CHAPTER 296: THE WEIGHT OF VENGEANCE

The conference room was steeped in an almost palpable silence, thick with the weight of Margaret’s words still lingering in the air like smoke: "What will we do, knowing they did?"

Edward was the first to shatter that stillness. Leaning forward, his broad shoulders tense and eyes locked on Arthur, he wore a mix of respect and unease.

"Yeah," he said, his voice low but insistent. "What do you think we should do, big bro? If those eleven treated us this way,if they betrayed our blood,what’s your answer?"

Ashley, who had been bouncing her leg under the table like a coiled spring, could no longer contain herself.

A grin broke across her face,sharp and reckless.

"We take revenge!" she exclaimed, almost gleeful. "We make them pay! Isn’t it obvious? They erased us, spat on us, tore our name from the history they control,don’t we owe them the same?"

Her words ignited murmurs among the gathered cousins. Several nodded eagerly, their young eyes bright with anger and anticipation.

Billy sat there still thinking from the weight of everything they’d learned; he managed only a shake of his head without speaking up.

Olivia leaned closer to Eva and whispered urgently, her face tight with suppressed agitation.

One by one, voices began to rise.

"Why wait?" George blurted out. "If they could do this to us once, what stops them from trying again when we rise?"

"They’ll see us as weak if we do nothing," Oscar added as well.

"The Osborns shouldn’t forgive treachery. Ever." Bella also said with an angry face.

The storm swelled as opinions collided across the long glass table. The younger generation thrived on each other’s fervor; their anger was sharp and intoxicating.

Across from them sat older uncles and aunts who held themselves straighter than ever before,faces carved into masks of stillness.

Julian’s lips pressed tight with furrowed brows,Nathaniel’s fingers tapped against the armrest in measured rhythm,a deliberate counter to the chaos swirling around them.

Margaret folded her hands neatly in front of her, maintaining composure despite the storm brewing.

Arthur remained silent amidst it all. He let their voices crash against each other while his expression stayed unreadable as his family unraveled their fury before him.

Finally turning toward Julian, he spoke with authority that cut clean through the noise:

"First Uncle," Arthur said firmly. "What do you think?"

Instantly, silence fell over the room like a heavy blanket; all eyes swung toward Julian.

Julian inhaled deeply,a heartbeat of silence hung before he answered and his gaze never wavered from Arthur’s piercing stare.

"I think," he began slowly, "that revenge is a tempting word,it tastes good in your mouth but burns your stomach if swallowed too quickly."

He paused for effect before continuing: "The eleven remain powerful,too powerful,with roots in every continent and influence over every court and council.To strike at them without preparation is to invite annihilation."

His tone sharpened as he continued. "Yet...to do nothing is to live under the shadow of their betrayal. So my answer is this: patience,patience until our hand is strong enough to break theirs."

The older ones nodded subtly, acknowledging his resolve.

Nathaniel’s lips curved into a faint smile of approval, while Margaret closed her eyes for a moment, centering herself in his words.

Emily cleared her throat, her voice gentle yet unmistakably clear. "Julian is right. We are not children playing with knives; we are heirs to a name they tried to erase. If we go to war now, we won’t survive the first blow. But if we build, gather, and wait... then vengeance will come not as fire in the night but as judgment written across the world,that is what we should seek."

Her calm spread like oil on flames, briefly quelling the rising tide of impatience among the cousins.

Yet Ashley leaned forward, eyes blazing with defiance.

"So we sit? We wait? For what,decades? Centuries? While they rule and strut across the world pretending we never existed?"

The others immediately chimed as well voicing their opinions.

"They need to know we remember."

"If we hesitate too long, they’ll sense it and strike first."

"Waiting only feeds cowards."

The noise swelled again,a storm of frustration clawing at the air.

Finally, Arthur moved with purpose. He straightened up and lifted a hand before lightly clearing his throat,a quiet sound that sliced through the chaos like a blade as Silence immediately fell in the room.

His gaze swept over the room, lingering on Ashley and those who had shouted loudest.

"Tell me," he said evenly, "is the Osborn family extinct?"

Confused looks spread among them; several cousins blinked in surprise.

Arthur’s tone sharpened further. "Are we truly all that remains of our bloodline?"

Shakes of heads and murmurs filled the air,

"No!".

"Then remember this," Arthur continued with a low but steely voice. "Revenge may feel sweet but it comes with a cost,not just yours to bear but one that weighs heavily on every branch of our family tree, every cousin you don’t know yet, every child yet to be born. Would you drag them into ruin because your pride cannot endure waiting?"

His words struck hard like blows; Ashley’s grin faltered while Billy dropped his gaze to the table and Olivia pressed her lips together tightly.

Arthur’s voice grew colder still: "You want to provoke eleven families that rule this world, families who control armies, economies, crowns and shadows alike? Families who have erased enemies far greater than us without leaving even dust behind? You think that’s strength? That’s foolishness."

The cousins shifted uneasily under his scrutiny as he pressed on.

"Strength is not in striking first. It’s about knowing when to strike and ensuring that when you do, there’s no need for a second blow."

Arthur began pacing slowly along the edge of the table, each word deliberate as his figure was framed against the shifting holographic crests on the walls.

"This," he said, pausing to let the weight of his words sink in, "is why we were cast down in the first place,the others feared what we held here in Noctis. They feared us enough to unite against us,that means we once wielded power so immense it threatened them all.

But tell me,what good did that power do us when we failed to guard it with foresight? When we allowed ourselves to be outmaneuvered by those who thought ten steps ahead?"

He stopped abruptly, his gaze locking onto Ashley before sweeping across the younger faces one by one.

"You cry for vengeance," he continued, voice steady but intense. "But vengeance without foresight is nothing more than suicide."

His words hung heavily in the air, biting into their hearts.

The younger cousins flushed with shame and frustration; some clenched their fists under the table while others looked away.

Arthur softened his tone,not with warmth but with a chilling gravity.

"We must learn from our past," he urged. "We need to think further, deeper, sharper,ten steps ahead of every move! We cannot simply react; we must anticipate, calculate, prepare."

His gaze shifted deliberately among Julian, Emily, and Margaret. "First Uncle and the others understand this truth. It’s time for the young to grasp it too: Power without patience is wasted; patience without power is cowardice. But together? Power and patience can reshape our world."

Standing tall now, shoulders squared and voice cutting sharper with each phrase, he declared:

"Do not think like children! Do not be ruled by impulse! The Osborn family will rise again, not by throwing stones at giants but by becoming a storm they cannot withstand."

The chamber fell silent,no one moved or breathed too loudly.

Arthur exhaled slowly and spoke once more, quieter now and almost reflective.

"This is what sets us apart from them," he stated firmly. "The other families right now doesn’t take as seriously enough, they are underestimating us and that is pur advantage.

If you wish to rule,you must learn to build a foundation beneath your feet instead of burning bridges before they can support your weight."

He let those words linger before stepping back and folding his hands behind him once again.

"Revenge will come," Arthur declared, his voice steady and resolute. "But not today,not tomorrow. It will arrive when the Osborns stand so high that the eleven must tilt their heads back just to see us. Only then will it matter,only then will it endure."

A heavy silence fell over the group, but this time, it was different,no longer restless but filled with contemplation and reluctant understanding.

The cousins shifted uneasily, their fire dimmed yet still flickering, transformed into something more formidable and sharp-edged.

Julian and the others straightened in their seats, a newfound depth of calm settling in as they absorbed Arthur’s words.

Margaret was the first to break the stillness, her voice soft and almost a whisper. "Then we must learn to wait."

Julian nodded thoughtfully. "And to prepare."

Arthur’s eyes lingered on Ashley and the others cousins for a long moment before he offered the faintest nod.

"Yes! We must,for our chance to come".