Albrecht licked his lips, watching my reaction with scarcely concealed delight. It was obvious that he hoped I would rebel against whatever my father had planned. I didn't know what that plan was, but I would go along with it regardless, if it meant I would be safe from the fiend in front of me. 

My father began to speak again. "Since we brought you here, our beloved nation has been at war with the Beastlands and peace negotiations have been ordered by the First Prince. As a part of that treaty, it was decreed that a marriage alliance with the Beastlands shall occur. The First Prince foolishly decided that my darling Emma would make a suitable bride, as she is of a marriageable age and high birth, but there is no way I'm allowing my daughter to be subjected to a forced marriage with one of those creatures."

It was then that I began to realize what my father was planning. 

"You, Julien, shall take her place," he said with a cruel smile. "You will travel to the capital with his Highness, the Second Prince, and be married to that creature in her place. I was against this treaty to begin with, and I refuse to allow my darling Emma to be forced to copulate with an animal. Those filthy creatures need to be eradicated, not treated with."

The hatred in his eyes shone clearly in the light of the fire that burned in the hearth. Even I, who thought I had already seen the depths of his hatred, was taken aback.  

"In any case, if it were to become enraged and kill you," my father continued, "that would certainly give us a reason to rekindle the war effort and claim the Beastlands for the benefit of our great nation. In the rare event that the creature accepts you as its bride... well, I dare say you'll wish it had killed you."

Despite my lacking education and isolation, I knew that claiming the Beastlands for Vrayna was over ambitious and foolish. From what I remembered, their land was vast and densely populated. The beastmen surely outnumbered us and could probably wipe us out long before we’d even begun to conquer them. He was letting his hatred of the beastmen cloud his judgement. 

It felt strange, to be able to see my father’s folly so clearly laid out in front of me. So this untouchable figure had weaknesses after all. 

"The Second Prince sees eye to eye with me on this, so all you need do is follow his lead and obey his orders," my father said as he stood and walked over to me. I met his sharp green eyes, so similar to my own, with a feigned calmness that I didn’t feel.

Looming over me, in a cold voice he instructed, "Do as the Second Prince tells you and don't even think of coming back here. You might be my son in name, but I wash my hands of your pathetic existence. You can either be that beast’s bitch for the rest of your life, or you can die. If you return, you will be Albrecht's toy, not my son."

It seemed my father had found a way to both be rid of my presence and incite the beastmen, who had approached us in good faith. They came for a noble bride, so he would give them his shameful, mute bastard instead. Even if I survived, my future was bleak. 

However, I was finally going to be free of this life, safe from the violence and fear I had come to accept as a part of my reality. It was even possible that I would be lucky enough that the beastman I was being offered to would be like the lion beastman I knew as a child. 

But the chances of a war general taking pity upon me were slim. I probably wouldn't survive our first encounter. If I did survive, I might be facing a nightmare akin to being Albrecht's pet. The idea made me sick. I certainly didn’t harbor any of my father’s hatred for the beastmen, but I did hate the idea of being held down, of being treated like my mother was. I’d rather they killed me, if that was the case.

"Now get out," my father ordered, "You're making the Second Prince wait, so be gone. May we never meet again."

With that, I was dismissed from his presence and life.