“But you’re already married.”
“The King doesn’t care. He told me that the dissolution of our marriage was only a matter of time. Serra heard him say it.”
Hadjar tried to imagine the reaction of the desert witch, especially since she wasn’t even a subject of Lidus.
“You can guess what happened,” Nero sighed. “I’ve spent all my time in his office, attending endless councils and meetings. Worst of all, they’re all the same. Officials, noblemen, wastes of space in general… telling us fucking shit all. My father sits there, smiles, nods, and signs papers. Do you know what I would’ve done to my junior officers if they’d come to me with similar proposals and reports?”
“You would have kicked them out?” Hadjar offered.
He’d suspected that things weren’t going well for the Kingdom. But he was surprised to hear that things had gotten so bad that even the unflappable and optimistic Nero had ended up this upset... Primus really couldn’t rule well at all, concentrating on strengthening the state through military ‘power’ instead.
“Yeah, exactly!” Nero punched the mirror, breaking it. “Or sent them to the penal battalion! Or even just killed them on the spot!”
Hadjar came down from his bed, petting the sleeping Azrea along the way. He walked past the scabbard hanging on the wall and his sword resting on the table. Moon Beam didn’t belong on velvet and brocade. It looked best hanging from his bed, in a simple tent.
In this huge, luxurious, empty room, Moon Beam and its owner looked like intruders. Over the years, Hadjar had lost his connection to this place. All that bound him to the capital now were his sister and his desire to kill one person.
Alas, that man was the father of his truest friend.
“People say one battle is enough to get to know a person. We, Nero, have had a hundred more. I know you well and I’m sure that the issues you described wouldn’t have upset you this much. So, buddy, what’s actually the problem?”
Nero raised his head. Their eyes met.
“He’s going to involve you in all of this.”
“Me?” Hadjar was surprised. “I seem to recall not getting along with the King.”
“My father doesn’t generally get along with anyone. Maybe Lithium, but they have a special relationship — a mutual hatred that has turned into friendship. I don’t understand it.”
“At the moment, I am more interested in my role in your family’s problems than the relationship between the King and the Governor.”
Nero nodded and got up from the floor. They came over to the window and looked out. A young maid, no older than twelve, was trying to drag the broken, heavy table off the lawn. It was a difficult task, but she wasn’t giving up. To her, it was an enormous fortune.
“They’re arranging a hunt. At the foothills of the Old Castle.”
Hadjar didn’t react. The Old Castle… So that’s what they were calling the ruins left over from where his family had once lived.
“And?”
“Father wants you to attend. He says that if the younger generation — Elaine, you, me, and a crowd of the aristocrats’ kiddies — participates in the hunt, this will inspire confidence in the future.”
“Or, more likely, in the fact that Commander Nero and the Mad General have been bought off with money and titles.”
Nero shrugged and sank down on the windowsill.
“I’m not the one wearing the crown,” he said heavily. “So, despite all my freedom, the King’s word is law. We can’t disobey.”
“Well, let’s hunt, then. We’ve done it before, quite a lot, too. It’s unlikely that there’s anything more dangerous than the horde of monsters we held back waiting for us near the Old Castle.”
“Nobles,” Nero reminded him, “they are much worse than any monster. And their kids are just as bad.”
“Those naughty brats that are always dissatisfied with everyone and incapable of wiping their own asses? Are you talking about them?”
Nero gestured vaguely.
“Mostly, yes. However, many of the aristocrats have summoned their eldest sons back for our visit.”
Hadjar didn’t like the way his friend had said that.
“What do you mean?”
“At least three of them were sent to study in the Empire before I left. I’m sure they’ll try to propose to my sister.”
On the one hand, fighting practitioners who had studied in the Empire would be dangerous. On the other hand, he would get a chance to appreciate the vaunted, legendary power of the Darnassus Path of Cultivation.
“Everyone in the capital knows that Elaine loves... loved listening to the songs about your adventures. So, they’ll probably try to do it using you. Well, most likely using your corpse.”
Hadjar looked at Nero.
“I’ve killed a General’s adjutant, actual Generals, even rampaging monsters. I killed the Patriarch of a sect, how often do you get to do that? But I’ve never had the chance to kill any aristocrats.”
“They say they have blue blood.”
“Oh, really?”
The friends looked at each other and smiled bloodthirstily.
Chapter 201
Hadjar left enough food out for Azrea to last her at least a week and exited his room. The fluffy kitten followed him with a skeptical look.
There was a ringing silence and a distant echo of the ghosts of the past in the hall again. Heading toward the small throne room (their meeting place), Hadjar kept seeing the shadows of his childhood. Sometimes, he could swear he saw a smiling, dark-haired, blue-eyed little boy waving his hand. He saw the halls where he and his father had sometimes played hide and seek. At the time, a lot of nobles had lived in the Palace. They’d had to take part in the game too. Now, apart from maids and the occasional visitors, there was no one here…
Hadjar stopped in front of the door covered in red plates and decorated with bas-reliefs. The small throne room. Hadjar couldn’t remember whether he had ever been here.
Opening the door, the former General closed his eyes for a
