Chapter 96: Dealing With Margaret!
The atmosphere inside the study was strangely calm.
Arthur sat behind his desk with Margaret beside him, while Roderic took his seat opposite them.
For several long seconds, everything remained silent.
Roderic quietly glanced between the two.
Margaret had already regained her usual composure, gently fanning herself as if their little exchange in the hallway had never happened.
Arthur, meanwhile, looked anything but relaxed.
His fingers tapped against the desk several times before finally stopping.
’’Alright,’’ he said seriously. ’’Start from the beginning.’’
Roderic nodded calmly.
He leaned back in his seat, letting out a quiet breath.
’’The journey there was relatively normal at first,’’ he started. ’’We made good progress the first three days...’’
His voice trailed off slightly.
’’And then, we got ambushed.’’
Margaret’s fan continued moving, though her eyes instantly narrowed.
At the same time, Arthur’s expression hardened.
’’An ambush? That close to our territory?’’
Roderic wasn’t surprised by his confusion.
There weren’t any known threats operating that close to their territory, after all.
But he had no plans to reveal the truth yet, as Margaret would simply deny it.
’’It was a powerful group of bandits,’’ he replied casually. ’’No idea what they were doing there, but we dealt with them and continued to Aldermere.’’
Arthur stared at him for a moment.
’’That’s it?’’ he asked strangely.
Roderic only smiled.
’’For now, yes,’’ he replied. ’’I think the rest of the story is far more important than some bandits.’’
Arthur clearly wasn’t satisfied, but after several seconds, he leaned back in his chair.
’’Fine,’’ he said. ’’Continue.’’
Roderic nodded.
’’We reached Aldermere without any more trouble after that,’’ he continued. ’’We were even two days early.’’
He briefly ’explained’ the following days, creating a clever lie about sightseeing rather than the entire incident with Victor.
There simply wasn’t a reason for them to know about that.
’’Eventually, the day of the Young Noble Gathering arrived,’’ Roderic said happily. ’’And honestly, things went surprisingly well at first.’’
A small smile appeared on Arthur’s face.
’’I spoke with quite a few children of barons,’’ he continued. ’’I even had a pleasant conversation with Vincent Valemont, who wished to purchase more warhorses from us.’’
Roderic pulled a document out of his pocket and swiftly handed it over.
Arthur picked it up, slightly dazed.
But as he read through it, his expression grew brighter and brighter.
’’Good, good,’’ he muttered, nodding several times. ’’This will be incredibly beneficial to our territory.’’
Arthur placed the document back down and glanced up.
Immense pride and happiness filled his eyes in an instant.
Finally, after so many years, his third child had grown up completely.
’’See? It was just as I predicted,’’ he said, his voice filled with warmth. ’’The Gathering wouldn’t be nearly as bad as you expected!’’
Roderic scratched his head awkwardly.
’’Umh, yeah... about that,’’ his voice trailed off. ’’Might want to save the celebration until you hear the second part of my story.’’
For a moment, complete silence fell inside the room.
Arthur’s smile gradually began to fade away, his eyes locked on Roderic.
’’Second part?’’ he said, his voice growing dark. ’’What happened?’’
Roderic slowly lowered his hand, feigning a difficult expression.
’’Things took a turn later in the evening,’’ he replied. ’’My ex-fiancée showed up.’’
The warmth disappeared from Arthur’s face instantly.
The Ironharts’ utter disrespect for them was still fresh in his mind.
Even Margaret’s fan slowed beside him, one of her brows raising.
’’As we’d predicted, she wasn’t alone,’’ Roderic continued. ’’The Second Prince accompanied her.’’
Silence fell instantly.
Arthur’s expression twisted completely.
’So that’s how it is, my old friend,’ he thought, clenching his fist. ’Treating my family as a temporary cover for profit until something better comes around...’
There wasn’t a trace of happiness left on his face.
Suddenly, his gaze snapped up.
’’Did you encounter them personally?’’ he asked seriously.
Roderic nodded slowly.
’’Didn’t have much of a choice, unfortunately.’’
He briefly explained their encounter, including Catherina’s insults and the Second Prince’s obvious dislike towards him.
Roderic even followed it up with the detailed announcement of their engagement.
By the time he finished, Arthur’s hands were clenched so tightly they were whitening completely.
’’That’s... very troublesome,’’ he muttered through gritted teeth. ’’Still, you did really well holding yourself back.’’
Once again, Roderic couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
As he scratched his neck, Arthur’s expression shifted to one filled with desperation.
’’What did you do?’’ he asked, breathing heavily. ’’You didn’t attack the prince, right?’’
Roderic immediately waved him off.
’’No, no, no, I’d never do that...’’ he replied casually. ’’But there is someone whom I did beat up... quite harshly.’’
Margaret, who’d been silent all this time, grew a small smirk behind her fan.
It was as if she already sensed an opportunity to berate him.
Simultaneously, Arthur’s eyes narrowed slightly, not completely relieved just yet.
’’Who?’’ he asked seriously.
A small smile appeared on Roderic’s face.
His gaze shifted to Margaret, immediately making her eyes widen.
’’Actually, I believe Madam is quite familiar with him,’’ he said gleefully. ’’What was his name again... Ga... Gerald?’’
Margaret’s fan stopped moving.
Her expression began changing completely.
’’No, that wasn’t it,’’ Roderic continued, scratching his chin. ’’Was it James? Or David?’’
BAM!
Arthur slammed his fist on the table.
’’Roderic!’’ he warned, unwilling to put up with it any longer.
’’Ah! Gareth!’’ Roderic exclaimed, snapping his fingers enthusiastically. ’’Gareth Deres!’’
Margaret shot out of her chair.
’’YOU DID WHAT?!’’
Her carefully maintained expression disappeared completely.
Roderic almost wanted to laugh.
’There it is,’ he thought. ’You’re almost at the edge... then it’ll be time!’
A wide grin appeared on Roderic’s face as he locked eyes with Margaret.
’’I beat him up pretty badly,’’ he continued casually. ’’His jaw was shattered, his face was practically unrecognizable. It got to the point where His Highness had to step in to stop me.’’
Margaret’s face flushed a deep red color.
’’YOU LITTLE DEVIL!’’ she screamed. ’’YOU TOOK YOUR GRUDGE AGAINST ME OUT ON MY NEPHEW?!’’
BAM!!!
Arthur slammed his fist against his table, shattering it.
’’ENOUGH!’’
Margaret instantly fell silent, fear flashing across her face.
Arthur’s furious gaze shifted to Roderic right away.
’’The Deres are our allies!’’ he shouted. ’’What in God’s name were you thinking?!’’
Roderic simply smiled.
’’Don’t worry, Father,’’ he replied. ’’I brought something that should explain the situation automatically.’’
Arthur stared at him incredulously.
Turning around, Roderic opened his mouth.
’’Edmund! Bring them in!’’
Footsteps sounded outside almost immediately.
The door opened, revealing Edmund and the three knights who’d been with Roderic on the journey, carrying four neatly decorated boxes.
Three were relatively small in size.
The fourth, on the other hand, was much, much larger.
Roderic stood and eagerly walked towards them.
’’Perfect,’’ he muttered.
Picking up the smallest box, he carried it to the desk and placed it directly in front of Margaret.
His smile widened warmly.
’’This one was specially made for you, my dear stepmother.’’