"Knock knock" marquis who had already raised his scale to hit his hands frowned when he heard the knock on the door.
No servant had ever disturbed his lesson especially when he was going to punish the prince.
Three deep lines formed on his forehead as he turned towards the door to see who the foolish person was only to find a knight from the palace of the empress was standing there.
Had this damned woman finally gained the courage to stand against him. His lips curved upwards but it was more of a ridicule than a smile.
"My lord, her highness had asked for you in her office." The knight bowed with full respect as he announced the reason for his sudden visit without being asked when Marquis raised a brow.
Did the woman think that she could order him now just because she was the empress?
Ha! What a joke.
"I apologize, but I would not be able to do that. For me, my classes are more important than having a chit chat.
Kindly inform the lady that i would come when i would be done with his highness, the prince.'' Luci noticed how the marquis did not call his mother, her majesty but the lady!
He was clearly receiving that title for his late sister. His behavior would be one of the biggest reasons for the fall of their family and would turn everyone into a villain. Not that his mother was not a villain to begin with, but he had forced her to show her true colors.
He took a deep breath as he knew that he was going to get beaten in the end and no one could stop it. But the knight who should have gone by now, started to walk in startling not only Luci but even Marquis was taken aback by his actions.
"Are you challenging my authority now?" his voice turned dominant and piercing cold. The knight flinched a bit but did not stop walking in.
"My lord, her majesty had ordered me that if you would refuse or postpone the meeting, then i will give this letter to you." he took out a letter which had the seal of the royal family and passed it to the man who was looking shocked but soon the confusion turned to rage.
He snatched the latter with an infuriated look on his face as if he would raise his scale again and beat the knight first for interfering with him again and again.
With the force he had torn the letter, Luci was sure that he was imaging it to be the neck of his mother.
But if that was entertaining, his expressions after reading the letter were worth watching. His cold face turned white with shock and then red with anger but in the end, it turned blue with cold again.
His eyes and face changed so many expressions and colors that Luci wanted to snatch the letter from his hands and read it by himself.
"I apologize, but I have to leave. I will see you tomorrow for your rest of the lesson. Do not be late again since I am not a patient man to begin with!" Luci wanted to applaud the man.
Even when he was so shocked with the contents of the letter, he still had time to threaten him patiently but just when he was done, he left the room with such hasty steps as if his back was on fire.
"Wait a moment!" Luci stood up abruptly and stopped the knight who was going to follow the marquis though he was sure that the poor man would have no idea about the contents of the letter but he could guess enough by a few hints.
"What was my mother doing when she called you to give the letter?" The knight looked taken aback by the question since he never stared at the empress directly but either kept his gaze on the ground or in the empty space.
He raked his mind a bit and responded, "the lady had just finished the meeting with an architect." hmmm! Then it was about the palace of his brother again.
"And.. had she ordered any snack for the meeting or for herself when she called you or when you were leaving?" Though confused about the strange questions, the man still nodded his head.
"Yes, the lady has asked her maids to bring a rose and mango pie and Rooibos tea for the marquis before he could come." a cynical smile formed on his face and he shook his head.
"Alright, thank you for your time. I will treat you well next time for your services but for now this would suffice.`` He walked toward the chest of drawers and took out a gold coin from the bag and passed it to him.
"But my lord, I have done nothing worthy to gain a reward!" At most he repeated what his mother was going to have as snacks.
"You should not refuse the grace of lords. Who knows when it would turn into wrath!" The knight was stunned to hear the cold words from the mouth of such a small kid, and though he felt burdened, he could not deny that authoritative look on his face and bent to thank him as he accepted the coin and left from there.
"Mother, oh mother! I wonder what you are going to do this time by forcing marquis to eat the sweet taste he hated the most. I only hope that I won't get punished for it later!"
"My lord, there is a guest waiting for you in the meeting room!"
"Who is it?" He remembered not having any guests for months since he was a kid. Officials and other nobles had not yet started to enter his palace to gain his favor.
"He introduced himself as your new teacher."
",........".