[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/seHu1lv.png[/img][/center] [color=gray] [color=4C93C2]Location:[/color] Castle Dining Hall [color=4C93C2]Time:[/color] Evening [color=4C93C2]Mention:[/color] [@ReusableSword] Roman [@Oso] Cassius [@Tpartywithzombi] Violet [@FunnyGuy] Alexander/Lorenzo [/color] [hr] [color=gray]Calbert did not blink. Not once. As his daughter spoke, each syllable cut sharper than the last, her words carved from agony that cut him deep. He watched her with a stillness that belied the storm beneath his skin. His fingers, gloved and resting on the tablecloth, twitched, restraining the primal urge to tear Roman Ravenwood apart at the seams. Not for the insult alone. No, Calbert had endured slander, threats, and even assassination attempts without batting an eye. But this—this was something else. This was his daughter, his Violet, standing before a court of wolves with her heart bleeding into her gown, trying to mask anguish, speaking truths that no child of his should have to arm themselves with. And all the while, that smug bastard across the table sat with a smile on his lips, as if he hadn’t just gutted her publicly. Calbert’s jaw clenched with enough force to crack bone. The Count did not interrupt Violet. He would not steal this moment of power from her. But make no mistake, every word she uttered was etched into his soul like a vow, and when she was done, when she had carved her name back into the court’s memory with her own fire and grit, Calbert Damien would see to it that every man who dared twist her pain into performance paid with interest. Roman had started a game he did not understand. His gaze cut to Callum the moment the prince’s voice turned its ire toward Cassius. His hand stilled mid-motion, the weight of his wine goblet suddenly too light to justify movement. For a heartbeat, he said nothing—not out of fear, but calculation. Calbert’s fury didn’t roar—it simmered, slow and patient like coals. He dabbed the corner of his mouth with his napkin, folded it with care, and sat still even as Cassius reacted rashly. Callum’s defense of Roman gnawed at him, not because the prince spoke harshly, but because it made absolutely no sense. That boy, Edin’s royal problem child, was suddenly aligning himself with decrees of abuse? [i]Passionately?[/i] And for what? To champion a man who had just embarrassed an innocent noblewoman with a smirk and a bite of ribs? Uncharacteristic didn’t even begin to describe it. Callum never threw his weight behind those who were this deeply immoral. Unless... unless it wasn't weight he was throwing, but a shield. [i]And Ravenwood was also different.[/i] He had always been composed, yes—but never cruel. Calbert’s mind clicked into motion, each word, each glance, each laugh at the table slotting into place like a poisoned puzzle. Calbert’s fingers curled slowly around the stem of his glass, thoughts sharp as daggers behind his composed facade. Something was different, and the prince and the brute were just the first to tip their hands. Nonetheless, Calbert found a sliver of grim satisfaction in watching Cassius rise—however recklessly—in defense of his family. That fire, however misguided, was still his blood. Seeing his son stand behind Violet, even while unraveling, struck a chord Calbert rarely allowed himself to feel. He had already braced himself to intervene, to take the full weight of the court's onslaught as the notion of a duel was offered. Yet before he could act, it was Alexander Deacon who stepped in. The count gaze narrowed, the faintest crease forming between his brows. The moment Cassius began to adhere to Alexander’s words, something twisted in the count’s chest—not relief, but confusion. Then a loud yell caught his attention. Calbert’s gaze snapped cleanly to the source, his spine straightening as Lorenzo Vikena stormed forward, his voice slicing through the hum of murmured nobles and clinking silver. The outburst was not entirely unexpected—Lorenzo had always been a creature of emotion wrapped in poor breeding. He was already preparing to dismiss the drama when movement caught his eye—Charlotte. Her movements as she moved toward Cassius weren’t frantic or calculated. No, they were human—disarmingly honest, and that made them all the more dangerous. Then she hugged him, and Cassius let her. Calbert studied them like a man reading a page he didn’t remember writing. “[color=f26522]As the king decrees I acquiesce. I shall not pursue courtship with Lady Violet Damien until it is otherwise allowed by the powers that be. Am I of the understanding that these wishes apply to Lady Crystal Damien as well?[/color]” Calbert Damien's jaw tightened, muscles beneath his skin taut as iron wire, and his eyes fell on Roman with outrage. The words obviously cut deep into poor Violet, and soon she was leaving with her mother in tow. The table's chaos blurred into irrelevance, each word and face fading away, until all he saw was Roman Ravenwood’s damned, insufferable smile. It was not the smug grin alone that angered him—no, he'd faced arrogance plenty of times—but the very fact that Roman never let it waver. The brute met every barb, every accusation, every cut to his reputation with that infuriatingly calm expression, a mask so transparent in its hostility that it was almost laughable. Almost. Because Calbert Damien knew better. He recognized the game Roman was playing. The moment Roman had caught himself and changed direction upon seeing Charlotte hug Cassius had revealed some of his cards to the count, if only for a moment. To stand before one’s enemies, smiling as if in celebration, while secretly letting the world burn at your feet was not madness; it was strategy. Roman was purposely instigating chaos, offering up his relationship with Violet, taunting Alexander, provoking Calbert himself—every step choreographed to ignite tension and fracture the banquet into chaos. [i]But why?[/i] What could Roman possibly gain by alienating every ally and making enemies of powerful houses at a single stroke? Unless…Roman was not the one gaining from it at all. Calbert’s eyes narrowed slowly, the realization sliding like ice into his veins. His pupils darkened, and the faintest curl twisted the edge of his mouth, a smile without warmth, without humor—just quiet, patient cruelty waiting to bloom. After all, the Count of Montague had never been one to enjoy playing chess without all the pieces. He leaned back slightly, posture relaxed, almost casual, yet the subtle stillness of his form radiated a silent threat. His fingertips, barely visible beneath the table’s edge, drummed a slow, steady rhythm on his thigh. It was a small, insignificant movement, yet the repetition held the quiet promise of knives sharpened in shadow. He felt a familiar darkness stir in his chest. Paranoia’s sweet poison rising to meet fury's slow burn. Someone thought they could puppeteer Ravenwood, turn him loose to strike at his family, mock him, wound him, and escape unseen. Someone believed themselves clever enough to manipulate the board without his notice, like a spider creeping into another’s web. But Calbert Damien was not simply clever. [i]He was mercilessly brilliant.[/i] Though he was certainly furious, beneath it all there was something else: excitement. An ugly thrill he rarely indulged, the dark joy of having a true rival worthy of ruin. He would peel away every shadow, every whispered order, every hidden face. He would follow the strands until the puppet master had nowhere left to run. And then he would destroy them—not swiftly, not cleanly, but with agonizing deliberation, leaving their ruin behind as a warning. No one touched his family without paying in blood. His gaze settled again on Roman, on the façade that man wore with such practiced ease, and Calbert’s cold, hollow smile widened just a fraction more—revealing nothing yet promising everything. Calbert Damien did not simply play chess. He flipped the board and slit the throat of whoever dared try to take his pieces. [color=4C93C2][i]Keep smiling, Ravenwood...Smile while you can. I promise, I will find the one holding your chains. And when I do, neither you nor they will find reason to smile ever again.[/i][/color] [/color]