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"What? You're holding the succession ceremony without me? What nonsense is this! Make some sense!"
"Father's health was not in good condition, so Mother carried it out as his proxy. Brother safely inherited the title, and all the guests left a short while ago."
"What do you mean, bad health? I'm perfectly fine! How dare you deceive David and lock me up in this place?"
As the Baron slammed the door with a bang, Ezkhiel flinched and instinctively closed his eyes.
Even though he knew the door blocking him and his father wouldn’t open, just hearing that shout made his hands tremble again.
"Do you think you’ll get away with treating your own father like this? I’ll report everything to His Highness the Crown Prince immediately!"
"…Father will only be allowed to leave this carriage once we arrive in Munster."
"Munster? That remote northern backwater? Why are we going there instead of our own estate?"
"Because that’s where you and Mother will spend your remaining years."
Ezkhiel did his best to keep a formal tone, as if he were dealing with troublesome nobles.
"Once we arrive, you’ll be staying in a small villa. It won’t be luxurious, but a servant will come once a week to deliver necessities. It should be enough to live on."
"A villa in the north? Are you telling me to live in that freezing place? So you've truly decided to be unfilial!"
"The knights and servants accompanying you will return immediately after dropping you off. The villa is deep in the mountains, so without a carriage, you won’t be able to leave. But since you're supposed to rest and recuperate, staying at home would be best."
Ezkhiel didn’t respond to the Baron’s words. He only focused on what he needed to say. His voice trembled constantly, but closing his eyes helped him calm down a little.
But the Baron didn’t accept his son’s decision, he only grew more furious.
"So this is the kind of son I raised. If I could undo it, I’d never have had a disgrace like you!"
"…If I could have chosen my parents, Father, I wouldn’t have been born as your son."
Clenching his fists tightly, Ezkhiel glared at the Baron. Just as parents can’t choose their children, children also can’t choose their parents. Yet whenever he didn’t meet their expectations, his parents always said things like that.
"No matter how successful I became or what achievements I made, the only one who ever praised me and was proud of me was Brother. The two of you always said, 'Someone like you,' and denied me, belittled me. And yet, when it suited you, you had no problem using my status as if it were your right."
"Then as a son, you should be thinking about how to help your family! Are we just supposed to sit back and watch while you succeed on your own and build relationships with His Highness the Crown Prince and high-ranking nobles? You’re the younger brother, yet you don’t even try to pave the way for your elder brother. Instead, you run away from home like some pathetic, selfish brat!"
Seeing the Baron spouting such hypocrisy without the slightest trace of self-reflection, Ezkhiel didn’t feel sad, only empty and, in a strange way, relieved.
He hadn’t expected an apology, but witnessing the Baron still trying to exert authority even in this situation confirmed to Ezkhiel that he wouldn’t feel even an ounce of guilt for cutting ties.
"I don’t mind supporting my brother, but the two of you… I don’t need you in my life. Still, since you did give birth to me and send me to the academy, I’m fulfilling my basic duty by providing for your retirement."
No longer wishing to see their faces, Ezkhiel took a deep breath to say the words he had buried deep inside, words he had always wanted to say.
He couldn’t speak to them with the same biting hostility Letticia used with enemies, but he would say it as coldly as he possibly could.
"So please be satisfied with that, and never show yourself again, neither to me nor to my brother, nor to anyone around us. Even if you somehow manage to escape the villa and come to the capital, I’ll put you on a boat to a remote island if I must. But you can forget about receiving any better treatment."
"You think David will just sit back and let this happen? No matter how hard you try to hide us away in the middle of nowhere, you’ll never be able to fool David!"
The Baron, full of confidence, stared at Ezkhiel, who turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps. It seemed the guests had finally left, David was walking toward them.
With him was their mother, now officially the former Baroness, wearing a gown from Flabellum’s boutique that Letticia had arranged.
"Ez, are you done saying what you needed to say?"
"I think I’ve said most of it."
In contrast to David’s calm demeanor, the former Baroness was aghast at the size of the modest carriage and snapped at Ezkhiel.
"What is this shabby thing? I specifically asked for a four-wheeled carriage! What kind of job did that woman do?"
"…Put Mother in the carriage."
At Ezkhiel’s order, one of the female knights stepped forward and firmly grabbed the former Baroness by the arm.
Just as the Baroness was about to scream, the knight quickly covered her mouth. The moment another knight opened the carriage door, she shoved the Baroness inside like luggage and immediately locked the door.
"As expected of a guard hired by the Count of Sharon. Impressive skills."
David clapped, and the knight gave a short nod with a stony expression. The roughness in her actions likely stemmed from anger over her employer being insulted earlier.
"What is the meaning of this?! David, open this door at once! Let us out!"
"David, you need to know what your brother did to me. He locked his own father in this carriage and now plans to send me away to some remote villa in the north!"
The former Baron and his wife shouted through the small carriage window, each focused only on making their case. Betrayed by their younger son, they now pinned all their hopes on their dependable eldest.
But David, who had never disappointed them before, finally removed the mask of the 'perfect son' and replied coldly.
"Ah, I agreed to this too. So don’t blame just him."
"…What?"
The former Baron’s eyes widened in disbelief as David, with a chilling expression unfit for a son, continued.
"Your demands were so ridiculous that Ez and I had to plan this together. We knew you’d throw a tantrum if things didn’t go your way on the day of the succession ceremony."
"Da-David… What are you saying? What about my requests was so unreasonable?"
"They weren’t just unreasonable, they were delusional. There’s no way His Highness the Crown Prince would show up for the succession of a lowly Baron, and the same goes for the Speaker of the Nobles and the Chancellor."
Even David seemed dumbfounded by his own words, letting out a dry laugh before turning to address the former Baroness.
"And you, Mother, your greed was over the top. How could you demand that Ez’s girlfriend take you to Flabellum’s boutique when you haven’t even formally met yet? It was only thanks to Lady Sharon’s kindness that you even got an off-the-rack dress. But instead of being grateful, you just complained. I was embarrassed on your behalf."
"What did I ask for that was so outrageous? All I said was to prepare a dress, a carriage, and a few maids! How can you say that to your own mother-"
"You had no right to make demands like that, Mother."
The former Baroness’s words were sharply cut off by Ezkhiel. With an expression full of anger, he glared at her and spoke in a voice that now came cold and naturally.
"I’ve told you many times. I’m independent now, and neither of you have the authority or right to interfere in my marriage. And yet, you accepted an invitation from Countess Wallace and joined in spreading malicious rumors about Letticia. After all that, you still had the nerve to write her a letter and inconvenience her?"
"I... I’m your mother! Can’t I make at least that kind of request to the woman who’s going to marry my son?"
"You always called me an embarrassment, someone you couldn’t bear to acknowledge in public. But when it comes to getting money from the person I’m dating, suddenly I’m your son again? Because of you, I couldn’t even look Letticia in the eyes, I was so ashamed."
As Ezkhiel clenched his fists in anguish, David stepped forward to support his brother, determined to say everything he had bottled up just like Ezkhiel had.
"Honestly, we’ve put up with enough. But there’s a limit to how long we can keep pretending. You two are so out of touch with reality, still dreaming big… At this point, we can’t even afford to send you a pension. The only option left is to sell this ‘prestigious’ family off to someone rich who’s actually willing to buy it."
"Sell the family? What do you mean by that? Don’t tell me you’re planning to marry some nouveau riche woman, David?"
"That’s right! Didn’t we always tell you that you must marry the daughter of an old noble family? If we need money, we can just make Ezkhiel sign a marriage contract!"
David looked at their ashen faces with scorn and replied.
"Ez is already independent. Why would the Count of Sharon keep supporting the Bright family for his sake? If we want to survive, I’ll have to marry into a wealthy new noble family. But because you two kept insisting on some high-born lady from an old house, I wasn’t able to marry all these years."
"David!"
"But now I’m the Baron, and I’ll handle those decisions myself. You two just stay quietly in the countryside like you're already dead. Don’t expect any news about weddings or grandchildren, so don’t even bother being curious."
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3 Comments
Haha, that's crazy
ReplyDeletedid we skip a scene of leticia metting the baroness? It happens off screen?
ReplyDeleteYupp, there is no part that shows that scene
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