The cold eyes of Marquis Lotteshire cracked. Luci knew he could not act cold and serious when it came to Lennox. Lennox was his weakness. So much so that he had accepted the post of teaching both of them to keep an eye on the growth of Lennox and on him for any possible threats.
'For now, I will just act like a fool who did not know his goals, not like the past where I have tried to rebel against him!' smiling brightly, Luci used the charm of a kid as he walked towards the marquis whose eyes narrowed on the boy.
"Are you trying to escape punishment, my lord! Making such excuses did not suit a child!" Although he was chiding, his eyes were calculating Luci's every reaction.
He knew that the empress did not let the kids meet each other. And though the child is small and naive for now, with the power the empress had and the hatred she held for Lennox, things could change anytime. That was why he was making sure that Lucio could never exceed in his skills than Lennox.
"You know brother told me that he will teach me how to wield a sword everyday but I know that I would not be as good as him.
His cuts were neat and clean but I was having a hard time handling the sword and…" Luci smirked in his heart when he noticed how the posture of marquis had relaxed though he was still keeping the same stony face.
"And now that we are living together, I am sure we will get enough time to spend together!" 'Come on, marquis, take the bait and realize the meaning behind my words. Though I can keep a watchful eye on my mother, I am still a 5-year -old kid. So, I could not go against her if she did something. You have to be my backup plan!'
His hands on his pen tightened while copying the essay from the book when marquis did not give any reaction to his last line but nodded his head and flipped the page as if the matter did not concern him but he was only entertaining the blabbering of a little kid.
"Mother is too kind to ask elder brother to stay with her while she would renovate his palace. I heard that she is looking into the backgrounds of knights too that serve brother." he added impatiently as he finished the essay and then passed it to the marquis who finally turned his head to look back at him.
Luci passed a bright smile to the marquis when he sneered internally.
The man took the letter and adjusted his glasses as he behaved like he was reading.
"Renovation, you say, why is the palace getting renovated suddenly?" Though his tone sounded casual, Luci could see that his attention was not at all on the essay but his words that brought another wide smile on his face.
He sat back on his seat and opened another book to show to do his assignment when the marquis raised his head in impatience.
"Speak up, you damn brat!" his face was shouting yet he did not speak a word. But his intense look that could pierce the enemies was enough to show his anger.
"I do not know. Mother said that she wanted to renovate the palace and invited the crown prince to live with her in her place in the meanwhile." 'You fool, do you expect me to know so much when I am just 5? If I spill more beans, wouldn't you think I am too smart for my age and be more wary of me?' cursing the fool sitting in front of him, he blinked his eyes innocently as if he did not understand what was more there to be known.
"So, are we going to continue the history lessons or study politics like last time?" he asked, showing unawareness towards the turmoil the old man was facing.
"Let's repeat the lessons of history, starting from the legend of the empire!" Luci nodded as he changed the book and started reciting the lesson.
"A long time ago when the land was ruled by goddess of light, her knights held a war and united the small kingdoms which formed the current empire that was spread all over the continent.
Ruling for a thousand years, when she realized man was strong enough to continue her legacy, she left the earth to her knights and that was the first emperor of our empire.
But to guide him and help him, she had left spirits behind her. The strongest spirit turned into a woman that became the first empress of the empire.
Since then, the emperor had always been the strongest knight and the empress had always been a mage or the one who can summon spirits or spirit herself.
The present emperor, William El De Wasinium the third, light of the empire is ruling from past 10 years and…" he peeked at the man from the corner of his eyes to see how much his words had affected him when he noticed that the marquis was string back at him with a cold look on his face and he flinched. A reflex action he had developed after years of punishment from him.
"You still need to look into a book to remember something menial! Even when you were reading about your father, you needed a book!?
Even commoners who did not know how to read and write know their father's name. Are you not even that capable, prince?
Do you not feel embarrassed while you take a breath? How can you waste the air so badly? You need to be punished so that you can learn better!" Luci bowed his head as he already knew this was about to come when he had seen his cold face.
Though he was already prepared that did not mean he was not affected by it.
He could see him reaching for scale and closed his eyes instinctively.