Free Web NovelChapter 7: Askelund Siblings⁴
After Laurentius had left, the Duke looked sharply at the rest of his children, particularly Seraphine, as she was the eldest daughter. In the absence of a Duchess, she managed the palace’s internal affairs and held the title of Lady of Askelund; naturally, she would be held responsible for any internal problems. The Duke therefore asked her
"Is there anything I should know?"
"I apologise for my negligence, Your Grace. Yesterday, Lars had an appointment with the therapist, and it did not go well."
"Is there anything I should know?"
She hesitated for a moment, but as the Duke’s gaze grew colder, she resigned herself to her fate
"Lars flew into a rage and was on the verge of using his ability—The Collapse of Stars—to kill the therapist and blow up the rear annex. So I ordered the knights to subdue him and... to calm his anger, I spoke to him rather harshly." freeweɓnøvel.com
"Why was I not informed?"
"I apologise, Your Grace. I have no excuse."
She apologised as she knelt.
Nevertheless, this caused veins on the Duke’s forehead as he looked between Lucien and Seraphine. Just as he was about to reprimand them, he heard a muffled laugh; he froze slightly but turned to see who the impudent one was. Although he had spotted him, he said nothing to him.
After all, if there was any scoundrel in the world capable of cornering him, it was none other than this man – the former Duke’s second son and his younger brother Amyas.
Strangely enough, he also understood why this scoundrel was laughing, and for that reason too he felt a certain anger and embarrassment within himself. As a result, he dismissed those present in the hall and completely forgot about reprimanding the girl.
’You are dismissed. And since you have failed to respond appropriately to a simple political issue such as this, I shall summon you tomorrow and you shall explain to me where you went wrong and propose a comprehensive plan to deal with the situation, taking into account the likely reactions of all parties and the subsequent and cumulative effects of every option you put forward; and if your performance remains disappointing, there will be a punishment awaiting you."
After his children had left, he looked at his brothers, although he had used them to open up the discussion and get them to propose the worst possible options in this situation, in order to gauge how much his children were influenced by outside opinion and how much they trusted their own view of the political situation. Unfortunately, not only were they incapable of interacting and thinking independently, they did not even have the ability to ask about blind spots that had not been raised by ; rather, they forgot the matter altogether and got into an argument amongst themselves.
Seraphine, despite all her managerial talents, is still unable to deal with contingencies and treats her opponent like a puppet; she relies excessively on the resources under her control to the extent that it prevents her thinking from expanding into the realm of strategic analysis.
Perhaps it would be better to tighten the noose around her and put more pressure on her, but he will wait until tomorrow for her to submit her report to him so that he can better understand her weaknesses and devise his plans accordingly.
Also, her biggest mistake was that she did not view the Imperial House as an enemy or an adversary; it seems she has a great deal of misplaced trust in them, and he really did not like how she spoke respectfully of the Second Prince as if he were something... Tsk
As for Cassian, although he did not voice it for ethical reasons, he was fully in favour of Lars’s opinion; indeed, perhaps this was already on his mind even before Lars spoke, which is why he did not react much, especially as Lars had put himself forward from the start of the meeting.
The Duke was therefore genuinely pleased with Cassian’s rigorous way of thinking, and his decisiveness in making what he considered a logical decision; yet at the same time, he did not object to refining the initial idea and making changes to it. However, once again, it is clear that the idea in his mind was simple and straightforward, particularly given his involvement in Seraphine’s proposal; the Duke fully understood this son’s ideas regarding the resolution of this matter,
which can be summarised as follows:
1. To comply with the Emperor’s orders to demonstrate loyalty to the Imperial family and to adhere to the orders, however harsh they may be.
2. Accusing Estella of conspiracy.
3. Gaining legitimacy, seeking revenge, and keeping the imperial family occupied with resolving the Estella dilemma, thereby presenting the Emperor with two options:
1. to continue supporting Estella despite the shift in public opinion and Askelund’s legitimate claim
This would result in Askelund’s claim for independence being legitimised after it had been betrayed by the Imperial House
Giving opponents of the Imperial Family a pretext and an opportunity to rebel and stage a coup
The end result would be a civil war in which the target of the anger would be the Imperial Family that had betrayed its people.
2. The second option is to abandon Estella and side with Askelund.
Given that the Askelund’s demands will not be insignificant,
one cannot compare a mere count’s son to a duke’s son, nor the knights of a rural count to the knights of the Duchy—one of the three pillars of the Empire itself.
and because the Emperor’s rule was harsh and unjust towards Askelund, the Emperor will be forced to rule with the same severity, or even greater, over Estella to restore the dignity of the imperial family, which has been manipulated like fools. And also to appease public opinion and Askelund – and if Askelund attacks with cunning, using some additional conspiracies, it will be able to accuse Estella of attempting to manipulate the Imperial House, charge it with high treason, and force it into a corner
This would result in the downfall of Estella- and the Imperial House, which in the current generation had been reliant on the support of Estella
granting Askelund near-absolute control over the Imperial House; consequently, the Empire would fall into the hands of Askelund, as the Imperial House is already weak and can barely compete with the two ducal families following a series of near-total reliance by princes and emperors on the support of the two duchies in the battles for the throne over generations.
So yes, he was entirely satisfied with Cassian’s line of thinking, but the problem lies in whether Cassian’s ideas will stop here, leaving him with nothing more. he would, in fact, achieve neither of the two outcomes he desired; instead, the empire would slide into a completely chaotic civil war, and Askelund itself might emerge from it guilty and accused of treason.
That is also why he would wait until tomorrow to hear Cassian’s full thoughts and give him space to organise his ideas; Who knows, perhaps this son will impress him, or perhaps he will need a bit of a telling-off and some lessons to broaden his horizons and not forget his internal enemies once again, and also that the Empire is not the only power on the continent... And also that the concept of ’the enemy of my enemy is my friend’ may not always apply, for the enemy of my enemy may also be my enemy,
