CHAPTER 1. Scandal in a noble family
Before you disinherit your son, get another one!
– I'll curse you. I will disinherit. I’ll send you to a distant garrison. Brat. And this is my son!
Marius expected, of course, to face his father's anger, but did not think that it would be so strong. The hissing, barely audible whisper sounded more like the hiss of a snake than a human voice – a sure sign of extreme rage. Sieur Gaunt del Marre never raised his voice, considering it inappropriate for a relative of the royal family, and the more angry he became, the quieter he spoke. Whoever does not listen is to blame.
The words spread like a heavy poisonous gas, wrapped around and suffocated, Marius’s temples rang and he wanted to gasp for air, like a fish thrown out of water. And suddenly the father almost lost his temper, steel rang in his dispassionate voice:
– Shame of the family, the ancestors are turning over in their graves!
The obsession disappeared, it became easier to breathe, as if a gust of hurricane wind carried the poison away – but for how long?
“They don’t roll over, I know for sure,” Marius objected disrespectfully. – And you, father, better imagine what benefits it will have for the family if you have a heart-to-heart talk with your ancestors. One great-great-grandfather’s treasure is worth something! And those strange hints of royal gratitude in your second cousin’s diaries? What about your father’s secret techniques that he didn’t manage to teach you? And how many more did the ancestors take with them beyond the Border that could be useful to the clan? And you – “I’ll deprive you of your inheritance”! Yes, and deprive me, I’ll ask my grandfather on my mother’s side for protection!
In Marius's voice, resentment became clearer and louder, a nervous blush flared up on his cheeks, and magic flared and crackled in his dark, military-style, short hair like green swamp lights. But the proof of considerable magical power did not at all please the high-born Sieur Gaunt del Marre.
Why be happy? Because the heir and, alas, only son, with the connivance of higher powers, was born a magician? And it would be nice if he were also a combat magician, an elementalist, or at least an empath – such gifts can be easily combined with service to the crown and with the elevation of the clan. But a necromancer! Pah-pah, Great Power forbid! And if, as the father orders, forget about the damned gift, so he, you see, decided to study! And I even found a mentor without asking my father!
