Chapter 111: Start of War(5)
Count Persley flinched and began to quiver uncontrollably. His brow was sweating, and his eyes were trembling. The aristocrats in the room are all staring at him. Lance, in particular, can't keep his gaze away from him.
'So Persley is the traitor, I really should have known.'
Count Persley is the type of man who is easily seduced by temptation, no matter how absurd or fictitious it may be. That's how he's been since he became the Count. He is also very reliant on others to the point of needing to be supervised. His riches, which his father had left him, was his only contribution to the noble circle.
Lance sighed and turned to face Luke, who smiled confidently to his left. Luke didn't appear to notice him and continued talking.
"Why are you all staring at him so intently? I only included him since he has been sitting quietly since the beginning, and I didn't want him to be left out, so I did."
The nobles all looked at Luke in disbelief and didn't appear to believe his lies. Well, Luke didn't lie to get them to believe him in the first place. However, it appears that Count Persley, the one who was treading on thin ice, believed it.
"T-that's correct! The young master was simply being considerate of me! He is the kindest person on the planet!"
Lance exhaled and pressed his palm to his face. He felt embarrassed for Count Persley since he looked so stupid. He then heard Luke next to him chuckling.
"It's acceptable for me to leave now that I've said my piece, right?"
Lance then muttered something to Luke while glancing at Count Persley, who was still smiling stupidly as he tried to hide his nervousness.
"Just go, I'll take care of this."
Luke rose and walked to the door with a smile on his face. When Duke Reo noticed this, he was about to shout about how disrespectful he was, but Lance intervened, and Luke had already gone outside.
The aristocrats in that chamber were stunned as a result of Luke's actions.
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Luke scowled as he examined the stack of paperwork in front of him; there were far too many.
Luke had just recently arrived in Southeast Viscellete territory when he was welcomed with a mountain of paperwork on his desk. While staring at this large mound of nightmares in front of him, Luke scratched his head. He then heard Spencer chuckling next to him and Selena patting his shoulder sympathetically. While opening the door, he heard Yulia speak.
"We'll be in the living room waiting for you. Best of luck with those papers."
Luke groaned and moved to his seat. Then he looked at the stacks of paper in front of him and then at Liam, who was patiently standing behind him.
"You know that you can still rest, right? Because we'll all be restless later, you'll need a lot of sleep."
Before replying, Liam locked his gaze on Luke.
"Shouldn't you be saying the same thing to yourself, Brother Luke?"
Luke groaned and closed his eyes.
"As much as I want to sleep in bed right now, I can't because I have to check all of these."
Luke then stared and pointed to the stack of papers in front of him. Liam was concerned as he looked at this. Luke seemed to detect this and spoke in a sighing tone.
"Go ahead and sleep; if I need anything, I'll wake you up."
Liam paused for a second before nodding. He then sat on the couch beside the table, his sword beside him, and closed his eyes. He appears to be quite fatigued. He didn't get any sleep and trained all night, so, normally, he's exhausted.
Luke then sighed and went about his business. Nash undid his invisibility and stared silently at Luke.
"Hey, dad, if you want, I can assist you."
Luke came to a halt and flinched. He then patted Nash on the head, who was peacefully sitting and looking at him.
"No, go get some rest; I'll take care of it. I'm not desperate enough to ask a child to assist me with my work."
Nash tilted his head in bewilderment but eventually sighed. He already knew Luke wouldn't let him help, no matter how weary he was. That's just the way he is. He immediately curled up into a ball and stared at Luke while he completed the paperwork.
While handling papers, Luke just stared at his two buddies in the room. Even though he dislikes paperwork, he enjoys the peace that surrounds him. It gives him a boost of energy to finish the paperwork.
He began working carefully with a goal in mind, it is to sleep. He was eventually able to take a breather and take a break thanks to Nash's magic devices and his subordinates' willingness to complete some of the paperwork for him, even though there was still a lot of paperwork to be done.
'I'd like a cup of tea.'
Luke sighed and turned to face Liam, who was soundly sleeping in front of him. It's been hours since he's slept, so waking him up now should be fine, right?
"Hey, Liam, could you get some tea for me?"
"Go get one for yourself, Motherfucker."
When Liam responded, Luke and Nash flinched and stared at him with wide eyes. They then noticed Liam glaring at them as he opened his eyes. Luke remained speechless, staring at Liam's irritated expression. Nash scowled and locked his gaze on Liam, who returned his stare without fear.
"What did you just say to my dad?"
Liam was ready to say something when something strange happened. Liam's eyes widened in surprise, and his mouth opened wide as if he'd been struck in the head. Liam then looked down, covered his mouth, and began to ponder what had just occurred. He then turned to face Luke and Nash, who were both staring at him with puzzled expressions.
Pak!
"Liam!"
When Liam slapped himself in front of Luke, Luke burst out shouting. Liam then rose from his knees and knelt in front of Luke, his head resting on the ground.
"Please accept my sincerest apology! I had no idea what I had done! I am so sorry!"
Before speaking, Luke blinked a few times.
"Uh... it's all right. I suppose you were irritated by me waking you up in the middle of your sleep..."
Liam raised his eyes to Luke, who was scratching his head awkwardly and was being glared at by Nash.
"N-No! I swear I'm not mad at all! I had no idea what had happened! My mouth began to move by itself! I apologize if I offended you in any way!"
Luke came to a halt and looked at Liam with a puzzled expression.
"Your mouth move by itself?"
Liam nodded and glanced at Luke with hopeful eyes. His eyes appear to be pleading to Luke to understand him. Luke pauses for a bit, then sighs.
"Don't worry about anything; just get me a cup of tea."
Before rising, Liam pursed his lips and nodded. He then went out of the room without saying anything after bowing to Luke. After Liam had left, Luke approached Nash and asked him a question.
"Hey Nash, did you notice anything strange about him when he started speaking like that?"
Nash shook his head and turned to face the door that Liam had just exited.
"I didn't notice anything unusual at all. But his eyes and the way he speaks aren't the same as they normally are. And it appears that he is telling the truth when he says he has no idea what happened. It's... strange."
Luke groaned and closed his eyes. He doesn't have time to think anymore because he's exhausted.
"...Brother?"
When Luke opened his eyes, he noticed Liam standing at the entrance, hesitantly looking at him. He's waiting patiently with a plate of tea and biscuits for Luke to summon him. Luke simply sighed and motioned for him to enter.
"Don't worry, I'm not angry with you, so don't act that way."
Despite Luke's words, Liam walked towards him with a gloomy expression. Luke just stared at Liam, who was setting the tray on his desk, with a glum expression on his face. Liam sat silently on the couch after setting the tray down, not saying anything.
Luke simply frowned at Liam's gloomy demeanor and offered him a biscuit. Liam was taken aback by this, and Luke continued to offer him biscuits.
"Here, have some biscuits, don't just stare at me like that. You need to get something in your stomach so that you can feel energized later."
Liam's eyes were shaking, and he appeared as if he was about to cry. He then received the biscuit while trying to hold back his tears.
'Ahh... How fortunate I am to have such a forgiving family...'
Liam then ate his cookies quietly with his head bowed, hoping Luke wouldn't notice his red eyes. While drinking tea, Luke just stared at him calmly, and Nash was doing the same while eating his biscuits. Aside from that, their tea break was pretty relaxing.
BANG!
When Luke and Liam heard the door slam open loudly, they leaped from their seats. Luke was irritated since he spilled his tea in the process. When he turned to see who had barged in, he noticed Selena's frightened and sweaty face. Luke squints his eyes and realizes what's going on right away.
Luke rose and put on his white suit, wiping the spilled tea from the corner of his mouth with a napkin. He then indicated Liam and Nash, who were both looking at him with serious expressions on their faces, as if they had realized what was going on.
"Let's get going."