No Spies Here, Tell Me a Joke Insulting Du

Arcturus was the kind of man people described as never letting his emotions show. He concealed his feelings well, and had only grown more adept at it over time.

While dealing with the Imperial Prince, Jacob Kang, a member of the Umojan Council, had repeatedly remarked with thinly veiled sarcasm in private that Arcturus Mengsk must have been born knowing how to fake a smile. Not even the Dominion's Shadow Guard could peel off his mask.

Yet when Augustus dismissed his officials and looked over, Arcturus's face was clearly one that had failed to hold itself together.

This powerful Imperial figure, deeply trusted by the Emperor, was not without emotions. He was simply exceptionally good at hiding them. Arcturus could still fly into a rage, and usually, his retaliation came even faster than his anger.

Arcturus's surprise was understandable. He was fairly satisfied with his son, but had never truly understood him.

After wiping out the old Confederate Elder Families, the Mengsk royal house became the greatest aristocracy. As the heavily anticipated next generation, Valerian had received meticulously planned elite education from childhood. Most of the people he encountered were either wealthy or powerful, which gave him broad horizons and a calmness in both favor and disgrace.

Valerian was the qualified heir produced by this educational system: courteous, elegant, and properly restrained. He occasionally failed to realize how arrogant his attitude toward others could be, but he was never overbearing. That was truly rare.

Among the old Confederate aristocracy, if a family lacked strict discipline, even the finest education could only produce a pile of hopeless wastrels.

Perhaps because of the subtle relationship between father and son, Valerian had always seemed somewhat constrained around his father. Who could have guessed that he secretly knew Augustus the Great's quotations by heart?