While many warriors on the front line shed their blood and struggle, behind the scenes a conspiracy is crawling through the mud.
“Gilius……, what are you doing?!”
Duchy of Caesar. Ilius, the capital of the realm.
A man’s angry voice rang out in the house where the lord lived.
The man who let out the cry of fury was a man who had reached the age of old age.
The man’s name was Grayson Caesar. He was the master of this house and the lord who ruled over the dukedom of Caesar.
Grayson had been paralysed on the right side of his body by an illness he had contracted some years before and was now unable to walk without a cane.
The lord is struggling to get up from his chair and is shouting angrily at the man in front of him.
“Do you know what you have done? This is treason against the Dukes of…..No, against the Royal House of Styria!?”
“…… Calm down, Father.”
The man who called Grayson his father is a young man who is currently being subjected to an ongoing series of angry words.
The name of the man, who was in his early twenties, was Gilius Caesar.
He was Grayson’s own son, and the younger brother of Garayle, who was currently fighting on the front line against Revra’s army.
“Do you think this will keep me calm? Betrayed and imprisoned by my own son!”
Grayson’s hands were shackled like those of a prisoner.
Grayson was locked in a room in the house with fetters, which had been placed on him a few hours earlier by Gilius and his men.
Grayson’s face is contorted in rage at the betrayal of his own son. Gilius, who had never seen his father so angry, turned away from him with an uncomfortable look on his face.
“…… It’s all your fault, Father. I didn’t want to do this either.”
“What the hell …… are you talking …… about!”
“But it’s the only way! Father won’t stop unless I do this! If I don’t, the Dukes of Caesar will be destroyed!”
Finally, Gilius couldn’t bear it, and he vents his feelings.
“Do you really think you can defeat the Kingdom of Revra? Do you really think you can take back the Kingdom of Styria when the King has been killed and you have no support from the other nobles? It can’t be, it’s impossible!”
“Gilius……!”
“There is no king left to be loyal to! What’s wrong with trying to save our own lives? Is it such a sin to wag your tail to the invaders in order to survive? No, absolutely not! The one who is wrong is you, who are fighting for nothing and letting your soldiers die because of your petty stubbornness!”
Gilius imprisoned his father in order to stop him from waging a full-scale war against the kingdom of Revra.
Even though the Dukes of Caesar are the strongest and most powerful in the kingdom of Styria, the difference in strength between them and Revra is obvious. It will be torn down eventually.
Revra will never forgive the Dukes of Caesar for resisting him as an enemy until the end. It was clear that all those who had joined the dukes would be killed.
“We owe the……royal family five hundred years of gratitude since the founding of our country. We cannot bow to the invaders who murdered His Majesty the King.”
It was the natural thing for a vassal in the service of the Crown to do.
The Dukes of Caesar were given the southern part of the kingdom five hundred years ago and allowed to rule it.
It is only natural to return the favor. They can’t be so disloyal as to turn to their enemies.
“Five hundred years of gratitude. …… No, the dukes have been serving for five hundred years! We’ve been a vassal to them for a long time, what’s wrong with wanting to save our own skin for last?”
Gilius was speaking of an ideal way of being a nobleman, a belief of which he should be proud.
But……such a good argument did not reach Grayson. There are some people in this world who put greed and self-preservation before faith and justice. And to this day, Grayson has never realized that it was his son who shared his blood.
“Gilius …… wake up. You’re making a mistake ……!”
“It is you who are wrong…….Please, Father. Please give me the title of head of the family. I’m sure we can work out a deal with Revra to end this war. So please, please!”
“You……Don’t tell me that’s what you wanted?”
“Give me the head of the house” – Grayson’s eyes change colour at the words.
Gilius has locked up his father because, in his own way, he is trying to protect the Dukes of Caesar – if that had been the case, he would not have been disappointed in his son.
However, it is a different story if he is trying to become the head of the family.
“Gilius, if you thought it so barren to quarrel with Lebla, why did you not act sooner? Why did you wait until Garayle’s departure?”
“Th-that’s..”
“Why didn’t you just persuade me with words before Garayle led his army to the north? Why did you choose such a dastardly way to attack with your brother’s absence?”
“…..”
Gilius, who had spoken so eloquently before, fell silent at his father’s questioning.
His reaction was the best answer of all. Grayson had seen exactly what his son was hiding from him.
“Gilius, from the very beginning…you wanted to kill your brother and take the next head of the family, didn’t you?”
The succession of the Dukes of Caesar has been decided upon by the eldest son, Garayle.
Gilius is now living in another house as a member of the ducal family, but it has been decided that he will eventually become an independent vassal.
If Garayle had been unsuitable to be the head of the family, Gilius might have had a chance. But Garayle had the talent and the popularity. He will not be dethroned as the next head of the family.
“I knew you were jealous of Garayle.But……how dare you use such spiteful means ……!”
Gilius was not incompetent, but….the feelings of envy towards his brother, who was born a year ahead of him.
If he had been born before him, he could have avoided feeling this way.
Garayle is currently engaged in an ongoing war against the kingdom of Revra.
If he had been a good son, he would have taken credit for killing many Revra soldiers.
However, if he does, he will inevitably incur the resentment of Revra.
Even if the Dukes of Caesar surrender now, there is no guarantee that Garayle will be able to remain as the next head of the family. It is also possible that they will demand Garayle’s head as a condition of surrender.
“No, …… that’s what this son of mine has been trying to do all along. That’s why he’s been negotiating with Revra. ……!”
Gilius intends to negotiate with the kingdom of Revra to surrender the head of Galail.
This is how he plans to get rid of his brother without getting his hands dirty and become the head of the Dukes of Caesar.
“…… this conversation is over. I will continue to negotiate with Revra, and I hope you will consider making me the head of the family.”
When Grayson discovers Gilius’s true intentions, he looks guilty and tries to escape his father’s icy gaze.
“I can’t let him go like this.”
“Wait! Are you running away?”
“Shut up!”
“Ghh……!”
Gilius shakes off his father’s hand as he tries to run after him.
Grayson, who has a bad leg, is unable to stay on his feet and falls to the floor.
“It’s your fault, ……. It’s not my fault. Not my fault”
“You….”
“This face …… what eyes you have ……!”
As he lay on the floor looking up at Gilius, Grayson gritted his teeth.
In the eyes of Gilius, hatred, jealousy, delusion, immorality, regret …… and other negative emotions are mixed together in a crucible.
The dark, sombre look on Grayson’s face was an unavoidable reminder.
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Gilius had moved on to a place from which he could no longer return. He would never be able to mend the relationship.
“It’s not my fault…..the fault lays on you, who gave birth to me as a younger brother…”
“……………”
Without helping his father to his feet, Gilius leaves the room.
Grayson watches his son leave with a pained look on his face and punches the floor with his left fist.