When Lucca arrived in the hallway that led to his father's office, he found his other two brothers already waiting for him.
The three brothers were dressed in the same type of clothing, with the only difference being the colors of their clothes.
Sebastian saw Lucca and said, "Hello, my little brother."
Sebastian was a very handsome young man, exuding an aura of calm. He had black hair with bangs that almost covered his brown eyes.
"Hello, brother." Lucca pulled Sebastian closer and asked, "Hey, brother, can you tell me who are the three bodyguards we have to choose?"
Sebastian, confused, asked, "How would I know?"
Lucca replied with a smile, "Ahh, brother, when I lived here, you always knew what was happening in the castle. How could you not know who they are?"
Sebastian had the reaction of someone caught off guard and said, "You're getting quite smart, my little brother. Should I be worried about you in the battle for the throne?" He gave a contemptuous smile.
'Amateur, can't even hide his smile, damn snake!' Lucca thought to himself, and then continued, "Maybe, but I'll tell you some very important information about me, you know, so we have a fair competition. Never put the daughters of the people who support you in the same place as me, because I'll steal their hearts and secure a royal marriage with their families." Then, they both burst into laughter.
"For the joke, I'll tell you who they are: Carter from the Rose family, Jace from the Aideen family, and William from the Sinna family. I've never heard of this family's name before, but from what I know, he's the son of a baron!" He said with disdain.
Lucca continued to think and instructed the AI, 'Ori, save their names. If I understand correctly, the first two names are from families that support my brothers in the power struggle.'
(Master, do you think the power struggle has already begun? From your memories, I noticed that these struggles usually start when the king is aging or unwell.)
'Normally, yes, but my brother doesn't speak without purpose. To me, if he mentioned being afraid of my intelligence, it's because he's already making plans to take our father's throne. Otherwise, he wouldn't even mention the throne! And from my brother's words, the first two must be the sons of counts, since he didn't speak with disdain about the other two families. This leads me to think the following: either a faction is behind the baron to secure his son as a bodyguard, or someone supporting one of my brothers to oust me from the competition has placed the son of a baron as my bodyguard. If we follow this line of thought, it could even be a spy!'
Lucca, with no more information needed from his brother, went to greet his older brother.
"Ah, right, hello, brother!"
"Late as always!" Liam said with a tone of superiority.
Liam was not as handsome as Sebastian, exuding a more rugged aura to those who saw him. He was known for always training and not engaging in conversations unless it was a duel. At 14 years old, it was already evident that he had developed some muscles, and he was bald, but his eyes were brown.
"What do you mean, late? Father hasn't even opened the doors. How can I be late?" Lucca replied.
"Of course, as always, making excuses. It doesn't surprise me that you're so frank," Liam said again with a tone of superiority.
"Of course, you're older, it's the least you can do to have an older and stronger brother to always help me when I have problems. Besides, I live 30 minutes from here, so if I were really late, I bet father would understand."
Liam was about to reply to his brother when the door to his father's office opened.
A person came out of the room and said to the brothers, "You may enter."
Liam and Sebastian entered, and Lucca was the last to enter. Before entering, however, he spoke to the person who opened the door and said, "Congratulations, Ryder, on reaching rank 4." He said it quietly so his brothers wouldn't hear.
--- Information ---
Ryder Fury
Age: 50
Race: human
Rank: 4 (level 502)
Class: guardian
Talent: good
Weapon mastery: sword and shield (level 47)
Occupation: Stewardship and right-hand man of James
Ryder was surprised that Lucca had noticed his rank advancement, especially since Lucca was only 4 years old.
"Thank you, young master! How did you find out?" He asked Lucca.
"I sensed your energy was different," Lucca was about to continue his response, but he was interrupted by his father.
"You two, stop talking. I have things to do. Let's get to the point!" Lucca nodded and went to stand next to his brothers, while Ryder replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
--- Information ---
James Mason
Age: 100
Race: human
Rank: 6 (level 853)
Class: warlord
Talent: epic
Weapon mastery: dual axes (level 58)
"Lucca, when are you going to cut that ridiculous hair?" James said.
"Never! This 'ridiculous' hair is style and sets me apart from others! It's no wonder the first thing you noticed was my hair."
"Style? Only if it's a ridiculous and dumb style!" Liam replied.
"What does hair have to do with being dumb?" Lucca asked.
"Because you have to be really dumb to have hair! After all, why have something that can get in the way during a fight?"
"Psycho," Lucca muttered under his breath. But before he could respond to his brother aloud, he was interrupted again by his father.
"Enough, we have people from outside the family in this room, so let's not embarrass the family. Well, continuing. As you all know, Liam and Sebastian will be going to the academy tomorrow and need a bodyguard. Taking advantage of the occasion, I've decided to also bring Lucca along. The three of you were chosen by the families of my territory. I've explained everything already, so let's get started. You three, introduce yourselves!" And he pointed to the three young men lined up.