"Father, are you really prepared to let this illegitimate child join the Bonaparte Clan?"
Just as Jerome Patterson was playing the role of a benevolent grandfather and dutiful grandson, Mathilde's sharp and sarcastic voice once again reached the ears of Prince Monfort and Jerome Patterson.
Both Jerome Patterson and Prince Monfort looked displeased, particularly Jerome Patterson, who had always been told by his grandmother that he was a legitimate member of the Bonaparte Clan. Although he knew this legitimacy was somewhat dubious, and his identity required the Emperor's acknowledgment, Mathilde's blatant exposure of the "wound" made him both angry and saddened.
"You... how can you speak like this!" Prince Monfort said to Mathilde with a trembling voice, "After all, you are his aunt!"
"I do not have such a nephew!" Mathilde showed no mercy, pointing directly at Jerome Patterson, and said, "His Majesty (Emperor Napoleon) had already admitted he was not part of the Bonaparte Clan!"
