Seduce the hero's mother (GL)

«Sir, let\'s settle this peacefully. There\'s no need…»

— What else! — the man was indignant, — We\'ve been getting here for so long, and this bastard won\'t even let us on the threshold?!

But it seems that the Marquis was somewhat hasty with the «bastard». A few minutes later, after strenuous attempts to get through, the door opened again, and the cursed duke appeared in front of them.

The first and last time Razor saw the head of the Cassius family at the Christmas Ball, when he came with Rachel. Back then, this man seemed very threatening to him. Even his appearance stood out greatly from the crowd.

Duke Cassius was almost the same age as his father, but he seemed much younger. Black hair and scarlet eyes, as well as snow-white skin. Looking at him, anyone would say that the man at least looked like some kind of vampire.

This time he opened the door a little wider than the previous one, and the guests noticed a knife in his left hand, down which an unknown red liquid was flowing.

The Marquess of Windsor was visibly agitated.

— Hey, Raymond, we just got here! Maybe you shouldn\'t…

— It\'s tomato juice,» the Duke said suddenly.

All three looked at each other in bewilderment.

— «Tomato juice»…? What are you doing with it?

— I\'m canning tomatoes.

Their dialogue started a little unexpectedly, but at least the man was not dismembering people right now, which was already good news. It is possible that they will be able to negotiate peacefully.

— Why have you come? Meanwhile, the Duke frowned.

«I, uh, wanted to talk to you about something.»

There was a look of surprise in the man\'s eyes, and perhaps for the first time Raymond paid attention to the Marquis of Windsor. More precisely, at the strange man standing in front of him. A bearded middle-aged man dressed in some rags. A beggar, or what…?

«I won\'t give you any money, — Duke Cassius said at once.

The Marquis almost choked with indignation.

— Don\'t you recognize me?! «It\'s me!» he yelled. Rodrigue! We have been fighting for ten years.

— …

— Hey!

— This is the first time I\'ve heard about it.

The Duke sighed wearily. Some tramps showed up to him in broad daylight, which was already surprising. Even commoners were afraid to approach his house for more than a kilometer, and here is a direct invasion of the house. Previously, a man would not have thought for a long time, and just finished with them on the spot.

But considering that he had been in apathy for a long time, he did not want to waste his strength on this either.

— Go away. I don\'t do charity work.

Raymond Cassius not only did not recognize him, but also took him for the devil. This made the knight terribly angry, and when he tried to close the door in front of them again, he inserted his foot into the opening.

— Well, no! — He declared, — I\'m not leaving just like that!

The Duke looked at him coldly.

— I advise you not to take rash actions, — he warned, — The door is made of iron. If I close it now, it will be with your leg.

Such a threat somewhat knocked the arrogance off the Marquis, and he did not become stubborn. At the same time, Razor realized that this might be their last chance before the Duke finally banished them from here.

He stepped forward and spoke loudly:

«Your Grace, please let us in!»

Duke Cassius, who for the first time noticed this fragile boy standing on the sidelines, was very surprised.

«Your Highness?» «What are you doing here…?» he asked.

Razor tried to find the words at first.

«I… came with the Marquess of Windsor. We really need to ask you for a favor.»

«Windsor»? Hearing this name, the Duke frowned even more. These worms have been swirling around him for several years in a row, and lately the man has been thinking more and more about finally swatting them. And here… They showed up on his doorstep themselves.

Why all of a sudden?

«Your Highness, what does this mean?» — the duke asked, — Do you realize that for your position, it is not entirely safe to get involved with the aristocrats of other countries…

«I know my father won\'t be thrilled,» the prince sighed, «but right now, the situation is urgent. We were supposed to meet you.»

Raymond Cassius hesitated.

This bearded man of dubious appearance turned out to be someone he did not want and was not going to see much. But along with him came the second prince of the empire, as well as some strange young man with shining eyes inspecting his possessions. The company, to put it mildly, was very ambiguous.

And yet… It would not be entirely polite to turn away the son of the man who rules his country. The Duke sighed humbly.

He hated it when strangers hung around his estate, but this time he decided to make an exception.

— Just for a little while.

Having uttered this phrase, the man finally opened the door for them, allowing them to enter. Razor was delighted, and before he changed his mind, they quickly went into the living room. The situation there was even more gloomy than outside.

Besides, the Duke didn\'t lie about his current occupation.

There were several cans on the kitchen table, inside of which were tomatoes in a solution of a special liquid. The Duke twirled them one at a time while the guests were sitting in chairs.

«I didn\'t know you had such a hobby,» the second prince admitted awkwardly.

— Hmm… yes. Helps to distract better than any wine.

Apparently, something really bothered him, because Razor noticed more than once how the man sighed sullenly. What can I say, I even took up winter preparations myself, when I could safely entrust this matter to servants.

Meanwhile, while Silver was looking at the interior with great interest, and the Marquis was patiently waiting for him to finish his business, Razor decided to ask just in case.

«Um… is Rachel at home now?»

Considering that the Royal Academy had recently started summer holidays, the girl was supposed to return to the duchy. But apart from the owner of the house himself, and the servants scurrying noiselessly around, there was no one else in sight.

When the second prince recalled this, the duke seemed to darken even more.

— She\'s not here.

— Really? — the guy was surprised, — Then where…

— My daughter ran away from home a couple of weeks ago.

Duke Cassius bluntly admitted this, which apparently was the reason for his bad mood. Meanwhile, this statement plunged Razor into absolute shock.

— Escaped? — he instantly asked, — Where…?!

— Your Highness, I ran away for that and ran away… how do I know.

The man sighed once again, adding pepper to the jar of tomatoes. It\'s obvious that he\'s been in this mood ever since his daughter disappeared. It was the first such case in his entire life.

But it all started with Leriana\'s sudden escape. Duke Cassius had no trouble sending men after her, and bringing her back on the same day. But Rachel unexpectedly insisted that he do nothing. Although by that time, the situation could not have been worse.

And a couple of days later, on an ordinary morning… She just left. She didn\'t even say anything and didn\'t warn me what exactly she was going to do. Although, without words, it became clear what she was up to. Rachel was going to fix it.

Being completely in her spirit, during all this time, the girl did not send him a single message. So she also forbade sending people to follow them… And what is the question, in such a situation, should any father feel in his place?

In fact, the Duke strongly doubted the success of this mission. But did Rachel really care…?

He could only wait humbly, and hope that his daughter\'s condition would not worsen even more.

And while Duke Cassius was indulging in real worries about this, Razor, to put it mildly, was terrified. Rachel Cassius was missing, and no one knew where she was.

What if she went straight after Leriana…?! This was the most anticipated option that first came to mind.

In that case, his girlfriend remained in great danger.

The second Prince greatly regretted that he could not contact her in any way right now. Even send a warning email, in style:

«Code red! The code is red! Don\'t mess with Rachel Cassius in any way!»

At least, although it was unlikely, the guy hoped that the Marquis\' daughter would be able to protect her. He exhaled heavily after Duke Cassius.

«By the way,» the Duke suddenly asked, «Your Highness, do you happen to know a girl?»

«A-a girl…?»

— She has scarlet hair, and also swears like a shoemaker… Maybe there is someone similar in mind?

Razor thought about it, not quite understanding why the Duke was suddenly asking about this. But only one person he knew came to mind for this description.

— Do you… mean Maximiliana Windsor?

Hearing this name, the Duke was taken aback. Before breaking off the surveillance on Rachel\'s orders, the last person Lady Ashford was seen with was this girl. Upon learning about this, bad doubts crept into the duke\'s head.

In the blink of an eye, having stopped preserving vegetables, he indignantly turned all attention to the Marquis of Windsor.

— So this is your daughter! — he exclaimed furiously, perhaps for the first time showing some other emotions besides alienation.

— What? The knight gaped.

— That\'s it! Duke Cassius spat, «I knew there were some rats involved in this case.»

The Marquis indignantly rose from his chair, and they stood opposite each other, clearly with not the most peaceful intentions. Razor and Silver watched this scene with equal bewilderment.

— What the hell are you talking about? — roared Rodrigue, — Just insulting my family like that? Who gave you the right…!

— «Just like that»! — he chuckled ironically, — Your family fell below the baseboard when they encroached on someone else\'s.

The knight squinted at him more and more strangely. And what is this red-eyed guy even talking about?

— Before you accuse the Windsor family of anything, you must provide…

— Here everything is clear and without proof.

— what?

— Your daughter took my daughter-in-law. The Cassius family will never tolerate such disrespect. After this, I have the right to cut off all the members of your family\'s fingers, and hang your corpses on public display.

Raymond Cassius seemed more bloodthirsty than ever, although the Marquis absolutely did not understand what was going on.

«Took away…?» From whom? What does it mean?

Looking at his puzzled expression, Razor hurried to explain:

— Sir, you may not have known, but your daughter has feelings for Leriana.

He stared at the guy in amazement when this information began to slowly reach him. Everything was mixed up in the man\'s head at once, because he could not even imagine that such a thing had taken place.

It seemed like some kind of joke.

And the only couple of words that the Marquis could squeeze out of himself became a continuous cry of surprise.

— Stop… What?!