Chained to old wounds

CH140

Morgan

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Tsuneo remained unmoved for the most part. The rest of the family shifted uneasily in their seats. I watched him. He blinked and blinked again. His eyes flickered, and then a slow creeping smile took over his face. It set my heart racing. He looked devious. He looked of vicious. He looked blood thirsty and oddly pleased about it.

I shivered a little, and I heard Pyra sigh from the back of his mind.

This is not good. Do not let him accept that challenge.

I couldn’t help but wonder why she thought I could stop him.

“You challenge me?” Tsuneo asked, his voice a little darker than usual. I realized that it had to be Tarofu talking.

“Are you too afraid to face me?” Boran asked.

“And what are the terms of your challenge?”

He flinched. “What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, what do I get when I kill you?” Boran went pale. Everyone stopped eating. “Land? Money? Your inheritance? Do you have any land rights to name, that weren’t bestowed upon you by my father?” Tsuneo tilted his head. “Though it’s yet to be seen if you will have an inheritance from your mother’s family given their potential involvement with her actions.”

“See!” He thrust his finger at Tsuneo. “You’re just a bloodthirsty killer! Hardly fit to be regent! Who said that it would be a challenge to the death?”

How else did you mean to have the right to free her if you were to want to kill me?”

“What?”

“I’m the Crown Prince Regent. The only way you would have the right to overrule one of my decrees is if you became the Crown Prince Regent. The only you can take my place is if my father gave it to you, or you managed to kill me in rightful combat–much like the challenge you’ve issued. But for me to accept that, I would have to know what I would be gaining from it.”

“Why– You could just see that your position upon losing a game.”

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“And that is where you were wrong,” I said, eyeing him. “Something you would know if Mei hadn’t been so busy coddling you all your life, but allow me to teach you now. The first rule of war is to not leave your enemy alive. As it does give them a chance to try and kill you again. The only resolved threat is a dead threat.”

He looked absolutely mortified.

“You’re a monster.”

Tsuneo smiled. “And you are unfit to try and challenge me.”

Tsuneo sat back. “I see no reason to entertain you, and killing you would be a waste of energy as you’re not even willing to put to your life on the line, nor have anything to offer me. I do not acknowledge your challenge as valid.”

“You can’t just-”

“I can,” Tsuneo interrupted, his voice dropping an octave. “Your mother’s crimes are against the crown and the royal family. This is not a matter of personal dispute; this is treason. If you do not wish to offer a formal challenge and you bring this up again, you can join her in the dungeons. I’ll even have them put you in the cell across from hers if you’d like.”

Boran went still. His fury burning bright in his eyes but tempered by the raw authority in Tsuneo’s voice. There was a pause, and then slowly, he sank back into his chair, visibly trembling with the effort to contain his anger.

your last

Tsuneo turned back to his plate as though nothing had happened. “Eat your meal. This is chance to enjoy a dinner as part of this family. Consider yourself confined to you rooms until the investigation is complete for irritating me.”

I had expected Tsuneo to be stern, but watching him completely dismiss the challenge with such confidence and control–there was something magnetic about it. His decisiveness, his ruthlessness… I nudged him. He looked down at me and cocked an eyebrow at me.

“That was rather… attractive.”

He smiled and leaned closer, coming close enough that our noses brushed.

“You have a taste for ruthlessness?”

“Putting whiny people in their places is always fun to watch.”

He chuckled and stole a brief kiss that made gasp. He winked at me and turned to Kai.

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CHID

“How are your lessons coming along, Kai?”

Kai’s eyes lit up with excitement. I started sword training! Master Shinji says I’m a natural swordsman.”

Tsuneo chuckled.

“You know him?” I asked…

He leaned close to whisper. “Master Shinji i the best choice for teaching children. He’ss firm without being too harsh. I believe he used to have a school in town.”

“Did he teach you?”

Tsuneo shook his head. “I was taught by a general, but Master Shinji has taught Keiji and the

others.”

There was something in his tone that felt wistful, but I didn’t ask about it.

“Tell me about your lesson yesterday,” Tsuneo said.

He nodded quickly. “We started with basic sword stances. I almost tripped, but he said that was normal. And then, he showed me how to block and stuff, and at the end, we had a sparring

match!”

“How did you do?”

Kai grinned, his eyes sparkling with pride. “I won!”

I laughed, imagining it. Master Shinji sounded like a great guy. He reminded me a bit of my father. When he’d first started to teach me how to use a sword, he spent a lot of time building my confidence with–not just holding a weapon, but using it, not so much that I thought I was invincible, but that I was capable.

Something told me that Tsuneo didn’t have that kind of experience, and I was glad that Kai would, given when he’d likely endured with Elia and Ari.

“You’ll be quite the warrior one day. Keep up the good work.” I glanced at Tsuneo who was grinning, his eyes filled with amusement. “Are you having lessons today, too?”

“Yeah! We’re supposed to work on attacking today. I’m going to be the aggressor.”

“Well, be sure to keep up your guard,” Tsuneo said. “I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

CH140

After breakfast, Kai and Tsuneo walked me to my parlor where I would be meeting Jun, Anya, and Maya before continuing on to where Kai’s lessons were held and Tsuneo’s office.

I took a seat at the table, greeting them.

“I can’t believe Boran had the nerve,” Maya said, shaking her head. But given who his mother is, I shouldn’t be surprised.”

I laughed. “Probably not. Hopefully, that’s the end of the drama for now. How are the preparations

coming along?”

“We’ve been going over the plans for the entertainment and food procurement.” Maya checked a scroll on her side of the table. “Everything should be in order by the time of the Convening, provided that the funds are available to pay for it. I’ve worked out a deal to pay in installments.”

“If the time comes and we still haven’t gotten every evaluated or the coinage received, take it out of my budget.” I paused. “I do have a budget, right?”

Maya snickered. “Yes, Your Highness, you do.”

“Good,” I nodded and looked at Jun. “Now, have you heard anything from your brother? From

Elia?”

Chapter Comments

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uhhh so waiting to finish the book……

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