“A feasible plan. Once you propose, make it public, that way he can’t reject you even if he wants to.”
Rimmon suggested.
“Would he dare reject my proposal? Doing that would be considered a slap to my face, an insult to my position and….high treason for such defiance.”
The chill from Aaron’s eyes made Rimmon shudder. The force he sensed from Aaron froze him in place.
He was an imperial-ranked knight yet the little force Aaron released was enough to freeze his entire body!
This meant he had no chance against Aaron!
Not even the chance to swing his sword once!
“I shall betrothe Sylvia to King Reuel Zaur. I hear he is without a woman.”
“But it is well known Reuel is engaged to Countess Nephis, and the position of her house is crucial to his rule. Denying her will be counterproductive.”
Aaron clicked his tongue. “I know all these. It is why I shall give him Sylvia as a concubine and not a wife.”
Rimmon’s eyes widened. “A member of the imperial family… a concubine?!”
“Not forever. Once I am crowned as emperor after conquering these lands my predecessors once ruled, I shall have him make her his wife.”
Rimmon laughed. “Of course.”
“Once I have House Ashbourne and House Zaur, we shall march on House Nubis. The Archduke has always been a stubborn old fox.”
“You have my full support.”
While they conversed inside the castle walls, Sylvia stood on the bridge staring at the waves with a serene gaze.
“Would you like to ride a wyvern with me? It would be a great honour.” Ain suddenly spoke, disrupting her peace.
She smiled softly.
“I’d rather watch the tides.”
“But the wyvern—!”
“Riding a wyvern won’t be better than a dragon. In fact it might be worse so why should I try it?”
Ain blinked. “That is a good reason. I did not see it that way. If it pleases you, may I know what excites you?”
Sylvia stood silent, her hair dancing in the gentle breeze. The pause hung in the air like a held breath. Then, after a beat, she parted her lips to speak.
“Great men.”
Astounded, Ain cleared his throat. “What do you mean?”
Sylvia’s eyes moved toward Ain. “Great men often excite me. Men like Duke Asher. A man who began a baron, fought countless wars, many which were not in his favour and emerged victorious, declared dead for four months yet returned and defeated 100,000 strong. At first his eyes were unremarkable but I hear they now shine like two suns.”
She swiveled to face Ain, her full attention now focused on him.
“He should be 24 now and has taken the heads of high ranking nobles, defeated generals and conquered the north. Isn’t that sufficient to call him great?”
“He is.”
Ain clenched his teeth, after forcing those words out of his mouth. ‘With an order, I can burn down his cities, reduce everything to rubbles and ash yet you praise him!’
His expression gradually darkened.
“Another great man of this era is Reuel Zaur. At 43, he is king over an iconic kingdom. Although not the youngest king, he slayed his own father, laid waste to oppositions and was crowned.”
Sylvia smirked. “The old goons of that kingdom had to give way for a young man. Millions though knew what he did dared not hesitate to bow at his feet. That is what makes him great.”
Thinking about how he brought down small rebels and bandit strongholds with his wyvern, Ain felt ashamed.
He wasn’t like Asher Ashbourne, a swordsman whose kill count with his sword alone were innumerable.
He wasn’t as cold and ruthless as Reuel. In fact, compared to them, it seemed like he had been spoonfed.
Possessing a powerful pet beast had made him soft.
He was supposed to woo Sylvia but ended up discovering he wasn’t even worth anything in her sight.
‘What an aloof woman.’ Ain clenched his teeth.
“We should head back.”
Sylvia began to walk away, leaving him simmering in anger.
…
Forty-five days had passed when a figure with snow-white hair, visible beneath his hood, stood at the ship’s rail, gazing out at the distant city walls. Beside him, two companions clad in hooded cloaks flanked him, their faces shrouded in shadow. Nero’s right eye gleamed like a snake’s, while Moses’s single eye seemed to bore into the horizon.
Zorah!
This was the name of the city. During these days, Asher had journeyed through two different cities before he came to the capital of Clan El.
Unlike other clans, this clan was modern. Like the noble houses in the high plains. Strangely, everyone here had blue eyes so at the behest of a good Samaritan, they wore cloaks with large hoods.
Clan El was bigger than he thought. Their cities had proper well armoured garrison troops, nicely built roads and great structures.
Conquering this clan would take over a year and that was if he would succeed. The chances were high that he would retreat.
One reason was, these cities had water bodies nearby. His forces would be dominated by their long ranged navy by the time they camp before the city walls.
‘Zorah. It’s named after Lord Zenas firstborn but the culture of these people has no similarities with Ashbourne culture.’
Finally, they came down from the ship and went straight to the city gate on foot. While in the line, Nero’s lips parted.
“How are we supposed to get to the lord of this city?”
Asher smiled. “Two ways. One is in my bosom…” he opened his hood, revealing a tiny Sirius in one of the pockets. Seeing Sirius’ furry form and cute blue eyes, Nero was almost convinced that this wasn’t a brutal killer.
“… We shall try the second option first.”
As much as Nero wanted to know what the second option was, he could only wait in silence until it was their turn to face the soldiers.
Nero’s eyes narrowed as they closed in on the knights before the wall. They donned blue plate armour, with tall spears.
The heads of the spears weren’t made of steel but blue crystal!
“Halt!”
One stretched forth his hand towards Asher. To Nero’s shock, Asher removed his hood, revealing his piercing golden eyes.
Instantly, there was a change in the knight’s expression.