Chapter 38
"I beg your pardon?" Lith was flabbergasted .
"Dad! How many times I have told you to start explaining things from the beginning, not the end!" Keyla rolled her eyes .
"Yes, yes, my dear . You see, when I was Jadon's age I got married .
It was an arranged marriage, with the purpose to join the resources of the Lark and Ghishal households, that back at the time were both in dire straits, to get out of the insane debts that our profligate parents had left us .
The financial side of the business was a success . Between our combined annuities and by selling some of the residual assets, I was able to have enough capitals to invest in the right businesses .
Long story short, our families went from almost broke to being again two of the richest of the dukedom . And that's when everything fell apart between us . My wife, Koya, have never been kind or lovely to me, we were just business partners .
We never shared a common interest or ideal, but until we got our money back, at least it was bearable . After that point, our marriage was purely for show, and aside from when she asked me to attend to my marital duties, we had no intimacy .
I got four children from her, after all, and even got them tested with Blood Resonance magic to be certain they were actually mine . I might be a little airheaded, but I'm not that naïve!"
Both Jadon and Keyla became bright red, up to their ears .
"Dad! Too much information! Stick to the facts, please . This situation is already embarrassing as it is, don't add oil to the fire . "
Jadon said, but the Count was inflexible .
"To be able to help us, Lith needs to understand what kind of woman we are facing, or do you want to underestimate your mother again?"
At those words, Jadon lowered his eyes and sat back down . Lith was really interested in the Blood Resonance magic, but he kept the question for later . Things were already confused enough already .
"Where was I? Oh yes . Right after our households got back on their feet, Koya soon became restless . She was obsessed with us getting more titles, more annuities, more lands .
To the point that she took part in the Court's power games and intrigues, trying to make allies to weaken our neighbours and take over their lands .
But after working hard for more than twenty years, I was content with what I had . Four beautiful children, a rich and prosperous household, a thriving County .
I just wanted to slow things down and enjoy the life I had built, while expanding my power and influence through hard honest work instead of underhanded schemes .
Off course she was furious, all her plotting was useless without my consent . After all, I wasn't married into her family, she was married into mine . And being the one that did all the work I kept the biggest share of the profits .
At that point, somehow, our constant arguing and mutual spite started affecting my firstborns . I don't know if it happened because they were born when I was still too busy to give them the proper care and attention, or if they just got more from their mother's side rather than mine . Only the gods know .
My eldest son, Lorant, started taking for granted his status as my successor, neglecting his duties and doing nothing but drinking, gambling and chasing skirts . My second born, Lyka, had always been a problematic child .
She was never content with what she had, always wanting more toys, more dresses, more jewellery . Nothing was enough for her . As my constant fights with her mother continues, she became angry with everything and everyone, throwing fits of rage for the smallest things .
She started beating the servants almost on daily basis, I lost count of how many ran away from this house because of her . Between Lyka and Lorant, it was like there was a competition about who would make me monthly spend more money, trying to cover up their misdeeds and compensating their victims .
I tried sending Lorant to all the military academies I could find, hoping that some discipline would straighten him up, but he always managed to get dishonourably discharged in a few months, if not weeks .
My last resort was giving him the position of responsibility in the household, but he would either not attend at all, or show up dead drunk . But when I discovered that he had begun not only deceiving maidens with promises of marriage, but also taking them by force I decided that enough was enough .
I publicly disowned him, stripping him of his titles and annuities, leaving him enough money to live an honest life, if he quit gambling, off course . I also told him that the next time he defiled a girl he would be judged like any other scoundrel, and pay for it . "
At those words, Lith thought about Orpal for the first time in over three years .
"That a*shole should be away for at least another couple years . Maybe if I decide to take part in this episode of 'Game of Spades' and we survive, I can have the Count trace and eliminate him for me . That would be nice . I hate loose ends . "
After a short break for a glass of water, Count Lark continued his story .
"My wife was outraged, for her Lorant's crimes were just 'boyish pranks' that we should indulge and forgive . But it was the Lark household that he was dragging into the mud, he was throwing away my money with gambles and loan sharks .
Not to mention that my reputation had become that of a corrupt and profligate noble . Even if somehow I didn't have any decency or honour within me, how could I entrust my life's work to someone that would dilapidate it in less than a generation?
Have I ever told you why I appreciate magic so much? It's because mages and nobles are so similar and yet so different . They both hold a power that allows them to destroy or save lives with a single word, to influence their surrounding just by being there .
I consider magic superior, because a mage's might come from study and discipline, and that means that he knows and understand the values of his power and the consequences of his actions .
Nobles, instead, get that power as a birthright . They take it for granted, and some live their whole lives considering perfectly natural for them to be superior, a higher existence . That's why so many of us end up abusing our status and authority .
But I digress . After expelling Lorant from the family, Koya wouldn't listen to reason, and neither would Lyka . She really loved her brother, and after he was kicked out, she became even more angry and violent . "
The Count's eyes turned watery, he had to remove his monocle to rub them with a handkerchief .
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