The Union

He was defeated. When he set out from Nirvana, he had a strong army to destroy Timothy"s soldiers and a valuable hostage to destroy Timothy"s will.

Now his army were fewer, weaker and on the verge of mutiny. The valuable hostage was also gone, taken from his hands.

He sat on the gra.s.s and noticed that someone was behind. With a turn of his head, he confirmed that it was Braun.

The Baron went closer and bent both knees into a squat. He grimaced and grunted. "It"s hard to be old. My joints are killing me"

Ivan examined the Baron beside him. He was old, wrinkly and smells like an old man.

"Hey, tell me Braun. Is Timothy better than me?" he asked. He wanted to know the reason for his defeat.

"He is" Braun answered without hesitation. "If he isn"t, then he wouldn"t have defeated you. I"m not insulting you Ivan, but this is a humiliating defeat. Hundreds died, more than a thousand defected, we lost Erik." He paused and sighed deeply. "And you further destroyed your father"s image by spreading that rumor."

Ivan"s pride was touched by Braun"s answer. He wasn"t in the mood to argue with the Baron so he just shrugged it off.

"What happened Ivan?" Braun again sounded and he looked at him. "What happened in Wismar? Those three years changed you. Why are you so close with the Wismarines?"

He snorted a single laugh to Braun"s question. He had noticed the antagonistic way Braun had been looking at his turban.

"Nothing happened. I just saw the strength of the Wismarines."

He lied. He couldn"t tell Braun that the reason for his closeness with the Wismarines is a woman.

Sarah was Skall"s sister and he fell for her. Even though he already had a wife, their marriage was loveless and purely political. At first, he tried to play his role as a husband and there was actually a time when truly loved his wife. But after his wife"s pregnancy ended in stillbirth, they became distant.

And then that"s when he met Sarah. She was kind to him and offered him solace when he was grieving for his unborn child. He didn"t notice it but he fell for her. The next thing he knew, he was working for Skall.

He knew that the Wismarines were using him. He was smart enough to at least notice that. But he couldn"t let go of Sarah. He had long decided that after everything was settled, he will divorce his wife and marry Sarah.

Braun chuckled. "You saw the strength of the Wismarines? I don"t think that"s it Ivan. I think it"s because of a woman. Rumors travel fast even if they have to cross borders."

He flinched after hearing Braun. It seemed he can"t hide things from the Baron now. "So what if that"s true? What are you going to do about it? What can you do about it?"

"Nothing" Braun answered. "I can"t do anything Ivan. I will also not bother to lecture you about the shamelessness of such disloyalty to your wife. But this really shows the difference between you and Timothy"

"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly annoyed by Braun"s cra.s.sness.

"They say women are either men"s greatest strength or greatest weakness. Timothy is being strengthened by the Vanadian Princess, while you are destroying yourself for love. I bet this will cause a scandal. Your wife"s family is powerful and you having an affair will surely stir the public."

"But she is…"

"Powerful? Also a Princess?" Braun put a hand on his shoulder. "It doesn"t matter who she is. Love is supposed to strengthen a person. If you are getting weaker instead, then you are doing something wrong."

He was annoyed and he swatted Braun"s hand from his shoulder. He stood up. "Thank you for the conversation Baron, but we are still a long way from Nirvana."

He turned away and left.

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"Erik?"

He was sleeping while sitting on the chair when a hand touching his awakened him. He opened his eyes and was overjoyed when he saw that Sylvie was finally awake.

"What happened to your face?" she asked.

Erik shook his head in confusion. He touched his face with both hands. "My face? Why?"

She gave him her usual mischievous grin. "Your face is not dirty, your hair is not long, your disgusting beard is no more, and your clothes" she eyed his clothes and acted like she was surprised. "Don"t" tell me you are actually decently good-looking!?"

Erik laughed. "You have just awakened and you"re making fun of me already"

"Of course. I wouldn"t waste my time not making fun of you"

Sylvie then tried to push her body into a sitting position. When Erik saw her grimace from the pain, he couldn"t help but click his tongue.

"Don"t push yourself. Your wound is deep." He said as he helped her sit.

"What? You think this is my first time being wounded?" She pointed at the scar on her face.

"Lucia"s mark on your face is not fatal though" he commented.

At the mention of Lucia"s name, Sylvie"s smug face turned somber. He quickly understood her feelings.

"We are going to Solon aren"t we?" she asked.

"Yes. Timothy is retreating back to Solon because of food issues. We"re going with him" he answered. "I know I promised to take you to Greenwater, but I need to meet with my mother first in Solon. Can you please allow me to do that? I missed her you know"

He tried to sway their topic because he knew that he made her worry by mentioning Lucia.

But it seemed Sylvie herself wanted to face her worries head-on. "Do you think they"ll forgive me?" she asked.

He caressed her hair and smiled. "Tim and Lucia are not hateful persons. And even if they were, I"m going to protect you okay?"

It took a while but she nodded. "And your father?"

"My father?"

"Your father is in Knightsend right? Are you not going to visit him?"

"Not yet" he answered. "It"s too dangerous to go to Knightsend right now. And it"s not like he"s going to lose or anything."

"You seem to be confident in your father"s ability."

"Of course" he declared. "My father is the famous Benedict Connel. With him guarding Knightsend, the western front is safe."

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Knightsend, Western Castonia

Benedict bent his body and redirected Bernie"s thrust. He flicked his wrist and struck his squire"s hand with his sword.

"Ahhh!" Bernie exclaimed as he let go of his sword.

"How many times have I told you, don"t forget to guard your hand. You"re lucky we"re using practice swords or else my squire would have to start making my tea with one hand." Benedict reprimanded.

"I"m sorry sire. But you were just too fast! I couldn"t see your movements. It"s amazing"

"Ha! Shut it Bernie. Your praises won"t make me stop our practice. Again!"

Bernie slumped "But sire, I"m tired. Can"t we just continue tomorrow? Also, I still have to cook your food."

Benedict rubbed his forehead. Even though it didn"t look like it, he was also tired. "Fine. I"m hungry anyway. Don"t overcook the potatoes this time. You know I like them tough."

Bernie saluted. "I promise that I"ll give you a satisfactory mean sire!"

The squire then left in haste, probably afraid that Benedict would change his mind.

Since Bernie had left, then he had just lost his training partner. Of course he could just grab a random soldier from ones who were also currently practicing in the castle grounds, but he decided that such action would be dishonorable.

So he just went to the side and slumped against the wall. He watched as his men were sparring against each other. He then saw a soldier defeat another with a riposte so quick it almost eluded his eyes.

They are good, he thought. He himself wasn"t capable of moves like that anymore. Maybe in the past, he was. But now aging had taken away his strength, his speed and his stamina. He missed his youth.

He also missed being able to awe ladies with his sword skills. Although Maria wouldn"t admit it, he knew that his wife was one of his fans when they were still young. In the past, he had seen her many times peek at him whenever he was practicing. When he asked her about those peeking days, she just shrugged and said that she was merely curious. But he saw it in her eyes back then. She was impressed.

Oh Maria, he mumbled. He missed her and Erik. He missed his son and wife. He was shaken when he heard that Greenwater was attacked by the Calgarians. Thankfully, the Vanadians were able to repel the invaders.

He just hoped that these wars will be over soon. He hoped that someday, he will be able to put his sword to rest and repair Greenwater with Maria.

As for Erik, he hoped that Timothy would save his son. If that happened, then he would be able to forgive the humiliation of Erik becoming Timothy"s squire.

Suddenly, a horn sounded and Benedict was pulled back to reality. His trained ears quickly deciphered the meaning of the blast. It was a signal that the enemies had been sighted.

But he was confused. If the Tulosans did finally arrive, then the scouts he scattered around would surely report to him first. He hoped that the men on the walls just made a mistake.

But as if to slap him with the grave truth, the horn sounded again.