Chapter 84: Departure to the enemy Lands
"You’re saying you sold off your beloved son?" Lord Jace was stunned the moment he heard this news. "You?"
[Aquamarine Isle, the Grand Castle of Lazur.]
"I did not sell anything." The enraged White lady, sitting in an uncharacteristic black dress, ground her teeth at the words of the bastard sitting before her.
He was her husband only in name. They had never been together, much less have their marriage consummated.
The children that she had all saw him as someone respectable but she was not like them. She did not like him, and she did not do a single thing to hide her emotions before him.
"An impotent bastard like you can never understand how it feels-."
"How would you even know if I was impotent or not if you’ve never even been with me, hah! You make a fool out of yourself every time."
The way his calm mockery made her frustrated had become a familiar scene to the boy who simply stood there and watched them.
The room they were in right now was covered in more gold than many noble families combined could hope to possess.
The long table present between the Serulian patriarch and the White Lady was so glamorous and ornamented that one could buy a small noble family with just this piece of furniture alone.
Their family had so much wealth that they could do anything they wanted on the mainland and this empire without anyone questioning them... but the one thing that this family did not have was Peace.
"You damn bastard. Are you asking me to sleep with you again? Is that it?!"
"I wouldn’t need to ask if you just follow laws and give me a chance. But no. What do you do? You kill people, you plot schemes behind my back, you hire criminals to destroy a pillar of the empire. You commit Crimes!"
-Tang!
The table was made entirely of gold and reinforced with strong spells and yet the moment the patriarch slammed his fist on it, the fork in that hand dug all the way inside the precious table.
"Do you know how much I have to suffer to save you?!"
"Save me? Save me?! Hahaha! You? Saving me?" The ridiculous smile on her face was beyond comprehension to the man before her.
He was a mere low level grunt that got lucky to earn the affection of the Great Blue. He was nothing more than a fraud, a bastard.
For someone like her that was way stronger and smarter than him, this one eyed sailor was nothing short of a peasant that she gave alms to.
Sleeping with him was the furthest thing she would even think of. He wasn’t even worth her conscious thoughts.
"Insted of thanking me for the important deal I made with those damned Reds, you’re cursing at me. Just who’s the one saving who right now?!"
She was angry as always. There were just so many things that she did not like about this guy. He looked so much older than her husband even though he was supposed to be the younger one.
That bear like beard and all that hair over his bulky body looked disgusting to her.
She still did not know how someone like this was liked by that great guardian of their family. She just couldn’t stand this guy.
"You did not make a deal with the Sungrades. They forced those demands on you. Do you think I’m deaf? Did you think I wouldn’t know what happened there?"
He knew everything.
One of the first things he did after gaining the position of the head of the richest family on the continent was to spread his eyes and ears.
He knew everything that was seen by the thousand eyes spread over the empire and he heard a hundred thousand whispers every single day.
She wasn’t the only one with a widespread intelligence network. In fact, as she knew already, some of the people working for her were in fact loyal to this bastard.
And they were too useful to discard or replace with anyone else.
"You were played by a child. A prodigy, as I should call him." A smirk spread on his face the moment this matter was brought up.
"You lost your fake dignity, you lost the house’s money, you lost your son... and if that wasn’t enough, you might even lose your life fighting that calamity."
If that happens, however, he would be heartbroken.
"You acted so high and mighty after killing all those people for your pleasure. Taking away those innocent lives was a game to you, but here are the fucking consequences."
The expression that only showed his joy and happiness now depicted his hate towards this woman and his own fears.
"A blood of the Great Blue is going to serve under the Sungrades, the very house that you so desperately wanted to destroy is now the one that’d hold your life in their hands on that battlefield, and along with all this, the name of the house will be dragged through mud as the house who sends spies in the territory surrounded by a criminal’s pawns."
She didn’t just cause trouble for them, she had damaged the very name his brother cherished all this time.
"I don’t even know what that brother of mine saw in you anymore."
He watched her with his cerulean eyes, a hint of hesitation still present deep inside them.
"..."
His words hurt, but they weren’t wrong.
As much as she might want to fool herself, the truth was just as he had said. She had damaged the family name, and for that, she was rightfully going to be punished.
"Rainin." The boy was standing behind him and not her, clearly showcasing the understanding of his primary duties.
"Yes, father." He did not address him formally, calling out to him with great respect behind his voice.
"Come forward."
At his simple command, the boy walked forward and bowed to the patriarch of the family. Then, as per his instructions, he sat down right besides his father.
"We cannot change what has already happened. You will have to go there to save whatever face value we have left." The one eyed patriarch was serious about his decision.
"Please do not say that, father. No one in this world can damage the value of our name." His words were spoken with conviction, as well dedication.
He wasn’t just an heir to the family title, he was a child of Serulians. He was one of the few in this world who possessed this prestigious name.
And he would not sully its honour.
"Good." The patriarch grabbed the boy’s hand, squeezing it with worry in his eyes. "I wish you a safe journey, Rainin."
He was his nephew but at the same time a son that he would have been extremely proud of.
He was old enough to have his own children and here he was, looking after this mad mother.
"Thank you, father." Rainin knew every time he called this person his father, his mother would feel a new strike of hesitation in her heart.
She had done everything to charm him, to make him hers and hers alone... but the boy was already cursed enough.
She did not want another bit of simple life taken away from him.
"I plead that you take a better care of my mother in the meantime."
That wasn’t just his request to the patriarch of the family but also to his father.
Knowing her, he knew his mother would not just sit still when her boy was in the enemy territory.
She wasn’t someone who could handle that in the first place. She was, in fact, a Mad woman.
"Hmph. Now you’re putting a spell on my child as well, huh?"
She was the biggest danger to herself than anyone else in this world.
Truthfully... Rainin was just as worried about her as this step-father of his.