Chapter 853: Display Of Hostility
Rutherford had just exited the private room in which he and his soon-to-be business partners were discussing the terms of their future contract when he felt a scorching gaze land on him.
They were currently inside the Commerce Guild, a vast structure meant for the noble businessmen of their Kingdom.
Though Earl St. Claire had numerous people who harbored ill-intentions towards him, this gaze was different from what he was used to receiving from his rivals each time he visited this place.
His sharp senses made it easy for him to distinguish the location of the one who was staring at him and when he figured out the identity of this person, he was stunned speechless.
The other person had not even bothered to conceal his dissatisfaction and continued to leer at him even after Rutherford had caught him red-handed.
Nevertheless, the Earl only had a look of confusion on his face as he could not decipher the reason for this unexpected anger being directed towards him.
The men from the Leopold family who had exited the room after him had also noticed the odd atmosphere that enshrouded them the moment they had stepped into the corridor.
.....
Though they were a step slower, they too had found the source of the stalemate that they had just discovered.
While the heir of the Leopold family, Josef Leopold, had no clue about what was taking place out here, the old man had a look of understanding on his face.
Therefore, before anyone could react, he had already stepped forward.
“It has been a while, Old man.” The patriarch of the Leopold family greeted while addressing the other man who had been leering in their direction until now.
Rutherford and the two Leopold men were now facing the other party who seemed to have just arrived in the corridor that they were about to exit.
This was the only path for them to enter and exit this floor so it was inevitable that they had come across each other here.
The man on the other end of the corridor scoffed as he took slow steps towards Rutherford and the people from the Leopold family.
“The ancient one is calling me old.” He sneered once he reached close enough to their position.
Jozef Leopold and Rutherford both widened their eyes at this outright display of hostility being aimed at the Patriarch of the Leopold family who wasn’t surprised in the least bit.
“Father-in-law?” The Earl soon coughed and greeted the old man who had just spoken.
The leer aimed at him earlier and now the unpleasant words directed towards Old man Leopold had been from none other than Old man Valente.
The old man had come to visit the Commerce Guild with his grandson, Roman, who had also become a part of it only recently.
This facility had been established during Old man Valente’s time as a Fief Lord so he too had been a part of it when he was young.
However, after he had passed down his title to his son, Marcus, he had not been here ever since.
Therefore, when he heard that Roman was going to visit the Commerce Guild this morning, he had announced that he would come along with him.
He wished to see how much this place had changed since the last time he had stepped in here.
However, who would have thought that he would encounter his son-in-law exiting from a private room with his old nemesis.
Therefore, as soon as he had caught sight of them, he leered at them and did not conceal his annoyance with them.
Roman had been following behind the old man and had witnessed everything that had taken place from the very beginning.
When he first saw his Uncle Rutherford upon arriving at this floor, he was about to greet him but before he could put his thoughts into action, his grandfather had been a step ahead of him.
He had no clue what was causing this hostility but the awkwardness in the air around them was at its highest point right now.
“Greetings,” Roman tried to dissipate some of the hostility by being polite.
He had seen the Old man from the Leopold family once before so he was aware of his identity though the young man next to him was a complete stranger to him.
“At least your grandson has some manners left in him.” Old man Leopold nodded at the young man before scoffing at the Patriarch of the Valente family.
Roman sighed after realizing that his efforts had been wasted as soon as those words were uttered.
After all, his grandfather was now glaring at the other old man without showing any signs of backing down.
Rutherford felt a headache arising when he saw the two old men stuck in a silent confrontation before alternating his gaze between the two confused youngsters who were unsure of how to act in such an unexpected situation.
From a glance, it was obvious to him that his father-in-law had some grievances with Old man Leopold and if they continued to remain in the same place, there was no saying how their confrontation would escalate.
Therefore, he decided to treat the two men how he would his children when they fought many years ago.
“Father-in-law, I’m heading out to pick up the children. Would you and Roman like to join me?” He suggested when the two men were mumbling and grumbling while staring at each other.
At the mention of his grandchildrens’ names, Old man Valente’s eyes brightened, and his attention was successfully grabbed by the offer placed before him.
Rutherford chuckled inwardly, praising the power of the blood running through his childrens’ veins which caused them to possess similar attributes as this old man.
In the past, Howie and Vonna would not see eye to eye and often fought like bitter enemies.
Though he was glad that they had put their differences behind themselves now, it was a major cause of headache and heartbreak for the parents who caught them quarreling each time they met.
Therefore, the Earl had come up with this solution in order to avoid further conflict between the two children.
Distracting their attention and separating them for the moment would act as a ceasefire between the two groups and that was exactly what he had done right now as well.
He had used Vonna and Howie as bait for the old man who would not be able to refuse this chance of spending time with them.
Since his guards were aware of their location, he could simply guide the old man and Roman to where they were.
This was the plan he had utilized to stop whatever was causing this awkward conflict between the old men before others noticed it.
After all, they were in a place where numerous men of nobility assembled and he did not wish for any rumors to begin right after his father-in-law had arrived at the Capital after such a long time.
His wife would be distressed if something were to happen and that was the last thing he wished to see.
Therefore, he had already made up his mind to separate his father-in-law from the old man of the Leopold family so that their conflict might be put on hold for now.
He could figure out what was causing them to forgo their manners and argue like children in broad daylight later on but for now, it was best for them to leave.
With this plan in mind, he had enticed his father-in-law who had already fallen into his trap and had agreed to follow him to where the children were.
“I don’t have time to waste with the likes of you.” Old man Valente announced with a scoff while looking at the other man and gestured to his son-in-law that he better hurry up.
Rutherford coughed once again but did not linger around as he nodded in acceptance of the order given to him.
He did not forget to bid farewell to his soon-to-be business partners before he turned around and began walking towards the exit with his wife’s father accompanying him.
‘Thank Asmodeus that Uncle was here...’ Roman sighed as he would not have been able to solve the crisis if it had not been for Uncle Rutherford’s timely intervention.
He then slightly bowed in apology to the other old man before rushing after his relatives.
Left standing in the same place, Josef Leopold frowned while staring at the backs of the three men who had left immediately.
“Who were they, Grandpa?” He inquired, ignorant of their identity as this could be said to be their first interaction ever.
Old man Leopold sighed before shaking his head, muttering that they had a few encounters in the distant past and nothing else.
However, Josef doubted the authenticity of those words, especially after noticing the glint of loneliness that had just flashed across his grandfather’s eyes.
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