him off. “What do you think An and I have been discussing? I only excused your sister from this conversation because it’s not her role to protect this family. We can use her ideas, however we cannot allow her to be directly involved when possible. The family’s future is in your hands, not hers.”
For a moment, Christopher wasn’t sure how to react. He thought for sure his father was still hesitating. As if noticing the surprise, Duke Reviarra felt a pang of frustration flow through him.
“Does my son and daughter both think this Duke is blindly loyal?!” His fist slammed atop his desk and knocked a few documents off. There was a clear sense of pain reflected in his eyes. Although he admitted to being a lackluster father, he never knew he gave off such an unreliable air.
Christopher wasn’t sure how to respond for a moment. He hesitated before saying; “Father, you should explain to Sol. I could tell she was struggling with how to proceed. I’m pretty sure she thinks you’re unwilling to fall out with the Royals.”
“I’ll discuss it with her after this meeting. Set that matter aside for now. The main topic I wanted to bring up was a third party interacting with Prince Roland and Prince Elric. A minister with close ties to our family just sent me a letter. Take a look.”
Duke Reviarra tossed the letter to his son while also exchanging a glance with An. Unaware of the letter, An cast a curious gaze at the young teen who was reading it. The boy’s expression warped slightly as he read through it before eventually passing the letter back to his father. As if expecting An’s action, Duke Reviarra passed the letter off to him as well.
An only took a glance at it before tossing it back to the Duke a moment later. “So that explains it. No wonder there were Assemblers mixed into the Prince’s army.” An fell into a shallow thought before exchanging another glance with the Duke. He suddenly understood why Duke Reviarra asked how much support An would provide. This was certainly within his purview.
Duke Reviarra held the letter up before hitting the main point. “Whoever this third party is, they’ve already entered a balance with our nation’s generals and forcibly cooperated with the two Princes most likely to inherit the throne. The third party isn’t even trying to hide their intent. I don’t know why they’re targeting Sol, however the Royal family itself is ambivalent, yet leaning towards their side. King Blonsall originally promised me that he would keep Sol out of the fight for the throne. As of now, he not only broke that promise, but has started capitulating to the third party. Although he has yet to make a move on me, I expect the situation will change in the near future. If An is capable of defending Sol from these assaults, then the next logical step is to weaken those supporting her.”
Unlike his previous nonchalance, An held a subtle gaze of respect for the Duke. The Duke held up 3 fingers. “We have 3 years maximum to take down the Royal family or the Reviarra household will disappear forever.”