Chapter 81: Excused But Not Forgiven

The Second Prince’s expression had become incredibly cold.

’’This was a noble spar, Lord Roderic. Not an opportunity to cripple your opponent.’’

Roderic glanced down at Gareth for a split second.

The man remained curled up on the floor, trembling as he held both arms over his head.

His face was swollen beyond recognition, while blood and spit covered the floor beneath him.

’Mhm,’ he thought. ’Maybe I did go a little overboard...’

After a moment, he shrugged lightly.

It truly didn’t matter what he’d done. All he needed to do was talk his way out of the consequences.

Roderic turned back towards the Second Prince and lowered his head respectfully.

’’My apologies, Your Highness,’’ he said, placing his hand on his chest. ’’I allowed my anger to get the better of me.’’

The Second Prince stared at him silently.

His gaze briefly shifted towards Gareth before returning to Roderic.

’’Anger does not excuse such excessive violence,’’ he said coldly.

’’Of course not, Your Highness,’’ Roderic replied immediately. ’’I acted improperly. I’d be more than willing to pay for Lord Gareth’s treatment by a bishop of the Holy Church.’’

The Second Prince’s eyes narrowed slightly.

For several seconds, a tense silence remained inside the hall.

’’That will not be necessary,’’ he eventually said. ’’Lord Gareth entered the ring of his own accord, thus he can deal with the consequences.’’

He paused, his voice growing even colder.

’’But consider this a stern warning, Lord Roderic. I will not tolerate any more of this brutish violence.’’

A faint smile flickered across Roderic’s face.

Without another thought, he bowed respectfully.

’’Thank you for your generosity, Your Highness,’’ he started. ’’To avoid any further incidents, I’d like to retire for the night.’’

The Second Prince stared at him for a moment.

Finally, he gave a small nod.

’’Very well. You’re excused.’’

Roderic’s grin widened instantly, but he quickly forced it away.

He straightened and turned around right away.

Countless eyes were still burning into him, but Roderic paid them no attention.

Instead, he quickly spotted Edmund among the crowd.

’’Come on,’’ he said as he approached. ’’Let’s get going.’’

Edmund stared at him for a moment.

Quickly recovering from his shock, the chubby attendant nodded.

’’Of course, young master,’’ he replied, hurrying after him.

Just like that, both left the luxurious hall without looking back.

As the cold air brushed against them outside, several servants guided them back to their carriage.

Once there, four Whitemane knights and two servants greeted them.

’’Prepare the carriage,’’ Edmund commanded. ’’We’ll be heading back to the mansion.’’

The servants bowed right away.

At the same time, Roderic stepped into the carriage in a surprisingly good mood.

’Finally,’ he thought, cracking his neck. ’It’s time to head home once more.’

They just needed to make a few final preparations for the ten-day journey back at the mansion.

Then it was time.

’The final stage is starting now,’ he thought, rubbing his hands together with a smirk.

...

Back in the Valemont Estate, time continued passing quickly.

The Second Prince and Catherina sat inside a private room, both having retreated shortly after the dueling incident.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Eventually, Catherina broke the silence, clear frustration and anger crossing her face.

’’Your Highness,’’ she started, suppressing her anger. ’’There’s something I don’t quite understand.’’

The Second Prince glanced towards her with a smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

’’We’ve been over this,’’ he said. ’’Don’t address me as Your Highness. It’s Alexandre for you.’’

Catherina’s frustrated expression vanished.

She quickly lowered her head.

’’My apologies,’’ she said. ’’It won’t happen again.’’

Prince Alexandre let out a helplessly annoyed sigh.

’’Forget it,’’ he replied. ’’What do you not understand?’’

Catherina raised her head.

For a moment, anger flickered across her face again before being replaced by her usual facade.

’’I understand why you couldn’t punish Roderic openly,’’ she said. ’’But are we really going to let him walk away after humiliating Gareth like that?’’

The smile on Alexandre’s face disappeared instantly.

’’For tonight, yes,’’ he replied coldly.

Catherina frowned slightly.

Alexandre didn’t even look at her, taking a sip of his wine instead.

’’Gareth is a fucking idiot who brought most of this upon himself,’’ he eventually continued. ’’I’m not going to create unnecessary problems just to hammer down a random baron.’’

Catherina opened her mouth.

But before she could say something, Alexandre continued loudly.

’’More importantly, House Whitemane is still neutral.’’

Catherina’s expression hardened, but she remained silent.

That was when Alexandre finally turned towards her.

’’The neutral houses are incredibly prideful about their independence,’’ he continued. ’’They may fight amongst themselves...’’

’’But the moment they believe one of us is using royal authority to suppress a neutral house for the benefit of our own faction, they’ll take notice.’’

He calmly swirled the wine in his glass.

’’I hope that answers your question.’’

Catherina clenched her jaw.

It wasn’t as if she was completely oblivious to that.

Still, the image of Roderic walking away with a smug expression remained fresh in her mind.

And this wasn’t even the first time!

Ever since their engagement got annulled, he’d been completely dismissive of her.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down again.

’’I understand,’’ she replied.

Alexandre watched her for a moment.

A faint smile crossed his face as he shook his head.

’’Why are you so bothered by him?’’ he asked, holding back a chuckle. ’’He’s merely the son of some baron. Besides, wasn’t Baron Deres already preparing to deal with them?’’

Catherina’s eyes flickered.

’’He was,’’ she replied. ’’My father has already been supporting some of his preparations.’’

Alexandre leaned back in his seat with a smile.

’’Good,’’ he said, raising his wine glass. ’’Tell your father to increase that support. Funds, weapons, supplies, whatever Baron Deres requires.’’

Catherina stared at him for a moment.

The frustration on her face slowly disappeared.

’’How much?’’

’’As much as necessary,’’ Alexandre replied casually. ’’I’ll compensate House Ironhart for whatever losses you suffer.’’

A satisfied smile finally appeared on Catherina’s face.

’’Of course. I’ll send a letter to my father tomorrow morning.’’

Alexandre nodded before bringing the glass back towards his lips.

’’Oh, and Catherina,’’ he suddenly said.

She looked back at him.

A small smirk had appeared on Alexandre’s face.

’’Tell Baron Deres that once he emerges victorious, I’d like a few of House Whitemane’s warhorses.’’

Catherina chuckled softly.

’’I’m sure Baron Deres will be more than happy to arrange that.’’

Alexandre smiled as he stared into his glass.

As far as he was concerned, that settled the matter.