Chapter 57- Stepfather

The man leaned in a brutish manner on one of the pillars near the entrance, and flipped his hair out of the way of his face before eyeballing and speaking with his mother in a smooth tone.

"Hey beautiful.... you certainly are looking good today... I would like to ask you out for dinner, but sadly this isn't the time for such a thing."

How unrefined! This man surely was nothing more than a peasant! Had he not come in a royal carriage, Eric would already have sent him off to prison for humiliating him like this, but unfortunately all he could do was bite his lip and bear with it as this man mocked him.

"I apologize for my briefness, however I come bearing some terrible news. Are you aware of the strange weather pattern that occurred today?", Oscar asked in a grieving tone. His tone did not match his own body language, and Eric was very confused by this.

"I did see some strange clouds that darkened the sky for only a moment earlier. Why do you mention it?", Eric's mother questioned, captivated by the man.

With saddened eyes that fooled even Eric for a moment, the man spoke with the perfection of a flawless actor.

"It pains me unbearably to say this, but the head of this household, Lancelot Harxeau, has been struck dead by lightning."

Eric's mother held her hands to her mouth and let out a gasp, and Eric's eyes went wide in disbelief.

Sweat beaded down his head, and his mother teetered back and forth between consciousness and fainting.

How could this be? His father had been alive just this morning, as he left for a meeting among the nobles. Was this some sort of assassination plot by another group of nobles, or was it truly a freak accident!?

"Where is my father!?", Eric demanded.

Oscar looked over to Eric and sighed.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Of course! Bring him to me right now!"

"As you wish, little brat", Oscar whispered as he passed Eric.

Oscar then waved to the two guards standing outside the carriage, and they unloaded the coffin.

"This... this cannot be! My father is not inside that coffin! If he was truly struck by lightning then he would be burnt to a crisp! I don't believe you would be able to open up that box and show me his body! Surely it is empty! Surely he has not been killed!"

In his own disbelief for the facts which had been slammed into him, Eric began to frantically think of all the possibilities and ways in which they could be false.

"Even If he truly is in there, his body is likely perfectly intact! He must have been poisoned by an assassin, or stabbed! There is no chance a noble as envied as him would die due to something so random... something so undetermined!"

Eric almost thought he heard the man chuckle as he faced away from Eric and put his hand onto the coffin latch. A chill filled the air, and Eric found it hard to breathe.

Had his father truly died in a freak accident like this? What were the chances!? There was no way!

"Ma'am, I am going to open this coffin to show your son the truth. I would suggest that you hide your eyes if you cannot handle this sight."

Eric's mother turned away, stumbling and dizzy. She was holding her head in confusion, and couldn't think straight.

What would she do now that the head of the house was gone? Her son was not yet old enough to take over the estate. Would the other nobles take advantage of this and seize their assets for their own, running them out of their own homes now that they had lost their credibility as nobles?

Oscar opened the coffin for all to see. The burnt body of Lancelot Harxeau laid in the coffin. It was completely darkened, but the features were still recognizable. Without a doubt, this was the father of Eric Harxeau.

Eric almost threw up upon seeing this, and held everything back with all the power he had. The guards then closed the coffin, with sad and sympathetic eyes for the boy.

Oscar then returned to the mother's side, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I understand that right now is the time to grieve, and I will of course allow you to do so. However, the king has personally taken account of your situation, and he has sent me to become the new head of this household to prevent collapse of the current state of affairs."

With reassuring tone, Oscar spoke kindly to the woman with a sympathetic smile.

Yet hidden behind this smile was the grimace of a predator who was about to sink his fangs into unsuspecting prey.

"I understand that this is very sudden, however please take the future into consideration. If the other nobles were to make a political attack on your household due to your weakness, I would never be able to live with myself for having sat back and doing nothing to help such a fine noble woman."

Oscar then held out his hand to the crying mother.

The woman was hesitant at first. She seemed to be thinking and considering things, however slowly she reached out and took hold of that hand.

'What are you doing, mother!? Why would you accept help from this vulgar man!?', Eric thought.

But it was too late.

His mother, Layla, had already grabbed the hand of Oscar.

She felt her heart beating fast as she grabbed this man's hand. Even though he was unrefined, even if he seemed to be vulgar and peasant-like, there was a certain charm to him that Layla could not resist.

She grabbed his hand and held firm to it, her face flushed.

"I... I will be in your care then!"

Oscar helped the woman up, and lent her a shoulder to cry on.

Hugging the woman, and facing Eric, Oscar made a completely vile face.

Eric looked on at this man who held his mother within his grasp with horror, for his face right now was one of complete mockery.

The man right now, caressing the vulnerable head of his mother, stuck his tongue out at Eric.