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Hal of course recognized two of the angry-looking Doxons as they were Ivan and Artyom and the middle-aged men beside them must be their fathers. The similarity between Ivan and his father was clear as they both had that regal quality to them.

While Artyom and his father seemed more like sly weasels and yes men.

Of course, this was an assessment of their expressions and not their actual looks which were handsome as common among Doxon men.

Once Hal had had a quick first look at the angry Doxons, he looked at the one not looking angry and was laughing his ass off.

He looked only a little bit older than the fathers of Ivan and Artyom and could very well have passed for their sibling had it not being for the excess of wrinkles on his face.

But they gave his face character and added a sense of maturity to his whole visage that did not take away from him his Doxon looks.

They all seemed so deep into their discussion that none of them looked over at Hal and the lady with him who was at the other end of the very long hall.

"Haha, so you mean to tell me that after all that talk about how you would prove yourself to me by getting the Primal fruit, a snake took it from you? Is that what you\'re telling me? How stupid can you be?"

Artyom spoke up, 

"The snake was real, Grandfather. I was there and I saw it" 

His Grandfather, the ex-duke turned to him and a darkness crossed over his eyes that chilled Artyom to the bones, 

"Did I tell you it wasn\'t real?" He asked and Artyom shook his head vigorously.

The darkness cleared and Kirill was smiling again, 

"Because I believe the snake is real. Your brother was just an idiot to let a snake take the fruit from him"

Ivan frowned but said nothing,

Artyom shivered, 

"A-A-A-Actually, the snake snatched it from mid-air" he said with a stammer.

"And what difference does that make?" Kirill asked in a dangerous voice that once again caused Artyom to shiver and shake his head vigorously.

Kirill continued but now with his attention to Ivan, 

"So, is that all your word is worth. \'I will prove myself to you, Grandfather\' is what you said and you came back empty-handed. Even worse, you lost two precious Doxon cultivators to the Garden\'s antics.

Although, I have to say they were all idiots to even consider going with you. They seem to all see you as a leader but I know better.

You are pathetic. 

A pathetic suck-up who can never hold up to the standards that will make me acknowledge you. 

You are worth nothing.

NONE OF YOU ARE!"

At the end, Kirill\'s voice rose and he no longer sounded taunting, now he sounded really, really angry.

His anger easily surpassed theirs and added to the tension already in the air.

\'Well, someone is in a mood\' Hal thought with a chuckle.

The Lady with him had motioned that he not say anything or make a move.

Suddenly, the man who was definitely Ivan\'s father stood up in anger, 

"Father, that is enough. You have made your point. You have no love for your grandchildren but can you just tone it down a notch? Everything Ivan does, he does for you. 

He does to... Redeem me... To redeem us" he said gesturing to his brother.

Kirill was silent for a while and then raised a brow, 

"Did I ask him to?"

Ivan\'s father gulped but Kirill continued.

"I was facing a condition and it could very well have killed me and instead of supporting me, you sought my seat prematurely and ended up selling your sister. You betrayed my trust"

"That was twenty years ago father, when will you let it go?" Artyom\'s father asked.

Kirill stared right ahead and Hal felt there was no way he could not see him but the Ex-duke still made no acknowledgment of his presence as he said, 

"Well, it feels just like yesterday and I can and will not let things go. If you want to blame someone for that, blame my infallible memory. That said, I made my peace with your worthlessness long ago"

Now Artyom\'s father joined his brother on his feet with a slam of his palms on the table around which they all sat, 

*Bam!*

"Okay, we get it, father! We made you lose your seat as Duke but if you were going to be so bitter about it, you should have just let Svetlana kill us"

Hal, where he stood felt this was a conversation they should have had years before now but had a feeling it was a subject they usually avoided.

Kirill burst into laughter, 

"You think I stopped being Duke because of you two? Haha, I was always going to leave the seat for Svetlana. My biggest worry was always that she was too focused on Runemastering.

Seeing her absolutely decimate the Borels and all who supported them made it clear that she was ready for the mantle. You didn\'t think I would be Duke forever, did you?

I was merely holding the seat and waiting for her to be ready since she was the only one of my children who showed the mental fortitude required to rule.

I had been Duke for more than Three thousand years and had no issues letting her take over.

The real reason I pleaded for her to spare you was because killing you would be letting you two off easy. I told her that as long as she was confident you could never pose a threat to her, then it was better she let you live and forever torture you with that knowledge and the occasional display of her awe-inspiring strength you could never hope to surpass.

Also..."

Kirill grinned wickedly and looked to Artyom and then to Ivan, 

"... If she killed you two, it only stands to reason that she kill your children as well. Cut you off from the Doxon Bloodline entirely and she admitted that it would be far too... messy."

The shoulders of both brothers slumped while Ivan\'s eyes widened, 

\'Messy? That\'s all our survival boils down to? That our deaths would have been far too messy?\'

Kirill was not done though, 

"As I said, I already made my peace with it all. As the only main family member who is capable of leading the family and the Duchy once Svetlana is ready to pass it on, it does not really matter what I think, Ivan, you will be Duke eventually.

You have no competition.

Svetlana is sure to break the barrier many have always thought impossible and become a god. She will become a god before I ever will. I am sure of it." Kirill paused to glow with pride before he said, 

"Once she becomes a god and ascends to Paradise, you are sure to become the Patriarch of the Doxon family as well as the Duchy\'s Duke so there is no need for me to acknowledge you. There is no need for you to suck up to me.

I have made my peace with that reality so for goodness sake and for the love of all the gods in paradise, stop trying to prove anything to me because I frankly could not care less"

There was a pause during which the brothers sat back down and then Ivan stood and said in the tone of a pledge,

"No, that would be the easy way out and I don\'t want to take the easy way out. I will regain your trust and acknowledgment which we lost due to father and Uncle\'s acts.

I won\'t just take the seat of family head and Duke just because I am the only one who can, I will take it because my Grandfather, the Patron deems me worthy of it"

Kirill rolled his eyes, 

"Suit yourself. Now..." He said and grabbed in front of him.

Cosmic energy suddenly surrounded Hal and pulled him closer towards Kirill and stopped at the other end of the table, 

".... What did you think of our discussion, you little eavesdropper"