Wearing sheepskin

I was kneeling in a wide room, waiting. My father was sitting on a throne, though not as grand as the main one. Beside him were my mother Luciana, Isabella, and Fiona. Fiona was glaring at me with undisguised hatred. Right next to me, Lugoar was also kneeling, trembling, with his head bowed. I could feel my mother's worry without even seeing her eyes.

"Now, according to the maids who witnessed the event, you grabbed your brother by the throat, slammed him against the wall, yelled at him, and then threw him to the ground. Is this true, Ethan?" Richard asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I said calmly.

"W-What?" my mother asked, quite shocked.

"Calm down, Luciana," my father said with a cold expression. I noticed the fire in Fiona's eyes flaring up even more, and she was struggling to control her urge to kill me.

"Why did you do such a thing?" Richard asked.

"Does the reason matter?! Doesn't he deserve to be severely punished?!!!" Fiona shouted.

"I decide what will happen or not, woman. Either be quiet or leave the room." my father said, and his still authoritarian voice sent chills down one's spine. Fiona flinched and said, "I apologize for overstepping my bounds," but I could feel her hateful gaze growing even more. In my new plan, I needed Fiona to hate me even more, and it seemed I would achieve that today.

"Now, will you tell me the reason, Ethan?" Richard asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I lost my temper for a moment because the person next to me insulted my mother, but and then I let him go when I calmed down" I said.

"Is this true, Lugoar?" my father asked, now fixing his cold eyes on him. I could see Lugoar trembling with fear, but after all, he was just a five-year-old brat.

"I-I-I" Lugoar felt his mother's gaze and glanced at her and.. "N-No, Your Majesty, t-this is not t-true" he said.

"Is that so? Well, Ethan, can you tell us exactly what Lugoar said?" Richard asked.

"Unfortunately, no, Your Majesty. I cannot let such degrading words about my mother leave my mouth," I said, and as I said this, everyone, including my mother, looked at me in shock.

"Are you refusing my request, son?" Richard asked, using the word "son" for the first time during the questioning.

"I am willing to face my punishment, but I can only tell you who taught Lugoar these vile words." I said.

"Who?" my father asked.

"My stepmother Fiona" I said with eyes full of hatred.

"This is a lie, Your Majesty!" Fiona said angrily.

"I haven't even said what Lugoar said, yet you claim I'm lying. Perhaps this means you deliberately taught your son these vile words, but don't worry, when the time comes, my enemies will have days they wish never existed" I said with a smirk on my face.

"What insolence? Who do you think you are, you brat!" Fiona shouted, her fists clenched, and I realized she was close to losing control.

"I am the precious son of the great King Richard. And you? The daughter of a peasant nobleman is no better than a plebeian. I think you look a little spoiled after becoming my father's wife." I said with an arrogant grin. I noticed Fiona's face turning rage and her eyes welling up with red. Just as she started to rush at me, I saw Richard stop her, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Isabella, probably with an abnormal Kaizer, ready to strike a deadly blow.

"Enough! You've crossed the line, Ethan. Insulting my wife in front of me already warrants a punishment. It no longer matters that you were right about the earlier matter. Until I give a second order, you are sentenced to room confinement. You will not leave your room, and no one but the servants I appoint can enter. Now, get out of my sigh," he said sternly.

"As you command, Your Majesty" I said and stood up. Though my mother's sorrowful and worried gaze pained my heart, all this was necessary for my plan. My only fear was that they would confine me to another room, but fortunately, that didn't happen. Before leaving, I looked at Isabella's face and saw that she was looking at me with worry and a bit of anger, just like my mother. I understood what Isabella was thinking, but I couldn't waste this opportunity to weaken Fiona's power in the palace.

Finally, before closing the door behind me, I glanced at Fiona secretly. Seeing her glaring at me with bloody eyes, I smiled slyly, which only seemed to infuriate her more.

After the tense atmosphere in the room, I walked through the corridors with heavy steps, heading towards my room. Inside, a storm was raging, but I kept a calm expression on the outside. The first phase of my plan was complete. Fiona's uncontrolled anger and Lugoar's fear meant that Fiona would make a careless move against me.

After closing my room door, I paused and took a deep breath. I needed to consider everything. This game was dangerous, and even the smallest mistake could ruin everything. Initially, this wasn't my plan, but my ultimate goal was to reduce Fiona's power in the palace. After all, when I went to the academy one day, my mother and Isabella would be left here alone. Although Isabella could protect herself, the same couldn't be said for my mother. My mother was a practitioner at Kaizer level 3, but she hadn't developed her magic skills much. Even if there wasn't a direct assassination attempt on my mother, Fiona could still use poison.

What I wanted to do now was to prove Fiona's desire to kill me and play the victim as much as possible. However, things progressing this quickly could challenge me a lot. Initially, I planned to at least primary basic level magic, but I might not have much time now. But at least, maybe I could do something with the Dark element.

I immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and focused on my dark element.

After all, even if I could sense it and theoretically knew how to perform magic from books, it wasn't that easy. Just as a person doesn't become a primary swordsman after reading a book about swordsmanship, I couldn't become a master of magic after reading about magic theory. But even learning a few simple spells would be quite beneficial.

I hope...

---

(Third-person POV)

Fiona was pacing back and forth in her room, biting her nails out of stress. After seeing her son's condition today, she was furious, and her hatred for Ethan was growing. She struggled to contain the boiling rage inside her, but after what happened today she didn't want to control her anger at all. Her plans had faced a setback, and she didn't give a fuck about losing control anymore.

Fiona tried to gather her thoughts, muttering to herself. "Ethan has already shown that he is dangerous to my plans. I need to eliminate him before he grows up and becomes even more dangerous" she thought.

Her maternal instinct to protect her son and her confidence made her even more aggressive. A gentle knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts, and when she opened it, she found her loyal servant Lining standing there. Lining was her only chance to secretly communicate with her family, especially her big brother.

"What did my brother say?" Fiona asked. Lining handed her the letter.

"To my dear sister,

I have sent the slave you requested. Unfortunately, since you asked for a slave immediately, I couldn't send the most skilled one, but he should still serve your purposes well." After quickly burning the brief letter, Fiona's smile grew maniacally. Though the letter contained some metaphors, she understood its contents.

Fiona jotted a brief letter and handed it to Lining. "Thank you for the slave, dear big brother. I assure you that I will repay this favor once our plans succeed."