An Understated Dominance

When the castle’s gate swung open, every eye turned toward the entrance. Under the watchful gaze of the crowd, Austin strode out with his two guards. His posture exuded confidence and authority.

“Your Highness!”

The gathered officials instantly rushed forward to greet him. Grins spread across their faces as if they couldn’t wait to please him. Whether it was Huxley, Percival, or Warrick, all wore the same ingratiating expression.

After all, Austin was the infamous hellraiser. Though he had reined himself over the past two years, his past reputation still loomed over them.

At least Rufus could be reasoned with. But Austin? He was a wild card-utterly unpredictable, like a ticking time bomb. Every last one of them had suffered his wrath before.

Percival approached with a flattering smile. “Your Highness, you finally come out. I have something important to discuss with you. If you’d be so kind as to listen-”

Before he could finish his sentence, he was dismissed by Austin, who found him a nuisance and pushed him aside.

“Out of my way!”

Percival’s frail body swayed dangerously as he struggled to regain his balance.

“Mr. Wentworth, there’s a proper order to things. His Highness has always been reasonable. He won’t tolerate your bad habits.” Warrick sneered as he quickly stepped forward. “Your Highness-”

Warrick opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single word, Austin cut him off, “Mind your own business.”

The smile on Warrick’s face immediately faltered and was replaced by a look of pure confusion.

What just happened? He wasn’t expecting that kind of dismissal. Was Austin in a bad mood?noveldrama

Seeing both men put in their place, Huxley glanced around and wisely kept his mouth shut. After all, it would have been awkward to get reprimanded for no reason.

“Who just said they were here to deliver a letter on behalf of the Ballard family?”

Austin walked toward the crowd, and his eyes swept across the gathered faces.

The moment he spoke, everyone’s attention shifted to Boston. If they remembered correctly, the Ballard family sent this third-ranking official as their messenger.

Boston swallowed nervously, and his unease grew by the second. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead as his mind raced.

Given Austin’s imposing presence, was there a grudge against the Ballard family? Had Boston just walked right into a trap by delivering their letter? This was bad. It felt like today was his unlucky day.

“Hey! I’m asking you guys-who’s here to deliver the Ballard family’s letter?” Austin repeated.

“I-It’s me…” Boston stammered and raised his trembling hand. At that point, denying it was no longer an option.

“You don’t look familiar.” Austin stepped closer. He gave Boston a quick once-over and said coolly, “But whatever. Come with me.”

With that, he turned and walked toward the castle.

“Huh?” Caught off guard, Boston froze in place.

Wasn’t he about to be called out? Why was he being invited inside the castle?

It wasn’t just Boston-every other high-ranking official exchanged confused glances and wondered what had just happened. They had been waiting forever without a chance to speak.

Instead, a third-ranking official, who had just shown up, was invited into the castle before them. It was utterly perplexing. With their experience, status, background, and loyalty, there was no reason Boston should have been prioritized over them.

Seeing Boston stand there motionless, Austin stopped at the gate. He turned and shouted at him, “Hey, what are you standing there for? Get inside already, or should I call for a sedan chair?”

“Oh! I’m coming.” Boston snapped out of his daze. He nodded as he hurried forward. He still had no idea what was happening, but it didn’t seem like a bad turn of events.

As long as he could meet with the prince and make his case, he didn’t care what came next. At least he could say he had tried.

When Boston stepped inside the castle with Austin, the big red gate slammed shut behind them.

Outside, the other officials-including Huxley, Percival, and Warrick-stood in stunned silence. After a few moments, the tension broke, and a flurry of voices erupted.

“What’s going on with Sir Austin? We’ve been waiting out here for half a day, and he completely ignores us. Instead, he let some low-ranking officer in. Is he deliberately humiliating us?” Percival fumed, and his face flushed with anger.

Though he was a civil official, Percival’s rank, influence, and status placed him among the most influential figures in all of West Lucozia. Even the prince himself would show him the utmost respect.

After traveling all this way to the castle, he had been met with nothing but a cold shoulder. Sure, being made to wait was one thing-everyone had to endure it, and no one was thrilled about it. But that was understandable.

What he couldn’t stand, however, was the sight of a lowly third-ranking official walking right in while he was left outside. How could he not take that personally?

“What is the prince up to?” Warrick frowned.

Everyone else had been kept outside, yet some unknown low-ranking official had been granted entry. It didn’t make sense.

“The Ballard family… Jovian… now this is interesting,” Huxley said with a smirk. He had picked up on the key detail in the earlier conversation.

When Austin learned that the messenger had come on behalf of the Ballard family, he decided to open the gates to welcome him. In other words, Boston had been allowed in not because of his rank but because of the Ballard family’s influence.

But that only raised more questions-if the West Lucozian monarchy could afford to disregard even the royal family, why were they offering special treatment to the Ballards, who were on the other side of the continent? What was really happening here?