Ash-colored Despair (10)
- Out of the question! — the man with powerful shoulders squeezed exaggeratedly, portraying a frightened expression on his face. - Who would dare to challenge the future ruler of the East!
Longboat silently raised the glass to his lips, calmly looking at the man, as if he was not even going to react to his provocation. Realizing this, the interlocutor seemed to cool down a little. Wiping the mocking grimace from his face, he grumbled:
- But still curious. What was the young master thinking when he dared to betray the first princess and take on the burden of the imperial family?
A tense silence hung in the hall.
Longboat just glanced over the faces of those sitting on both sides of the long table. The loyal vassals of the Siekan house, who lived in the very heart of the East, in Kalmore, looked openly dissatisfied. But the feudal lords who controlled the lands in the province looked appraisingly - as if they were trying to decide whether they could entrust their fate and the future of the East to the young heir of the great house.
Longboat slowly shook the wine in his glass and finally spoke:
- Betrayal? What a big word. As everyone knows, my engagement to her was concluded for the sake of political interests. When the situation changes, so do the agreements.
- And what has changed? — the man squinted irritably, a vein appeared on his forehead. — A couple of words from His Majesty - is this, in your opinion, a reason to cancel an agreement that is several years old?
- So you think that the order of the ruler of the empire is a trifle? — Barkas bowed his head in surprise.
The interlocutor was speechless for a moment; the rough face covered with a black beard flashed red. Then he chuckled loudly:
- This is devotion! I have nothing to strive for this!
“Sir Gutvan, it seems you are getting too excited,” the mature nobleman sitting opposite him cautiously intervened.
But the man didn’t even bat an eyelid. He drained the goblet of wine in one gulp, roughly wiped his lips with his sleeve and continued:
“Someday our great emperor will leave his throne.” Then His Highness the Crown Prince will become the new ruler. What will you do then? Will he accept the devotion of the East with an open heart?
“This marriage was concluded with the consent of His Highness,” Longboat said slowly, looking at his reflection in the crimson wine. “Moreover... later he himself began to show much greater interest.”
-What else does this mean?..
“Let’s just say that this marriage is in some way beneficial for His Highness,” he interrupted in a cold tone. “Is it possible to divulge the secrets of the imperial house with impunity?”
A shadow of doubt ran across the faces of the nobles. These words could be interpreted as a hint that Longboat was holding the crown prince by the throat. He watched them exchange glances, and, as if wanting to defuse the situation, added casually:
“I hope your doubts have been dispelled at least a little.” And now, perhaps, let's finish this pleasant conversation.
He raised his glass and slowly looked around the room.
- Please, have a drink. As the representative of the Gutvan house rightly noted, this wine is a reward for my seventeen years of faithful service. Who knows when else you will have the opportunity to try such a rare drink? - he added with a lazy grin.
The nobles looked at each other and with strained smiles reached for their cups, clearly trying to dispel the awkwardness. But the man was not going to retreat. He slammed his heavy fist down on the table and shouted:
- How can you believe these words?! After all, the entire empire knows how much His Highness values the first princess! How could the crown prince tarnish her honor with such a shameful decision?!
The smile disappeared from Barkas's lips. His patience was coming to an end - it was useless to argue with such a person. He leaned back in his chair and motioned for her to continue. The man immediately spoke, without slowing down:
— Do you know what rumors are circulating now? Like, even the heir of the East fell into the snare of the witch from the house of Talen! That the emperor, deceived by this snake, betrayed the empress - and now the future Duke of Siekan was captured by her daughter and betrayed the virtuous first princess! That's what people say!
The last words sounded almost like a scream. A loud voice echoed throughout the hall.
“If the first princess follows the fate of Empress Bernadette, how are you going to atone for this sin?!”
- How long can you listen to this nonsense! — Daren Dru Siekan could not resist entering the conversation. “Alec Gutvan, you are a vassal of the Duke’s house!” Do you think that here, in Raedgo Castle, it is permissible to speak like that to the heir of the house?!
“When a ruler takes the wrong path, it is the vassal’s duty to protest!” — the man shouted boldly to Daren and immediately turned his gaze to Longkas. “You, young master, could have made the first princess, whom the entire empire adores, the mistress of the East!” But instead they brought here an illegitimate, evil girl! How could this be tolerated...!
At this point he suddenly stopped short.
The longboat, looking at him with a mocking chill in his eyes, as if he were watching a stupid play, also froze for a moment.
A small figure in a long cloak with the hood raised to the very top appeared behind the thug. She lifted the heavy bottle over his head and poured the thick, dark red liquid, like blood, directly onto his head.
Muffled sighs were heard in the hall.
The victim himself was stunned by surprise and did not immediately understand what had happened. He remained motionless for a minute while the wine poured over his face and shoulders. Only when the bottle was empty did the man suddenly jump to his feet.
Huge, almost seven khvet tall (about two meters ten centimeters), he loomed over the unexpected guest, hidden under a cloak.
- What idiot dared...!
He grabbed the stranger's wrist roughly and tore the hood off his head. Golden hair spilled out from under the fabric like a waterfall, shining under the light of the chandeliers.
The man, who had already raised his hand to slap him, froze in place.
From under the disheveled strands, the woman’s eyes looked at him coldly and angrily. Under this piercing gaze, the man trembled as if from an electric shock and swallowed. His pitch-black pupils slid across her face with a sticky, obscene slowness.
The longboat, who had previously been squeezing the cup so that it was about to crack, instantly rose. He stepped behind her and pulled the fragile figure towards him - but the man, as if not wanting to let go, reflexively squeezed her wrist even tighter.
Something moved unkindly in Barkas’s stomach. He lowered his gloomy gaze to that black paw clutching her hand.
And he still gazed at the woman in fascination, piercing her with his gaze from head to toe. A chill ran down Barkas’s back, an unpleasant feeling stirred somewhere in the back of his head—he squinted.
Suddenly, a whipping sound was heard in the hall, as if being lashed with a whip.
The man stared at the woman in a daze, not understanding what had happened.
She raised her hand and again hit him hard in the wine-stained face.
-Dare you to touch me with your dirty paws?
Only then did he come to his senses, let go of her wrist and hastily took a step back.