Chapter 335 – Family Business.

“Well well, so you finally decided to show yourself, little brother…”

“Greetings, Elder Brother Theodore, This might be the first time we had the pleasure of talking since our last meeting.”

“Last meeting? I’m not sure I recall but we are not here for idle chit-chat, what do you want.”

“Straight to the point, I always liked that about you Elder Brother.”

Arthur was showing one of the fakest smiles that he could while trying to remain calm. This was his older brother that was potentially going to be the next duke. While he was taking part in the succession war there was no way of him ever truly coming out on top. However, to achieve his goal he needed to prove his competency to his father. If he was able to do that, not even his older brothers could seek vengeance.

“I’ll cut it short then, your Knight unlawfully caused damages to my Head Knight’s property. As you already know a sanctioned duel between the two had taken place and my man won. Thus I think you know what this entails…”

“Who was it?”

“Hm? I’m not sure that I follow, elder brother, who was what?”

“Stop playing games Arthur, who put you up to this? Was it Julius or Tybalt? Or did that idiot Ivan start getting desperate?”

“Oh, I assure you, none of the other elder brothers had anything to do with it.”

“You want me to believe that? Nevertheless, if you don’t want to talk, then that’s fine. The truth will come out eventually as it always does but don’t think you’ll get one silver coin from me.”

Arthur continued to smile while trying to contain himself from any potential angry outbursts. This brother of his started going on a strange rant. Apparently, he was being underestimated. Theodore was quite convinced that one of the other brothers was behind him and the true perpetrator.

“When I drag you to the noble court everything will be revealed.”

“You wish for the court of nobles to get involved?”

Even nobles could be sued and taken to court but only by other nobles. Depending on the status of the nobles they could be dragged over to one of two. First was the Royal court which involved the highest degree of nobles that were the dukes and could also force the king to appear.

For someone like Arthur that was a bastard son of a duke, this was not the one Theodore would force him into. Instead, it was the court meant for lesser nobles that were composed of nobles up to the rank of Count. Everyone could present their case in front of this officially assigned noble that acted as a judge. This person would be randomly chosen with neutrality in mind.

If this happened then Arthur would probably need to travel to a different duchy that wasn’t related to their Valerian household. Though on the outside this seemed fair it was anything but that. There was nothing like true neutrality as most nobles would take the side of the more prominent son. Bribes were also a possibility which put Arthur at a big disadvantage and was something his brother was aiming for.

“Why wouldn’t I? Even someone like you should know what will happen there.”

“So is that your aim?”

“I don’t know what you mean, justice will prevail.”

The two were conversing through magical means and the help of crystal balls. Both knew that it was possible to record exchanges through these devices. Theodore couldn’t outright blackmail him or threaten him due to this. Instead, he could just tip-toe around the issue. Arthur assumed that this threat could be dealt with by allowing the captured knights to leave without him receiving much or even anything as compensation. If he received a single gold coin from Theodore, it would be similar to admitting that his knights wronged Arthur.

“I see, but dear elder brother, justice is on my side and I can prove it.”

“Prove it? How, do you think anyone will believe your Head Knight instead of mine? I know that this Wayland is no nobleman nor did he attend any Knight academy within the kingdom. His word is worthless here.”

“Oh, what if the words came out of your own Knight Commander’s mouth?”

“From Emmerson’s? Are you insinuating that he would betray me? Are you mad?”

“Am I dear brother? How about you take a look at this?”

It was time to present Theodore with his only real trump card. He had received a magical device from Roland beforehand just for this occasion. His new ally wanted to present it himself during the talk but Arthur preferred to keep the conversation with his brother private.

“What are you doing?”

“Just give me a moment… there we go…”

Theodore’s crystal ball was on the larger side so he could even see Arthur from waist up. Now instead he was looking at a flat surface with his brother standing behind it. On this surface, some type of illusory image started appearing.

“Let the duel commence!”

“Is that?”

“Yes, it’s a magical recollection of the Duel.”

Theodore squinted with his eyes but he could clearly make out Emmerson from this recording. He was battling another person that he assumed to be Arthur’s, Head Knight. It didn’t take him long to figure out what the point of this magic was.

“I’ll fast forward this a bit to the important part.”

“Fast forward?”

“Yes, I heard some mages call it like that…”

Arthur just parroted Roland’s explanation that attributed strange phrases like pausing and rewinding to this magical device. Soon he came up to the ending part of the duel where Emmerson surrendered. This was then followed by the most important phrase.

“You’re too naive!”

The Knight Commander had surrendered and soon after charged at his opponent when his defenses were down. It was a clear indication of honorless behavior and something that was frowned upon by any Knight.

“He broke the code?”

“Are you surprised?”

“You want me to believe in this trick, this magic must be fake!”

“Is it fake? You do know that they will be able to test it during the court review.”

“This wouldn’t prove anything…”

“Do you really think so? It will be enough to force a true confession from the other knights and you already know what happened that day…”

“You…”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Arthur could see his brother’s face changing into something ugly. This brother of his was known for his calm mind and demeanor. It was clear that this case would not be an easy one to win. With the added magical evidence it gave him a good foothold. Theodore knew what Emmerson did and Arthur was aware of this. His spy network was extensive and there were ways of forcing confessions out of the lesser Knights that were involved in this event.

“So you finally grew a spine, are you sure that you want to play these games Arthur?”

“Oh? Is that a threat that I feel? Will you send your assassins into my territory? Are you sure they won’t fail as your little Knight Commander? Will they do a clean enough job or will Father notice?”

“Don’t get conceited you damn bastard.”

“Hoho, so are we done pretending? I know very well what you think of me.”

Both Arthur and Theodore started to slowly drop the facade of brotherly respect. None of them really liked each other and this whole conversation was reaching the climax. Arthur was aware that his brother could easily kill him with the help of the power that he amassed. He also knew that he was very pedantic and careful. With the appearance of a hidden variable in the form of Roland, he would not act.

“If you don’t want it to be known to the world that Theodore Valerian employs Knights who break the code of chivalry and can’t even handle one little bastard, then you will agree to my demands.”