Reading the first chapter the book titled — "The History of the Antasia Empire", i received a huge shock I had never expected.
Things like Origin Era and Chaotic Era were never mentioned in the novel. Although the Gods and the King were mentioned, they were merely backdrop of the story. The author never defined their existence in the novel. I never expected them to appear in history books.
But seriously, I want to curse the author. If this world has such grand history and a King who was more like a protagonist then the protagonist then what the hell were you doing author. Compared to the cliche story of Hero and Heroine's sweet interaction and fighting the Demon King, this story about the Radiant King, was much more interesting.
Complaints aside, the story of Radiant King hooked me up and I turned the page to the next chapter. Unfortunately, the next chapter held no story about the Radiant King. It had now turned to the Modern History of the Antasia Empire.
Currently he Antasia Empire is one of the largest Empires in the Central Part of the Continent with five nations, namely Beastmen Kingdom, Ignia Kingdom, Elf Forest, Imperial Nation of Dragonoves, and Demon Kingdom, surrounding it's border with the Demon Kingdom bordering more than 50% of the land borders alone.
...
I don't know if the Author did it deliberately or what but he introduced the Beastmen Kingdom and Elf kingdom in detail in next few chapters and even illustrated then with pictures, explaining their beauty and prowess.
Truly, he was such a gentlemen. In my heart, I gave him a thumbs and began to appreciate the Art in front of me. Which greatly boosted my spirit.
Beastmen and Elves, hehe...
Ohhh, wipe out the drool, don't let it flow out!
Turning the page, I saw another interesting gossip.
Oh wow, the fourth king of Ignia was cuckolded by his ministers? How did the author of the book even know such a truth?
Knock knock knock--
As I was reading the book with a gusto, a sudden knock on the door startled me, and I quickly closed the book and hid it.
"Young Master, are you in?"
"I am."
"Marquis Bahod wants to see you."
"Eh?"
Hearing that Marquis Bahod wanted me, my heart immediately jumped.
Did I mess something up? Was I caught secretly going to watch the excitement? No, even if I was seen, I didn't do anything attention-grabbing, so there's no reason to call me to account. Or was my secret book-taking discovered?
No, calm down. I need to avoid confessing unnecessarily. I'll wait until I'm there. Even if I accidentally did something to displease Marquis Bahod, I just need to apologize obediently. I'm still so young, so he should forgive me.
Walking down the corridor with Volth, the surroundings had become unusually quiet. It seemed I had been in my room for quite a long time, and most of the guests who attended the banquet today had already left.
"Master, I've brought Young Master Robert."
We arrived at Marquis Bahod's room. I walked in with a nervous heart, finding that others were already waiting besides me.
Mrs. Theresa, Mrs. Berolika, my mother Mrs. Lucia, and Mrs. Lilica stood behind my father as usual, their expressions somewhat grim for some reason, especially Mrs. Theresa, who had her head bowed very low.
Aisha stood by the wall, while Lucius stood in the very center of the room. Since his back was to me, I couldn't see his expression, but in this atmosphere, he must have been facing immense pressure.
Because directly in front of Lucius was the master of this room, and the only man seated, Marquis Bahod.
"You're here, Robert. Go stand by the side."
Without daring to speak further, I moved to stand beside Aisha against the wall. From this position, I still couldn't see Lucius's face, but I could imagine that if I were standing there, I'd be too nervous to breathe.
Marquis Bahod gave Volth a look, then Volth exited the room, gently closing the door. Now, only... no, it should be said that aside from the youngest, Lia, who wasn't present, the entire Anglus family was gathered. This was a very rare occurrence in this household.
What on earth is going on? What's going to happen next? Why does Lucius look like he's waiting to be judged? And what does this have to do with us?
"Alright, I don't have much time, Lucius. Do I need to specifically explain why I called you here?"
Marquis Bahod's tone sounded very understated. Huh? He didn't seem angry... or was he angry? I couldn't tell.
"No..."
Wow~ Lucius's voice and body were trembling. Watching from the side, I couldn't help but feel a little pity for him.
"Hmm, then what do you intend to do?"
Lucius knelt down, hands on the ground, and buried his head deeply.
"I'm very sorry, please... forgive me, Father."
A son kneeling before his father, begging for forgiveness. If I hadn't come to this other world, I probably would never have witnessed such an unusual scene in my life. And by observing the expressions of the others, it was clear that this was certainly not the first time such a scene had occurred.
Marquis Bahod let out a breath, then slowly stood up, walked around the table, and approached Lucius step by step.
It seemed Lucius had messed something up, and Marquis Bahod had specifically created an opportunity for him to apologize.
What? He called everyone here just for this? Lucius's apology was also full of sincerity, and then the father would pat his child's head, smile, and say, "Don't do it again next time," resolving the family conflict, and everyone would be happy and dismissed. As long as he hadn't committed some heinous crime, they wouldn't dwell on it, right? At least, I sincerely believed so at the moment.
However...
After Marquis Bahod reached Lucius's side, everything happened in the blink of an eye. Lucius's body arched as he was kicked flying against the wall, startling me and Aisha, who were close by, causing our bodies to tremble violently.
"Gah!!!"
Lucius let out a scream, clutching his abdomen where he had just received a heavy kick.
What... is this?
"If you... know... to apologize... then... don't... do... things... that require... an apology... in the first place."
Marquis Bahod did not let Lucius off the hook. A second kick, a third kick, a fourth kick... following the pauses in his words, he continuously kicked Lucius's abdomen with his right foot.
Lucius kept screaming, looking utterly miserable under the gaze of his family members. Everyone present was horrified to the point of suffocating by Marquis Bahod's actions.
What on earth... is this?
"Stop it, please... stop it."
Lucius's mother, Mrs. Theresa, was already sobbing uncontrollably, her plea so faint as if she feared it would reach Marquis Bahod's ears.
—Are you perhaps giving me an order?
It was not hard to imagine that if Mrs. Theresa had pleaded loudly, Marquis Bahod would have drawn such a conclusion and turned his anger on her instead. Even as a mother, her fear of Marquis Bahod prevented her from making any rash moves in such a situation.
"Father... Father... forgive... cough cough..."
"What exactly are you apologizing for? I don't understand."
"It... it was me... today... when pouring wine... I acci... accidentally... spilled the wine..."
..."Hah!"
Another kick.
At this moment, Marquis Bahod finally revealed his demonic countenance.
"Is that all? Lucius, you disappoint me somewhat."
"Father...?"
Marquis Bahod grabbed Lucius's hair and forcibly pulled his head up. His face was already disfigured by snot and tears. Aisha, beside me, couldn't help but tremble and tightly close her eyes.
"Yes, you trembled and spilled wine on a guest's clothes at the banquet, but what else? Did you behave well? You stuttered and were undignified, as if you'd forgotten all the noble etiquette I taught you before. Can you explain that to me, Lucius?"
"Ver... very... sorry..."
Lucius's voice was already hoarse, unlike his own.
"You completely disgraced the Anglus Family family today. It was a banquet to celebrate your birthday, yet you made me look like a clown. How do you intend to compensate for such a gaffe, tell me."
"Next time... next time... I will never... disappoint you..."
"Next time? Next time, huh... Fine, I'll be magnanimous and give you one more chance."
"Tha... thank you... Father..."
It wasn't hard to see that after I left the venue because I was bored, Lucius, nervous about his first public appearance before the nobles, couldn't maintain proper noble etiquette, which made Marquis Bahod believe he had lost face for the Anglus Family family.
Just for this... just for this, Lucius had to endure such treatment. And he was only a 9-year-old child, an age when many parents in modern times would still dote on them, fearing they might melt.
Is this the style of the great noble Marquis Bahod?
"If this happens again next time, you understand, right?"
..."Yes."
"Hmph, useless."
Marquis Bahod casually threw Lucius's head to the ground, then walked back to his seat.
I now had to realize that my perception of Marquis Bahod was still too naive. At the same time, I understood why he had gathered the whole family.
Purely to "kill the chicken to scare the monkeys."
After witnessing this scene, Aisha and I might not get a second chance like Lucius.