Cadmus Akhekh walked along the corridor with a heavy heart. Was this all his fault? If only he had protected the mother and the child better, would everything perhaps be different?
"No! It doesn't matter. I will scour the lands for treasures and help her change her fate." The old man grunted with resolution.
When a small girl is so strong and determined, how could he the patriarch of the Akhekh clan lose hope so easily!
As he was muttering and mulling over various courses of action, partly in his mind and partly out loud, a tall figure blocked his path.
His unruly golden locks were just as arrogant as his burning golden eyes.
"Have you finally gone senile?" Frederick Akhekh let out a cold mocking chuckle.
The old man stopped, pausing his footsteps, his gaze furiously falling on the arrogant man in front of him.
"You would do better not to run your mouth today, son."
There was a seriousness in his voice that gave off a chilling domineering aura, one that even the King didn't dare cross.
"Heh. That's funny considering you are the one who is running his mouth."
Cadmus Akhekh took a step forward, his gaze not wavering. "I will not warn you twice." He glared, a low growl reverberating in the corridor.
The other guards immediately backed away.
This was not the first time the father and son pair had gone at it, heated words turning into a crazy full scale destructive fight and they knew better than to get in the way of two of the most powerful beasts of the Kingdom.
"You are one to talk old man. You question my authority at every step of the way. How dare you announce her presence without my approval?" Frederick roared back.
Huh? Cadmus was taken aback. He had almost forgotten that he actually did that, but nevertheless, he regained his composure quite fast.
"So what? The truth had to come out one day or the other. Were you planning to keep her hidden? She is my goddamn granddaughter!"
"No. I was not planning to keep her hidden, but I would have liked some time to make arrangements." Frederick sneered and added. "After all, wouldn't introducing a weak pathetic trash as a part of our esteemed family, bring shame to us?"
"YOU!!!" The old man trembled, his body oozing violent killing intent top to bottom. "Who are you calling trash?"
He dashed forward, throwing his fist forward which was now fully covered in dark brown scales that had a golden tinge.
Frederick, however, was quick to react and had already moved away from the spot, the fist landing on the empty wall behind him.
BOOM!
The sturdy wall cracked and shattered from the impact of the single punch, bricks and golden chunks flying everywhere.
The entire wall had crumbled with cracks extending to other sections of the palace.
Cadmus panted, his whole body fuming with rage.
"Do you want me to kill you, son?" He roared, thick dark scales beginning to cover the entirety of his hands and legs, even his chest and back.
But it didn't look like the other party was taking his warning seriously. Or perhaps he did, and still continued to provoke the old man purposefully.
"Why? Did I say anything wrong? Doesn't she have a pathetic white affinity?" Frederick chuckled, golden scales beginning to cover his body as well.
The air around him was beginning to heat up, creating a visible blur around his tall and lean figure. "Heh. I guess I can't really blame you. Even if she is the runt of our family, it's not like I can disown her."
"Perhaps she would be of some use as a pawn. Do you think one of the clan Lords will be interested in marrying that weak little thing?" He sneered, staring daggers at the old man.
There was a lopsided cruel grin on his face despite the warning signs that things were going to get heated up.
Rather than making any effort in diffusing the situation, he provoked the old man further, while shifting his legs, and preparing himself to dodge the next punch.
Even the guards shuddered, retreating back even further.
Just when all hell was about to break loose, weirdly, the old man stopped moving.
He didn't seem interested in fighting anymore and the anger reverberating from him had disappeared.
The aura around him also dampened and his scales quickly vanished.
Cadmus Akhekh stared at his son for a moment, a pensive look appearing on his face.
Hmmm? Frederick furrowed his brows, his eyes staring down at his father. He couldn't understand the old man's mood swings.
The next second, unexpectedly, his annoying father had a smug smile on his face for some reason.
"For someone who clearly doesn't care, you seem to be at the top of things?" Cadmus wiggled his eyebrows and walked past his son with a smile on his face.
"Why son? Are you so angry and upset that your daughter drew the short straw? You must be really distressed about it to have rushed over to me immediately!
"You even picked a fight with me?! Aha ha ha."
Frederick clenched his fists, his teeth gnashing together. "Shut up, old man. As I said, you are going senile."
Cadmus loudly chuckled, stepping inside his resting chamber.
"Sure. Tell me something. Did you come here to pick a fight with me or did you come here to make sure that I was going to help her? What an immature brat! Aha ha ha."
But he didn't wait for his son's reply, already closing the chamber doors on his face.
"Damn it." Frederick Akhekh cursed his father under his breath and turned around to leave.
The other guards immediately moved aside, giving him space, not daring to look at the King directly.
Many of them have been serving the royal family for decades and this fight was not something new.
The King and the old patriarch had never gotten along as far as they could remember.
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