Tyrant of the Ruined Sun-Chapter 188: Night of the Masquerade 7

Shifting my eyes in the direction of his subtle hint, I beheld the usual gathering surrounding the western emissaries, in the middle of whom were the expected Marius and Aurelias, yet in slight contradiction of what was expected, a few more new faces were now also present in their fawning congregation of desperate sycophants.

"So their list of subjects and protectorates has yet again been amended with fresh names." I humourlessly muttered, turning my gaze back to the Golden Glutton before they could notice my probing glance.

"It is the only way they can circumnavigate their weakness after all." Tianlan dryly added.

"Hmm." I hummed in brief agreement as I nodded, my eyebrows stitching themselves in a displeased knot that strived to conceal my growing concern on the matter, as I was under no trance of a self imposed illusion, of the direness of the situation should the western nations fully unite behind the western hegemon; a thought that also reminded me of another perturbing matter concerning the Luminous Empire, as I quickly returned my attention to Tianlan, and simply stating with seemingly complete casualness, yet the silent intent hidden within them was all too apparent for those who listened well enough "It’s odd that Octavian has not bothered showing himself since the opening ceremony of the Banquet."

I was hoping that he would possess some fragment of truth I didn’t yet have, that could aid in the shedding of light on this bizarre situation, yet to my dismay, Tianlan simply responded with an "Indeed." along with a resigned shrug and a wary shake of his head.

I was in the midst of nodding understandably to him, as I tried to choke down my own disappointment, when suddenly Weixiao, who had been silently listening to us this whole time, spoke up "Though I didn’t bother with it much at the time, now that you’ve reminded me, I think I might actually know something about the western emperor’s odd behaviour."

Tianlan and I instantly had our full attention hurled to him in surprise and curiosity, as we urged the boy to speak with a simultaneous outcry "What?"

Though momentarily taken aback by our abrupt reaction, he still confidently narrated what he knew, saying "A few days ago, after I had finished speaking with you lord Alexander, I was making my way back to the side of my party, when I incidentally passed by the cabal of king Danann of Dunamis, when another emissary, whose voice I didn’t recognize, asked him if he could lend a helping hand in the facilitation of an audience he was wanting, yet failing to secure with the Luminous emperor, and that if he did so then his favour would not soon be forgotten, and would be properly compensated for as well." He stopped then for a brief moment, as though he was trying to better remember what words were spoken next, which was a slight challenge, as heard them in passing.

And while he was taking a second to collect his thoughts, I shook my head at the insinuation of that mystery man’s words that were as plainly obvious as the sun’s presence in high noon, even through a young man’s retelling of a fragmented memory, so much so that all of us wondered why take the effort to be obtuse in the first place when he was going to be so blatantly apparent with his bribery.

"And what did Danann reply?" A few seconds later, his father urged him to continue, wo which Weixiao replied with a sigh, saying.

"Though I can’t recall the exact same words he uttered in response, it was along the lines of, you are wise indeed, for the world will belong to the Inheritors of the Sun in a few short years, and none can stop it once his imperial majesty’s efforts are finished."

We grew silent after which, each of us drowning in his own thoughts on the matter, as his words didn’t reveal as much as we hoped, but had pointed our scepticism in a direction, at least.

And adding to the credibility of his story was the fact that it was uttered by none other than Danann.

Why? 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Because his nation, the western Kingdom of Dunamis, and it’s capital city of Vis, were the ancestorial home of the descendants of the God of Power and Strength, and who more importantly in the current context were amongst the most loyal servants to the children of the Sun God in the western realms, who on more than one occasion led armies for the benefit of the western hegemon, with very little gain to their realm.

And why were they as such?

Simple really; they worship strength in all it’s forms, and in all aspects of life, with their judicial system, which has been hailed as utterly unique around the whole world for countless millennia now, standing as the greatest testament to this claim; for in their nation, there existed no positions by the names of judge or jury, but only the executioner.

It mattered not who was in the right or who was in the wrong, or who transgressed upon the recognized sanctions of whom, all that mattered was if you could hold your own in a test of strength, with the victor claiming justice and the loser being condemned a sinner for crimes he might not have committed, but he would still be guilty of the greatest fault of all in their eyes, the sin of weakness.

And they followed this tenant of their society religiously, with even common peasants possessing the right to challenge their own kings to a duel if they claimed he has been wronged by him; a challenge no king of Dunamis has ever refused, or lost.

Until, that is, a couple of millennia ago, when the Luminous Empire at the time was still establishing itself as the hegemon of the west, and the Indomitable Kings, as they were called then, sought to challenge their ambition on the field of battle.

A contest that was finalized when the two monarchs of the time, met before their assembled armies, and then swiftly ended with Emperor Camillus the first convincingly beating King Durendal the second in single combat, forever cementing the sons of the God of Power and Strength subservient to the sons of the Sun God.

I was still lost in thought, when I was suddenly reeled back from the depths of my fractured mind, with the sound of a pair of boots briskly approaching us, and Tianlan’s own calm words, saying "It seems your Grand Vizier has finally returned."

Blinking a couple of times to banish the last remnants of distracting thoughts and incomplete theories from my mind for the time being, I turn to find the returned two, bowing before us, saluting "You majesties. Pardon our tardiness."

"Your excused." I answered, with a nonchalant wave of my hand, before Tianlan’s own words echoed out.

"Speaking of excuse, we will excuse ourselves as well, Ruinous Dragon." He said, before he and his son very considerately took their leave, understanding that Darius would undoubtably wish to brief on what and who had taken so much of his precious time.

I nodded to them appreciation, while Darius bowed even further in gratitude, before I asked him, once I was sure they were out of earshot "So, what happened?"

Darius straightened himself, before approaching me and speaking to me in a voice barely eclipsing that of a whisper "I received an interesting invitation from one who hails from the north."

My brows furrowed hearing his cryptic words, as I coldly asked "Mikhail?"

Darius shook his head in response, saying in an even lower tone of voice "His eldest daughter, Elisabetta."

My brows furrowed themselves even further in a tight knot, as I thought ’What would that Mistress of Misery want?’ Before then my eyes widened in realization as I knowingly stated "The rumours."

"Indeed, sire." Darius affirmed.

"But didn’t the report say that the Frozen King had placed the burden of cleaning up her mess on her sister?" I questioned, seeking confirmation.

"He did indeed, my liege. But it seems the eldest princess does not hold much stock in her sisters’ talents." He chucklingly answered with dark undertones, as though he’d discovered a new weakness he could utilize, a new gap in the armour of the northern giant, to which he could utilize to more easily slide in his silk wrapped poison knife when the time for drawing blood is nigh.

"And what answer did you give her?" I then questioned further.

"I denied it of course, and she was wasn’t present herself, sire. She sent a representative, a member of the Ice Stalker Knights in her stead." He clarified.

I was momentarily surprised by both her pragmatism, and her trust in that knight, but then I recalled that in my past life, she would eventually become the Knight Commander of the Ice Stalkers in a few years time, so it would make sense that she had acquaintances and men she trusted among them already.

"And how did this emissary of hers react?" I curiously questioned.

"He seemed prepared and expecting such an answer from me, as he simply nodded in reply, and instead asked if I could arrange a meeting between you and his mistress." Darius answered with a hint of amusement in his tone for the audacity of this northern princess.

An amusement I didn’t share, for she carried the same rotten blood as that bastard, and there was nothing I could think of that would upset my stomach more, than having a meeting with one of their ilk, so I was about to mockingly laugh the mere notion of it away, when a devious plan whispered itself to me, and I couldn’t help but bask in it’s maliciousness.

"Sire?" Darius called, seeing me suddenly turn so silent.

"It’s nothing Darius." I replied with an insidious tone, one that seemed to still the air around me in mould of malicious madness and ravenous bloodlust. "Provide her with no answer for now, let her stew in her own worries and anxiety for the time being."

"Understood, sire." Darius nodded in acceptance, just as the music changed rhythm again, turning into a slow and sombre melody that evoked a craving in me that was hard to resist, as I softly muttered to myself.

"I think it high time I ask her for a proper dance."

I then turned and began making my way in the direction they had vanished to earlier, but as I did, I found a second pair of steps following me, and when I quizzically turned to him, Nizam simply answered with me with a cheeky little grin "I think it high time I invited my betrothed to dance as well."

I chuckled at his reply, and said nothing more, continuing our journey in comfortable silence, yet as we crossed the half way point of our brief journey, he seemed to gather the necessary courage to turn to me and query "Brother, I’ve been meaning to ask, but..."

"But why haven’t we yet revealed Eve’s identity to your bride?" I cut him off, continuing his question.

"Yes." He nodded.

"Because my lovely wife, means to weigh her worth." I answered him truthfully, which earned me an adorably confused reaction.

"What?" He quietly exclaimed.

And merely nodded in response, explaining nothing more to him, confident he would soon connect the dots behind it all.

A confidence that proved to be well placed, as he asked after a few contemplative seconds "And if she finds her lacking?"

"Then nothing." I instantly replied, explaining with a teasing smirk "Even if she herself doesn’t prove to be the most valuable addition to our family, with her talent and abilities falling short if being a good asset to us, her mere name, connections, and blood would still prove to be more than satisfactory enough for her to be worthy of being your bride, so you have nothing to fret about little brother."

Nizam nodded in relief at my words, even if they sounded cold and cruel, they were indeed how marriages such as these are viewed, and how they will always be, so the fact that his chosen bride would pass no matter what criteria his new sister in law would judge her on was a comforting thought.

Though he shouldn’t have calmed down quiet so fast, as I then continued with a tone even more thickly lathered in playful teasing "But I doubt a girl who’s earned your fancy would be nothing more than a name and a pretty face, am I right little brother?"

Having his true feelings seen through, and then aired out so easily, flushed his face a deep red, as he felt himself never quiet so thankful to the Gods for having a mask in this moment to hide his embracement behind, before he then meekly nodded under my incessantly probing eyes, that offered no reprieve until he answered.