Free Web NovelChapter 4: Askelund Siblings¹
With everyone staring at me as if I were an idiot for some reason I couldn’t fathom, I felt I had to say something. I don’t know why, but I felt awkward with all that silence and every pair of eyes fixed on me. I mean, I know I’m handsome, but still... ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Or perhaps I was lost in my own thoughts and forgot about them for a moment, and when my eyes fell on my wretched brother Lucien, kneeling there, I sacrificed him without hesitation to break the silence
Ahm,...
"What? Look at him, trembling on the ground. Don’t you feel sorry for him?"
"Lars, please be quiet," my older brother spoke up.
What? If you want me to be quiet, why are you all staring at me like that? It’s scary, you know.
"I’m serious."
I said whatever came to mind.
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For a moment, everyone looked at me, then they all looked away at the same time and went back to their discussion as if I wasn’t there, whilst my the fourth uncle, uncle Selwyn spoke to the Duke
"Your Grace, We can appeal against the ruling, even if it was issued by the Emperor. That might cause us a political headache, though. What if we presented the Imperial Palace with apart of fragment of the Calamity Crown to appease his wrath? For I suspect the Emperor is causing all this trouble because of this fragment, which the Duchy acquired some three decades ago,"
Before the Duke could reply, interjected the second uncle general Aries
"Or we could send 1,101 prisoners, disguised as a thousand of our real soldiers, and take one of them and install him as the Duke’s illegitimate son, then send them to the north-west. In any case, it’s not as if the Emperor will inspect this army; even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to. I suggest we handle the matter discreetly, because the Empire is in no state to tolerate any internal problems—we’re already in a powder keg on the verge of exploding. I don’t even understand why the Emperor is seeking to cause trouble for us at this difficult time."
At this point, my eldest sister intervened, sadly pointing out an important point that side characters No. 2 and No. 4 had overlooked
"With all due respect, Selwyn Uncle’s proposal is no different from directly defying the Emperor’s orders. Even if we avoid the current crisis, merely forcing the Emperor to back down from his ruling and presenting him with a part of fragment of the Calamity Crown will be taken by the Emperor as an insult and a bribe. As for directly submitting to the decree, as proposed by uncle Aries, this is tantamount to a catastrophic political defeat before Duke Estella, which could have far-reaching consequences and might even jeopardise the position of His Highness the Second Prince as Crown Prince, for behind this conspiracy lie Duke Estella and the First Prince, ultimately."
And the wise, far-sighted princess engaged in a direct discussion with the Duke.
Those bastards literally and completely ignored me.
Hah...
It’s hard being the outcast son; no one listens to you, even if you suggest a brilliant idea.
Hah, wait... they didn’t even give me the chance to tell them my brilliant idea!
So I gave them a deadpan stare.
If they weren’t going to listen to me, why did they summon me in the first place?
Do they really think I’d give up our mother’s legacy that easily? Hmph... they’re dreaming.
"So I suggest to Your grace that we file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against Duke Estella, a..."
"Are you daft?"
I interrupted her, and she looked at me, flustered, but to my surprise she didn’t scold me or ignore me; instead, she explained her idea in a serious tone whilst looking at me, which made me a little flustered because she hadn’t followed the script... .
"It’s not like that, Lars. From my point of view, it’s important to get Count Verena to drop the case and then direct public anger at him, not at us. Our enemy in this matter is Duke Estella, not the Emperor. so what matters now is to put legitimate pressure on Duke Estella in front of the Emperor to force him to back down from the plot. If he drops the case, we’ll do the same."
"Do we have anything that can force Duke Estella to back down?" asked my third brother, Julian.
"Well, if not, all we have to do is create one, just as they did," replied the eldest, the mastermind Cassian.
But as the wisest of the siblings, I intervened to make life easier for them rather than trying to dig a hole that would lead nowhere.
I mean, isn’t it obvious that the Emperor himself is already targeting us for no reason? What’s the point of trying to fight like dogs with Duke Estella?
It really angered me just imagining the two ducal houses fighting like dogs whilst the Emperor sits on his throne watching the clowns, enjoying himself.
"Why are you thinking so negatively? I mean, didn’t uncle Aries already say it? What’s the point of trying to preserve the empire when the imperial court itself seems to have lost its mind and wants chaos!"
And so everyone’s attention turned to me once more, not because they were waiting for my explanation—for wasn’t that already obvious?
I propose a rebellion here, in so many words
"Askelund will obey the Emperor’s orders, and then the world will find out the conspiracy whilst the conspirators are celebrating the success of their Plot. Askelund will then have the moral justification for whatever response it chooses to take. After all... when a owner abandons his dog and kicks it aside, shouldn’t he at least expect a single bite from that dog to seek justice for himself?"
Well, I suppose describing the Duke as a dog wasn’t the best choice of words, given everyone’s contorted faces, so I smiled awkwardly.
"Sorry... a slip of the tongue."
I admitted my mistake, but it didn’t seem they had the heart to forgive me
Nevertheless, it seemed my big sister, with the biggest heart, had finally decided to turn her attention to her outcast little brother and engage with him, surely ignoring my foolish slip of the tongue
"Lars, although your opinion is worth considering, that’s only if we send one of the legitimate sons known to the public. We can’t use a fictitious illegitimate son here."
"..."
I shrugged without answering,
because I’d already made it clear to them that I wanted to go
