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It was practically an insult—asking if your parents were out of their minds. But the request was so outrageous, so completely absurd, that even Ezkhiel didn’t try to stop her and simply nodded.
“I’ve told them again and again—I’m not even inheriting the title! How am I supposed to go and ask the Crown Prince for something like that? But they just won’t listen. My brother’s trying hard to persuade them too, but now they’re insisting we should at least invite Duke Dinever or Count Freke…”
“Have they seriously thrown away all sense of decency? Both of them are your acquaintances, not people associated with the Bright Baron family!”
Even if Ezkhiel was the Crown Prince’s chief aide, he had already established his own household, independent from his parents. That meant he didn’t maintain regular ties with the entire Baron family. So unless his personal acquaintances had some connection, there was no reason for them to attend the succession ceremony.
“Yes, so I wasn’t even thinking of asking. I’m not that close with Lord Speaker or His Excellency the Chancellor, and I don’t want to trouble them. Even if they did come, it would only bring embarrassment.”
“Sigh… Then who can you invite?”
“My father’s colleagues, my brother’s friends… and a few others who’ve interacted with our family.”
Judging from the fact that he didn’t mention any family names, it seemed there weren’t any that Letticia would recognize.
‘The guests are all of similar status, no one aside from Ez has done anything noteworthy for the country… it’s just an ordinary baron’s succession ceremony.’
No matter how you looked at it, having the Crown Prince or figures like the Speaker or Chancellor attend would be completely over-the-top.
Ezkhiel clearly understood this too. His expression turned gloomy as he sighed.
“To be honest, the kind of succession ceremony my parents want is at least on the level of a Count’s house. Even if you comb through our family history, I don’t think there’s ever been such a grand event. I have no idea why they’re being so stubborn about it.”
“They probably see this as their last chance and want to go out with a bang. Or maybe they’re relying on Ez’s job. Or me.”
That last comment seemed to strike a nerve with Ezkhiel, and his expression darkened again.
“Then I really don’t think you should get involved, Letty. If you agree to one thing, they’ll just keep pushing for more.”
“You’re right. It’s best if I stay out of it on the surface.”
When dealing with people like that, you absolutely shouldn’t cave in. Even a single concession would make them look down on you and continue making endless demands.
The most effective tactic is to force them to face reality—but that’s also the hardest one to pull off. If they were capable of accepting reality in the first place, they wouldn’t be acting like this.
“Well, at least the Baroness seems a little more open to negotiation. We can’t lie about the guest list, but I might be able to handle the champagne and the boutique arrangements.”
At Letticia’s words, Ezkhiel averted his eyes and muttered softly.
“We don’t necessarily have to go that far, but… if it comes to the worst-case scenario, we do have a plan. It's not ideal, though…”
“What kind of plan? Are you just going to skip the ceremony and send them off to the countryside?”
“…Since only the head of the family is required for the succession ceremony, we’re thinking of sending my mother away to the countryside first. Then, we’ll give my father the wrong time for the ceremony—make it earlier than scheduled, rush through the title handover, and then immediately send him off too, using his health as an excuse.”
This was a kind of hasty succession ceremony that sometimes occurred when relations between the current head and heir were poor.
Such a move, akin to publicly exposing a rift within the family, was generally avoided because it could undermine the heir’s authority when compared to a formal succession.
“That’s actually pretty tame. If it were me, I’d take them to a psychiatrist, get them diagnosed as mentally unstable, and then send them off.”
“…My brother brought that up too, but if word spreads that our father is mentally unstable, it’ll come back to bite him later.”
Ezkhiel shook his head. No matter how difficult things were now, they couldn’t jeopardize his brother’s future just for their own convenience.
Letticia, understanding that part, let go of that idea and decided to steer the conversation toward the villa that Matthias had mentioned.
“So, do you have a place to send them? Some countryside estate or property?”
“Well, His Highness offered to introduce us to one. He said it’s deep in the northern wilderness. I’ll cover the living expenses and pension for now, and once we sell the estate, my brother will take over.”
Fortunately, Ezkhiel brought up exactly what Letticia wanted to hear. She nodded along, but when he mentioned that he would be covering the pension at first, her expression soured.
“Ez is expected to provide for them? Frankly, I think they should rely on whatever savings the Baron left.”
“No matter how much I want to cut ties with them… to the world, I’m still their son. If I don’t at least fulfill this duty, people will talk.”
A very Ezkhiel-like answer—he wasn’t one to provoke conflict with society.
Still, Letticia’s pouty and dissatisfied look lingered, and Ezkhiel gave her a faint smile, gently squeezing her hand just tight enough not to hurt.
“I understand why you’re upset, Letty. But this is something I have to do. There are still so many people in the world who believe children should unconditionally respect their parents… even if those parents never respected them back.”
“I know that… but I still don’t like that Ez has to do anything for people who never loved you and only ever tore you down.”
“I’m not doing this out of joy either… But still—”
Ezkhiel smiled gently, moved by Letticia’s concern, then hesitantly reached out and pulled her into his arms.
Though his embrace was still awkward, unfamiliar with expressions of affection, the warmth of their shared body heat seemed to spread beyond their skin and into their hearts.
That warmth made Letticia want to wrap her arms around him in return, but just as she was about to, Ezkhiel’s voice came from above her head.
“If people start talking badly about me, it’ll affect you and Sharon Jewelry too—now that we’re together.”
Letticia lifted her head quickly, locking eyes with the green gaze of the man she loved. Seeing the love and devotion in his gentle eyes, she suddenly found herself resenting his thoughtfulness for the first time.
“So you’re doing this because of me and my family? Even though you don’t want to?”
“I’m not being forced. I just think this is what’s best—for you and the Sharon family. And also—”
“That’s the same thing! How is that any different?!”
Letticia grabbed both of Ezkhiel’s shoulders, raising her voice.
“Ez, you don’t have to go that far just because we’re using our relationship in an ad! My father would never want you to go through emotional pain just to please others. If you don’t want to do it, you can say so! If you’re only doing this because of how other people might react, he’d be furious!”
“That’s not it, Letty. Please don’t misunderstand.”
Ezkhiel gently lowered her arms as if to calm her down and continued.
“It’s just that… if I fulfill what people expect as a ‘dutiful son,’ then neither I nor the people I love have to deal with criticism or get hurt. So of course I should do it.”
“But this is your life, Ez! You should think of yourself first—not me or my family!”
“This is me thinking of myself first. This is the conclusion I came to—with that in mind, truly.”
Ezkhiel shook his head and met Letticia’s gaze.
His eyes held a steady firmness, the kind that comes after long reflection and careful decision—a conclusion born of deep thought and internal debate.
“If it were me before I met you, I would’ve never even considered giving them support. I was used to being talked about by others. And besides, it’s not like His Highness would fire me over it, and I signed a renunciation of inheritance when I left the house. So I figured I’d just live quietly—my brother would take care of our parents, and I’d help him now and then. That’s how I thought it should be.”
Letticia was surprised by his words. She had assumed he might still be struggling to break away, considering how much his past abuse continued to haunt him.
But Ezkhiel spoke of it with unexpected calm.
“But now… my reputation affects not only me, but also you and the Count of Sharon. So I’ve come to think that I really need to settle this.”
“Settle… this?”
“There are a lot of people out there who think that if your parents didn’t disown you and even sent you to the Academy, then they’ve fulfilled their duty—and that because of that, any success I’ve achieved is thanks to their ‘grace.’ So they say I should be forever grateful and dutiful to them.”
Ezkhiel’s voice, as he said those words, was curiously void of emotion. It felt like he had pressed down on everything—anger, sorrow, perhaps both—just to prevent it from bursting out.
“So, I want to settle that so-called 'grace' with money and end it once and for all. That way, if anyone dares criticize me over how I treat my parents, I can say with certainty: I’ve done my duty—don’t bring it up again.”
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1 Comments
Their communication 🥰🥰🥰 they have such a healthy, realistic relationship
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