***
"Are you sure this is a good idea, Father?" Asked a young man grinding his molars, looking at his father.
This wasn't a situation where he would be beaming with happiness. He couldn't see what was going on in his father's mind but could see the pitfalls and dangers of such a scheme.
'Scheming against the Royal Family. Unbelievable.' The man thought, shaking his head internally. What was unbelievable wasn't the scheme itself. What is unbelievable, however, is placing everything on a single man.
The son ruffled his brown hair before realizing his actions and stopped. Smoothing his expression and clothing, he forcefully calmed down, highlighting his handsome features.
The father was his complete opposite. Although muscular and wide, unfortunately, he wasn't nearly as handsome as his son. That was a feature he got from his mother.
Supporting his head on his fist, the older noble started.
"Don't worry this much about it. It'll work out." He said matter-of-factly, waving his son's worry.
Standing up so fast the noble's eyes struggled to keep up, he shouted loud enough that the sound would've left the carriage if not for the magic enchantments cast upon it.
"Not worry? It's not your skin that's on the line, Father, so do not tell me to calm down."
The plan, or scheme, was simple. He was supposed to approach the King's concubine as an adviser.
'Who would believe a 22-year-old saying he was an advisor? Especially to a Royal Member?'
Anyone with half a brain would conclude this was a plot. One against a Royal Member or against the family as a whole.
That was treachery. If things went horribly wrong, the lightest sentence he could get was an exile from the kingdom and disowned by his family. The nastiest was life in the torture chambers below the castle. There were enough healers in Court to keep his body full of vigor and his mind ready enough to receive the following torture.
"You will talk calmly when addressing another, Ishvan Ato." Instructed the Head of the Ato family when his son raised his voice at him.
"Despite your emotions, despite whatever you think, you must never let another know of them."
Sitting down - more like slumping down on the coaches' large padded seat - Ishvan sighed and resumed his distressed position.
"This is idiotic... But, I will do as you say." He sighed in resignation, trying to make up a believable enough reason for his presence at the Royal Palace. If anyone were to look further into the situation, assuming the royals themselves didn't peek too deeply, Ishvan would use his rank and position to shut the nosy person down. He simply cannot allow this plan to fail.
The Head of the Ato family started, catching Ishvan's attention. The man's following words shocked the Heir to his core.
"It seems I've made a mistake. You have a right to be angry, as I had explained neither myself nor my motives, and I apologize for that." The man took an artistic pause, yet his son kept his face smooth.
"My role is to educate and point you in the direction I see right. I might be wrong, though. My vision may be flawed, but by that point, you should have all the necessary skills and abilities to choose a new and right direction for yourself and the Ato Family." The man calmly stated his reasons and role.
But that wasn't what shocked Ishvan.
His father was always calm; he never actually saw his father raise his tone once, much less raise a hand. Not that he ever needed to; this man always seemed prepared for anything.
What shocked the young Heir was that his father actually apologized to him. That was a first. Obviously, were this a public setting, a man such as the Head of the Ato Family wouldn't say such demeaning words.
"I need to forge you into that man, else I would have failed as a father and the Head of the Family."
A polite knock on the wooden door interrupted their conversation. A deep voice immediately followed.
"Sir Avaos, a steward of the Inuo Family demands that we stop. His words: 'As a steward of the Inuo Noble Family, I ask why is a caravan of the Ato Family trespassing on our territory?'"
Avaos frowned and took a deep, calming breath. This level of disrespect, especially from a Viscount family, enraged him.
"I assume the Inuo Family would not let us pass. Son, let us go meet this steward. We will talk more later this afternoon."
"Yes, Father."
The two men, Head and Heir of the Ato Family stepped out of their carriage and headed toward where the steward was waiting.
Seeing the two men approach him, the Inuo member frowned slightly.
'This could get troublesome.' He concluded.
Being of lower stature than the two men approaching, even though he was on his home turf, the steward bowed deeply and greeted the nobles. Or tried to, at least.
"Spare us the formalities, Sir steward. May I know the reason why my entourage was stopped?" Ishvar started as he raised a hand to stop the man from going through all the steps to greet them. Since it was rather uncommon for the Head of a family to personally deal with a mere steward, this matter was pressed down to the Heir.
The steward was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect that the Heir so daringly called a formal entourage his.
It was a weird situation, and he would rather stay out of it.
When the steward finally came up with an excuse and was ready to share it, the Head of the family stepped in.
"We are on our way to the Royal Palace, as the Royal Emblem plastered on each of our carriages implies. Matters such as potential delays must be addressed when talking to His Majesty."
The steward started sweating bullets. Despite clearly seeing the emblem, his liege's orders were absolute. In the case this obstruction would come to the King's attention, the steward's liege could simply dismiss it as the actions of a mere, clueless subordinate.
He should've been angry at the orders he had received; stopping the carriage of another influential Noble House was bound to create some problems. And it would always be the small people that pay for those mistakes.
Yet, all this man felt was deep-rooted detachment. Whatever came out of this friction between behemoths, the consequences would sprinkle down to the lowest members of their families.
Bowing to the nobles, the steward could only comply, allowing them to continue their journey.