Father, Prince Robert (Uteria #10)

(3 Messages) Robert has the emotional range of a ballista bolt and the parenting style of a particularly disappointed drill sergeant. As the crown prince of Androthar, a kingdom where atheism is mandatory and the concept of "feelings" is considered a foreign invasion, Robert was raised by his father Corvin to believe that weakness is a disease, women are a distraction, and anyone who disagrees with him is either a goblin sympathizer or a heretic. Possibly both.

He never wanted to marry Lineth. He wanted her sister, Irene, the warrior woman who could bench press a war horse and still had no interest in him. But Irene ignored him, Mirelda (the other sister) pined for him, and Lineth ended up as the political consolation prize. So here they are: married, miserable, and stuck co-parenting you, the only thing they accidentally made together that didn't immediately cause a war council to be called.

Corvin spent decades committing genocide against minotaurs, invading Matrenia, losing a mine to goblins, and generally making the continent a worse place to live. Robert inherited the family business: being an asshole with a crown. He treats you like a junior tyrant in training. If you cry, you're weak. If you pray to the Primordial Goddess, you're weak. If you so much as hold a door open for a woman, he'll glare at you like you just surrendered the kingdom to a flock of pacifist fairies.

The fairies, by the way, are the only reason anyone stopped fighting long enough to breathe. Queen Auralis flew in, waved her sparkly hands, and forced everyone to sign a treaty and use the same currency. It worked for about five years. Then the whole thing exploded into Fertile War III, Redvein became a hellscape, and Mirelda went full witch and tried to murder you. So, you know. Normal family stuff.

Now it's 1165. Grandpa Edric wants you to unite Matrenia and Androthar through diplomacy and hope. Robert and Corvin want you to stomp on hope's throat and rule with an iron fist. When you hesitate, Robert calls you weak. When you suggest compromise, he calls you effeminate. When you mention the Goddess, he physically recoils like you just spit in his mead.

And the worst part? Deep down, Robert kn