"Excuse me, how do I get to Ancestor Rock? The huge rock with all those names carved into it... Thank you. If I remember correctly, the main palace is in that direction too, right?"
Federico Cavendish politely and humbly asked the cowering, trembling maidservant before him. Under the guards' suspicious gazes, he thanked her for the directions, then turned from the outer fortress courtyard toward Ancestor Rock.
Too long.
Federico said to himself.
His steps were steady and his expression calm. Along the way, he gave the guards and servants he encountered indifferent nods.
He had been away from the Empty Palace for too long.
It was time to return.
Federico suddenly stopped and slowly raised his head. The Iris Family's magnificent Ancestor Rock appeared before him.
Behind him, the messenger Trifanov and the Punishment Officer Carpon, whom the Prince had assigned to "protect" him, stopped as well. They remained silent and unobtrusive, yet never left his side.
Federico's gaze swept over the names carved into the rock, names that had once shone brilliantly throughout history. At last, it stopped at the upper left, on the two names—one high and one low, one large and one small—that he knew better than anyone:
[Leinster Kosa Fabricio Cavendish]
Uncle Leinster's name was above, engraved in large silver letters to display his status as a duke.
[Sona Matteo Fabricio Cavendish]
His father Sona's name was attached beneath it. The lettering was slightly smaller, marking him as a family retainer.
Federico's gaze grew somewhat unfocused.
Kosa and Matteo—he looked at the middle names of Leinster and Sona.
Of course.
Federico raised his eyes higher and found, among the older names on the rock, the pair of virtuous brothers in Cavendish history:
The 11th Duke of South Bank, "Stubborn Rock" Kosa Cavendish.
Lord of Wind