10 Sophie's past

Ah, ah, ah," Lucca gasped, suddenly getting doused with water.

Lucca: "What happened?" He looked around and saw a silhouette.

"When your mother told me that you were training, I didn't believe it." James said.

"Darn it, Dad, you got me all wet!"

"Ahaha."

Lucca tried to dry himself as best he could and asked, "Why are you here, Dad?"

"I came to tell you something."

"What?"

"Don't hold a grudge against your mother!"

"So, you already know what happened in the carriage?"

"Yes, I know."

"I won't. Mom must have her reasons for getting upset like that."

"She does. Do you want to know the reason?"

"Mom won't be upset if she tells me. After all, it's something she should tell me, isn't it?"

"She will be, but I'd rather you know the truth and not hate your mother than her not letting me touch her, at least for a year. Hahaha."

"You old pervert!" He finished his sentence with a slap on the back and yelled, "Ouch!"

"Now, I'll tell you the story. Pay attention, because I doubt your mother will tell you this story since it still brings her a lot of sadness."

"I'm listening."

"This happened about seven years ago during an invasion by the Three Kingdoms."

"Again? It's always the Three Kingdoms against us!"

 "The elves are very cowardly. They invade when the orcs and barbarians raid us, but there's a difference. When the elves invade, they want more land. But the orcs and barbarians raid us for fun, gold, and women. They rarely want land, but it's still a threat."

James sighed and continued, "For some reason, the King of Eldoria knew that the elves would attack that year, so if the elves were attacking, it meant that raids from the other two kingdoms were on their way. The strategy was to deploy what was called the 'suicidal army,' which was responsible for holding off the other races for as long as possible to give the villages and cities enough time to evacuate. The main army, which was dealing with the elves, had to arrive in time. And your mother's parents and grandparents were in that suicidal army. As you can imagine, they were wiped out, but they achieved their goal."

James: "But the worst part isn't that. While your mother was happily hunting mobs, leveling up, and helping her guild grow, her family was dying on the border. When she received the news, she felt guilty about it. So she went to the border villages to find out what happened, and that's when she discovered the truth that many nobles in the central part of the Kingdom want to hide."

James paused for a moment and then continued, "When she returned to the guild, all she could think about was going out into the fields, and when she wasn't there, she locked herself in her room. When I found out about this, I went there and decided to help her."

"Of course, the princess needs help. Did you think your 'dick' would help my mother? You old pervert!" Lucca, thinking to himself, 'So, my mother fell into a deep depression, and all she could think about was getting stronger to seek revenge. She spent her days leveling up.'

Lucca received another smack on the back and asked, "How long did it take for you to win her heart?"

"About three years, hahaha. But those three years were worth it because I spent two of them with her in her guild's base, helping her get back to a normal life. Of course, we didn't spend those two years just killing mobs and leveling up, hahaha."

Lucca retorted, "I didn't need to know that you took two years to make me! You old..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was promptly slapped again.

Lucca then inquired, "How did you convince Mom to come to the duchy instead of going to the front lines?"

James replied, "It was quite easy, actually. When we found out that we were going to have you, your mother and I made an agreement. She would come to the duchy to have you and stay until you returned from the academy, and then she would most likely head to the front lines for revenge."

Lucca, concerned for his mother's safety, cried, "You have to stop her; she'll get herself killed!"

James reassured him, "The agreement is already in place."

"I need to convince my mother!" Lucca decided to try to convince his mother not to go to the front lines

James added, "If you manage to convince her, please tell me how, as I've tried everything."

"Okay, I'll let you know. But now that you've told me about my mother's story, it's only fair that you tell me why you're not stopping the succession war."

"How do you know that I know what's happening?"

"Because Mom said you're trying to do everything you can to give me as much information as possible so I don't die in the succession war."

"That's right, but the war hasn't started yet. Only two families have declared their support; the rest are just waiting."

"Yeah, I know. William told me. But answer my question."

"Because of the rivalry."

"What does that have to do with it?"

"If you create a rivalry, you both grow to defeat the other. So you start training and leveling up like crazy because that's how you can show the nobles that you're the candidate they should choose to be the next Duke."

"You must have been pretty disappointed when you found out I'm thinking of selling the right of succession."

"Actually, I thought it was pretty clever. You won't win the succession war through noble support. They see you as a commoner, and in their eyes, a commoner shouldn't lead a duchy. That's their mindset, and no matter what you do, they'll always see you that way. 

"And my second plan?"

"A childhood dream. That plan would never work. Not that your province couldn't become the richest in the duchy, but the consequences of that would be the opposite of showing them you're worthy. They would make plans to steal your province, try to hinder its growth, and in the end, they'd align themselves with other factions in exchange for your province."

"Ah," sighed Lucca, "the only way for me to survive this war is to sell it for real."

"I agree"

"Can you make sure my mother isn't killed in the succession war?"

"I was thinking of gathering my womens and telling them that killing each other is off-limits in this war. And if it happens, the child of the person involved in the attack will lose the right to inherit the duchy."

"I think that's an excellent idea, son."

"Well, let's go see your mother. She must be worried that we're taking too long."

"You go first; I'll stay here for a while."

 "Okay, son."

James left his son, and a little later, a voice said, "You haven't told Lucca the whole truth about the succession war, why?" A silhouette appeared by his side, leaning against a tree.