Honestly speaking.

Alberu, Cale and Choi Han wasn't the least worried about Kim who was currently heading to the meeting room to talk with Deruth...

They were more worried about the count who would soon taste the wrath of their Kim.

But truth be told, it's not their fault that Deruth didn't listen to them. They've told him to not sent anymore letters multiple times but he just doesn't listen so why should they care?

The three watched the door behind Kim.

"...Do you think it'll go smoothly...?"
"No, but I'm hoping it will-"
"I believe in Kim-hyung that he'll stay calm like he always does."

Choi han spoke with a bright, innocent smile.

"Unless Deruth Henituse talks shit about our family, he'll be fine."
...
..
.
.
Vicious bastard.

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"Greetings, Lord Henituse."

"I greet the esteemed Duke of Thames. May the sun of the Roan Kingdom shine upon you."

Kim and Deruth greeted each other with proper etiquette befitting their statuses, before then proceeding to sit down on the sofa in the Count's study.

- Tak

Kim picked up the teacup containing rosehip tea, the pleasant scent automatically activating a record of of Jour's personal garden that they frequented when they were little. It felt so long ago.

'Good times, good times.'

It was peacefully quiet, as neither of the two men broke it. That was, until Kim opened his mouth.
.
"So?"

The teacup was elegantly placed on the saucer, the action eliciting a soft clink from the fancy tableware.

"What does my dearest brother-in-law wish to talk about? I presume it is an urgent matter for such a respectable man such as yourself went through the trouble of inviting me, a relative of his deceased first wife, into his office?" he eloquently spoke, and it was evident that he spat the word 'respectable' with pure venom as if the brunet man was the most despicable thing in the world.

Perhaps he was. Is a bad man.

"Kim, give me my son back." Deruth spouted. His words were straight to the point, as the man no longer bothered with the formalities and superficial language of the nobles.

His behavior, his words, and his eyes, all showed stubbornness and courage that would have been admirable had Kim not known the full story of this household.

'What bullshit'

To say the least, it was all within his expectations.

"Hah... Hahahaha-"

Low laughter rang throughout the study, cold and piercing like icicles in the middle of a harsh winter. Deruth sat up straight, eyes shaking in a mixture of bafflement and anxiety.

"Why...are you laughing."

"Haha. Haa...

The laughter abruptly stopped when Kim looked towards Deruth and threw a scroll upon the table. Kim honestly wished to have thrown it to his face, but considering how the Count took care of Jour for years after their marriage, he had no choice but to give this amount of courtesy, at the very least.

"Read it."

His voice was icy, and Deruth felt like it pierced his stomach like a knife. It gave him chills, along with the ominous piece of rolled up parchment that was waiting to be read.

He picked up the scroll that was thrown and began reading it.

"H-how..."

His voice broke with a silent gasp, his mind running a mile a minute the more the words written sunk in his head. His hands were visibly shaking as he read farther down the letter.

"W-what...what is this nonsense!?" he roared.

The scroll. No the papers. They were adoption papers stamped with the crown prince's royal signature to prove it was real and the adoption was legal and by no means false.

Deruth couldn't believe it.

No, he did not want to believe it.

"No no no! Why would Cale want to live with you!?"

- bang!!

- crash!

In a massive fit of rage, he slammed his hands on the table, not paying heed to the contents of the table toppling into the ground.

'WhywhywhywhywhyWHY-

Why would Cale want to live with a MONSTER?! How could he?? He was his father!

"You... You brainwashed him didn't you!? You bastard!"

Deruth Henituse was seething, his eyes bloodshot like an angry bull.

"Lord, please calm yourself." Ron, who was silently standing behind Deruth, finally spoke in a tone full of concern, but his sharp eyes were still locked towards Kim Thames who was smiling gleefully as if he was looking at a circus monkey.

"No, no." Kim spoked in a slow and well articulated manner, the mood in his voice quite similar to how a teacher explains something to a particularly dim child.

It was mocking.

"The question isn't why he wants to live with me, the question is why should he live with you, who neglected him?"

"What..?"

N-no... I... I didn't do it...! I never neglected him...! No! False! Lies!

Deruth was in denial.

Kim clicked his tongue and looked at the furious man with eyes filled with contempt, which highly contrasted to the pretty smile hanging on his pretty face.

Crossing his legs, he leaned back, and somehow still managed to look down on Deruth despite staying seated.

"Why should he? Hm?? Why should a child live with a father who shunned him away?"

The head of the Thames household continued to speak, each word jabbing deep into the brunet sharply like arrows shot by ruthless soldiers.

"Didn't you marry someone right after a year? Why? Why did you do it?"

It's a lie! I married Violan for Cale! Yes! It was all for Cale!

"Why didn't you look after Cale more carefully?"

What nonsense? I never neglected him..!

"Why didn't you feed him properly? Why was he pushed away? Hm? Answer me."

I looked for him like crazy! You're the one who hid him away! You kidnapper..! You brainwashed him! You manipulated him! You're a monster! A dog for the crown! You're nothing! A liar-!!

"Why.. Why can't you accept that you, my sweet and half witted fool of a brother, failed miserably on raising your first child?"

Kim Thames' voice steadily became lower and lower, almost sounding like the devil's whispers as a thin line barely separated his wrath from unleashing upon the failure of a father known as Deruth.

He did not need to have the power to read minds, for he could already predict what was going on inside the imbecile's head. His lips curled up in a sneer, ridicule dripping in every word he released.

"You may have been a good father to Cale when Jour was alive, but the amount of pain you inflicted upon my child is too great that all your efforts may very well be deemed invalid." he hissed.

Kim was truly angry, the fury in his heart large and unceasing. His head was boiling, but he stayed calm.

Collected.

He could not beat Deruth to death in his own house.  Not when there was a possibility of Basen, a young child, witnessing such an act executed upon his new father.

Kim Rok Soo- no, Kim Thames may be an asshole, but he has limits.

Kim looked towards Ron who fortunately was no longer staring at him like an owl.

'Ron, yes...I need to recruit him soon'

He then again looked towards Deruth who's eyes looked completely crazy.

"Count."  He called sharply, making the man before him reflexively flinch. "Your territory will soon be in danger, so I suggest you to give up on this game of tug of war and focus on your people."

His words were brimming with foreshadowing, which made Deruth’s mind messier than a destroyed bird’s nest.

‘What? Danger? What bullshit is he talking? And give up on my son?’

Everything was chaotic, and it felt like his ears were ringing, which contributed more to his growing migraine.

Kim stood up and dusted his hands off nonexistent dust.

"The discussion will end here. Do not send any more letters to my house, Count." He said with a cold glint in his eyes.

The air around him was stormy. Dangerous.

Deruth couldn't say anything against his statement as Kim had already turned his back and left.

If anyone saw Kim the first thought that would come to mind was that the man was frightened due to his trembling body and speed, but of course that was not the case as the redhead was trembling in anger and left as quickly as lightning in fear that he would turn the household into ashes and shake the ground to its very core.

He did not look back.

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.....woah.....new writing style?...NOPE IT'S MY PROOFREADER Abigail_that_is_me
AVA UNNIE ILY THANK YOU FOR THE PROOFREADING KSHFIEKSHDSK
Anyway see y'all in the next one~