After Jaros left, Catalina had to face her own breakfast.
As if she was angry, she stirred and cut the smoked salmon and butter-scrambled eggs with her knife and fork until they turned into pieces the size of fingernails. Her two favorite foods were now as tasteless as dry bread, and she couldn't swallow them at all.
She just felt irritable, but she didn't know why she was irritable.
Because of Jaros? Because of my father's decision? Or maybe, because of myself?
Before, Grandpa Lawn would have sternly reminded himself of dining etiquette. But at this moment he stood beside her silently, like a gramophone that had been temporarily turned off.
"I know you have something to say to me, Grandpa Lawn." Catalina stared at the cherries on the plate and said, "Say it."
Lawn was silent for a while and then said:
"What I'm trying to say is that you did the right thing - it's easy to be quick, but it takes real courage to suppress unnecessary emotions."
"Yeah...I know."
Catalina cut off the stem of the cherry with a table knife so it now looked like a miniature version of a heart.
"About Jaros' words——" Raun hesitated for a while and then said.
"I know that he just made up those lies to anger me. Don't worry, I won't take it to heart."
"Actually, it's not all true... Master Brandon is indeed considering leaving the position of head of the family to Roderick."
Katarina stopped holding the knife and fork in her hand and looked at Lawn in surprise. She didn't expect Lawn to tell the truth so frankly.
"You have a noble heart like a knight. But not everyone can become both a knight and a king like "Sunfire" Hal, not even the Silver Knight Galt. As the head of the family, you must make some decisions that go against your heart for the benefit of the family - even if this choice is not so fair. "
Even the Silver Knight Galt is like this. Katarina silently repeated this sentence in her mind.
She never wanted to be the head of the family. In fact, just a few months ago, she had never imagined that she would live past thirty.
However, her father's arrangement made her feel a little biased. Even if he was willing to discuss the matter with him sincerely, he would take the initiative to give up the inheritance rights to Roderick.
"Why did he never tell me about this?" Catalina asked.
"In fact, he said so - when he asked you if you would accept Sir Reed's canonization. He thought you would understand what it meant."
There was an almost elder emotion in Lao En's tone:
"Adults speak with too much subtext. But sometimes they forget that children have the same understanding, and sometimes they forget that they also grew up as children."
He gently put his palm on Catalina's shoulder, which was an action Catalina had never seen him make in her life.
"...But no matter what, Master Brandon cares about you, miss. This is the only thing I can guarantee with my life and dignity."
As soon as the words fell, the vicissitudes of the powerful palm was retracted and returned to its proper limit.
I……
Many thoughts came to Katarina's mind, tearing her original words into pieces.
In the end, she just wordlessly raised the fork again, stuck the cherry in, and asked:
"Grandpa Lawn, can you tell me why my father is disabled?"
This has always seemed to be something of a taboo within the Oakland family. People around her rarely talked about this topic. The only thing she knew was that her father's disability was not natural.
"It was a hunting accident. In fact, Lord Brandon was not what he is now when he was young. When he was young, the old man was very cheerful, tall, and able to walk quickly. He had many friends-including Prince Henry." Lawn recalled.
"Prince Henry?"
Is he the eldest grandson who was assassinated by the Nirvana Order?
Of course Catalina had heard of the famous former crown prince, but she didn't know that her father had a relationship with him when he was young. After all, Prince Henry died young and died of an assassination when she was young and ignorant.
"Yes, Prince Henry was once a close friend of my lord, just like Sir Gaelt was a close friend of Richard the Great. The friendship between the two families has been passed down from generation to generation and is deep-rooted."
Lawn closed his eyes and recalled as if those things happened yesterday.
"...My master even arranged a marriage for you or Roderick a long time ago: Roderick was just born at that time, and Prince Henry's spouse, Princess Lilia, was already six months pregnant. If the birth Next baby boy, you were to marry Prince Henry’s son.”
Prince Henry’s son…
Catalina doesn't remember that such a person exists in the royal family, otherwise it shouldn't be possible for the inheritance rights to be passed on to Edward, right?
"In order to finalize this marriage, Prince Henry and Princess Lilia made a special trip to Silvermist City. Naturally, the young Master Brandon gave warm hospitality. During the period, Prince Henry proposed to go hunting in the wild, and the Master also agreed, and the two of them each brought a few I followed him to the White Howling Forest, and also hired a forest ranger as a guide."
"This was supposed to be a foolproof trip, but Lord Brandon accidentally fell off his horse during a wild hunt. In the chaos, the Yangyan horse that Lord Brandon was riding trampled on his spine, causing the cloth to collapse. Mr. Langdon’s disability.”
"Shortly after the two returned, Princess Lilia also suddenly and mysteriously gave birth prematurely. The baby she gave birth to was extremely weak and unfortunately passed away within a few hours. So... the marriage fell through and the two families continued to talk. Start this marriage."
This...sounds so bizarre. Catalina heard this in disbelief.
Although Yang Yanju has a violent temperament, he is extremely brave and rarely frightened. What's more, she didn't believe that her father would fall off the horse because the horse was frightened, and Princess Lilia's premature birth was extremely strange.
There must be something hidden in this.
