The man’s voice reverberated throughout the hall. “I hereby banish you from the Duchy of Westfeldt. Understood?”
Despite barely raising his voice, his proclamation permeated the farthest corners of the room. This was not simply due to the scant few people present in the space. As the head of the family that boasted the strongest military force in Adastera—the sprawling kingdom that reached far across the center of the continent—the duke’s voice naturally carried real power. However, the particularly grave tone of his words was explained by the circumstances to which they referred.
There were three figures in the room. First among them was the duke himself, narrowing his eyes, which were the same indigo color as his hair, as he gazed downward. The second figure stood to his side, and the third, a boy, kneeled at his feet, eyes cast toward the floor. It was almost as though the group was condemning the boy for some crime. In fact, that was very likely what they were indeed doing.
The duke’s tone betrayed nary a hint of emotion as he regarded the boy, a young man of medium build with aquamarine hair, no differently than he would a stone on the side of the road. Though the shadows covering the boy’s downturned visage made it impossible to make out his features, the duke could plainly see the gentle trembling of his shoulders.
At this sight, a mocking voice erupted from the duke’s side. “It was inevitable, wasn’t it? Frankly, you should be thanking us for not having banished you already. Isn’t that right, you good-for-nothing?”
The insult was clearly directed at the boy, who didn’t raise his head even an inch. He remained still, his shoulders shaking.
“Hmph. Nothing to say for yourself, eh? I was hoping you’d at least have some amusing parting words for us, but you’re a disappointment to the very end. Guess I shouldn’t have expected more from a good-for-nothing like you.”
With this last insult, the fellow—who was, in fact, still a boy himself—by the duke’s side sniffed at the kneeling, trembling figure beneath him. His scornful expression dissolving, he turned to face the duke and realized how striking the resemblance between the man and the boy was. This was, of course, to be expected. The two of them—in fact, all three of them in the hall—were father and sons. The standing youth, younger brother by blood, flicked the slightest glance at his older brother as he spoke to their father.
“But weren’t you rather slow about making your decision, father?”
“Don’t say that,” the duke replied. “If he had, by some chance, ended up having some sort of useful Gift, wouldn’t it have been worthwhile?”
“That’s true, of course...but he turned out to be just as we thought, didn’t he?”
“That’s easy to say with the benefit of hindsight. You’re too eager to hurry things along. How can I have faith in you as the successor to this duchy so long as you demonstrate such tendencies? Don’t be like this good-for-nothing; you’re better than that.”
The younger brother faltered. “You’re right. Forgive me, father.” The boy bowed his head as a wry smile broke out on his face. With his downturned gaze, he looked like a child brimming with pride over a prized possession. But within that pride lurked an arrogance, as if flaunting a toy that only he possessed and others could never touch. “By the way, father, now that you’re finally banishing this good-for-nothing, what exactly is to be done with him? It’s not that I don’t understand; it’s just...well, he’s not exactly as sharp as we are, is he?”
“Hmm. Yes, I suppose he’ll never even understand a simple matter like this if I don’t spell it out for him. From now on, there will be no member of our family called Allen Westfeldt...or rather, there has never been such a member of our family. It is as simple as that.”
The kneeling boy, Allen, still did not lift his gaze upon hearing these words. He simply trembled slightly as he kept his gaze steady. At this sight, a sadistic smile surfaced on the face of his younger brother.
“Is that right? That’s very magnanimous of you, father. I thought that bringing such shame on our family would be cause for a more drastic method of...disposal.”
“I cannot say I did not consider it. His inability to acquire any kind of Gift, let alone raise his Level, is not at all what I expected.”
“Good grief. He really is deficient, isn’t he? The idea that this trash shares my bloodline... I’m rather loath to think about it.”
“You are much better than him. There are those who have taken this matter as evidence that my blood must be cursed. While I am glad to have you as my son, I have thought many times that she must have found him on the street somewhere.”
“Yes, that certainly seems plausible. In fact, although most of my memories of back then are quite hazy, I clearly remember mother being most kind to him despite his shortcomings. Still, perhaps that means it would be better to...dispose of him after all?”
The younger brother took obvious pleasure in emphasizing the word. His father, however, did not rebuke him for it. His visage twisted into an unpleasant expression for an entirely different reason.
“I greatly desire the same. But he was betrothed to the princess before we discovered what a good-for-nothing he truly is, was he not?”
“Indeed. And as I recall, they remained betrothed for some time after we discovered his true nature. But don’t tell me the royal family actually offered him mercy?”
“The princess likely did. The king, I’m sure, has other motivations. I imagine he does not wish for his daughter to have been betrothed to a man who was ultimately executed, even if we claim he never existed.”
“I feel as though it would change little, but if that is what you have decided... Yes, surely it’s the right move. Heh, how fortuitous, you good-for-nothing.”
The vexed expression the younger man wore betrayed the truth that he did not, in fact, consider this news fortuitous at all. However, he soon came to a realization that restored the sadistic smile to his face.
“No, perhaps I am being too hasty. After all, you will no longer be a member of this family. You don’t expect you’ll be taking all the treasure you’ve enjoyed access to until now, do you? You’ll be cast out, utterly penniless. Hah! How long do you think you’ll be able to go on living?”
“It would be rather cruel to cast him out entirely without aid,” the duke replied.
With a shocked expression, his younger son asked, “Do you have something in mind, father?”
“Yes. I could not bear to cause a public fiasco by throwing him out as a pauper. Hmm...yes, I will allow you to take one item from among your personal effects.”
This declaration immediately restored the cheery expression to the other boy’s face, as if he was fully satisfied with what he had just heard. “Ha ha... I see. You really are a magnanimous sort, father. Are you listening, good-for-nothing?! Show your appreciation for father! Oh, and make sure to take something useful with you!”
His words had a simple explanation. He knew that the good-for-nothing—Allen—had never been granted any great items, so taking any one of them would help him little.
“Now, I believe I have carefully explained everything in a manner that even someone like you can understand,” the duke declared. “Therefore, I will say this only once more. As of this moment, you are hereby banished from the Duchy of Westfeldt. Understood?”
Though expressed as a question, the duke’s words were clearly a decree already settled upon. Allen had never had an option other than assent. Still, even if refusal had been a choice, he would have assented anyway. Or more precisely, even if his refusal would have been a sufficient means of striking back at the pair, who never for a second seemed to consider that he might say no, Allen would never do so. After all, it would not be conduct befitting of the duke’s elder son.
And so...
“I understand. Thank you for everything.”
Thus Allen responded, his head bowed until the end.