Chapter 118 - Family Troubles

Karmin noted that Goran was entering a deep trance-like, euphoric state as he voraciously read through the books one after the other. Rather than speedily consuming it, which he had the capacity for, Goran was taking his time reading the contents word by word. In order to not disturb the absorbed man, Karmin lightly bade farewell and stood up to leave. Right as he did so, the door opened slowly and the same butler who had directed him to the salon entered.

"Master, the Third Master Rasmus is here," the elderly butler declared, eliciting a disdainful snort from Goran.

"What does he want?"

"I am afraid Third Master Rasmus did not declare his purpose. He stated that he wishes to -"

"Does a man need a reason to enter his own house?" A nasal voice interjected the butler midway. Following that, a wiry looking man, tall in stature yet looking diminished due to a slight hunch, barged through. The man shared a few similarities in facial features with Goran such as the flat hazel-grey eyes, a commonality in the Rasmus clan, and the wavy long ashen hair which was wrapped up in a burn. Apart from that, Karmin found the two individuals in stark contrast to each other. Where Goran was large and well-built, the "Third Master" was offensively thin and scrawny. Where Goran's gaze overflowed with warmth and pressure, the "Third Master's" was gushing with meek cunning and deceit.

It was the first time that Karmin felt like punching someone so badly. He didn't know what it was, maybe it was the man's presence itself that irked him so greatly. Yet, Karmin rightfully held himself back. Although the man looked weak, he was nearly as strong as Goran Rasmus. After all, he had only barely lost the fight to assume the position of the clan leader.

Like most other clans in the Empire and beyond, the position of the clan leader, head, or patriarch was often relegated to the strongest of the generation. While Karmin could argue about the feasibility of such brutal methods, it was a tradition that has prevailed for generations. The position of clan leader often spans a single generation, which lasts for about a century give or take a few decades, or following the passing of the clan leader due to "unfortunate circumstances". Following that, a contest of capability and strength is held, which differs from clan to clan, that determines the next clan leader from a pool of nominees. If the current clan leader is still alive and healthy, they are absorbed into the pool of clan elders that support the clan from the background. The clan elders act as support structures to guide the clan and advice the leader during times of crisis. Apart from that, the elders do not interfere with clan decisions - unless the clan's interests are threatened - and the decision making power is held solely by the leader.

For the current generation, the one that reigned over all other nominees in the Rasmus clan was Goran Rasmus. But his victory wasn't so easily attained. After all, he had to contend against his greatest rival, Myron Rasmus, his younger half-brother. Myron's strength wasn't in his martial prowess, nor was it in his superior thinking. No. In both ways, Myron was inferior to Goran. Yet what gave Myron his edge was the ever-lasting love and affection of Goran's father. After all, Myron was born from his father's most "precious" of concubines.

Even though he was younger, Myron cast a massive shadow over Goran during their youth. It wouldn't have been troublesome for Goran if the shadow wasn't so hollow! In every way possible, Myron was a useless cretin. He had no talent in anything barring living a prodigious lifestyle and whoring around. Yet, Myron could never do wrong in his father's eyes. Even Myron's superior cultivation was a result of an endless investment of potions and magical artefacts.

During the final confrontation between Myron during the clan leader selections bouts, Goran was put in an extremely disadvantageous situation. Myron was fully decked out in top-of-the-line Epic grade enchanted equipment, while Goran was in cotton rags. 

The scars from Goran's hard-fought victory that day still remained, etched deeply onto Goran's body. In fact, Myron had even used a few hidden weapons doused in malicious, lingering, poisons during the fight. If Goran hadn't met Nyla later on, he would have died as a tumorous, inhuman clump.

Needless to say, Goran held no affection for the aggravating man before him.

"What do you want, Myron?!" Goran grunted as he carefully returned the books into the box. Seeing the malignant face of his half-brother had ruined his mood for indulging in them.

"Oh, big brother..." Myron moaned with an exaggerated hurt expression. "Why do you hate me so?"

"Speak or you will be removed!" Goran declared while unleashing the full might of his cultivation on Myron.

Myron flinched slightly before regaining his earlier fawning facade. "Big brother-"

"It's Clan Leader," Goran interrupted, causing Myron to trip on his own words. After desperately struggling to curtail the twitch attacking the corner of his lips, Myron restarted.

"The clan is wondering why the... Clan Leader... chooses to spend more time outside his territory than within," Myron uttered in a strained manner.

The Solar Empire operated as a feudal society, with a few differences concerning internal politics. Below the Emperor were the Dukes, beneath whom were the Marquesses, then the Counts, the Viscounts and finally the Barons. Unlike the standard Feudalistic societies, these positions weren't awarded to individuals, rather they were assigned to the clans. So the leader of a clan may change regularly, however, the position would be eternally tied to the clan as long as the clan persisted. Of course, positions may rise and fall, or disappear altogether, depending on the whims of the Emperor and other such circumstances.

The leader of the Rasmus Clan was technically a Marquess who answered to the Duke of Maika. So it was truly unusual why Goran preferred to spend the majority of his time outside of his clan's territory.

"Does that even warrant an explanation? Do I need to remind you what those two kids of yours did to my Jean?" Goran interrogated forcefully.

"Now, now, brother-"

"Clan Leader."

Myron exhaled through his nose in frustration and said, "It was just kids playing around. Why would you take it so seriously?"

"If I remember correctly, the last time I 'played around' with you as a child, I was reprimanded, caned, and denied food for an entire month. And I wasn't even the one who instigated the incident," Goran snorted.

Myron smiled bitterly and decided to shift the conversation, "I heard that big brother-"

"Clan Leader."

"I heard that... Clan Leader... has invested in a new artwork? And that... Clan Leader... is nurturing the little artist behind the work as well"

"Really? Where did you hear that?" Goran retorted as he drilled his gaze more intensely.

"Here and there," Myron responded while waving his hand dismissively. The mansion was still under the Rasmus clan's ownership, even if it was primarily inhabited by Goran and his daughter. Inevitably, not everyone within the mansion answered solely to the Clan Leader. Even after purging and relocating some of the old staff members, some of the remaining hands had dual alliances.

"So where is it? I am interested in seeing what and who has caught the Clan Leader's eye this time!" Myron said while slyly rubbing his hands together. If Guy were to see this, he would immediately be reminded of the stereotypical "bad guys" in the old melodramas from his past life.

Goran sneered upon hearing Myron's excuse. Ever since he'd assumed the clan leader's position, Goran had been constantly attacked and undermined by Myron. During the early stages, these attacks were physical, as a show of defiance. Yet after consecutive quellings, Myron had mellowed out a bit, seemingly. However, Myron had pivoted to using more subtler means to attack Goran. Appealing to the council of elders, questioning Goran's decisions, sabotaging Goran's initiatives, and even targetting his daughter!

Thankfully, Myron wasn't some criminal mastermind who thought five to ten steps ahead. Goran could see Myron's intention from kilometres away, which offered him ample opportunities to implement countermeasures. The current situation was one of those cases as well. Basically, it was a well-known fact that Goran had a deep adoration for the arts. He often purchased artworks from auctions and directly from artists. Myron regularly made it a point to bring it up during clan gatherings to defame Goran based on his "profligate spending" from the clan's finances. This was Myron's shortsightedness. He overlooked the fact that Goran would later flip these art pieces for a substantially larger sum earning a net profit as a result.

"I've taken the initiative to enrol a slot under the clan's name for the recent exhibition at the Artist's Guild. Maybe you can show this amazing new art piece there?" Myron said immediately after, leaving no pause for Goran to respond.

Goran grit his teeth in anger and said, "That. Was. Not. Necessary."

"Oh but big brother-"

"Clan Leader."

"Clan. Leader. It's the first time you've taken interest in an artist like this - going as far as sponsoring them. He must truly be something special! Why not flaunt our discovery?" Myron said with feigned kindness in his voice.

Goran sighed internally upon witnessing Myron's shortsightedness once again. Myron's intention this time was to discredit Goran by bringing the inexperienced Kano into the limelight. Myron knew that the boy was still wet behind the ears and would flail miserably in front of a large, toxic crowd. Especially when the professional and veteran artists and critics would assault him with their incisive opinions and veiled personal attacks.

But what benefit would this bring Myron? Why was he discrediting the clan leader of the Rasmus clan in public? Wasn't Myron's family name Rasmus as well?!

Goran gazed meaningfully at Myron's smug expression as he calculated his next step. He was initially planning to take Kano to the very same exhibition as an observer, not a participant. However, as he thought about it, Goran felt that presenting Kano's work would also be a perfect learning experience for the boy. Of course, he would have to coach the lad and toughen his metaphorical skin a little before that.

After finalising his plan, Goran's contemplating expression turned into a disdainful sneer. He shot out, "Little brother. Since you're also planning to attend the exhibition, I strongly suggest that you hire an expert art critic of your own. It wouldn't hurt to have someone who actually knows what they are talking about with you this time to... you know... save the clan some face."

Noticing Myron's increasingly twisted expression, Goran smiled and continued, "Having a knowledgeable individual would also save the clan some money, considering your previous purchase."

The hapless Myron had once tried to copy Goran and ventured into the art-sphere. In that attempt, Myron had once purchased a rather gaudy looking work, which was a poorly made counterfeit, after a random bloke hanging around an art auction convinced him that it was a famous work created by a hidden expert. In purchasing the forgery, Myron had used the entire allowance allotted by the clan for use in the auction. Not even their father could save Myron from the fierce reprimanding and detention doled out to him by the clan elders at that time.

To date, those within Goran's generation refer to Myron as "Myron the Conned-oisseur". It was a rather uninspired use of wordplay, but it irked Myron just as well. Besides, everyone recognised that Myron was so stupid he wouldn't get it if the jab got more inventive.

"I shall keep that in mind big-"

"Clan Leader," Goran reminded gently with a faint smirk.

Myron nodded in a strained manner and exited the salon immediately.

"Right, Mister Zola, where were we?" Goran immediately shifted the conversation towards the man who was struggling to minimise his presence the entire time.

"*cough* Clan Leader Rasmus I was just leaving..." Karmin answered with an awkward smile. He was on the edge of his seat in distress during the entire exchange before. He didn't know if he was supposed to hear any of that. No clan would want their dirty laundry aired out in public like that.

"Oh, alright. Someone should be here to receive you and guide you towards the exit," Goran replied calmly.

"Thank you for your time, Clan Leader Rasmus. It is much appreciated."

"The pleasure was all mine. Needless to say, I look forward to future cooperation between the Rasmus Clan and The Burning Forge."

That day, Karmin exited the mansion with a smile threatening to split his head in two, and a consciousness floating on cloud nine.