Chapter 7: 7

Charter Kaien.

 

He was evaluated completely differently from his father. Unlike his father, who was strict yet compassionate, he was a person without compassion or sympathy.

 

Charter lived more fiercely than anyone else for over 10 years before he took over the title. The former duke died when he was 9 years old, and before the grief of losing his father had gone, he had to suffer from jealousy, slander, and threats many times.

 

Charter’s uncle, with his wife, covered his position and fortune while watching and suppressed his every move, believing that Charter would be coaxed to their liking.

 

“I’m Count Wironson. From now on, I will be your guardian.”

 

Charter still had a mother, but until he became an adult, his legal guardian was his uncle, Count Wironson. Count Wironson packed up his bags and settled in the duchy before his father’s funeral was over. And he treated the duchy just like his own house.

 

“I like luxurious and heavy mahogany. Get rid of all those white tables and chairs.”

 

Countess Wironson has changed all the furnishings and the room layouts in the duchy at her will. She kicked out the duchess into a small, shabby room on the edge of the duchy and took the duchess’s room for her own.

 

“Duchess. Now, the head of Duke Kaien is Count Wironson, so you don’t mind how I decorated the duchy, right?”

 

Despite the arrogant remarks of Countess Wironson, the Duchess remained calm.

 

“Do it.”

 

They were just the guardians, but they were rude and arrogant as if they were the heads of the state.

 

Charter revolted at their tyranny, but the duchess accepted all of it bluntly. He hated seeing her mother and her sister, who couldn’t say anything because she was scared of being treated like that.

 

That night, he went to visit them because he, the Duke’s successor, wanted to say something. Surprisingly, he heard their conversation.

 

“By the way, did you expect the duke to really go there?”

 

“I persuaded him so much, so why wouldn’t he go? You’re so smart to encourage that ruthless concubine.”

 

“It’s not a big deal to coax such a stupid woman. Still, it was a bummer. It would have been easier if the duchess had been with him, not the concubine.”

 

“What power does that woman have? I’m the acting head of this duchy. She will know what will happen if she offends me. That’s why she will keep quiet. Because she’s a sensible woman.”

 

“Still, I hate her. She looks like she’s looking down at me with that cheeky face and that stiff neck.”

 

Charter doubted his ears.

 

‘What? Are they saying that my father’s accident was something made up by them? Where the hell did my father go?’

 

Charter was told that his father died while patrolling the estate far from the capital, then his carriage slipped in the rain and died. But is there another secret hidden behind his father’s death?

 

He was a strict and scary father, but Charter knew his father cared about him. Although his father and mother were not on good terms, he still respected his father.

 

But they said his father was murdered?

 

Why?

 

He knew that his father gave a title to his uncle and that he provided financial support to his uncle whenever he needed it. But why?

 

The answer to the question came right away.

 

“You want me to stay still with just count titles and a few bucks? Not a chance. He became the eldest son and got the head position on the subject of being an illegitimate child! It’s ignoring the strict imperial laws!”

 

“That’s what I’m saying. Your father too. I don’t know what he was thinking about making him his eldest son.”

 

‘Father… was an illegitimate child?’

 

It was the first time he heard it. He couldn’t believe what he had heard. Perhaps it was more shocking than the fact that his father had been murdered.

 

When he heard that his father was actually an illegitimate child, who was revered as the noblest blood except for the Imperial family, he felt like a large stone sat in his heart.

 

Charter ran straight to his mother.

 

“Mother! Father! Father was—!”

 

Charter told his mother that his father might have been killed by Count Wironson and his father’s birth.

 

“Charter, listen to me carefully. You shouldn’t say anywhere that your father was murdered. It’s already been concluded as an accident, and we have no evidence.”

 

“But Countess Wironson said it! By coaxing the concubine!”

 

“Charter, even if there is evidence, our testimony will not be accepted.”

 

“Why?”

 

Charter couldn’t contain his anger as his face went red, and the Duchess looked around her narrow, shabby room.

 

“Because this mother is a woman, and you’re not yet an adult.”

 

“What does that have to do with anything? So you mean we should just leave those criminals alone?”

 

“That’s the law. Women and minors have no legal authority. That’s the law of this empire.”

 

Charter could neither understand nor accept his mother’s words.

 

You can’t sue criminals because you’re a woman or a minor? Why is the imperial law so absurd and unreasonable?

 

Who made the law? For whom did they make this for?

 

“And about your father.”

 

Charter looked up at his mother. His mother’s clear eyes seemed to have blurred at first glance.

 

“It is true that he was born with a premarital pregnancy. He lost his mother at the same time as his birth. But the previous duke made him his son officially.”

 

His mother, who had chosen her words for a moment, spoke carefully. 

 

“The previous duke said he did that because your father was the fruit of the woman he truly loved. And your father was not lacking as a duke. You just need to remember that. Understand?”

 

However, that was not enough to loosen the large lump in his chest.

 

“But he is an illegitimate child!”

 

“Charter, an illegitimate child is a human being too. This mother is human, and so are you. Do you think it is right to live without being treated equally just because of your birth, gender, or age?”

 

“…”

 

Charter couldn’t answer. The world he has lived in all this time and the things he has been told were taught to him about that. So why does his mother say something like that?

 

“I know you’re too you to understand this mother’s words. However, Charter, just remember this. Your father is not at fault. It’s the same with this mother and you.”

 

The Duchess said, holding his hands tightly and looking into Charter’s eyes, swallowing tears.

 

“You have to put u[ with it, Charter. Now is the time to be patient.”

 

“Until when? How long do I have to put up with them destroying my house, my people? And…”

 

‘When will I be able to punish those who killed my father?’

 

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The Duchess hugged him and patted his head, whispering to little Charter’s angry question.

 

“Until the day you become an adult. If you survive without dying until that day… You will win.”

 

“We can’t kick them out until then?”

 

“That’s right. We can’t kick them out as long as the imperial law remains intact.”

 

According to the imperial law, if the successor to the title was a minor, the closest male among the adults of the immediate or collateral line had the authority and duties as the acting head of the household.

 

‘Had the authority and duties as the acting head of the household.’

 

The meaning of that one sentence was never taken lightly. The overly concise sentence didn’t set the boundaries for the authority of the acting head of the household, and the acting head can abuse that authority.

 

Once you taste power, it’s hard to let go. At some point, it became more common for the acting head of the household to become the head of the household rather than stop as a guardian. This is because the successors who were the subject of their protection often died of illness or died in unexpected accidents. They could guess why those accidents commonly happened to them without even having to ask. But the dead were silent, and only the survivors continued their lives.

 

The Duchess was concerned about all that, so she had to appease and persuade her son. To keep him out of their sight.

 

“Sharpen your blade, but never reveal your prowess. Let them look down on you. In the end, the one who laughs last is the real winner.”

 

Charter vowed with his mother’s words engraved on his chest and fists. He will survive and punish them. Then he will destroy the imperial laws that made him and his family so helpless.

 

In the end, Charter survived all the threats and hostility against him and became duke. As soon as he became duke, he dealt with his old grudges against Count Wironson and his wife.

 

“For Count Wironson, who misappropriated the duke’s property and exercised the duke’s power to undermine the duke’s authority, I confiscated his family property and expelled them.”

 

Count Wironson shouted as he looked down at him with a vein around his neck.

 

“How dare you expel me!”

 

“How dare you! You don’t know our grace to raise you when you’re as bad as an animal!”

 

Countess Wironson also helped.

 

Charter’s beautiful lips were filled with poisonous words.

 

“If it’s the grace you raised me… I guess it’s a grace to drive your fifteen-year-old nephew to the battlefield of a neighboring kingdom, send an assassin, and feed him poison.”

 

“What kind of conspiracy is that! You went to the war for your sister! Who are you blaming!”

 

Count Wironson’s shout brought life to Charter’s deep, black eyes.

 

“That’s right. You married my sister to a warring kingdom.”

 

“What’s wrong with that! You should be grateful for marrying her to a position where she will become a queen. Even if you get down on your knees and pray, it will not be enough!”

 

Charter raised his lips as if he had heard something funny.

 

“A position to be queen? Did you think my sister would survive after sending her to the most powerless prince in a kingdom with four princes?”

 

“After all, she ended up being a queen! That’s all thanks to me! You ungrateful bastard!”

 

Count Wironson’s face, with his veins popped on his neck and screaming, was about to burst. To that, Charter simply answered back calmly.

 

“No, it’s all thanks to me that my sister became a queen safely. No, it’s not like that. I’m only 15 years old, and I’ve been pushed to the battlefield myself, so I owe it to you.”

 

His eyes were colder and cooler than the ice of the snowy mountains, stared at Count Wironson. It was never the stare to his benefactor, but Count Wironson was overwhelmed by that fierce stare and shut up.

 

“At most, you’re only talking about selling my sister to a neighboring kingdom for money.”

 

“Hiik! You’re slandering me! I will sue you!”

 

Count Wironson said he would sue him for defaming his reputation when what he had done was revealed.

 

“Even if you’re already a duke, do you think you will be able to punish me without a trial or the Emperor’s approval? I will never forget your figure today! I will punish you with all the power and connections I have!”

 

Charter didn’t respond to his words and threw the scroll lying beside him at his feet. Count Wironson’s eyes turned to his feet, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

 

“W-What’s this!”

 

“As you can see.”

 

The seal on the scroll was obviously the seal of the emperor. It was so obvious. Count Wironson’s body began to tremble.

 

“What! What! That’s ridiculous! How can Your Majesty! I’m going to the Imperial Palace right now…”

 

“Aren’t you going to see the contents? Well, I will tell you in person. It is said your charges of murdering the former Duke Kaien 10 years ago.”

 

Count Wironson and his wife were fond of alcohol; when drunk, they often slandered their predecessors. At the same time, they talked about things they shouldn’t have said, and thanks to that, all their acquaintances knew it. That the Count and Countess were involved with the death of the previous duke. However, if they become the real head, staying silent will only benefit them.

 

Charter threatened them and gathered testimonies. Based on their testimonies, evidence related to the accident 10 years ago was also gathered. All the evidence had already been submitted, and all that was left was the final defense and sentences of Count Wironson. The final defense would have been meaningless. No words can overturn the evidence.

 

“That’s why you should have watched your mouth.”

 

“This is ridiculous! That was an accident! It looks like you’re plotting a trick to kill me now, but that won’t happen! His Majesty will stand by me!”

 

“His Majesty told me to deliver these words to you.”

 

Count Wironson’s trembling eyes touched Charter. Charter still spoke with a dry expression on his face.

 

“Now Count Wironson doesn’t exist in the Harpion Empire. That’s what His Majesty said.”

 

Count Wironson slumped down. The Countess, who saw him like that, also slumped down and looked only at her husband, hoping that he could do something about this situation.

 

“Now put them away.”

 

“Yes!”

 

At Charter’s command, the duke’s soldiers brought Count Wironson and his wife away. They didn’t stop shouting and cursing as they were dragged out by the soldiers’ rough touches.

 

“Iiik! We know you’re the son of an illegitimate child! I will tell you where you’re from right now…”

 

“So noisy. Cut off their tongue first. They can write down their final defense.”

 

“Yes!”

 

Count Wironson’s face turned white at Charter’s command. And,

 

“Ah! Let go! Let go of me! Don’t you know who I am!”

 

Puck.

 

The rebellious Countess Wironson was struck in the head by a soldier and fainted. So the two were dragged out, and Charter asked the deputy, Chris.

 

“So what about the estate tax?”

 

“Yes, compared to last year…”

 

The commotion a little while ago never happened again there. For the next few years, he was distracted by the work of Count Wironson and his wife, who had messed up the lives of the duke and estate for over 10 years. Love and marriage were not even his priorities. He had no intention of wasting any time on the breeding activity to pass the title on to his bloodline.

 

When he turned 25 years old, he met a lively, haughty, purple-eyed woman. 

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