Loyalty 1

 

Translator: Cinder Translations

...

 

"Your Highness." 

Old Marshal McDonald placed the chess piece he was holding on the chessboard and raised his head to ask.

 

"You didn't just summon me today to play chess, did you?"

 

A smile appeared on Antonio Griffin's face.

 

This prince—the second prince of the Gabella Empire—possessed unparalleled beauty, his features sculpted as if by a master artist with obsessive perfection, each detail embodying what perfection truly means.

 

The prince's smile had a powerful impact on anyone who faced him, including men.

 

The old marshal, who was currently playing against him, was no exception.

 

What a captivating face it was.

 

The old marshal sighed inwardly, marveling at how perfectly the prince had inherited his mother's beauty.

 

Thinking of the prince's mother, McDonald momentarily fell into distant memories.

 

"Lord McDonald, can I not invite my comrade, who fought alongside me on the front lines, to gather for a brief moment?"

 

Antonio's response interrupted the old marshal's recollections.

 

"Forgive my directness, Your Highness, but with your status, my status, and the sensitivity of this moment, what you're doing… Your Highness, perhaps in your eyes I am just a military man, but I also have my own thoughts regarding politics."

 

Antonio smiled, "Haha, if you were just a military man in my eyes, you wouldn't be sitting here today. My lord, you are undoubtedly one of the most important pillars of the empire in my eyes, both militarily and politically."

 

He looked earnestly at McDonald, "So, what kind of person am I in your eyes, old marshal?"

 

"Uh…" McDonald hesitated.

 

"Please, speak candidly, old marshal."

 

"Very well, Your Highness. In my eyes, you are undoubtedly an outstanding person, even the most outstanding person I have ever seen. I am a general of the empire, but the talents you have shown in the military are something I deeply admire. Those days of fighting alongside you are one of the greatest honors of my life. However…"

 

The old marshal carefully chose his words.

 

"Based on my decades of experience in observing people—though it is not always accurate—you seem to have great worries. And these worries, please forgive my directness, likely involve more than just your background and the conflicts with your brothers. From my observations of you, while these matters are troubling, they shouldn't be enough to cause you such distress."

 

Antonio picked up the wine glass on the table, "I raise a toast to you, Marshal."

 

McDonald immediately raised his glass in return.

 

"Then, Marshal McDonald, do you think a person like me is worthy of your loyalty as a lord?"

 

Antonio's bluntness nearly choked McDonald.

 

"Cough! Cough! Your Highness, the lord I pledge my loyalty to is Emperor Bartley Griffin—the father of yours."

 

"I know, Lord McDonald. I'm asking…"

 

Antonio said sincerely, "I'm asking that if, someday in the future, the empire finds itself in a predicament and you need to choose whom to pledge your loyalty to, how would you choose?"

 

There was a hint of seriousness mixed with his sincerity.

 

"Of course, I swear that your choice would be made based on your loyalty to my father. I can swear to my mother that I will not cause any harm to the principles you uphold."

 

McDonald fell silent, carefully pondering the meaning behind the prince's words.

 

It seemed that the prince pointed out three scenarios: 

The emperor did not clearly designate an heir. The emperor designates him as the heir. The emperor designates his brother as the heir.

 

The prince's implication should be that in the first and second scenarios, he hoped to gain McDonald's support.

 

And in the third scenario, he respected McDonald's loyalty to the current emperor and wouldn't employ any special means to make McDonald take his side—unlike what the D'Arshi family had done to him.

 

However, if he chose his brother, it would likely lead to a battlefield encounter with the prince.

 

Antonio's vow—not to cause any harm to the principles he upholds—seemed serious; after all, it was a promise made to his mother. McDonald believed that even if the prince could joke about the Lord of Light, he wouldn't joke about his own mother.

 

Alas! 

McDonald couldn't help but let out a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart.

 

What a pity! So unfortunate! 

Fate loves to toy with mortals.

 

Your Highness, let us meet on the battlefield.

 

"Your Highness!"

 

McDonald restrained his sorrow and said, "If you had come to find me sooner, perhaps I would have given you the answer you desired—I would have unhesitatingly stood by your side. But now… it's all too late… too late."

 

"Hahahaha!"

 

Antonio laughed heartily.

 

"Marshal McDonald, I know what's keeping you from answering."

 

Seeing the astonishment on McDonald's face, he raised his hand to stop the old marshal from speaking.

 

"I know that long ago, when the emperor of the empire was still my great-grandfather, in his final years, the empire faced a situation similar to the current one, except the main characters were my grandfather and his brother."

 

"...The final result was that my grandfather ascended to the imperial throne, while his brother disappeared into the long river of history."

 

"And your family—Marshal, forgive my coldness—originally pledged loyalty to my grandfather's brother, but for various reasons shifted their loyalty to my grandfather."

 

As Antonio spoke, a look of shame appeared on McDonald's face.

 

"Thus, your family made a vow to at least ensure that the bloodline of the original object of loyalty could continue."

 

"Am I right, Lord McDonald?"

 

It seemed as if some internal restraint had broken within the old marshal; he covered his face and spoke in a choked voice:

 

"Yes, Your Highness, it is this vow—that is also a testament to the McDonald family's stain—that prevents me from standing on your side."

 

"I… I cannot let that child come to harm. I cannot allow my family to be shamed again for breaking a vow."

 

A look of compassion appeared in Antonio's eyes. He stood up, walked around the stone table with the chessboard, came to McDonald's side, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 

He said, "My lord, I understand the burden you carry. Your steadfastness to your family's vow makes your image in my heart even more majestic."

 

"But please listen to me now."

 

"This stumbling block…"

 

"I have already moved it away for you."

 

(End of the Chapter)

 

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