The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 55 - Oh. Yes.

Chapter 55: Chapter 55 - Oh. Yes.

AN: Navuill er Yecine, Flashback.

<---

A rather persistent knocking dragged Navuill from his slumber. Usually the servants who came to clean would have given up by now. He groaned and rolled over to squint at the amount of sunlight peeking through his curtains. It couldn’t be past mid-morning!

"Sir, your presence is required in the main hall immediately."

A voice called through the door. What it was saying was unusual. Navuill sat up while rubbing his eyes. He sighed out before projecting his voice.

"What? Why?"

"The elders have called for you, sir. It’s urgent. That’s all I know"

Confusion and lack of sleep clouded the Yecine’s mind as he hurriedly dressed. He didn’t understand what the elders could want from him at this hour. He’d just finished a night shift at the Guild! As he splashed water on his face, a nagging thought began to form.

The encounter with his cousin’s fiancee on that shift... but surely that wasn’t important enough to-

His steps faltered when he entered the main hall. The elders were gathered as expected. Their faces were grave, as also expected. Standing before them and waiting a bit to the side with an unreadable expression was... Qatrand. Suddenly, everything clicked into place and he felt a chill!

"Navuill, we need your full recounting of the interaction with Elua er Goltbred last night."

The young man’s gaze flicked to the cousin but their stoic demeanor betrayed nothing. Their pigeon blue eyes didn’t even look directly back or try to intimidate him as he would expect in this kind of scenario. Maybe he doesn’t know what happened! The one who thought so took a deep breath and organized what to say.

"Yes, honorable elders. I was on duty at the door of The Ironclad Order when Elua er Goltbred approached, asking about the whereabouts of Qatrand"

He paused - choosing his words very carefully. Whether it was to not antagonize the clueless cousin or to make his own actions look a little better, who was to say?

"She seemed excessively agitated. When I couldn’t provide her with the information she wanted, she became fairly confrontational."

Navuill’s brow furrowed as he recalled the encounter. This was the trickiest part.

"She... she mentioned something about instructions given to Qatrand regarding the upcoming competition. They were supposedly about that cousin losing gracefully, if we were to face each other."

A ripple of murmurs passed through the elders. Navuill noticed the other young swordsman’s jaw tighten almost imperceptibly. He did understand... as he hadn’t felt very proud knowing there was a back arrangement either.

"When I attempted to calm her tirade using my Empath abilities, she... well, she demonstrated a level of power I wasn’t expecting. She nullified my Astralism. Immediately. Effortlessly."

The dark haired young man’s voice held awe - and trepidation. He looked directly at the senior elder. It was this man who he needed to impress reality on. It was also this man who he hoped would ask exculpatory questions! He didn’t want to cause trouble for the girl, but he didn’t want to be in trouble either...

Navuill decided it was better to just quickly weave in the truth rather than hide it.

"Then... she suppressed my Element I wielded in warning as well. I’ve never encountered anyone our age with that level of control. It was... unsettling."

His account brought shifting expressions from the elders. They ranged from surprise, concern, and in some cases, barely concealed anger. This time it was not only Anper to have such a reaction. Throughout it all, Qatrand had remained seemingly impassive... but the cousin sensed a tension that hadn’t been there before. The teenager slid her foot and changed the direction they were facing.

"As you’ve heard, elders, my betrothed was upset. This was ultimately my failing, so any punishment should be aimed my way. Even Navuill sounds like he has already experienced a lesson. In light of that, I’d like to request leniency on your response to all parties."

The man who had been woken up for too early for all this was touched at his final words... but on introspection about the sentence before that...

’He didn’t even sound surprised! You’re telling me he *knows* that he is marrying as the weaker party?’

Shuddering, the Yecine shook his head. It wasn’t something he felt he could do. The senior elder cleared his throat, breaking the silent atmosphere that had fallen after the younger family member’s request for leniency.

"Your honesty is appreciated, Qatrand, as is your willingness to take responsibility. As for you, Navuill... thank you for your detailed account. This situation is more complex than expected."

"We will need time to deliberate on the appropriate course. For now it is best if these details do not leave the hall."

Another elder spoke up. He felt that the level of ability the girl had kept secret until now was best left alone. Especially if it meant revealing *how* they had come across this revelation to any other family that they tried to inform.

It would be an unneeded loss of face when there was not *yet* a solid purpose behind exposing a cultivator that would be some part of their family soon. If anything, he thought, it would be better to frame the situation while implying she grew in power after the marriage.

"For now, I see no need for any immediate formal action against the Goltbred family. However, we expect you to exercise more discretion in future interactions with your betrothed."

Qat nodded and her expression remained neutral. She didn’t feel bad about telling El the truth. Nor did she feel ashamed at admitting she confided in her future wife. So their advice to be more discreet went in one ear and out the other.

"I understand, elder."

The senior elder made a dismissive gesture.

"You may leave. We’ll inform you of our decisions later in the day."

Navuill couldn’t help but feel relief as well as lingering unease as he left to go back to his room. The meeting had gone better than he’d feared when he knew he would have to admit his choices. However, the implications of Elua er Goltbred’s power and his cousin’s apparent acceptance of it still... unsettled him.

---

A few hours passed in needed rest before the Yecine emerged from his room. He now felt somewhat refreshed! As he turned a corner while rethinking the morning’s event, he nearly collided with Anper er Yecine. He pivoted from his startled face and stance to bow in apology.

"Ah, uncle. I wasn’t paying enough attention to my surroundings."

A calculating look crossed the older man’s face. He had some conversations before with the young man and felt that he had a measure of his personality. Anper narrowed his eyes while bringing out a severe tone.

"Navuill. I was hoping to speak with you about this... incident."

The dark haired young man felt a chill running down his spine. That way of speaking suggested this wouldn’t be a casual conversation with a relative, but one with an elder. Hadn’t he dealt with that more than enough for one day?

"Of course, uncle. What would you like to know?"

The older man glanced around as if ensuring they were alone.

"Let’s discuss this somewhere more private. There are features of this situation that require... more careful consideration. Yet, I think you’re the right man to tell."

Navuill followed but couldn’t shake the feeling that he was about to be drawn into something far more complex than the simple family dispute. The part of the estate he was led to was one near the private quarters of Qatrand. At first he assumed they were going to talk to the man’s son, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

They instead walked right towards the courtyard used by this ’faction’ of elders. The young man knew that this father had been associated with them since he was the same age. It wasn’t because they were particularly more tied in blood than the rest of the family, so he was never privy to *why* the group of them spent a lot of time together and even took this whole wing to themselves.

Anper turned about and leaned in close. His voice dropped to a grating whisper that showed just how upset he was. He’d answered all the questions in the meeting, but the other elders didn’t seem as concerned about any of his points as he was.

He *knew* it was because of the Glotbred plot that couldn’t be talked about as freely. Just like he also knew his limited understanding of Elua’s power wasn’t good enough to frame her as intentionally inciting a member of the Yecine.

"That child of mine you know as my ’son’ is not what they claim to be. What I was made to claim. She’s a female, Navuill. A weak, useless girl playing at being a man."

Navuill’s eyes widened in shock. He wanted to say that it didn’t make any sense, but he also couldn’t understand why - why anyone would lie about it? Especially her father. It wasn’t even a good joke. The young man opened his mouth, but Anper cut him off with a sharp gesture.

"Don’t act so surprised. Surely you’ve noticed how... soft she is. How she lacks the true spirit of a Yecine."

Navuill shifted uncomfortably but nodded slowly. His first instinct had been to decry his claim, but his forcefulness made him think... and think hard until he could come up with anything to just *agree*. The black haired Empath latched onto his most recent question - marrying someone they knew was stronger.

Being fine with accepting the place of the weaker one in a relationship *did* seem a little different than what their family taught. Most importantly it was something he felt enough agreement with that he could sound sincere.

"I... I have noticed some differences, uncle."

Anper’s lip curled in disgust... and now that Navuill was aware of the severity of everything his Astralism was busy quietly picking it all up as well. The man... her father *abominated* Qatrand. Disagreeing with anything he said would be a bad decision!

"They had such high hopes for her. A strong ’heir’ to carry on the legacy of our name and blade. Instead, what happened was this FARCE. I could have raised my two boys to vaster heights by now with what..."

He caught himself and trailed away. That they had all unilaterally funneled resources towards the girl from an early age was a more damning secret than the hidden gender. While he was introducing the young man that must also have a grudge against the girl that suppressed him to the idea of Qatrand’s insufficiencies, he wasn’t about to tell him the entire scheme.

Anper just wanted the young Yecine to grow more feelings of repulsion to the idea of losing in the competition. He wanted him to want to defeat her, as viscerally as possible.

"She is a disappointment - and now she’s been corrupted by that Goltbred witch. Forget about her letting you win if you face her. You’ll have to show her how weak she is."

"But uncle, your s-... your daughter seems capable enough in combat. I’ve seen her-"

The dark haired man scoffed as his gray eyes almost bugged. Another brat was defending that disappointment too?

"Capable? She’s adequate at best for a cultivator. Any true son of *mine* would EXCEL and not merely *suffice*."

He began to pace in agitation while eying the young man. It had been some time since he put the younger generation through their paces. If his words alone weren’t trusted, then a spar might convince him.

"Now she dares to stand up to the elders and admit that she questions our wisdom. That she felt someone from outside of our family could give better advice. All because that girl she is *lying* to has filled her head with nonsense about ’standing up’ to me."

It wasn’t something he knew, but it was clear in her attitude. The way she barked back at him around everyone else was new - and felt very similar to the mouthy Goltbred heiress. Navuill nodded again and again. He felt *increasingly* uncomfortable but was quite unsure how to free himself from the elder!

"We need real men in this family, Navuill. Men who understand filial duty and who don’t let themselves be swayed by... emotional entanglements. There was a time that she listened to me quite well. She was trying to be a Yecine heir, even if she was failing. Part of me respected that, but now there is nothing left. I can’t believe that girl has made the ’son’ I was forced to agree with so weak."

--->

A *very* loud knock resounded on the large door of the Yecine family estate. The two around the corner were also startled by it, but one fiance couldn’t help remembering the words she wrote this morning... causing the already distraught Qat to feel-

’Oh no...’