The Duke's Passion

"Yes. The military general is Fabian's brother, after all."

There was an instant dead silence in the dining hall as Law dropped his cutlery. I pinched the bridge of my nose, seeing that Sam confessed that easily. On second thought, the reason Sam planned to invite Rufus was that he was my son's ... hero.

"The military general is Mister Fabian's brother?" Law's mouth opened and closed before he finally found his voice to ask. His father answered with a slight nod.

'Gosh...' A sigh slipped past my lips as I glanced at everyone around the table. They were oddly silent as if they wanted nothing to do with this. Understandable, I thought. It was Sam's idea to keep our son in the dark.

"Impossible." Law frowned without taking his eyes off of Sam. "I mean, it's not impossible. If one sibling is strong, there's a high possibility that the other sibling is a weakling."

"My son, good thing Fabian isn't here to hear that. He will be very disheartened," Sam clicked his tongue, feeling sorry for Fabian. 

"Father, what else are you hiding from me?"

"A lot of things."

"Sam." This time, I chimed in the conversation as I didn't know what my husband was thinking. Sam glanced at me and cocked his head to the side, sporting a misplaced innocence.

"Mother, are you and father hiding something from me?" I bit my tongue when Law inquired. "How come an important person in the empire such as the military general is inside at a wealthy commoner's estate?"

How am I going to answer that? Should I also confess now? Tell him his father wasn't a commoner? That Sam was actually the military general's boss? That Yul was the genius Duke in the west? Silvia was a marchioness in the east? Claude was the Earl in the north, Klaus was his chief knight? Just where should I start? In the fierce and bloody battle for the throne? 

A plethora of questions flowed in my train of thoughts while staring back at our son. I glanced at Sam helplessly, and he shrugged nonchalantly. I couldn't lie to Law more, especially right in his face; we had hidden a lot from him already. 

"My son, why are you so surprised? The military general came from humble origins." Sam finally spoke just when my lips parted, catching Law's attention. He leaned forward, propping his jaw against his knuckles, eyes on Law, and eyebrows arched. 

"Before the military general got that title, I already knew him. Haven't you heard the saying: birds of the same feather flock together? He was a commoner, but now a military general. I am a commoner but look at our house. It's not really impossible that your father knows a few important people since money can also be of help to some nobles." 

Law narrowed his eyes and scrutinized his father in silence. "Are you indirectly implying that you are an important person?"

"Can be? I mean, if important people need my help, that makes me important, yes?"

"That also means we can be in danger."

"Well, yes. But don't worry about it." Sam smiled a bit while Law's countenance stayed cold. A sigh slipped past his lips, sprawling his hand on our son's head to ruffle his hair.

"Just be glad that the military general didn't forget our friendship. I'll let you meet him tomorrow," my husband added.

Law lowered his head, sneaking a glance at me. So, I offered him an encouraging smile. Although I felt bad for keeping him in the dark and was still unsure if this was the best method to do as parents, I wanted to trust Sam's judgment.

"Can I... really meet him?" asked Law, gazing back at his father. 

"Of course," Sam replied and nodded. "I will ask him to teach you a few tricks. He is a good trainer, after all. Right? My wife?" 

I smiled and nodded. "Ye..." then, my brain was frozen while my eyes dilated. Trainer? Rufus? The sense of horror at the memory of how Rufus trained me years ago resurfaced in my head. 

'Oh no...' 

"Pfft--!" I slowly turned my head to Klaus, knowing he knew about my hardships in the hands of Rufus. "I'm sorry, Lilou. I just remembered something in the past."

"Kla -- Rix..."

"Uncle, why don't you also apply as a trainer for my nephew?" Claude suggested with a smile, darting his eyes from Klaus and then to me. "If uncle and Sir Knight trained my nephew, and then His Gra — I mean, Kieran, Ameria, and I will tutor him, wouldn't he become a great person someday? Law... he might live up to his name one day."

"I am already living up to my name, cousin," Law replied coldly, staring at Claude with such hostility in his eyes.

"It's not a terrible suggestion, but what kind of Law are you trying to enforce in the future?" Klaus scoffed in dismay. I thought about it and it wasn't really a terrible idea. However, with them joining forces, my son would terrify me as well. Just then, I noticed Yul, who remained silent throughout the conversation.

"Yul," I called under my breath, reaching for his arm. Yul turned his head to me and smiled. 

"Claude's idea isn't bad, but you and your husband should think about it together." So he was listening? Yul nodded at me encouragingly before setting his eyes to Sam. "Once you decided, just let us know. We'll assist our nephew to the best of our ability."

"Hmm. Sure." Sam nodded, taking me by surprised since it seemed he was reconsidering. He smiled at me when he caught me looking.

"I will think about it more later. Thank you for the suggestion, nephew." Claude tilted his head down slightly at Sam's sincerity. "For now, I hope you find your stay in our house comfortable. Let the maids know if you need anything, they will assist you throughout your stay in here."

Sam wiped the corner of his lips with a cloth. He then scanned the people around the table and smiled. 

"You three, I will appreciate it if you join me for a drink later."

"I will not refuse." Claude smiled and nodded. I studied their eyes, and it seemed they already knew they had to talk to Sam about something important. 

'Gosh... I want to know, but I promised myself not to meddle in political affairs.' A sigh slipped past my lips and sported a smile. 'Right. I shouldn't worry about that now. I will have to put my son to sleep. It was a long day.'

The dinner continued as I convinced myself I was a housewife now. Whatever these men had to talk about had nothing to do with me.... or was what I wished.