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Volume : 1
Chapter : 6[6]; You better keep your mouth shut!
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"As for being hunted... if France must pursue a man for honoring her, maybe the country of France has forgotten the spirit in which that honor was bestowed."
The room was silent, not because of the medal, but because of the weight of Aaryan's words.
But Daniel took a leisurely sip of his red wine, never taking his eyes off Aaryan.
He smiled; although it was not a warm smile, but rather a polite smile that seemed to suggest scheming.
"Well spoken, for a man of strong convictions, Monsieur. Or perhaps, strong rehearsals.
"He set down his glass of wine, wiped his lips with silk cloth.
"But let's not get into the lofty philosophizing about the memory of France. The Légion d'honneur is not just a poem to be appreciated from a distance; it is provenance. The ethos of the reward is not in grandiloquent words but in the truth behind it."
And then Daniel leaned back into his chair and said:
"And if you are as strong as your words, then you really have nothing to fear, not from me, nor from France, nor even from the truth."
He paused, raised the glass of wine one last time as if to toast.
"Then it is to truth...!"
Aaryan smiled reflectively.
It was not a smile of a victorious man, but rather a smile of a man who knew much more than he said.
A smile exclusively from strength-unhampered by insecurity.
He held Daniel's gaze for an extended, still moment.
Then, he slowly turned his gaze to the others sitting at the table. When he spoke, it was not only to Daniel, but to all of them present there
.
"Monsieur," he said softly, "truth does not require practice. Truth is reconciled easily as it carries the weight of invention. Lies require practice."
He folded his arms, as though it was all slightly beneath him.
Then he continued in the same tone, calm and predictable:
"I understand your disbelief. In your world, built on inheritance, conquest and the quiet looting and pillaging, anything extraordinary has to feel suspicious. I remind you, however, not all greatness derives from privilege. Some of it derives from struggle... from the silence... even from the sacrifice, that you have never seen."
He waited only a moment longer for his words to linger like dust in the air.
"And people like you may never really be able to accept what that is meant to cost. I can only imagine what your ancestors did once, and from that, you sit at the table with me now. You, of course, tell me... are not you doing the same? I can't even express how many of my people died to the boots of your single company, not even counting the hundreds of millions by the British East India."
He reaches for his glass, not for the wine but water...and lifted it slightly, and took a sip, before continuing.
"To truth, yes. But also to humility. We pray may we never be so arrogant, that we don't find dignity where it doesn't wear our likeness."
Silence again in the entire hall.
The people present looked at the Aaryan and Daniel back and forth, and none have the ability to interfere between two great buddhas.
There was no tremor in his voice. No flicker of anger on his face. But when he spoke next, it came cold up measure - final:
"So I suggest monsieur, you better keep your mouth shut."
And just as fast, his face grew warm once more.
The smile, gentle once again, appeared on his lips like leaving china tea out to dry.
"And lets eat! we have came for this."
As if he had said nothing cruel at all.
Edward Harrington, sitting beside Aaryan, had been in shock from the moment the medal was revealed. Even he hadn't expected that Aaryan would dare to stand against one of the richest families in the world.
His gaze remained fixed on the Medal of Honour from the République Française.
He didn't know when Aaryan had received it, but suddenly, he remembered.
He recalled that Aaryan had once asked for leave from Cambridge University for half a month last year, saying he had to go to France for some reason. And it had actually become quite frequent for Aaryan, in the past year, he must have visited France more than three times.
He hadn't expected that Aaryan had been awarded the highest honour from the French government.
Among all the people here, perhaps only Devika knew that Aaryan had also received the fellowship of Trinity College, and even the honorary title of Sc.D. (Doctor of Science).
But what even Devika didn't know.
And after Aaryan's words, the entire saloon fell into silence.
Edward leaned slightly toward Aaryan and asked in a low voice, one only he could hear. He didn't want to attract the attention of the great noble families around them.
"When did you get this award? And not to mention, you didn't even tell me."
"Huh... hmm... I got the medal last year, when I went to France for the second time. As for why I didn't tell you, have you ever asked me about it?"
He raised his brows and looked at Edward with a strong gaze.
"Cough... cough... so if I don't ask, you won't say?" Coughing awkwardly, Edward asked, slightly embarrassed.
Aaryan looked at Edward and sighed. He hadn't expected that he would end up with such a fool for a friend over the past five years.
But to save his face, he still chose to explain: "Well, Edward, if I continue to speak publicly about my identity and my awards, even if the government of France won't say anything to me, don't you think it would be quite embarrassing for a country to hand out its highest honour like it's nothing, and person like me, who is a fool, even after being genius?
And even if I publicised it, there would certainly be people with bad intentions toward me, right? After all, you've seen it yourself, on campus, how they tried to bully me when I first arrived."
After hearing what Aaryan said, Edward nodded in agreement, as if he truly understood the meaning behind Aaryan's words.
While the two were speaking, from the middle seats, two pairs of eyes were watching them, each with a very different emotion in their gaze.
Daniel's gaze was like that of a hyena in the dark, waiting to strike when the prey showed a moment of vulnerability, and from that time, he will take advantage of it.
As for the other, Catherine von Habsburg looked at Aaryan, and then her eyes shifted to the beautiful woman sitting beside him. And in her heart, an unknown emotion began to stir, inside her heart.
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[End of the chapter, 6!]
[I have decided, it will be harem...!!]
[I am sorry for single, guys.]