All aristocrats were proud of their heir line. That was simply expected of them, and it was natural that the more powerful families would be treated with the respect that was due to them.

But when it came to one family, the royal family, it seemed like they had bathed in confidence. No matter who spoke to them or what was happening around them, they saw themselves as the only powerful people within the room. They spoke as if everyone had to obey and dared to order around those who should be won over with sweet words.

Claude had been sick of it for a while now. The bastard emperor on the throne was ordering around everyone and insulting the Vasquez family like he was an immortal god who feared no one. The second prince wasn't much better with how he treated Claude like he was a trained pet that would do whatever he had said. For a while, Claude had ignored it and had allowed the dowager empress to order him around while following her every command just to win her trust, but by now, he was at his limit. When the prince showed up at his house without a warning and just told him to speak in private, he already prepared to vent his anger.

He changed his mind quickly.

As soon as the door to his office was closed, Cedar opened his mouth. As he smiled at his uncle, his eyes seemed more slanted than usual, his expression almost unsettling cold despite his typical polite tone. “I will not waste your time but be direct instead. Regarding the troublesome events of the past few months... I have a few suspicions, Your Grace. I sincerely hope that these will not turn out to be correct.” Somehow, his expression alone was enough to make Claude shiver. Whatever the prince was referring to, it wasn't something that pleased him.

Usually, Claude might be able to ignore that, but there were a few things he had done without wanting others to find out. If the nosy prince got involved here, Claude would be finished. He didn't even have to delude himself into hoping that his nephew would choose to overlook something this serious. So, Claude needed to deny it. That might be a foolish attempt, but he still tried it. “Pardon?” He did his best to seem as confused as possible.

To his dismay, Cedar didn't make a joke or reveal that he was teasing his uncle. Instead, he stared right at him, his smile carrying as much warmth as a blizzard. His tone alone made him seem like he was ready to cut off Claude's head right here. “I believe you know exactly what I mean. Acting clueless will only get you so far. Do you wish to confess something?” That didn't seem good. He was far too serious. What if he had truly found out something unfavorable?

Claude couldn't be certain whether that had been the case. He couldn't even ask carefully without giving it away. He almost began sweating as he tried to relax in his armchair. “You seem to be quite serious, Your Royal Highness. Please do tell me what you may be worrying about.” When he was pleading, he would surely convince his foolish nephew to trust him again, correct?

It didn't seem like that. In fact, Cedar's smile just widened as he looked at his uncle like he was staring at a worthless fly that was threatened to be crushed beneath his feet as soon as he lost his remaining patience. “Your Grace, please refrain from acting like I am stupid. Do you know that you can be executed for treason without a trial? If your involvement in some assassination attempts on members of the royal family is revealed, our emperor could freely ignore your rank and any trials you might have been waiting for. And for you, that is a true risk, isn't it?” He wasn't joking, was he? He knew a little too much. “As soon as Theodore knows that you sent our people to attack him during his picnic and that you poisoned his lover, he will come here and cut your head off instantly. Since my word is the only thing keeping him from doing that, I suggest you be honest with me.”

Damn it.

Damn it, damn it, damn it. He knew. That moronic prince knew. Of course. It had been expected that he would quickly understand despite not being told anything directly. After all, he hadn't given the orders for those assassination attempts, which had to have come from his faction since no one else would have attacked the emperor. Seemingly, Cedar knew well that only one person would take the reins into their own hands here.

But why was he mad about that? The assassination attempt had failed, and the poisoning hadn't brought the intended results either, but it wasn't like Cedar had done anything helpful recently. He always insisted on waiting and dealing with political struggles behind closed doors as he tried to gain followers, which was foolish. He just gave his brother time to prepare. A well-planned assassination attack would be much better.

Claude could certainly defend this part of his actions well. After all, he could easily claim that this would help the prince. As long as he could hide his more secret goals, it would be fine. So, he quickly pleaded. “Your Royal Highness, I am truly sorry. I...was involved in matters like that. That... I was impatient and just wished to offer you an advantage without pulling you into this mess. That is why I acted without orders. It unfortunately failed, but please believe that I only did that to hand over the crown to you.”

It should have been convincing, but Cedar didn't budge. As he watched Claude as if he could read every small emotion off the other's face, he made it quite clear that he didn't believe anything his uncle said. “Maybe that would be the case if you had done it to help Mother and me. But in the end, you weren't even ready to take the blame, were you? You purposefully used our men to lead that attack, just because you hoped that Theodore would think we were responsible.” He was right. But if he really understood the meaning behind this, that would be a catastrophe.

Claude couldn't let anyone find out that he wasn't completely loyal to the second prince's faction. That would make him lose everything. So, even when he wasn't certain whether it would help, he hurried to reject that. “Of course not! It was never my intention to offer any evidence that would convict you! I only wanted to free the way for you. I know that it was foolish, but I tried my best to do this for you, Your Royal Highness.”

But Cedar didn't believe him. Instead, he just smiled far too sweetly despite the grim topics they discussed. “I understand how killing Theodore could lead to us reaching our goal. But you have to explain what poisoning Lady Blanche would do when you know well how my brother would react.”

That question left behind silence. After all, it was clear that this action hadn't helped Cedar. It hadn't been supposed to either. It had done something quite different.

Claude had a helpful excuse though. His obvious fight with the emperor's lover should justify him wanting revenge after all. But before he even opened his mouth, he was interrupted.

Cedar already began talking. His voice was cheerful, but his words gave away far too much hostility. “Surely, you didn't hope that Theodore would lose his temper and attack us. After all, you wouldn't have a reason to wish harm onto your allies.” That hadn't been a question, and even when added one, it sounded more like a threat. “Correct?”

It seemed like he had guessed that too. The real reason for poisoning Lady Blanche had been the fact that the emperor might as well snap and kill his brother if he thought that Cedar was responsible for that. That would have gotten rid of one of the heirs to the throne while greatly weakening the other one. In short, it was just what Claude needed. But how could he say that?

Claude desperately needed an excuse. He wasn't certain how well he could fool the prince that always seemed to see past all lies, but he had no choice but to try. “No, I never wished to harm you! Of course not! I took that thoughtless action because I wished to get revenge on Lady Blanche. You remember how much she disrespected me before, right? I only wanted to get back at her.”

Whether his lie was convincing remained uncertain since Cedar didn't react much. He just stared right back at Claude while replying. “I see. I cannot read your mind, so I shall accept that as a fact for now. Then, aside from that, is there anything else you consider yourself to be guilty of?” That didn't sound good. He wanted to address even more problems? But aside from the other two incidents, Claude had only truly gotten involved in one big issue.

But Cedar couldn't know about the mess regarding Ocrea. Surely, he had no idea. Otherwise, this would be a huge problem.

Claude felt the blood draining from his face as he balled his fists tightly. He had to keep his composure now no matter what. He couldn't show how scared he was or how much he needed to hide. “No. There is nothing else, Your Royal Highness. I sincerely apologize for acting out of turn, but I never wished to harm your power in any way. I didn't do anything else that was so foolish.” After that, he held his breath as he just waited and hoped.

His hope was crushed immediately as Cedar replied. “You are lying to me, Claude. I don't appreciate it.” It was just a quite curt response, but it said everything. Surely, he couldn't...

Claude's heart began beating quicker. He did his best to ignore that, but he couldn't keep himself from becoming even more nervous. If this went wrong, he could forget everything he had planned. He would be executed. So, he really needed to win Cedar's trust again. “I am not lying, Your Royal Highness. I promise.” His voice even shook a little now.

Cedar didn't seem to care. Instead, his words became harsher. “You usually avoid saying my title. Since you use it in every second sentence now, I assume that means that you are nervous and try to appease me. What did you do, Your Grace?” The way he said that title didn't reveal any respect. It was a threat instead.

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Keeping his composure was important now, but Claude couldn't keep himself from swallowing. This was going downhill quickly. He needed to remedy this situation. “Please believe me, Your Royal Highness! I never did anything that would trouble you. I am your uncle.” The family argument didn't seem to help either.

Cedar just seemed to become more intimidating. Even though he just sat on the sofa and had his legs crossed while meeting Claude's gaze, he exuded far too much danger right now. “I am aware. But that doesn't matter much when you aren't as loyal as you should be. You are Theodore's uncle too, and that didn't keep you from wanting him dead. I am now questioning whether you would be happy about me coming to harm too.” No, no, no. This was going the wrong way.

Claude's lungs made it harder to breathe now. He considered falling to his knees just to seem more convincing, but that might have given away that he was lying. So, he held back and did his best to just get as nervous as anyone would be upon being asked that. “No, never! How could I wish to harm you, Your Royal Highness?”

Cedar tilted his head to the side while pretending not to be too interested in his uncle, but his eyes were glued to Claude. “Let's see. I'd say it's because you have been doing your best to use Mother for your own foolish schemes and because you keep ignoring my orders.” And that was all he had to say before he allowed his tone to become much sharper than before. “Didn't I tell you to stay out of this? I think I was quite clear about me taking care of everything, especially after your fight with my brother. You still ignored that and even went ahead and planned assassination attempts.”

Of course, Claude would ignore that when he had to focus on his own plans. But he could never tell Cedar that, or he would lose the protection his alliance with the dowager empress and the prince gave him. So, he tried to excuse it again. “It was only for your sake!”

Yelling didn't convince Cedar either. Instead, he just became more direct in his word choice. “It wasn't. We both know that well. Which is why I fear that I need to revoke some of your privileges now.”

What?

Claude had just opened his mouth to plead again, only to hear that. He froze in place as he could just stare at the prince for a moment. Wasn't the Vasquez family the most loyal servant the prince's faction had? How could he treat them like this? After all they had done, he should at least be a little lenient. “Your Royal-”

Cedar didn't listen at all and just cut him off fully. His words got even worse. “I expect you to hold your feet still from now on. You will not get involved in politics, you will not expand your stores, and you will not provoke Theodore. You should hope that I do not hear anything about you doing anything else. Until I tell you to, you won't leave this mansion. You will stay right here and quietly wait for your orders like a well-trained pet. Do you understand?” Now he wasn't just giving orders. He was basically putting his uncle in confinement. Even if he was the prince, he couldn't just do that to a duke.

Claude gritted his teeth for a moment, but he forced himself to hold his anger back. He couldn't show how much this upset him, even when he struggled. “I know that you are the leader of our faction, but that is no reason to speak to me so harshly. I understand what I did wrong, but I never wished to trouble you. Don't you remember how long the Vasquez family has been on your side? We are your strongest allies. We always supported you, and even now-” He wasn't being heard. In fact, not even a single of his words seemed to go through.

Cedar beamed at the other man like nothing bad was happening and then spoke again, his voice cutting off Claude easily. “I can lie to myself if I want to hear so much nonsense. I didn't come here to be sent away with a few excuses though. It seems that you didn't understand how important all of this is. I wouldn't give such orders if I was doubtful about what was going on. I am fully certain that you know exactly what you were doing and that you didn't wish for our success in any way. That is why I have to keep you out of this fight now. Until I can be sure that you will keep still, I will limit your options a bit. As I said, you will only leave your mansion when I give you permission. You can only visit the most important events and will focus on cleaning up your crimes in the meantime. I expect not to hear about you being accused of tax evasion yet again in the future. But even then, that might not protect your wealth fully. That is why you will give a few of your stores to me so that Theodore can't touch them anymore. Since you are apparently incapable of managing them without being put in prison for it, I should probably keep them and pay you a percentage from now on.”

That wasn't a joke. Cedar actually seemed quite serious about this. That meant that he actually expected Claude to give his stores to his nephew. Was he insane? Claude had built those up for decades. Many had belonged to his father before him. Maybe Cedar had lent the Vasquez family money before, but he had no right to steal the other's belongings just like that.

Claude had silenced all of his anger before, but now it became hard to hold back. “You... That must be a joke.” He furrowed his brows as his voice began shaking. “Why would I give you my stores? You have no right to take my belongings from me.”

Cedar just infuriated him more by maintaining his relaxed posture as he pushed away all of the other man's complaints. “You seem to be deaf, Your Grace. Didn't I just tell you why this would be best? Because Theodore will crush everything you own soon. If you give the stores to me, they will at least survive that purge. And frankly, I am quite sure that I can manage your businesses better than you could, so that will be a great victory for us. Since I lent you quite a lot of money six years ago, I guess you could see this as you paying back your debt with interest. You didn't think that money was a gift, did you?”

Of course not. But frankly, Claude had hoped for that stupid prince to forget it. After all, Cedar had been just fifteen when they had decided on that contract. Seemingly, that damned brat had remembered though. Claude knew that this meant that he had to pay him back, but he couldn't do that right now. That was just because that prince's older brother was causing trouble though. It was that family's fault, so why should Claude pay the consequences for that? He would never give back his stores, even if he was in debt.

Maybe Claude would have been able to explain that calmly if he hadn't just heard that brat insulting him again. That upset him a bit too much, so he caught himself getting louder. “I will pay that back as soon as my stores bring more revenue again! If you wait just a bit-”

Again, Cedar cut him off with that dumb, infuriating smile on his face. “Do not believe that your excuses matter to me. I will take over those stores no matter whether you complain. I would advise you to cooperate if you wish for me to trust in you at least a little bit. And at the moment, you desperately need my trust, don't you?” He left a small pause as if he wished for Claude to confirm it. Then he used a much colder tone. “You're dead without me, Claude. Be careful when it comes to testing my limits.” Was he seriously threatening Claude now? He was supposed to be an ally, but he came into his uncle's house, told him that he would take away all of his stores and then thought that he could order him around?

There was no way.

Claude had held back for long enough. Now he was at his limit. He jumped up from his seat as he finally yelled. “Who do you think you are? You arrogant-” And just as he said that, he regretted it.

Cedar's everlasting smile faded. It didn't reveal any fury or fear but instead just an emotionless void. As Cedar stared right back at the other man, his voice carried so much certainty that it sent a shiver down Claude's spine. “I think you know well who I am. Do I have to remind you?”

Claude wanted to snap back, but he had to silence himself as he balled his fists and glared at the prince.

Cedar wasn't intimidated in the slightest. Instead, he barely seemed to care about the other's wrath. His voice turned even colder though. “I am the second prince of Artias. You are my servant. When I ask you to kneel, you will. Otherwise, you will lose your worth, and I don't mind discarding useless playing pieces. Do you understand?”

He had just threatened to destroy the second most powerful dukedom in Artias. Only people with far too much self-confidence would do that. If it was anyone else, Claude would never let such disrespect stand. He would snap back and promise that his family would stand strong. But when it was Cedar, his words didn't seem like an empty threat. If the second prince wanted you dead, you would disappear and never be found. In contrast to his mother, who always let her emotions get the better of her, Cedar was calm and analytical enough to truly and thoroughly ruin someone.

Usually, the second prince would only be held back by the emperor. But right now, the emperor might even thank his brother for getting rid of the Vasquez family.

Claude had maneuvered himself into a far too dangerous situation. In any other case, he could talk back at least a little, but right now, he needed to cling to Cedar. Just for long enough to progress his plan while he convinced the prince of his innocence. Claude was a proud man, so that wasn't an easy decision, but he forced himself to close his mouth and stay silent as he lowered his head a little. He couldn't keep himself from glaring though.

That alone seemed to be enough to make Cedar add another threat. “I hope you will not blame this on me since you know what I am accusing you of. In contrast to Theodore, I don't have qualms about taking out my sword and slicing open your throat right here if my suspicions turn out to be true. I take my brother will not find it necessary to put me on trial for that either. In fact, he would thank me for getting rid of this small issue for him. If I say that you attacked me first, he would believe me. After all, you showed how uncontrolled your temper is often enough. So, I suggest you sit down and don't do anything foolish during the next few months. Do you understand my orders now?”

It was a useless question. This wasn't really anything Claude could deny, so his response was clear. Forcing it out took more effort than expected though. “Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

That was all Cedar had to hear before he stood up and put on that infuriating grin again. “Good. But do hide your disdain better if you wish to fool anyone. I can basically see your murderous intent, Uncle. Don't try anything foolish.” With that, he turned around and left the room without saying another word. It was like he just wished to underline his power by disrespecting Claude once more.

Still, Claude had no choice but to follow him to bring him to the exit, even when he was at his limit. He made sure to walk behind Cedar as his expression showed all of his boiling rage. He was shaking with fury by now, and his greatest wish was to grab the next vase to bash Cedar's head in with it. But he knew that trying to kill a prince would just get him executed quicker. He didn't need that. No, Claude had to win two battles at the same time now. Both Cedar and the emperor had to die right after one another. Then the Estien family would finally lose their power, and they would have to step aside for someone with more influence.

Only one family could have enough wealth and strength to take on that role.

It seemed like Cedar was fully unaware of whom he had tried to make fun of. He didn't even show Claude some respect in front of his family members. Instead, he ignored the other man fully and chose to whisper to Selena and Luciano for a moment. He even said goodbye to Rebecca, who seemed to be in one of her annoying moods again and already cried despite everything being fine.

Claude could only glare at his family as they let all of that happen without defending him. He met Luciano's gaze for a moment, but his cowardly son just looked away. That upset Claude even more, but he obviously couldn't do anything. He could just stand there and ball his fists.

Then the prince finally left, leaving Claude alone with all of his rage and hatred.