Chapter 281 Serious Sermon
While the royal forces moved around Millfall, preparing the local defenses for a possible basilisk attack, Viscount Symons was at his estate dealing with his foolish heir.
Having been out of town for weeks, attending a meeting of provincial nobles led by Duke Scott, Viscount Symons had just learned of all that had happened locally in his absence.
The Viscount was not so surprised to learn of the fall of the Defiant Tyranny and the rise of the Scarlet Syndicate and the Mazzanti family. Something like what had happened was entirely possible, and he had foreseen such a scenario during his trip to Saltstar City.
From the point of view of the head of the Symons family, the chances of Cesar surviving the previous troubles and raising his family's standing were very slim. But they existed, and when the Viscount heard how Cesar had succeeded in his absence, he was not so shocked, despite his surprise.
But there was something that really irritated him about what he had heard. It was the way his son had handled the affairs of the Mazzanti family, but also Marcus' involvement in the kidnapping of a deaf child.
From the Viscount's point of view, Marcus had only made mistakes in his absence!
So he was in his office, with Marcus standing before him, this man avoiding to look him in the face, deeply embarrassed.
But what embarrassed Marcus was not his actions but his failures!
"Boy, what's wrong with you?" Viscount Symons was not careful with his words as he had a dark expression on his face, looking at his son and feeling like beating Marcus until this boy learned the lesson.
"Why were you wasting your time kidnapping a deaf 8-year-old girl when you should have been worrying about your marriage? Damn it, Marcus, we're less than three weeks away from your wedding to Shelby Staples. What's wrong with your head?"
"Father, that Shelby was..."
"Tsk! Shut up!" The Viscount said, already aware of his son's jealousy.
Marcus didn't love Shelby. But he was possessive of everything that 'belonged' to him. As the fiancé of that beautiful woman, he was extremely irritated by rumors that she was seeing men, especially Vicente.
Vicente was only a fool from a distance. But it was with this fool that Shelby showed the most intimacy, which irritated Marcus intensely.
The Viscount already knew all that, but he still wouldn't listen to his son.
What if Shelby was having an affair with Vicente Fuller? It didn't matter one bit to the Viscount! Marcus' marriage to Shelby was political, an alliance between two of the four most influential families in Millfall!
All that mattered was that the marriage took place and that they had an heir. As for whether Marcus or Shelby would be in other people's beds in the meantime, that didn't matter one bit to such a nobleman!n.-o))v(-e(-l.(b-(I/.n
Even though the local customs didn't allow that kind of behavior, especially for women, the Viscount had much more important interests than his son's honor.
He didn't want to be hindered by Marcus' foolish act!
"If you want to restrict that girl, wait until you marry her, you idiot!" The Viscount shouted. "When she's your wife, no one in the Staples family will have anything to say to you if you restrain her for questionable behavior.
But taking action against an 8-year-old girl won't help you now, you fool! Do you realize how much you've embarrassed your family? Now all the nobles look at us like we're creep fellows who abduct little children!"
The Viscount didn't care about Nina. But he cared a great deal about his family's name, how it was associated in the public eye, and especially how other nobles saw it.
To have his name associated with the kidnapping of a deaf child was something the Viscount didn't want for his family, no matter what happened.
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