The Emperor studied Alaric's expression a bit, that sour bitterness, that piercing ice, all of which left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"Seriously, Brother, I wasn't even the one who pushed him into that pit. So why should his misfortune bother me so much that you come into my hall with blood in your eyes? Why do we have to argue over someone irrelevant?"
The Duke snapped, his brow clicking up as if it were bait that had been caught.
"Irrelevant?" he repeated, his words coming out low and jagged. "You called him irrelevant?"
"Of course. Because at the end of the day, he's just a stranger who works in your household," he said, but then narrowed his eyes. "Though," his voice deepened, and that lightness faded into something toxic. "I suppose what I've been hearing makes it hard to believe that he's just a worker."
