READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 12
Episode 12: Chaos in the House of Karmais
“Wh-what’s going on?”
My son Argus’s question was only natural. After returning from the Zafing Marquess’s Residence, I suddenly told him I was passing down the title, and that in a week, he would be the Viscount. Of course, he was confused.
“What on earth happened?”
My wife Sara was also far from recovering from her confusion.
“Gazel…”
“What happened to Lord Gazel?”
“He was accused by Lord Giorg of poisoning Lady Elphil, the former Marquess of Zafing.”
“Poisoning…”
“Uncle… poisoned someone?”
At my words, the two of them muttered in stunned silence. Having someone from our family poison the former Marquess meant the House of Karmais wouldn’t get off lightly.
“So, to take responsibility, Father is passing the title to me… is that it?”
I couldn’t bring myself to nod honestly at Argus’s words.
“You, more importantly, we need to hide the money from the House of Zafing.”
Sara spoke, her face pale. Naturally, she was thinking about how bad it would be if she were suspected of being Gazel’s accomplice. But I shook my head at her words.
“Huh? Don’t tell me… Giorg knew about it?”
Sara’s face turned even paler as she realized everything.
“Yes, Lord Giorg knew about it. And look at this.”
I showed Sara the documents I was given when leaving the Zafing Residence. Sara snatched them and began trembling violently.
“Mother? What’s in there?”
“This details… when and how much money was provided from the House of Zafing through Lord Gazel.”
“Then…”
“Yes, claiming we’re uninvolved won’t work…”
At Sara’s words, Argus also seemed to realize how cornered the House of Karmais was.
“Sara… Argus, look at this.”
I handed them the next set of documents. Sara and Argus looked at them, trembling even more, and then turned to me. Their faces were ashen.
“Father, why is the House of Zafing so detailed about how we used their money!?”
“Don’t tell me… Giorg has people here? Is that why you’ve been using honorifics for him since earlier…?”
I answered their questions with a nod.
Yes, the reason I used honorifics for Giorg was because I realized the House of Zafing had their watchful eyes on the House of Karmais.
Knowing the flow of our funds in such detail meant the House of Zafing undoubtedly had their eyes on us. When I realized that, I couldn’t bring myself to address Giorg casually anymore.
“What will happen to Lord Gazel?”
“He’ll be executed.”
“What!?”
“Th-that can’t be…”
The two were deeply shocked by Gazel’s execution, but the problem wasn’t that Gazel was being executed. It was the realization that Giorg, even if he were his biological father, was someone who showed no mercy, which only increased their fear.
“It’s true. Could you two, at just sixteen, sentence your own father to death? And without any hesitation?”
My question was met with silence.
“In all my years, I’ve never met someone so terrifying.”
“…”
“Lord Giorg never resisted, even when we looked down on him. Now I understand why. It’s because he could crush us at any moment. No, he didn’t even see us as worth resisting.”
As I spoke, I began to tremble. The way Giorg looked at Gazel was like looking at trash. And when he coldly pressured me to retire, it was the same. I had never been looked at with such icy eyes before.
“Th-then why isn’t Giorg crushing the House of Karmais? Did he approve of me inheriting the title?”
Argus’s question was valid.
“Lord Giorg declared he would become your guardian.”
“Huh? My guardian?”
“Yes, and he said he would send an assistant from the House of Zafing.”
“An assistant too?”
Hearing my words, both Argus and Sara looked utterly stunned.
“You understand, right? This is effectively a takeover by the House of Zafing. Lord Giorg must have seen some value in our house. That’s why he chose to take over rather than crush us.”
“But… can’t you do something? This is too cruel for Argus.”
“There’s nothing I can do. In fact, if Lord Giorg wanted to, we could be executed alongside Gazel without a second thought.”
“What?”
“Don’t you get it? Gazel assassinated the former Marquess, and money from the House of Zafing flowed through him. If we’re accused of being accomplices, the entire family will be executed. Our lives are in Lord Giorg’s hands.”
“…”
At my words, Sara and Argus fell silent. I myself had completely misjudged Giorg, and I couldn’t regret it enough. Sara and Argus hadn’t directly experienced Giorg’s terror, so they seemed to think there was still hope, but I knew we had to abandon such naive thoughts if we wanted to survive.
“If you two don’t want to die… no, if you don’t want to be crushed miserably, don’t even think about resisting. The entire family will die in some form or another. Sara, if you don’t want to drag your family into this, never do anything to upset Lord Giorg.”
At my words, filled with intense pressure, the two nodded slightly.
As of today, the House of Karmais had become a mere shell of its former self. Rather than lamenting this, the battle against the fear of what we could do to avoid displeasing our new master, Giorg, was what weighed heavily on my mind.
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