As soon as the door was closed, Claude couldn't hold back anymore. He slammed the vase next to him off the stand and raised his voice. “That bastard dares to threaten me? After all we did for him? After we pulled him and his stupid mother out of the mud? That useless piece of garbage!” His voice echoed in the huge entrance hall, but it didn't help him relax even as he vented his fury. It just got worse.

Luciano seemed like he didn't want to speak at all. Like his mother, he averted his gaze. Then he forced himself to face his father though. “That...sounds unpleasant. Would you please tell us what happened after you...calmed down a bit?”

“Calmed down?” Claude whirled around and took a few steps toward his foolish son. “You moron! You have no idea what happened! If you did, you wouldn't tell me to calm down. This is all that damned bastard's fault!” He wanted to say even more than that, but before he could even say anything, a high-pitched scream filled the room. He turned to his wife, who was holding their small daughter and hugged her tightly as if that would help. Again, that stupid baby just cried loudly. Claude had been annoyed after losing the sleep of his last nights already. Usually, he could endure that, but today, he was at his limit. “Will someone finally shut that brat up?”

Upon hearing him raise his voice, Selena flinched a bit as she held her daughter tighter. “Yes, give me a moment. Becca just has to calm down. Your yelling scared her.” That sounded like she wanted to say that he had caused this. Lately, everyone in this house seemed like they wanted to make him responsible for every little thing.

Claude was getting sick of it. He made a wide gesture with his arms while yelling even louder. “Are you saying it's my fault now? I'm the only one in this family who even seems to care for what will happen to us!”

Selena didn't even meet his gaze as she replied, her voice even quieter than before. “I didn't mean to blame you. But Rebecca doesn't like loud noises. If you speak a bit quieter-”

Claude gritted his teeth. Whatever he did around their daughter, Selena never seemed to be content. She kept telling him what he could or couldn't do, and he had no patience left to deal with that. He couldn't make everyone here happy when they were currently in big trouble. “Then she should get used to the real world. People won't always whisper because she can't take yelling!” As if to prove his point, Rebecca wailed even louder, almost seeming to choke on her sobs even though she was peacefully lying in her mother's arms. Claude didn't know what she wanted, but he was sick of her whining about it. He took a step toward his wife. “If she doesn't shut-”

Instead of being happy about the support she might get, Selena didn't seem to like him moving. She almost stumbled back like she wanted to bring as much distance between them as possible. Of course, she didn't get far, but she didn't just give up either. She turned as if to shield Rebecca and then raised her trembling voice. “Claude, don't!”

Claude had been in the middle of approaching them but abruptly stopped. While he hadn't expected his wife to hug him immediately when he was so angry, but he hadn't thought that she would back away just to avoid him. That almost made it seem like she was scared. But that couldn't be it, could it? Claude wasn't even doing anything. Why would his wife look at him like he was a threat? As he noticed that, he was just stunned for a moment. It was only a second after that he finally understood the implications. His confusion turned to wrath. “What are you doing?”

Selena only seemed to notice it now too. She froze in place, but as she caught herself, she didn't change her mind. Instead, she just held her daughter tighter while averting her eyes. She understood what she was doing.

Claude didn't like that at all. A mix of disappointment and rage spiraled in his body as he took another step forward, his hand gesturing to himself. “Are you serious, Selena? You want to keep me from getting close to my own daughter?”

As he said that so directly, she should have understood that she was wrong. Selena didn't though. She just forced out a quiet reply that didn't make him happy at all. “You look a bit too angry right now. It would be better if you...kept your distance. Just for a minute.”

“What?” Claude hadn't expected so much disrespect to come from his wife, especially not in their current situation. Selena took care of their children more often, but she had never kept him away from them. In fact, she had encouraged him to take Luciano on trips and to show their businesses to him. Why would she suddenly change her mind? Claude hated that his wife thought about him so badly. He caught himself yelling. “Do you think I would hurt our daughter?”

And again, his wife didn't reply.

Claude took another step toward her. “Selena. Why would you avoid me? I just want to see my daughter.” He hadn't necessarily wanted that before, but now he was serious about wanting to hold Rebecca, if just to prove that his daughter obviously wasn't scared of him since she had no reason to be.

But Selena didn't budge. In fact, she rejected him again with too much certainty. “You get far too upset just because she cries. That is dangerous, Claude.” Now she fully forgot what their current situation was about. How foolish could she be?

Claude felt blood rushing to his head as anger clouded his mind even more. “That's not why I'm so upset at all! Didn't you listen to me? We have a serious crisis now, and she just whines the whole time! How should I concentrate on fixing this if there isn't a single second of silence?”

And this time, the insult got even worse as Luciano stepped between them when his father took another step forward. He almost seemed to plead with Claude, his eyebrows furrowed a little as he was far stiffer than he should have been. “Father, please. All babies cry. Rebecca isn't doing it to upset you. Please don't get mad.” That wasn't the point.

But since that was something Claude was upset about too, he might as well point it out. “But they don't cry that much! You were quiet too!” He made a wide gesture toward Rebecca, who only screamed louder like she hoped to wake up the whole estate with her useless whining. “By now, I think she's ill! Maybe we should just let her cry until she stops herself.”

It hadn't even been anything special, but Selena's mood shifted. Something about her expression made it seem like he had said something she didn't want to hear. For a moment, she just averted her gaze. What seemed to be sadness slowly changed into anger before she addressed her husband again. “Maybe you didn't hear Luciano cry because I was the one taking care of him while you spent every day in the city in your stores.” With that, she whirled around and stomped toward the back door of the entrance hall. “I will bring Rebecca to the annex now. Then you won't hear her anymore.” Now she was running away and expected to spend the night in the annex? Wasn't she aware of what rumors would spread as soon as she did that?

Claude couldn't have anyone criticizing his marriage, so he immediately spoke up. “Selena, wait.” He took a few steps to follow her, only to see her shut the door. He yelled even though he knew that his voice wouldn't reach her. “Selena!”

Of course, he received no response.

That was just perfect. First, all of his plans to finally progress were ruined due to some coincidental guesses of the tyrant emperor and that man's sudden fighting skills. After that, the emperor suddenly decided to close down all of his stores and drag him to a trial numerous times before pushing him into prison, which Claude had just barely escaped. Then the bastard prince threatened to steal the remains of Claude's life's work. And now his own family refused to talk to him. How undeserving of a duke.

Claude was at his limit. He was aching with the desire to crush the ones that had pushed him here and lost his composure for a moment. “Curse that damned Estien family! This is all their fault! I hope they burn, both of those disgusting brothers!” He hit the marble wall with his fist, hurting himself more than anything else. But he didn't care. He just began pacing around in the room to vent his frustration without deciding to send assassins immediately.

A moment passed in utter silence as only his footsteps sounded.

Luciano seemed to wait for his father to speak first. When he didn't receive any information by waiting, he spoke up though. His voice was shaky now, almost as if he could imagine that things had gone very wrong. “What do you mean, Father? Did...Cedar say something that upset you?” That was phrased far too kindly.

Claude had been in the middle of pacing away, so he spun around and spread his arms while letting out a laugh. “You could say that.” All of this was so ridiculous that he smiled at his son, all of his anger seeping through. “We just lost our alliance to our faction. That brat just told me that he would kill me if I did anything he disliked. He wants our stores and will confine me here. He said he would make a pact with his damned brother to get me killed if I did anything else.” It was ridiculous that their closest ally, the one they had always supported, would dare to threaten their family like this.

But Luciano's face didn't show the rage Claude had hoped for. Instead, it gave away something more troublesome. Luciano seemed to become defensive and confused. His question held an almost accusatory tone despite his shaking voice. “What did you do?”

For a moment, Claude thought that he had misheard. His expression turned blank as he faced his son fully. He was almost trembling with rage, but he wanted to give Luciano a chance to correct what had to be a misunderstanding. “What?”

But even though he should know what this meant, Luciano stood his ground. He didn't seem very confident, but he balled his fists and didn't move back as he met his father's gaze and replied. “Cedar wouldn't just threaten you because he wants to. I would believe it if Aunt suddenly snapped and cut you off, but he isn't like that. If he actually said that he would kill you, you did something absolutely horrible that-”

It was ridiculous. Surely, Luciano had always seemed to be fond of his cousin, but how could he defend him when it came to the safety of his own family?

Claude thought that he would lose his mind for a moment. A coil in him snapped as he stomped toward his son and raised his hands. “Now even my own son accuses me of some crimes? Come here, you ungrateful brat!”

Now Luciano backed away. He almost tripped over his own feet as he positioned himself behind the standing lamp as if that would protect him. He hurriedly replied, his confidence already ebbing away. “Father, I saw the ledgers you hide in your room. I know about most things you did. If Cedar found out-”

Again, Claude just got angrier. How could his own son criticize him? “And? The money I earn belongs to me. No one can blame me for keeping it to myself!” He followed his son around the lamp.

Luciano just backed away more while unwillingly getting much louder. “That is tax evasion, Father! His Majesty will use that against us if you continue like that. Right now, we're in a dangerous situation, so you have to be careful. Cedar warned us!” Yes, that damned traitor had told Claude not to overstep his boundaries numerous times.

But why should Claude listen to a useless and powerless nobody? He was the Duke of Vasquez. He wouldn't bow to anyone, especially not that arrogant Cedar. Why would he need to when he wasn't planning on relying on either heir to the Estien family? Claude had made his decision a while ago, and now he was just more certain. “Careful? That is the opposite of what we should do. Everything around us is falling apart right now, Luciano! We need to do something big right now. Your damned cousin just told me that he would take our stores away.”

Hearing that did make Luciano a bit worried. But even then, he seemed adamant about believing that Cedar was always the one in the right. “If he decided that, then he probably-” If his stupid cousin said that, he would agree with it too? How ridiculous.

Claude wouldn't hear it. “Shut up!” His voice echoed through the entire room. He almost expected someone to hear, but he couldn't bring himself to stay quieter. His life's work and all of his influence were threatened here. How could he stand still? “Both the emperor and the prince want us dead now. Do you know what that means?” Claude closed the distance between him and his son and grabbed Luciano's shoulders to shake him. “Neither of their factions can win, or they will ruin us. You heard what that bastard emperor said to us, right? He announced that he would crush our entire family in front of witnesses.”

Upon standing right in front of his father, Luciano had seemingly lost all of his certainty. He shrank in himself as he just held still and stared into Claude's eyes with something like fear. As Claude tightened his grasp, he tensed, but he definitely listened.

Claude knew that his foolish son barely understood the situation they were in, but he needed to make this clear. “If we keep being nice now, we will end up dead in a ditch somewhere, do you understand? We have to defend ourselves and make him regret that. We need to gain power somehow. And even then, the emperor has to disappear, or he will ruin us. He has to die. And now the prince wants to overpower us too, so we can't rely on him. That bastard has to lose his head too. As soon as the heirs are gone, our family has to step up.”

That was the first time Claude had said it so honestly.

Luciano didn't take it well. He froze in place entirely, his fear rendering him immobile. He could just stare at his father with an open mouth for a few seconds. When he freed himself from his paralysis, he almost seemed to shake. “What did you just say?” How foolish. The truth was so obvious. He should understand easily.

Claude still took it upon himself to share this with his son. He took another step forward as he pulled Luciano toward him while bringing his face right in front of the other's. “We can take over the crown, Luciano. We have to. Think about it. We are definitely powerful enough. We have enough money, and we are the family closest to the royal family. Your mother is the sister of our dowager empress. That is more than enough to legitimize you as the heir if there is no other way.” And since this situation would be the only one the Vasquez family might survive, they had to focus all of their attention on this. Maybe it would be a bit of a risk, but they had no other choice anyway.

It was so obvious.

Yet, Luciano didn't seem to listen to his father. Upon hearing this, he didn't smile or get excited. Instead, he seemed mortified. “We have multiple heirs to the throne that would receive it before us. His Majesty and his wife come first, and Cedar is the next one in line. That-” Wouldn't be a problem.

Claude hadn't prepared everything for all those years, only to keep himself from grasping for the stars now that they were in sight. He had been cornered anyway, so he might as well do all he could. “Then we'll ensure that they are gone. We have enough methods to do that. Don't waste your time worrying about such nonsense. I will take care of that.”

This time, Luciano didn't react at all. He was just as slow as before while staring right at Claude. His voice only came out of a whisper. “Father...” As expected, he would be useless in this conflict. Luciano was good at business, but he barely understood any political situation they might be thrown in. That meant that his father had to guide him. It would be best for him to just stand still.

Claude had hinted at this numerous times already, but he got sick of waiting. He just told his son everything he had to know. “But it will be hard to get justification anyway. That is why we need to talk about what I suggested. If a ruler desperately needs to be recognized, taking in the apparent heir of the legitimate ruler can work. You remember that I told you that, right?”

He didn't receive a response.

That made Claude tighten his hold on his son. This wasn't the time for Luciano to joke around. They had to hurry and finalize this mess. So, Claude just shook him again. “Luciano. Listen to me. I asked if you remembered.”

That finally broke Luciano out of his paralysis. He didn't gain confidence though. Instead, he seemed to tense while staring right back at his father. “But what you said... That was just a joke, right? You can't really...” His words barely came out as low muttering, showing that Luciano was still too damn helpless. He would let their family fall to ruin because he was so scared.

Claude was strong though. He wouldn't let his family die because of something so foolish. No, he would take care of this issue and fix it without compromise. At the end of this, his family would be the most powerful one of all. He was willing to do anything for that. He needed his son to work with him too though. So, Claude reminded him once more. “I am serious. Luciano, those people will kill us if we don't kill them first! If you are too softhearted, I will take care of that. But once that is over, we aren't fully safe. We also need to secure our power in the new version of our nation. You will become emperor, and you need to ensure that no one will doubt your connection to the royal family. You have to adopt the next heir to the throne. It doesn't matter how.”

It should have been so easy to understand. Yet, Luciano's expression only showed more hesitance. When he spoke, he seemed far too fearful. “That's... Even if you say that, there is no child that would need to be adopted right now. And there is no-”

As if that would keep Claude from getting what he needed. “Then we'll have to ensure that there is one.” At the moment, the tyrant emperor only seemed to lay with one woman, which meant that her child would have to be recognized as a possible heir. That was the best option right now, even if Claude despised that harlot. “The emperor's mistress is at the right age to have a child. If she gets pregnant, no one would deny that it's his.”

Upon hearing the mention of Lady Blanche, Luciano became rigid. He didn't seem to like her being mentioned. That was annoying in itself, but he even wanted to talk back. “Yes, that...makes sense. But...she isn't-”

Claude cut him off right there. He could listen to his son's thoughts later. For now, he had to make his plan clear. “But since she still hasn't had a child, there's probably something wrong with either of those two. So, we should check whether a different father would change that situation.” Yes, that was the best option. Whether the father was actually the emperor didn't really matter as long as no one doubted the child's heir line. Then anyone who took in that child would be considered a good temporary ruler until the true heir had become an adult. And in case that child wasn't actually a member of the Estien family but the son of the Vasquez family, wouldn't their heir-line successfully take over the crown without attracting any attention? The thought had appeared in Claude's mind, and he almost laughed at how perfect he was. Yes, everything would work out like that. Now he just had to ensure that his son became that temporary ruler and the father of the future emperor. “Yes, it will be perfect! If it's Lady Blanche, no one would accuse her of bringing in another man's child. No matter what, the son she gives birth to will become the next emperor. Then we just have to make sure that that son is part of our family! She's much weaker than you. As long as you get her drugged, it should work out. Then we get rid of the Estiens, and you marry that whore. You just have to endure her for a few years before we kill her and put your son on the throne.”

That plan had progressed rather quickly, but it didn't seem like Luciano needed time to understand. No, it seemed like he had understood very well. And this time, he didn't just have that stupid confused expression on his face. Instead, he showed an undefinable expression Claude couldn't read. “That...isn't a very funny joke.”

Claude waited and almost expected Luciano to take that back, but he didn't. After his father had come up with something that could protect them and get them the crown, he insulted him like that? “Joke?” Claude's patience was at his limit now. He grabbed Luciano's shoulders with more force while shaking him. “We don't have time for anything foolish like that!”

But Luciano didn't listen. Instead, he suddenly lifted his hands to push against his father. “You are insane!” The sudden impact made Claude stumble away, which Luciano immediately used as a chance to back away. His eyes were wide now, filled with fear and something a bit more hateful. His face was scrunched up as well as he held his chest and seemingly didn't take what he had heard well at all.

Once again, Claude was insulted for trying to save what others had ruined. He didn't find that funny at all. He only took a moment to process what had happened and then faced Luciano again as he raised his voice and fought the urge to vent his growing anger. “Luciano, what are you saying? I am doing all I can to save this family, and you are calling me insane?” He took a step forward.

Normally, Luciano always gave in when his father showed how mad he was, but he didn't seem to be willing to do that today. Instead, he slowly shook his head as he took back one step after the other. His voice barely worked, but he forced himself to talk back. “Yes, I am. Protecting us is one thing, but wanting to commit treason and take over the nation is another. There is no way that we will do that. I will tell Cedar before you can even try this. You know that he won't just stand by while you attempt to-”

Now his own son threatened to betray him.

Claude lost his temper fully. He rushed over to his son without being able to hold back. He didn't use all of his power, but he hit Luciano's face with his closed fist. Luciano stumbled back, but Claude grabbed his collar and pulled him back before he could recoil in pain, yelling right at his face to finally make him understand. “You moron! What do you think will happen when he finds out? He will have all of us executed. Me, you, your mother. Even your sister! Will you let all of us die because you're a damned coward?”

Luciano didn't reply. He just squeezed his eyes shut as he let his father hold him up. His jaw was clenched while he seemed like he wished to ignore the truth entirely. How foolish.

Claude wouldn't let this crush his family though. “You might be weak enough to just duck your head and think you can let this happen, but I won't. I will make you emperor one way or the other. You will listen to whatever I tell you to do, and we will follow my plan accordingly. Do you understand?” His voice echoed through the empty entrance hall, making the lacking response even more obvious. It seemed like his dumb son refused to understand what truly depended on this. Before, Claude had seemingly not made it clear enough.

After all, Luciano seemed to think that he had a choice here. He looked at his father with a mix of shock and dismay before he hurriedly shook his head. “No, that... I want to protect our family, but we can't-”

“We can't do what?” Claude shook his son again. “Do all we can to protect us? You don't want to try that? Do you care that little? You are the heir of this family! How can you just hide and hope that it will turn out fine? If you want power, you have to dirty your hands too! If you aren't even willing to do that much, you can leave this house right now!” He got even louder at the end and then pointed at the entrance door to prove his point.

It didn't work like intended.

Luciano just seemed more upset as he whispered his response, maybe not even wishing to be heard by his father. “Maybe I should.”

Claude's eyes widened. Surely, he had to have heard that wrong. There was no way that his heir would try to leave the family. “What?” He was giving his son a chance to revoke his words, which the sharp tone of his voice should have given away.

Seemingly, Luciano didn't understand. He forced himself to reply, gritting his teeth as he tensed like he expected to be hit again. “Maybe I should leave. You're clearly pushing our family toward ruin. We will be executed if you try to do this. So, Mother and I will leave. I can deal with businesses well enough to-” He had been asking for it at this point. Now he didn't also want to ruin his father, he also wanted to involve his mother.

Did any of those idiots really think that they could leave Claude? They would be nothing without him. Nothing. After years of taking care of them, they paid him back like this?

Claude had seemingly been far too lenient. This time, he hit Luciano with far more force. He let go of his son, who just crashed to the floor. It took all of Claude's self-control not to kick him as well, but instead, he just glared down.

And now Luciano understood.

As he lifted his gaze and met his father's eyes, he froze in place and didn't dare to budge even a single bit. Finally, fear seemed to show on his face. But he couldn't just stay silent now and pretend to never have said anything else.

Claude hated cowards, so he would never let this go. Instead, he crouched down next to his son. He reached for Luciano slowly, which was already enough to make his son flinch. He didn't care and grabbed his son's hair to pull him in his direction. As he spoke now, he didn't get loud or show his anger. He was just cold, building up the boundaries he should have set up long ago. “If you try to leave this house, I will take away all of your stores and every single gold coin you may have owned at some point. I will make sure that you never see your mother or any other relatives ever again. That includes your damned sister. I don't mind throwing her onto the streets to prove a point. And...” He needed to make sure that this would never happen. But aside from that, there was something even more dangerous. Claude couldn't let anyone accuse him of treason, or his head would be chopped off. So, he took care of this problem first, making sure to add a threat Luciano could never ignore. He didn't actually intend to hurt his daughter, but his son didn't have to know that. “If you even think about betraying me or tell this Cedar or Theodore or anyone else in any way, I will snap your sister's thin neck like a twig. It's a price I'm willing to pay for the sake of this family. Do you understand?”

This time, it truly seemed to sink in.

Luciano's eyes widened even more as nothing but utter dread washed over him. “Father...” His weak whisper sounded so broken, so full of grief and fear. Along with the big red spots on Luciano's face, that turned him into a pitiful display.

Claude almost felt guilty for turning his son into that state. But it wasn't like he was doing this for fun. It was for the survival of the family, which Luciano belonged to. It was painful, but it was needed here. Now Claude would take over this whole plan and finally get what he had prepared for so long. “You will do exactly as I say from now on. You will listen to this plan until you realize that I'm right. Do you understand?”

Luciano merely nodded, no rejections left in his mind.

Again, Claude told himself that it was for the best. After all, it seemed like people were beginning to find out that the falsified letters that had been sent to Northern Ocrea might be from an influential noble in Artias. Claude knew that he and everyone he had talked to would be beheaded if it became known that he had committed treason against all of Artias. He couldn't let that happen. What methods he had to use didn't matter.