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Was that a threat? And is that how you talk with your kids when you have met them after months! Not to forget that they are only 5 and 11 years old. What a trashy father!
Though Luci hated his mother for not being warm to him. He felt nothing for his father. Since he had no memories for him. If possible, he would have taken his mother away from here. That way he could have saved her from being a villain too.
"Yes, father." Luci turned to his brother and shook his head. What did Len mean by "yes father" ? Did he know he was asking his sons to be the cannon fodder of a psycho crown prince who was very competitive.
If his memory served him right, his mother hated this crown prince who would be announced as emperor soon.
He felt both of their gaze turned to him and he laughed awkwardly.
"Father, I did not understand what you were expecting me to do. Do you want me to show him my paintings or play with him to entertain him?" he asked in an innocent voice feigning ignorance at the cold look into the eyes of his father.
"Lennox, the prince wanted to meet both princes but make sure that your brother did not embarrass me. And that woman said that he was a smart kid but he is talking like a fool. Even commoners children are more intelligent than him." Luci sneered in his heart. That woman! Was he calling his wife, that woman? How pathetic!
"You do not need to worry about me and my mother since you can not even call her your wife or the empress. At least, I know how to treat her well." he stood up and shouted, forgetting his calm for a second.
He only realized what he did when he noticed the widened eyes of his brother and the cold in his father's eyes getting cracked.
"Cough cough, Luci. you should not disrespect your father!" Len held Luci behind him as if he was trying to hide him from his father.
"Father, her majesty is a kind woman. She deserves respect." he added in a soft but stern voice when his father raised a brow.
"Anyways, I will make sure that the crown prince will be impressed by us."
"No! You should make sure that he gets more and more embarrassed and humiliated so that he leaves from here." his father added nonchalantly as he picked up his glass of wine and took another sip from it.
"You do not need to behave nice with him. You do not need to act meek by snowing your drawings to him. He should feel intimidated by your presence and run away. That is all I want." he explained when he noticed the confusion in his son's eyes and finally they both nodded to his relief.
He was a rare person who was asking his children to insult the guests. But if that was all he wanted, Luci was glad enough to find a way to take out his steam. Since the time he had been reborn, he was trying to flatter everyone so that he could survive.
Behaving rude was something he would welcome for a change.
Rest of the dinner was boring as Chris continued to listen to the advice of his chancellor about the pressure of handling new subjects by extending the boundaries of the empire due to continuous war.
A few of them think that he had a noble goal of unifying the whole continent but Luci knew that his father was just a crazy scumbag who enjoyed blood in his hands. He kills just to relieve his boredom and does war to create some entertainment.
He was a crazy bastard just like his whole family. Only he and Len were sane one.
"Luci, i heard that you are going to live in the ruby palace too from tomorrow with me." he finally turned back to his brother and nodded.
"The renovators have already started working on the garden last week. I was just stalling time in the name of looking at the changes but I have to shift since they will start working on the inner palace from tomorrow. So, I will look forward to living with you and her highness from tomorrow." his voice was softer and his ears turned red as he looked at his dish not at Luci who felt amused.
Was his brother who was always so composed feeling shy again?
"Yes, we will sleep in a room and talk the whole night and then we will share our meals together and play in the garden too. Brother, will you teach me how to play piano? I heard that you are very good at it!" he asked with an excited voice when his father who was like a ghost all this time for them, finally turned to look at them.
"Why? Do you not have teachers? I am sure we can afford some. But if you really want to learn from your family, then ask your mother. She is the one who loves music and plays all kinds of instruments.
My son is playing with the sword and mind of politicians. He is going to be emperor soon. When will he get time to play piano?" he stared at Len who nodded his head in acceptance.
He did not want to reply to his cold father who saw nothing but empire but he was surprised that such a cold man remembered that his mother was good at music. He had thought that his father would have even forgotten how she looked.
"Father, how do you know that mother is good at music?" Even though he had never heard Katherine playing music, he had spent all his life with his mother, up to the point that he did not even have a lover in the past.
"What do you mean, how? Didn't she play music all day?"
"No! I have never seen my mother playing music! In fact, there is no music room in her palace."
"..........."