Amidst Zeke's resentful expression and the look in his eyes that suggested he was about to be in trouble, Grisha didn't spare another glance for his precious son, but instead turned and left.
Question: What is the purpose of having a son?
Answer: To succeed you, of course.
Question: When your son is exceptionally outstanding and seems ready to take over your position, what should you do?
Answer: Immediately prepare to hand over power, transfer authority to your son, and find a place to go on vacation.
Grisha's current thinking was precisely this: let whoever wants to be the Supreme king be the Supreme king.
He just wanted to enjoy a good vacation with his beloved wife; after all, his son was competent and capable enough.
That was the situation, and Zeke could understand it, but when it directly hit him in the face, he still found it hard to accept. How old was he?
He was only 19 years old, at most. And when did his father take over the position of Supreme king? He tried to recall.
His father seemed to have taken over as Supreme king when he was 68 years old.
From this perspective, his father had at least 49 more years of rest than him. And now, he was actually planning to pass on this position to his son when his son was only 19?
Zeke found it a bit unacceptable, but still, the same old saying applied.
The elite aristocratic education he received had indeed brought him many benefits, such as in the present situation.
He really wanted to pounce on his father and pull out all his beard, and then go cry to his mother and complain.
Let his mother teach his father a lesson.
However, due to the presence of his ally, he still maintained the demeanor and elegance expected of an heir.
But the occasional eye-roll in his father's direction betrayed him; he was definitely cursing inwardly right now.
Grisha strode forward, an undisguised smile on his lips.
He could feel his son's resentful gaze behind him, and the occasional grinding of teeth.
"Stop glaring, your eyeballs will pop out," Grisha said without looking back. "This is for your own good. The sooner you take over family affairs, the sooner you'll get familiar with the duties of the Supreme king."
"Father," Zeke tried to make his voice sound less like he was gritting his teeth, "You inherited the throne at 68, and I am only 19 this year."
"Times are different," Grisha shrugged. "Besides, you're much stronger than I was back then—you could build an Imperial-class battleship at 19. When I was 19, I was still arguing with the Mechanicus's oil-lads."
"These useless people, they actually want their Arch-Magos to teach them, but the problem is they can't learn even when taught. They're simply useless."
Zeke: "..."
Facing the conversation between the two of them, the Lord General standing by the side felt quite awkward.
Karl Reiss, however, was not too shocked by the Imperial-class battleship mentioned in the father and son's conversation.
After all, they had grown up together, and he was also the head of his family, so he naturally knew how powerful the family of the guy he had been close to since childhood was.
One should know that his family, on the surface, appeared to be their ally, but according to various inherited messages he had received previously.
It indicated that his family, 2000 years ago, should have been subordinate to the opposing knight house.
However, later, due to a decision made by a certain Supreme king of that knight house, they decided to separate his family and let them become the governor of a new star sector.
The Yaeger family then slowly went into hiding.
When he first learned this news, he was incredibly shocked and didn't know what to say.
But during the time he spent with the Yaeger knight house, he felt that the news was credible.
It was a pity that the Reiss family's star sector had been occupied by chaos more than a hundred years ago, otherwise he wouldn't be so clueless about the current situation.
He had asked his old friend opposite him before, but Grisha chose not to answer, telling him to find out for himself... Karl Reiss, to be honest, sometimes really wanted to beat up his old friend.
Why did he have to find out such a thing himself?
But truthfully, if he tried to fight, he wouldn't win. In all their brawls since childhood, he had never won.
That was quite frustrating.
Grisha left the royal court, leaving only Zeke and Karl Reiss within.
The two looked at each other, not knowing how to start a conversation.
Silence lingered between them for a few seconds, until Karl Reiss finally cleared his throat and spoke first: "So... my nephew, you are now the acting head of the Yaeger family?"
Zeke rubbed his temples, trying to appear less exhausted: "Theoretically, yes, Uncle."
Reiss couldn't help but chuckle: "That's definitely his style."
"Alright, then let's continue our previous discussion. Do you need me to summarize what we talked about earlier so you can get up to speed?"
Zeke took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his demeanor, and offered a polite smile: "No need, Uncle. Father has already briefly informed me of the situation."
"You are planning a Great Crusade, so you need the support of various forces within the Empire. Father has already told me about this. Although we are uncle and nephew, even brothers must settle accounts clearly, so I must state my demands on this point."
"Understood. This is a trial from my father, so I must strive for sufficient benefits for myself. Can you understand what I mean?"
Karl Reiss laughed heartily, patting Zeke's shoulder vigorously: "Good lad! That's how it should be. After all, this is a transaction between two houses. It's excellent that you see it this way. You are a very capable heir. If the future heirs of my family could be like you, that would be wonderful."
Karl Reiss was not stingy at all. Instead, he showered Zeke with all sorts of compliments, focusing on lavish flattery.
Children of this age usually care about face, so if he praised him a lot and elevated him, wouldn't the benefits they had to offer be significantly reduced?
Although the negotiations hadn't officially begun, the power struggle had already started.
Zeke accepted the compliments with composure, as he had been praised countless times and was used to it.
"Thank you for your praise; your kind words bring me great joy.
However, I am different from ordinary young people; I will not be swayed by such compliments. So, Uncle, you don't need to praise me so much. Now, I will state my demands."
Upon hearing this, Karl Reiss became serious and said, "Please speak, I'm all ears."
He believed Zeke's words because Zeke still maintained the etiquette of a noble, showing no signs of joy or excitement.