Chapter Four:
When It Rains, It Pours
1
IN THE RECEPTION ROOM OF THE GILBERT mansion, the mood was not exactly peaceful, to put it mildly. Each of the four men present bristled with dangerous and barely concealed aggression that threatened to break right through the suffocating tension and cause a full-scale war at any moment.
“You’ve some nerve coming here, Count Lennox. What is it you want? Mwa ha, or do you require a formal greeting first?”
“There is no need, Marquis Gilbert.”
Count Lennox kept himself composed in appearance, but he could scarcely keep his enmity and irritation from bubbling up to the surface. Yolande sat nearby, watching over the proceedings with a thin smile on his face.
Hm, I understand why Marquis Gilbert called me here. A sudden visit from a powerful royalist noble? I wonder what he wants…
“There is something I wish to discuss with you in private…” He trailed off, then glanced pointedly at Yolande. “What is a Lonsdale doing here?”
“You must be aware of the connection between the houses of Gilbert and Lonsdale. He is no different to me than the man standing at your side is to you. You may speak.”
“Very well,” responded Count Lennox, though it was clear that he was absolutely fuming. He was so used to being treated with respect that Claude’s arrogance irritated him greatly.
“I will ask you directly, then—what are you plotting?”
“Of what do you speak?”
“Don’t play dumb with me!”
Count Lennox slammed his hand down on the table as he rose from his seat. The explosive show of anger did nothing to alarm Claude, nor even slightly darken his facial expression. He just smiled, as if the whole situation were amusing to him, which only served to irritate Count Lennox further.
“I don’t know what your objective here is yet, but I am well aware of your strange dealings of late! Don’t think I haven’t noticed the odd influx of royalists who have recently started switching sides to join your noble-faction cause! Suspicious indeed, and certainly connected to whatever underhanded arrangements you’re making.”
“Mwa ha ha…and?”
“What…?”
“What are you going to do about it? Supposing I am responsible for everything you say, that is.”
“You…!”
Count Lennox abruptly shut his mouth. In the face of Claude’s apparent shamelessness, he’d almost lost his composure. He knew he’d regret it if he allowed the curse to escape his lips, so he somehow managed to swallow the insult. His anger remained strong, however, as he took a letter from his chest pocket and held it up to Claude.
“I know that you are responsible for this!”
“…What is it?”
“A letter! Correspondence from my third daughter, Mia, at Aslan Magic Academy!”
“Aha.”
A few different possibilities instantly floated into Claude’s mind, but he could not come to a conclusion. To him, the news was completely unexpected. Claude glanced over at Yolande, who shook his head faintly from side to side.
“…You still feign ignorance, then?”
Count Lennox ripped the letter from its envelope and jabbed a finger at a portion of its contents. Claude and Yolande glanced at the line in question, which read:
“I intend on devoting myself entirely to Luke.”
The moment Yolande finished reading the sentence, he instinctively put a hand over his mouth—keen to ensure their guest did not detect the twisted smile spreading across his face.
Brilliant! You’re brilliant, Luke, truly incredible!
The letter went on to state that Mia intended to leave home if her father would not accept what she had written. She was a smart, cunning girl, and she fully understood her value to House Lennox as a triple-element user. Count Lennox, of course, had been unable to accept his daughter’s declaration of devotion, and he had come to Claude in a state of anger, thinking that he must be the root of this problem. It was, however, not his only objective in coming.
“Only two months have passed since she entered the academy, and now she’s ‘devoting herself entirely’ to your son?! Damn it all! I have had multiple offers of engagement for Mia—from the first prince and the heir to the house of Marquis Drummond! What position will I be left in if she flees my home?!”
On the inside, Claude laughed scornfully at the man before him.
An incompetent, through and through. To think you would show such weakness to me and to the noble faction. Yet…I should have expected as much of my son! He has even made a royalist daughter his own! It makes perfect sense, I suppose, now that I think about it. He surpasses even myself in his talents; it is a law of nature that he should be so attractive to others.
If they had not been gathered for a formal discussion, Claude would have been positively beaming—but he would not show such emotions to others, and his expression remained firm and unchanging in spite of the news.
He did, however, begin to consider what he should do next.
What is the best course of action? What will earn me the most advantage?
Yolande, meanwhile, was still trembling with joy, convinced that the world was smiling upon him.
Marquis Claude is a talented man. I am sure that he will come to the same conclusion that I have: This is our opportunity to turn Count Lennox to our cause. In this moment, he may be convinced to betray the royalists for our noble faction.
An additional prominent aristocrat added to the noble faction’s ranks would accelerate Yolande’s plan greatly—and would make the world much more interesting for him. He had intended to take more time to secure the foundations of the noble faction before taking action, but he would not let such an opportunity go to waste.
But how did Luke make her fall so head over heels for him in just two months? I could never do anything of the sort. Oh, you really are going to entertain me, aren’t you? Heh heh…
Count Lennox, whose eyes had been on the floor, suddenly jerked his head up to look at them.
“But…that said, let’s drop the matter here for now. I have other matters to discuss today.”
Count Lennox sighed—he couldn’t help it. This maddening conversation had brought his anger to its boiling point. The pressure within him was such that a sigh of complaint just slipped out, like an emergency release valve letting off steam.
Why was it, then, that he had visited Claude? What was his true objective?
“I wish you to welcome my daughter Mia into your family, as wife to your heir and son, Luke Witharia Gilbert.”
He had come to speak of engagement.
Unlike Claude, Count Lennox had no love for his children. If they proved themselves capable, he would raise them so as to improve the prestige of his house, but would disown them without a second thought if they were incapable.
That was just the sort of man that he was—cold, calculating, rational. But this shrewd nature of his was, in fact, responsible for his rise to the position of power which he presently occupied. Mia had grown up without the love of a parent, and so she unconsciously felt the need to prove her worth to those around her. She wanted to be needed by others—to be seen by them. That was precisely why she had competed with Alice and likely was what led to her obsession with being wanted by Luke.
“Mwa ha…I take it you mean to switch sides and join the noble faction?”
“Yes. If the decision must be made, it should be done quickly. My worth to you will only deteriorate once my position has crumbled. It’s not a bad proposition I’m offering, is it? You already have several other royalists in your pocket. I cannot claim to understand all of your motives and aims, but I know that much to be true.”
Yolande was having real trouble suppressing his smile.
It’s almost scary how well this is going. I never expected Count Lennox to be so quickly drawn over to our side.
The situation was developing far better than Yolande had even imagined possible. If nobody had been watching, he would probably have literally been rolling on the floor, laughing and holding his sides.
Claude hasn’t answered yet, but…there’s no need for that, is there? I can’t imagine he would ever refuse an offer like th—
“Hmph. I will consider it.”
“Huh?”
“Huh…?”
Claude’s answer was so shocking that Yolande couldn’t help but put voice to his surprise. Count Lennox hadn’t expected the answer either and sat there in stunned silence for a moment.
“I-I am not asking that Mia be his official wife, of course. A position as concubine would be acceptable, you understand?”
“Yes. I told you I would consider it. Do not make me repeat myself.”
“Wh-what?! What could you possibly have to consider?! Mock me no further! In spite of my position, I have bowed to you! I have made real concessions!” Count Lennox shouted in frustration.
“Do not misunderstand me,” answered Claude. “That is not why I am asking you for time to consider this.”
“Then what is it?!”
Claude took an elegant sip of his tea. The action only irritated Count Lennox even more, but there was nothing that he could do except wait for Claude to speak.
“I must ask Luke himself. I am not so foolish as to make the same mistake twice.”
“Huh?”
Given the lack of affection for his own children, the statement was almost incomprehensible to Count Lennox.
Why does he need to ask his child? I don’t understand what he is saying.
Secretly, from the moment that Luke’s rare Dark element had been discovered, Count Lennox began to consider the possibility of switching sides. The noble faction would have a massive amount of power at their fingertips, considering a Dark magic user was about to join their ranks.
Count Lennox was a terribly logical man and hadn’t even considered that Claude might balk at his proposal. It was not arrogance that led him to that conclusion but his analysis of the situation. He recognized Claude’s abilities, and he understood the worth of his own house to the noble faction. Given this thought process, it was only natural that he had been unable to anticipate Claude’s response—it was just about as far away from logic and reason as any answer could be. Fifteen years prior, Claude set about putting his priorities in order—and number one, by a large margin, was the happiness of his son, Luke.