Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage Chapter 883: Quiet Reunion; Necessary Evils

CH883 Quiet Reunion; Necessary Evils

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After the meeting ended and the attendees dispersed, Alex also dismissed his entourage while he met with Earl Drake Fury in private.

The walk over to the Earl’s office in the castle was quiet, as neither father nor son said anything.

When they entered the office, Earl Drake walked over to the wine cabinet and poured himself a cup of wine.

"You really should stop drinking, Father," Alex commented.

"And you should let loose and live a bit more while you are still young," Drake replied.

Alex chuckled but did not argue.

Drake poured another cup and threw it over to Alex, who caught it.

Interestingly, neither the throw nor the catch caused a single drop of liquid to spill from the cup.

Drake then walked over to his seat at the desk and sat down.

"Don’t worry, it’s non-alcoholic. I wouldn’t want your mother to scowl at me from the grave," Drake said.

"I hear I have you to thank for this nonsense," he added.

"I merely gave a few comments to the vineyard. Since there are a lot of grapes and fruits, diversifying into a non-alcoholic brand helps to capture a quiet part of the market," Alex said.

He smiled. The cup in his hand was the result of one of the seeds he had planted prior to his interplanar travel.

It would rank very low in terms of importance on a list of things he had initiated prior to the ill-fated travel, but it was still nice to see.

Father and son quietly drank for a moment. Although no words were said, there was a silent message being conveyed between them nonetheless.

After a while, though, Earl Drake finally spoke.

"I see you still like to do unnecessary things," he said.

"It wouldn’t be filial of me if I didn’t step up," Alex said.

"Like I said, unnecessary," Drake replied.

"I know," Alex admitted. "But it also gave me a chance to poke at the opposition," he added.

"That’s better." Drake nodded.

Alex chuckled.

He took the wine bottle from the table and poured them another cup.

"It’s not bad," he commented.

"Hmm," Drake agreed with a nod of his head. "But still, it’s far from proper wine."

’What’s the point of comparing alcoholic and non-alcoholic wines?’ Alex almost rolled his eyes.

"Father, can I ask you something?" Alex said. "Why didn’t you take the chance to crush Earl Mathias?"

"Because I didn’t need to." He picked up the refilled cup and drank. "Contrary to what you are likely assuming, Mathias is not a threat to me. He has never been, and he never would be."

Alex raised an eyebrow. ’Isn’t that too conceited?’ he thought.

Drake seemed to see through his expression.

"Mathias—that old man—will always do what’s best for the Fury Clan. As long as I remain the kind of leader the Fury Clan needs, Mathias won’t act against me." Drake gave something akin to an explanation.

Alex frowned.

"What if that changes?" he asked.

"Then, Mathias will likely attack me with everything he has—regardless of whether he can defeat me or not," Drake said.

"In that case, why are you leaving him be?" Alex asked.

"What would you have me do? Crush him completely?" Drake chuckled.

He gazed straight at his son. "To me, Mathias is not a threat I need to crush. He is a... necessary evil I keep by my side.

"If this choice becomes my undoing, then so be it."

Alex looked into his father’s eyes. Within them, he saw a hint of madness.

’Crazy old man,’ Alex thought inwardly.

But still, he kind of understood the man.

The Fury way worked well to curb the natural tendencies of those of the Furor bloodline. However, at the same time, it risked producing an unpredictable tyrant. Drake probably recognised this and instituted some measures to control this tendency in himself.

Mathias’s presence was likely one of these control measures.

It was perhaps a convoluted way to go about it, but it also meant Drake had an understanding of Mathias’s nature.

"Mathias isn’t someone you should be worried about. At least, not yet. Not until you are ready to usurp my throne. Only then will he become one of the hurdles you need to overcome.

"For now, you should be more worried about his son."

"Aiden?" Alex unconsciously sneered.

It was Drake’s turn to stare at his son with a short frown.

But his expression quickly smoothed out.

"Do you know why I, a warrior, sent my son to a mage tower?" Drake suddenly asked.

"Because you recognised my talents in magic," Alex quipped.

"Funny." Drake gave him a stare. "Recognising your talents and sending you to the mage tower are two different things," he said.

He looked towards the window.

"A small but nonetheless important factor was Mathias’s decision to send his son out to learn the ways of outside nobility," Drake said.

"Despite his age, Mathias isn’t strictly traditional. He believes the family needs to embrace some changes and thus sent his son to learn the difference between our ways and the ways of other nobility.

"Essentially, he had a vision to break the mould of our Clan—wherever ’necessary’."

Drake looked back at Alex.

"Subtly, but importantly, it caused me to realise that I didn’t need to fixate on you awakening your bloodline or forcing you to become a warrior. What you need is strength. Warrior, mage or warlock... however you get it, the result is what matters," he explained.

"You draw attention and standout in our Clan because you have been able to acquire something which is rare in our Clan, and then combine that with what is familiar amongst us. Aiden has the former, and if I know Mathias as well as I think I do, it won’t take long before he has the latter as well.

"He will become another important piece to the Clan, one that you will have to decide how you approach—as I have done with Mathias," Drake said.

Drake’s words, as always, gave Alex serious food for thought, and Alex pondered over them carefully for a moment.

"I understand, Father," Alex eventually said.

’That remains to be seen,’ Drake thought to himself.

He shrugged and no longer thought about it. It would be up to the next generation to make the decision for themselves.

"Now that that’s out of the way... tell me about your maiden interplanar travel. How did you survive the attempt on your life? Was it another one of your contingencies?" Drake inquired.

"No, it was luck," Alex replied wryly.

***