169 [Bonus chapter]Ch. 168: Professor Winter

"You have few allies in court, if any at all," I inform Augustus after he's completed a cursory inspection and given me a clean bill of health. If anything, I've grown chubbier and fuller as of late. Thanks, puberty.

Augustus lets out a sage sigh, like air escaping a tire. He speaks with the tone one would instruct a young child with when he says, "That is not true. Allies are different from friends, Winter. There are many in court who do side with Father and I-".

I brutally cut him off. "You are Father's son. Not Father himself. None of them owe you the loyalty they've shown Father, even if honor and sworn oath dictate that it should be passed on to you. You must earn it for yourself."

"And the divorce trial of a noble couple will help me accomplish that?" he asks, the sarcasm thick in his tone.