173 No More

Gloomy night turned to another morning at the Mendenhall manor. The Lord of this manor, Waleran Mendenhall, always rose with the first sign of sunlight. No matter how old he grew, he kept a disciplined schedule. He looked at the window with a calm look as he dressed himself casually. However, today would prove to be different. With the sun rising came the Empress's last-minute request for the Duke's presence in the later morning. Hearing the news, the Duke was a little surprised at the suddenness, but he still hurriedly re-dressed himself. Even if she was his daughter, there were etiquette standards that must be upheld. Once he dressed himself up, he went to have breakfast with the rest of the family. He looked on at the familiar faces that were already seated, however, there was an obvious opening in the spot directly to his right. Reserved specifically for his heir, the Duke knew that seat was always left open for Keaton. Frowning, he looked towards the servants who quickly informed him that the young master was not feeling well. 

"He is sick? Wasn't he just fine yesterday?" Doubt apparent on his face, the Duke asked once again to be sure.

"..." Seemingly unsure how to respond, the servant could only hold his tongue. 

"Father, it seems brother suffered a humiliation at training yesterday. He came back stomping and raving around in fury. Perhaps he still has not gotten over it." Although the words seemed to be spoken out of concern, the cold mocking intent in tone could not be hidden. The Duke turned his gaze upon his younger daughter, Estrilda Mendenhall. She was born a year after Keaton from the same mother. However, their shared blood did not prevent her from harboring ambitious intentions. Ever since she was young, she competed with her older brother and was not resigned to allow Keaton to become the heir without a fight.

"Oh? Tell me more, Estrilda." His interest piqued, he calmly sat down at the head of the table. While doing so, he motioned to the others that they could start eating. 

"It seems that older brother made a bet with the His Highness, Prince Braiden, and his sister, Princess Aphina. It was a fight to see if the commoner would stay on the team and become the leader or have to resign the representative spot during the team battles. Lord Vervan, Lady Tatyana, and Earl Hildebrand were brother's teammates. While Prince Braiden, Princess Aphina, Lady Eris, and the commoner were on the other team. Brother's team lost and he was even knocked out by the princess who is a healer." All too pleased to discuss Keaton's embarrassment, Estrilda did not hold back and quickly released the news. She had paid a lot of money to have someone buy the news from the Ashtree family. That Cherell always did have a big mouth.

The Duke's brows furrowed as his utensils clanked down on the plate. 

"Preposterous! How could that be the truth? Who is spreading such false rumors?" Although Keaton lost fairly to Greyson before, one would be mistaken to think that meant he was weak. The Duke knew his son's strength was still not something that the princess could go against.

"Father, I don't think there is anything wrong with the news. The source is trustworthy. However, it did seem that there was more behind the defeat. They would not be completely honest. I could tell they were holding something back, but money would not open their mouth." Estrilda did tremble a little under her father's anger, but she made sure to defend her information clearly. The maid she sent had mentioned that Cherell seemed to be hiding something, but that she could not dig deeper. Duke Winterbridge had ordered the rest of the representatives to keep a tighter lid on Aphina's ability to use illusions. The other countries had spies everywhere, so the less people knew the better.

The Duke's expression grew grim and scary-looking. The rest of the children at the table all felt like they could not breathe in the suffocating atmosphere. They all knew their father held the Mendenhall family honor with utmost importance. While fearful, they were also filled with feelings of schadenfreude. Even Keaton, the beloved son, would not escape from punishment this time. 

They were right. Waleran was boiling with anger and had half a mind to go up and start scolding Keaton. However, the Empress called for his presence and he could not be late. He would leave right after breakfast. No longer in the mood to eat, he just slowly placed a couple bites in his mouth. He knew the rest were too scared to touch the food unless he ate. Breakfast passed precariously in this way. 

"My Lord, I heard Amadea summoned you?" In private, both the Duke and Duchess still referred to their daughter by her name.

"Yes, I will be going right after breakfast to make sure I arrive on time. Wife, you should go up and discuss with Keaton about the specifics. I wish to hear from him personally after my return." His voice turned colder at the end. 

"I understand." The Duchess did not speak anymore and continued eating her meal quietly. She also spoiled Keaton, but she would never go against her husband's decisions. The two were not an affectionate couple, but they gave each their due respect and did not bother with the other's affairs much. 

...

After breakfast, the Duke quickly boarded his carriage and headed to the palace. With his position, he easily arrived in front of the Empress's guest room. The servant announced his arrival as the door opened. Without looking up, the Duke entered a couple steps so the doors could close behind him. At that spot, he bowed just the right amount.

"Your Majesty called for me?"

"Rise. Yes, I am sorry to have called the Duke on such short notice." Amadea's apathetic voice echoed a little as she responded.

The Duke quickly straightened himself and finally took a look at his eldest daughter's appearance. When he saw her alienated eyes, his heart sank. There must be bad news coming. 

"It is no problem at all. It is your vassal's responsibility to come when called." He remained humble.

"I called you here for but a small thing concerning Keaton, that troublesome brother of mine. I understand the Duke's desire to spoil his favored son, but true parenting comes in the form of knowing when to say 'no' and punish, is it not? Repeatedly giving my brother-in-law, Duke Winterbridge, trouble and forgetting his place... His Majesty quite dotes on this younger brother of his. I'm really put in an awkward position, wouldn't you say? The talents of our country must be cherished. The Duke should be aware of the current position of the Snow Country and Moon Empire in this continent. We are just barely holding on. Arrogance and pride must kneel in front of the bigger picture. Were those not your wise teachings to me when I was training to become Empress? The heir to the Ducal House of Mendenhall cannot be any less aware of such things. The other representatives no longer have any issues and should be able to work well together for the cause of bringing our country glory. I just want to make my brother understands how to act from this point on in front of the others." Barely concealing the irritation in her tone, the Empress subtly voiced her grievances.

The little competition was of course not hidden from the eyes of the imperial family. They could let this first confrontation go as power struggles between the imperials and nobles occurred all the time. But now the rest of the noble children have acquiesced Greyson's presence, then Keaton cannot continue on his own. It would instead have negative consequences and cause the other nobles to be more disgusted with Keaton's behavior than working with a commoner. Plus, while the Mendenhall family was hard to go against, the imperial family were the rulers after all. Having someone constantly poke at their authority would eventually bring their wrath. This time the nobles had a united front, so they held their tongue because it was not worth intervening. If the Mendenhall family continued to create trouble on their own... Duke Waleran was no fool. He immediately caught the undertones of his daughter's words. 

This was her warning. There is a growing dissatisfaction with her maternal family due to the trouble they are causing towards her imperial identity. While also reminding her father the wisest course of action so her maiden family will not drawn into trouble. No matter what was said, they were her power as much as she was their power. They were riding on one boat together through the storm.

...

The Duke's grave expression stayed with him the rest of the ride back to the manor. When he arrived, he barely paid any attention to the greetings of the servants and instead climb the stairs heading straight for Keaton's room. He kicked the door open in anger and laid eyes on his son. This son that was his pride was constantly disappointing him as of late. Keaton did not look to be in great shape, either. His eyes were red and the rest of his face still had bruising. His clothes were still wrinkled and distressed while his hair was loosely strewn over his face. The room was a mess, as well. All sorts of broken glass and ripped cloth were strewn over the floor. 

"What is this appearance!? Someone might think you have gone mad. Pull yourself together! You skipped the representative practice today didn't you? Stop embarrassing yourself and our family any further. You will go tomorrow. On time. What is another loss anyway? It just means that you are still too weak and too stupid. You have already lost all our face by being beaten by a healer, how much lower can you go? So just go back and practice well. Bring back some honor through the competition." Pulling his son up by the collar, he shouted straight into Keaton's face. 

"Father... I..." Keaton's eyes flashed with deep hatred. "I hate them. I want to kill them! I want to strangle that b*tch princess and b*stard commoner!"

*Slap!*

Keaton's eyes finally grew more focused as he held his cheek in shock. 

"You-, you hit me?" He stuttered.

"I will hit you again if that is what is takes for you to come to your senses. Who do you want to kill? Who do you want to strangle? Someone could have you executed! Stop thinking about them and think about yourself. You are just making yourself out to be a clown. Where is your dignity? Look at that Trevion. He is also the heir to the Vervan House, but he is so different looking than you. He also lost, did he not? I'm really embarrassed in front of Duke Vervan who obviously knows how to raise his sons correctly. Can you not embarrass us with your juvenile acts of jealousy? There will always exist people with stronger talents. Once you go to the competition, you will realize how small your world is. Just seek to make yourself stronger in this small pond and take the power that I am handing to you. Why must you bother with things you cannot change? Your position and power are all there, one Greyson means nothing. Will he be Duke Mendenhall? In the end, I also do not believe that he will stay. Greyson has so much talent, he might even get recruited into the inner countries. This would only mean positive things for the Snow Country and our future."

"But you were the one who encouraged..." Keaton felt wronged.

"I encouraged because there was a chance. Have I ever scolded you before when you acted out in vengeance? I am saying you have to be smart about where and when to flaunt your power. The chance is no longer there. The imperial family is set on protecting Greyson and building good relations. We can only follow along this time. At this time, our country truly does need someone to help build better connections. It has been too long since a genius has made it into the inner countries from our empire." Duke Mendenhall was by no means a saint. How many crimes or shady activities has he been a part of in order to grow his power? Too many to count. But that is only pushing around the weak without powerful support. He could stay in his position for so long because he knew how to tip toe the bottom line of the imperial family.

"Now I have said no more. I don't want to hear any more of this. Just obediently reign yourself in and cooperate."