"I heard you went out." the duke spoke without raising his eyes from the newspaper he was reading. Though his words seemed casual and detached, his authoritative tone was imposing, so much that the cloaked figure in front of him couldn't muster enough courage to raise their eyes from that small stain on the carpet under their feet.
"Hmm…Reginald? Why aren't you speaking?" his blue eyes shone dangerously as the duke glanced at the silent tall figure in front of him. That man, wearing a cloak that did little to shroud his height and frame, was none other than the commander of Wintern knightage, Reginald Langtern.
He had done things of his own accord and had presumed the disinterest of duke regarding the matter just because the young master had claimed that he would. But there was no way the duke wouldn't be interested. The entire of the Wintern knightage was mobilized to the capital's square, without the duke's permission, to search for a black-haired boy with blue eyes. The aristocratic faction would surely have gotten the wind of this incident by now.
"The young master… said that your grace's son-" the commander gulped. He swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and chose to remain quiet. His silver hair falling on his forehead not only shrouded his expression but also his golden eyes, that were still staring at the ground. However, it was obvious that he was cowering away from the duke's fierce gaze that had left the newspaper alone and was now trained on him.
"A Gutter filth… my son?! Will you say that again, Reginald?" he slapped the table with his palm and stood up. His loud voice had no intention of hiding his anger.
"Huh, commander? Do you think that by just wrapping yourselves in a cloak, you can hide your identity? And that no one will notice it's the Wintern knights causing a ruckus? And why wasn't I informed of this? How are you going to explain yourself? Yes! Let me see what you have left to say before I relieve you of your duties as a commander!"
The commander broke into a cold sweat. The duke would not let him off easily, and he knew that. His mistake this time could even cost his job, and he would not even be able to say a word against it. "The young master said to not disturb you since you were ill last night." He spoke in a soft voice.
"And did you think causing all this ruckus will help me recover?" The duke pushed the stack of documents resting on his desk in such fury that it flew off, creating a mess on the floor. "Tsk. It's as if that child was waiting for me to get ill."
It startled Reginald, seeing the duke unable to mask his rage. He understood he had committed a mistake and was ready to atone for it. However, he did not regret his actions. The pitiful image of that child lying unconscious in the pool of his own blood would not leave his mind. He was way too young to experience such atrocities of life. And there was no way he could turn a blind eye knowing that death was the only thing that awaited the child if he left him there.
While Reginald could not forget the scenario he had come across early in the morning, the duke was huffing in anger. He was waiting for words to come out of the commander's mouth that he could rebuke, but the latter was lost in his own world and remained silent. Irritated, the duke rang the bell "Send Leonard to my study. Now!" He shouted when a servant knocked on his door.
The servant rushed off quickly. Whatever was happening, he didn't want to end up being the victim of the duke's outrage.
It was not long before a knock sounded at the study door once again. The time they were waiting for Leonard to arrive was filled with icy silence. So much that the commander had thought it would be easier to just lose his life on a battlefield.
The commander sighed in relief when his pupil, the sole heir of Wintern dukedom, walked into the room. His blue eyes landed on the tall figure of his master, who looked away in a hurry.
"Good morning, father." Leonard greeted the duke. The commander stared at his pupil, agape. He was a small, plump boy who had barely turned thirteen this summer and was at the center of this ruckus. But he was greeting the duke like there was nothing more normal to do in this situation.
"Do you want to tell me something, Leonard?" The duke asked, seething. It was as if he had already fixed the outcome no matter what came out of his son's mouth, but still wondered what excuse he'd come up with.
"I thought it was better to move before the Aldreneys got a wind of it." Leonard replied calmly. It was not an excuse that was spoken just for the sake of it. It was the truth, even though he was just using it to mask his true intentions. Since Wintern was the only dukedom left in the empire, there were many who envied its unrivaled power and amongst them was the Marquis of Alderney.
The Duke ground his teeth. He could not refute Leonard's reasons but that was also not an excuse to mobilise the Wintern knightage without information.
"Come here." The duke ordered, and it was clear whom he was calling.
Leonard walked towards him without hesitation. He crossed the pile of documents on the floor with long strides, avoiding stepping on the scattered pages, and stood in front of the duke.
SLAP!
Without a second's delay, the duke's palm had landed on Leonard's face. Despite the confident exterior, he was but a thirteen-year-old boy. He was no match for the duke's heavy blow and fell on the ground with a bruised cheek and a bloody lip.
Reginald glared, but he couldn't take a step forward and protect Leonard because if he did, things would not end with just a slap.
The duke wiped his hands with his silk handkerchief, and any remaining anger was quelled by kicking his chair away. The wooden object shattered the glass of one of the bookshelves before falling down.
"Clean this room before you go. WITHOUT getting help from a servant, that is." The duke ordered Leonard, who was still sitting on the ground, wiping the blood on his mouth with the back of his hand. "And you!" He pointed his fingers at the commander, "Follow me."