Chad disliked Hera's attitude. His expression darkened, but he said nothing.
Frederick noticed this and immediately stood up to tell her off. "How could you be so rude? Have you forgotten all the rules you've learned from us?" His tone did not conceal his disgust.
The Killians had many rules, including speaking to elders with respect, not calling the elders by their names, referring to the elders by their titles, and much more. All these rules made it hard for most people to follow through.
While they could be more relaxed in their own quarters, everyone had to speak and act cautiously around Chad. If they accidentally offended him, they would receive a verbal reprimand at best or a harsher punishment based on the family's rules.
Back then, the young Bernard always acted impulsively because Frederick would tease Hera. Thus, he would often be punished by kneeling in the living hall.
"I'm not a Killian. Why should I follow your family's rules?" Hera asked with a smile, leaving Frederick speechless.
Hera continued, "Mr. Chad has not even said a word, so why are you speaking up first? Perhaps you intend to overstep his authority and seize his position as the family patriarch?"
Frederick paled immediately. He couldn't bear such a serious accusation.
"Ms. Youngworth, Freddy still thinks of you as his cousin and merely wanted to give you a friendly reminder," Rhett immediately explained to Hera in a friendly manner.
Then, he pretended to lecture Frederick by saying, "Ms. Youngworth is Aury's lifesaver. How could you be so rude? Apologize now and reflect on yourself later."
Frederick glared at Hera as he had been trying to find fault with her earlier. Not only did he fail, but it backfired completely. One might have even thought that he wanted to be the family patriarch.
Although extremely displeased, he could only obediently apologize in front of Chad and Karen. "Sorry, I was out of line earlier."
Hera smirked coldly. She was about to tell him off when Catherine tugged at her hand, indicating that she should back down and not press the issue further.
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