“Your Highness.”
After placing a chess piece on the board, old Marshal MacDonald raised his head and asked,
“You didn’t call here today just to play chess, did you?”
A smile appeared on the face of Antonio Griffin.
This prince—the second prince of the Gabella Empire—possessed an unparalleled beauty. His face seed carved by an obsessive-compulsive sculptor, pouring his life’s blood into every detail, each one defining what perfection truly is.
The prince’s smile had a formidable impact on anyone who faced him, including n.
The old marshal, engaged in the ga with him, was no exception.
Such a srizing face, he thought to himself, perfectly inheriting his mother’s beauty.
Thinking of the prince’s mother, MacDonald drifted into a distant mory.
“Lord MacDonald, can’t I invite a comrade who fought alongside on the front lines to a simple gathering?”
Antonio’s response broke the marshal’s reverie.
He said, “Please forgive my frankness, Your Highness, but considering our statuses and this sensitive mont, what you’re doing… Your Highness, perhaps in your eyes I’m just a warrior skilled in leading troops, but I also have my own political considerations.”
Antonio replied with a smile, “Ha-ha, if in my heart you were just a warrior skilled in warfare, you wouldn’t be sitting here today. Lord, you are undoubtedly one of the most important pillars of the empire, both militarily and politically.”
He looked earnestly at MacDonald, “Old Marshal, then, what kind of person am I in your heart?”
“Uh…” MacDonald hesitated.
“Please, speak frankly, old marshal.”
“Well, Your Highness. Undoubtedly, you are an exceptional person, perhaps the most outstanding individual I’ve ever encountered. I am a commander of the empire, but even in the military aspect, which I pride myself on, the talent you have shown deeply impresses . Fighting alongside you was one of the most morable and honorable experiences of my life. But…”
The old marshal carefully chose his words.
“With my decades of experience in judging people—though it’s not always accurate—it seems you are burdened with a significant worry. Please forgive my bluntness again, but it likely isn’t just about your birth or the rivalry with your brothers. From what I observe, those issues, albeit troubling, wouldn’t cause you such concern.”
Antonio raised his glass from the table, “I toast to you, Marshal.”
MacDonald quickly lifted his glass in response.
“In that case, Marshal MacDonald, am I, as such, a lord worthy of your allegiance?”
Antonio’s straightforwardness almost made the old marshal choke.
“Cough, cough! Your Highness, my allegiance is to Emperor Bartley Griffin—your father.”
“I know, Lord MacDonald. What I an is…”
Antonio said sincerely,
“What I an is, if, one day in the future, the empire falls into so kind of trouble, and you need to choose again whom to pledge your loyalty to, how would you choose?”
His sincerity was laced with a touch of seriousness.
“Of course, I swear that this choice of yours will be made while upholding your loyalty to my father. I can swear on my mother that I will not harm the principles you adhere to in the slightest.”
Marshal MacDonald fell silent, pondering the implications of the prince’s words.
The prince seed to be suggesting three scenarios:
1. The emperor has not clearly designated an heir;
2. The emperor designates him as the heir;
3. The emperor designates his brother as the heir.
The prince’s intention appeared to be that, in the first two scenarios, he hoped for MacDonald’s support.
In the third scenario, he respected MacDonald’s loyalty to the current emperor and would not use special ans to sway him to his side—unlike what the Dias family had done.
However, if MacDonald chose his brother, he would probably face the prince on the battlefield.
Antonio’s vow—not to harm the principles MacDonald adhered to—was sincere, especially since it was sworn on his mother. MacDonald believed that even if the prince could jest about the Lord of Light, he would not jest about his own mother.
Alas!
MacDonald couldn’t help but sigh deeply from the bottom of his heart.
What a pity! Fate enjoys toying with mortals.
Your Highness, let us et on the battlefield.
“Your Highness!” Struggling with sorrow, MacDonald said, “If you had co to earlier, perhaps I could have given you the answer you wanted—I would have unhesitatingly stood by your side. But now… it’s all too late… too late.”
“Ha ha ha ha!”
Antonio laughed heartily.
“Marshal MacDonald, I know what stone has tripped you up.”
Seeing the look of surprise on MacDonald’s face, he raised his hand to stop the old marshal from speaking.
“I know, a long ti ago, when the emperor of the empire was my great-grandfather, in his final years, the empire faced a situation similar to now. Only at that ti, the protagonists were my grandfather and his brothers.”
“…In the end, my grandfather ascended the imperial throne, and his brothers disappeared into the annals of history.”
“And your family—forgive my bluntness, Marshal—originally pledged loyalty to my grandfather’s brother but switched allegiance to my grandfather for various reasons.”
As Antonio recounted, a look of sha appeared on the old marshal’s face.
“So, your family vowed at least to ensure the continuation of the original loyalist’s bloodline.”
“Am I right, Lord MacDonald?”
The old marshal seed to have a burden lifted from his heart. Covering his face, he said tearfully,
“Yes, Your Highness, it is this vow—a testant to the stain on the MacDonald family—that prevents from standing by your side.”
“I… I cannot let that child be hard, I cannot let my family be shad again for breaking a vow.”
Antonio’s eyes filled with pity. He stood up, walked around the stone table with the chessboard, and ca to MacDonald’s side, placing his hand on his shoulder.
He said, “Lord, I understand the burden you carry. Your adherence to your family’s vow makes your image even more noble in my heart.”
“But now, please listen to .”
“This stumbling block…”
“I have already removed it for you.”
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