The enraged roar of Patriarch Agnes shook the Clan's Main House. His cultivation couldn't compare to the King, but he was still a Qi Refinement realm expert. When he was angry, the trees swayed and ground shook. This was the way of the world.
In the corner of his study, Second Concubine Leilani stood with her head lowered, unable to face her father's scrutinizing look. After holding in his anger until he was sure the Garis Clan bastards were gone, Old Man Agnes couldn't control it any longer.
"What did I do to deserve this?! A useless daughter! A useless grandson! My entire main bloodline is filled with useless fools! Do I really have to hand the Clan to my younger brothers?!"
By now, Leilani's good looks had begun to slowly fade. She was still an outstanding beauty due to her cultivation, but the war age waged was one it always took victory in. Coupling this with the stress she faced due to her own son's inability to help the Clan and the process only sped up. She was already forty years old with nothing to show for it.
All her life, she had done nothing but lose. She was raised to become Queen but had failed. She was then tasked with at least birthing the King's first son, but she had failed once more. Then, her own son was finally born and she thought it was finally her time to shine. Ryu was not only handsome, but a child with rare intelligence. But, that had ended in failure once more. She couldn't help but feel that the entirety of her life was meaningless.
Just now, her father had tried a last-ditch attempt to revitalize Ryu's potential usefulness to the Clan. At the very least, if he could leverage the Yaana girl's apparent affection for his useless grandson, the Agnes Clan would gain the backing of a third of the Kingdom's military. This would solidify their rank for at least one more generation where hopefully a worthy successor would be born. However, it was clear how that attempt ended.
Patriarch Garis had all but laughed in his face. The Garis Clan was eyeing the Queen position for themselves, how could they allow themselves to become tool of the Agnes Clan? Why? Just so that they could remain ranked last while the Agnes Clan remained the second ranked Clan? What an absolute joke.
The Garis Clan men often devoted their lives to the military. It was for this reason that they were ranked so low to begin with. But, after a series of events the Imperial Censors had banned from being disseminated, the upper echelon of the Garis Clan realized that the power they held was meaningless. If they wanted to avoid ever being disrespected again, they needed more power!
Still, even if Patriarch Agnes understood the reason behind the rejection of the marriage proposal, how could he accept the reality of his Clan's decline so easily? The Clan Patriarch was thoroughly enraged.
"What are you worth if not the hole between your legs?!" He turned his ire toward his daughter, swinging his palm toward Leilani with barely a regard for her life.
A resounding slap sent the Second Concubine crashing into a bookcase that leaned against the wall. Books flew into the air, flying upward only to land of Leilani's frail body as she slumped to the floor.
Ryu's mother's face slightly deformed, her delicate cheeks swelling so quickly that her left eyes sealed shut at a pace that was visible to the naked eye.
It was at this moment that Ryu entered the study…
Although his eyes were blind, he didn't need them to know what had happened. He had heard everything from the yelling to the loud slap. Still, he didn't show much of a reaction.
"You summoned me?" Ryu's cool voice directed a question toward his grandfather.
Patriarch Agnes' brow twitched. He had half a mind to slap this grandson of his as well, but when he thought about what he had planned, he hesitated. He would need that handsome face to succeed.
"You have one more opportunity to be useful to me." Patriarch Agnes responded coldly. "For the next three days, the Garis Clan will be here. Although they can reject my offer of marriage, they cannot toss away all decorum. They must allow us to play host. During this time, the Garis Clan young miss will likely cling to you as she always does, you must –"
"No." Ryu didn't allow his grandfather to finish. In fact, his face as twisted into a look of sheer and unbridled disdain.
"What did you say?!" The chest of the old man rose and fell at astonishing rates. His skin reddened and one could almost see billowing smoke coming from his now crimson ears.
"I have no intention of making use of a little girl's affection to corner her future. In addition, Yaana may be immature, but she isn't stupid. She understands the value her body holds which means the only way to succeed would be if I raped her. You really have the face to stand before your grandson and ask him to commit a crime to force the hand of the Garis Clan?"
The fact that this was even an idea his grandfather was comfortable enough to say aloud filled Ryu with a deep disgust. If he was willing to say such things now, what other horrible things had he done in his life that Ryu had no idea about? What land of white bones was the Agnes Clan's number two ranking built upon?
These thoughts caused a searing pain time to climb up from his stomach with such ferocity that Ryu almost vomited from where he stood.
Without another word to his grandfather who was currently pointing at him in mute anger, Ryu attempted to go and help his mother to her feet. But, who would have known that he would be greeted with a piercing wind headed directly to his gut.
Before the blind Ryu could react, the small foot of a woman cracked three of his ribs, sending him flying to the opposite wall... The small foot of his own mother.
"You useless, unfilial child! Do as your grandfather says!" A shrill cry filled with desperation, rage, embarrassment, but most shocking of all, resolution, filled Ryu's ears.
He coughed weakly, blood falling from his lips as he struggled to stand. In the end, a self-deprecating laughter left his lips.
"I hope after I leave today…" Ryu spoke softly, "That the Agnes Clan disowns me completely. I never want anything to do with you all again…" With nothing but a lonely back, Ryu walked out of the room.