ESTRANGED BROTHERS

"BROTHER, I admit that I'm aware of the plan to humiliate you tonight."

Isaak Viotto raised a brow at what Nigel Ratliff confessed. He didn't expect his foolish younger brother to admit anything to him. Even so, it didn't look like he was ready to take responsibility. "I have said nothing yet."

"You wouldn't be here if you haven't found out that I'm involved with what happened tonight," Nigel said in a scared voice. "That means you already know the truth. You'll just kill me if I lie, won't you?"

"Yeah, I will."

Well, not really. Even though Nigel was a douchebag, His Majesty cared for their youngest brother. The emperor would always ask him to be patient and understanding to Nigel whenever this bastard would pull a cruel prank on him.

But he was glad that Nigel came clean before he resorted to violence.

[He'll probably put the blame on other people, though.]

"I don't know what you've heard, but the wives of the noblemen that you wronged in the past planned everything," Nigel Ratliff said, putting the blame on other people as he expected. "They went to me and begged me to let them take care of the menu for the banquet. Even though I know that they were scheming to humiliate you, I didn't have the power to turn them down."

He almost rolled his eyes at his brother's lame excuse.

"Brother, you may not know this because you live in your own duchy. But here in the Royal Capital, the social circle is dominated by noblewomen. It is said that the wives of powerful and wealthy noblemen are more influential than their own husbands," his half-brother said, and it sounded like he was trying hard to convince him of the bullshit he was sprouting. "Have you forgotten that I, the younger brother of the emperor, lost my marquis title and was demoted as a count just because I messed with the wrong lady?"

He remained silent.

Of course, he knew the reason why Nigel lost his marquis title.

If he remembered it correctly, he messed with the daughter of a countess. So, in a way, his brother was telling the truth when he said the wives of the nobles of the Royal Capital were influential.

"That's how powerful their circle is," Nigel said, then he had the nerve to look at him as if he was guilty. "Brother, my only sin is not having the courage to stop those noblewomen from scheming against you. I just wanted to protect my status."

[As if your status is in danger.]

"I know what you're thinking, Brother," the count said. "You think those noblewomen couldn't threaten my status because I'm the emperor's brother."

"Yeah," he said bluntly. "You lost your marquis title not only because you messed with the wrong lady. It was just a story blown out of proportion to cover up the real offense that you have committed during that time. But since His Majesty showed you mercy, you got out of trouble with you only losing your marquis title."

"You're saying that those noblewomen couldn't threaten my status because our older brother has my back, aren't you?"

"Isn't that the case?"

Nigel openly scowled at him. "Brother, you're saying that because you're His Majesty's favorite sibling."

[Ah, here he goes again.]

He had always known that Nigel was jealous of him because of his closeness with their older brother, the emperor.

Well, it wasn't his fault that there was only a two-year gap between him and His Majesty. Thus, the two of them were raised together. Nigel was born five years later, after him.

His Majesty was six years older than Nigel. Although it wasn't that big of an age gap, that gap was still the reason why Nigel didn't get to spend time with the emperor growing up. After all, during the time Nigel was big enough to play outside his palace, His Majesty was already busy attending to his duties as the Crown Prince.

"Our oldest brother isn't as lenient to me as he is to you," Nigel said in a bitter voice. "You know that His Majesty is paying more attention to you than the rest of us, don't you?"

"It's because I was cursed," he reminded his foolish brother sternly. "If you want to catch His Majesty's attention, why don't you find the person who cursed me and asked them to turn you into a Grimling as well?"

"Brother!"

"Did you just raise your voice at me?"

"I apologize for yelling," the count said, then he lowered his gaze to the floor. "I don't know if you already interrogated the noblewomen involved in this scheme. But it wasn't really my idea this time. I just went along with it because I wanted to see your perfect façade break in front of His Majesty."

It seemed like Nigel was telling the truth.

But that didn't make him less guilty.

"If this wasn't your idea, then why did you send mercenaries after Lady Rochester?" he asked the foolish count. "Have you gone crazy? She's the heiress of House Rochester. Even if Marquis Hendrix Rochester has already retired from the battlefield, he's still a force to be reckoned with."

"I didn't send them to kill Lady Rochester," his brother said, then he raised his head to meet his gaze. "I just ordered them to keep an eye on her. Brother, I'm simply curious about her relationship with you.

"Lady Rochester has no connection with me," he said bluntly. "When I confronted her a while ago, she told me that she didn't save my face for my sake. According to her, she only did that to mess with the young lady that whom her father allegedly got pregnant."

It wasn't a lie, anyway.

Lady Rochester wasn't happy that Miss Ashmore used her name and seal to scheme with the noblewomen who wanted to humiliate him. Thus, she devised a plan to sabotage the plan of her "stepmother-wannabe."

The sassy lady didn't do it for him.

"Lady Rochester surrendered the letter that Miss Millicent Ashmore received from Viscountess Clarke," he continued.

He had to share that information with Nigel because he didn't want his foolish brother to think that there was something special going on between him and Lady Rochester.

After all, if the foolish count got the wrong idea, he may target Lady Rochester just to get on his nerves.

"Since I know that you're the person who organized the banquet tonight, I thought it wouldn't be strange if you were involved with the plan. And let's get real, Nigel. This isn't the first time that you tried to pull a "prank" on me just for shits and giggles."

The count looked flustered. "This wasn't my idea this time."

"Regardless of whether or not this is your idea, you better be careful," he warned his brother. "Nigel, you're in your twenties now." This foolish man just turned twenty-one years old this year. "You're no longer a child, so I won't let it slide the next time you pull something like this again. I don't care if I earn His Majesty's wrath. I will punish you the way you deserve to be punished if you pissed me off. Understood?"

Nigel bit his lower lip, then he nodded. "I understand, Brother."

He gave his foolish brother one last look before he turned his back on her.

Then, he used his Mist to hide the corpses behind him.

He only showed up with the corpses to scare Nigel. Now that he already did, he had no more reason to walk into the palace looking like that. Although he didn't care about his already ruined reputation, he didn't want his enemies to use his presence to criticize His Majesty.

People like Nigel were targeting him because they wanted him to lose control. And once he lost it, they would probably pressure His Majesty to remove him from his position. After all, Nigel and most nobles wanted to be the emperor's most trusted person instead of him.

It seemed like the group that opposed him was using Nigel's jealousy towards him to control his dumb half-brother. Nigel was a good pawn because no matter how much "prank" he pulled on him, he couldn't easily punish him out of consideration for His Majesty.

[Come to think of it, Nigel insisted that this whole fiasco wasn't his idea, and he only went along with it. But there's no way a prideful prick like him would allow noblewomen to boss him around.]

His foolish younger brother would only follow people above him, and there were only a few people that Nigel truly respected in the empire.

He froze in his tracks when he realized something.

[Ah… could it be him?]

It was plausible since Nigel wasn't that smart to hide behind the noblewomen for that particular "prank."

Moreover, the actual star of the social circle was a man and not a woman.

"Vaughn," Isaak whispered to himself. "That sly bastard is probably back in the empire."

***

"WELCOME BACK, Your Grace."

Isaak Viotto just nodded at Sawyer's greeting, then he entered the carriage.

His right-hand man followed him and sat on the couch across from him. Sawyer waited until they were out of the Royal Palace before he gave his report.

After he left, when Marquis Rochester approached his daughter, he asked Sawyer to keep an eye on the two. Although he was convinced that Lady Rochester didn't have any ill intentions towards him, he still didn't want to lower his guard completely.

"I monitored Lady Rochester and eavesdropped on her conversation with Marquis Rochester just like your order, Your Grace," Sawyer began his report. He gave his right-hand man that task because he was second to none when it came to spying. "Based on their conversation, it's safe to assume that Marquis Rochester wasn't aware of his daughter's plan. Lady Rochester is also telling the truth when she told you that she wanted to sabotage Miss Ashmore's plan to protect her family."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I figured that much. Did Marquis Rochester believe his daughter's alibi regarding her behavior tonight?"

His right-hand man suddenly gulped hard. "About that, my lord…"

"What?"

"Lady Rochester claimed that she experienced "attraction at first sight" when she met Your Grace," Sawyer said hesitantly. "Marquis Rochester wants you to take responsibility for "seducing" his daughter, Your Grace."

Isaak shut his eyes tight, stressed after hearing Sawyer's report.

[Lady Rochester, do you have a death wish?]

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3