Chapter 178: Father’s Burden
The moment Adam left the office the heavy charged atmosphere in the room seemed to lighten. A profound sense of bewilderment remained. The Emperor David watched the door close behind the boy.
His expression was a complex mixture of frustration relief and a dawning reluctant admiration. He then turned to look at his old friend the Principal Logan.
Logan in turn looked at the Emperor. A faint knowing smile was playing on his lips.
"I thought," he began his voice laced with a gentle teasing irony "that you would not give in so easily my old friend. This is the first time in many long years that I have ever seen you bend David."
The Emperor let out a long weary sigh. He walked back to the plush sofa. He sank into its soft cushions.
The weight of his entire empire seemed to be settling upon his shoulders once more. He looked at Logan his expression now one of profound bone-deep exhaustion.
"You don’t understand Logan," he said his voice a low tired murmur. "This incident with Cian... it wasn’t just one noble family putting pressure on me. It was all of them."
He leaned forward his elbows on his knees. His hands were clasped together.
"Every single family in the Empire every noble house that holds even a sliver of influence at the Royal Palace they have all been exerting a constant unrelenting pressure on me since the news of Cian’s punishment broke."
The Principal was genuinely surprised by this. He had known the political fallout from his decision would be significant. But he hadn’t realized the full extent of it. He too sat down taking the sofa opposite the Emperor. His own expression was now one of a more serious scholarly concern.
The Principal’s face was a mask of confusion. There was one piece of the puzzle that he simply couldn’t understand.