Chapter 185

Ekaterina exclaimed involuntarily.

I probably shouldn't glorify martyrdom, but I admire Zephyros' sincerity because of the aesthetics of prehistoric Japanese culture, or perhaps it is because of the aesthetics of this world as well. Who would be so foolish as to forcibly drag him out at that point?

"That man...no, it was one of our father's cronies. They didn't understand anything about the Magic Beast Horse's nature. They simply assumed it was the duke's family's property, and they attempted to bring it before father, reasoning that if it was a great horse, the next head of the family should take it over. They were also drunk at the time."

...those bastards.

Big Brother, I actually called my worthless father 'bastard' internally... excuse me, I apologize for being such a vulgar sister.

"No matter how weak he was, Zephyros was a veteran warrior. He kicked them in the nuts and broke their bones. So... they brought out their swords."

Ekaterina closed her eyes.

Alexei stroked his sister's hair. He didn't say anything about what happened after that.

"Did those imbeciles... get the punishment they deserved?"

"Only house arrest. Father protected them. To them, it was only a beast, and they defended themselves after all."

...Somehow, I get the feeling that Novadine was a part of it.

Is that why he was so cocky? Maybe it was because of this irreparable rift between him and Big Brother that he gave up on fawning over him and decided to leave the matter alone.

"The Magic Beast Horse is essentially the property of the Emperor. Any house that has the honor of being presented with it must treat the Magic Beast Horse with respect. This case has tarnished Yurinova's family name."

He continued.

"But Grandmother, who was uninterested in horses and believed she was a member of the imperial family and did not need to pay respect to the Magic Beast Horse, requested His Imperial Majesty at that time to order Count Kruimov to present a new Magic Beast Horse to father."

...Wow, I wanted to punch her. She should have apologized for letting Zephyros die, but instead, she even ordered a new horse. I had never in my life wanted to punch anyone so much as that old hag.

"So I went to the Kruimovs and apologized in father's place."

"Hah?"

Ekaterina couldn't help but react in shock.

Big Brother was ten years old at the time, and he had done nothing wrong, but he was more angry and bitter than anyone else because of what had happened to his idol Zephyros, wasn't he?

"Father didn't want to apologize. It would have been unbecoming of him to do so by proxy. At the very least, an apology was required, so I, his legitimate son, did it in the name of the Yurinova family. So, I went to Count Kruimov to apologize, and I promised that Yurinova would never seek Kruimov's Magic Beast Horse in the future, neither my father nor I."

Big Brother...did you cut off your own hope of getting what you longed for?

Gwah!!! I want to punch both the old hag and father. I would like to drag them down to the lowest depths of hell, and have them be bitten like Judas in Dante's "The Divine Comedy".

"Grandmother... she scolded Big Brother, didn't she?"

"But that was soon set aside because His Majesty had decided to abdicate."

Ah...I see.

I wonder if the old lady got impatient. I bet His Majesty hasn't accepted any intervention from the old lady since that time. After all, she took advantage of having a younger brother who respected her as the Emperor.

"His Majesty the previous Emperor relied on Grandfather. He used to enjoy hunting with Grandfather, and he knew about Zephyros."

"I see..."

Maybe he thought it was okay for her to be a little selfish, but when he heard about his sister's attitude toward Zephyros, and her lack of shame about it, as well as his disappointment in himself for not being able to hold her back, all of those things could have given him the final push he needed to get her out of his life.