Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king-Chapter 966: Getting the cards(1)

The steward of the mansion, Sebastian, bowed with without uttering a word as the Prince crossed the threshold of the grand dome. The massive oak doors groaned as they parted for his entrance, only to hiss shut the moment he stepped inside.

Every man in Alpheo’s circle had a different answer to a life where decadence and power walked hand-in-arm.

Egil had been a minimalist and an hedonist at the same time, how that was possible was beyong Alpheo’s comprension , a spartan who lived out of a trunk and a scabbard even in the height of luxury.

Jarza and Edric lived in a sort of disciplined comfort, functional and clean, but devoid of the frivolous tastes usually pursued by lords of the realm.

Even Asag seemed to forget his averagely vast riches existed, save for the private library he was obsessively expanding, a sanctuary he rarely visited, given that he spent nearly every waking hour submerged in the royal archives when not wearing his legate’s mantle.

But as Alpheo stepped further into Laedio’s domain, he realized that his friend had not merely assimilated to his new station; he had mastered it and made it his own skin.

The air smelled of expensive oils and aged cedar, proving he was a man who had truly embraced the rewards of survival.

The smell felt foul to the prince’s nostril...

"Alph! Fancy of you to visit my humble corner of the world!" Laedio’s voice rang out, echoing off the pristine white marble of the hallway that was in no way humble . He moved with light, effortless steps, his silk robes whispering against the floor as he moved forward to embrace the victorious Prince.

"Happy to see you in one piece, friend," Alpheo replied, returning the gesture with more warmth than he had shown anyone that was not his family since crossing the border.

"I should be saying the same to you," Laedio said, his cheeks rising in a genuine, crooked grin. His expression softened, a momentary flicker of gravity touching his eyes. "When I heard the news of Egil... I did not despair. I wept for the man, of course, but I knew that if any end could be called a ’good death,’ I’d wager his was the one."

"If any death can be defined as good, I suppose," Alpheo murmured, breaking the embrace and looking around the opulent hall.

"Would you like to delight yourself by knowing which vintage currently blesses my palate?" Laedio offered, already gesturing toward a sideboard laden with crystal.

"Late in the evening, I will take you up on that offer," Alpheo countered, a small, weary smile appearing. "Tonight, we shall dine and drink with all of our friends."

Laedio beamed at the prospect. "Then I shall give word to the cook and the servants immediately. We shall have a table long enough to host a legion and enough wine to drown a fleet!" He paused, his gaze sharpening. "In the meantime, allow me to extend my congratulations. The work you did at the Fingers... it was a masterpiece."

"And I must thank you for the work you did here," Alpheo said, his voice dropping into a more serious tone. "That gang of rats had been bothering our city for far too long, not to say anything about the way they spit on the crown. They were a rot in the foundation that grew wider when unopposed.It is a good thing I have the rat-catcher to unleash upon them."

"They shall bother us no more," Laedio said simply, puffing out his chest with a pride that wasn’t entirely vanity. "I ensured the roots were pulled up along with the weeds."

"Fine work indeed. I am sure the people delighted in their screams," Alpheo said. While his voice remained level, his eyes alone displayed the deep, unspoken warmth he held for the man who had kept his home clean while he was away. "And if the reports you sent me are true, then we shall delight even more in the ’gift’ those rats left behind."

"Of course, my intuition proved correct. I knew you would find a way to make use of her particular... talents,instead of finding issue with it." Laedio explained, his voice humming with the smug satisfaction of a man who had backed a winning horse.

"If she is half as gifted as your reports suggest, then ’issue’ is a word we shall strike from the state’s tongue entirely," Alpheo replied.

At the cue, Laedio clapped his hands,a sharp, crisp sound that echoed through the marble hall. A servant materialized from the shadows, bowing low as he presented a small, cloth-wrapped packet. Laedio took it, weighing it in his hand for a moment before extending it to his Prince.

"Sharpen your eyes, Alph, and see for yourself the quality of the rot I’ve unearthed."

Alpheo took the package, his fingers steady as he unwrapped the silk. As the contents were revealed, he had to physically press down a wide, predatory smile that threatened to split his face. What he held was, without hyperbole, the most magnificent gift he had ever received. In that moment of sheer, cold clarity, he felt he could have kissed Laedio right then and there had the man demanded it.

He reached into his tunic and drew out his own royal signet ring, the heavy, gold seal of the Princedom. He pressed it into a small slab of soft potter’s clay that sat on a side table, then did the same with the counterfeit trinket he held.

He fell into a profound silence, his world shrinking down to the two impressions in the clay. Laedio said nothing, allowing the Prince the time he needed, standing back with the quiet confidence of a master craftsman. It was only at the end of five agonizingly quiet minutes that Alpheo finally spoke, his voice hushed with a mixture of awe and delight.

"Eerily similar," he whispered. "Had I not been told this was a forgery, I would never have scrutinized it with such intensity. Even now, the only deviation is the microscopic length of the falcon’s tail , along with a slight degree of the beak and the width between the claws... a hair’s breadth of difference. I will need to take formal measurements of the official sigil immediately. We must ensure our own house is ready to detect such counterfeits before we unleash them elsewhere."

"Satisfied with the results, then?" Laedio asked, leaning against a fluted pillar. "I hope you aren’t worried about opening the gate to the wild beast’s cage. I can personally assure you I will keep the girl under a tight leash; nothing like this will ever appear within the borders of your own lands. Though, I do admit... this is a nuanced situation."

Alpheo let out a laugh.

"Laedio, an officer could bend a legionnaire over a barrel, shove his manhood into the boy’s arse, and call it a ’nuanced dick in ass problem’ for both of them. And that wouldn’t even begin to touch the scale of the disparity we are discussing here."

He looked down at the fake seal, his golden eyes burning. "With this, we possess the power to do a hundred impossible things. I mean..I can think of a thousands different way to use this , right now. And the best part? All we will ever have to do is deny it.

For the first time in my life, I would call a gang plague a benediction from the gods. You don’t have the slightest idea how many of my current ’nuances’ this solves. If you want that kiss, Laedio, by the Star, you’ve earned it with a tongue, you fucking saved the state with this find of yours."

Laedio chuckled, waving the offer away with a graceful hand as he watched the Prince. Alpheo looked like a child who had woken on Christmas morning to find a mountain of gifts, only the gifts were made of shadow that would bring chaos, and the child was the most dangerous fox in the world

"Keep your kiss for the Princess’s thighs" Laedio joked, his eyes sparking with a rare, genuine warmth. It was more than the simple satisfaction of a job well done; it was the quiet relief of a friend who had finally managed to lift a mountain off his brother’s shoulders.

"Whatever you wish for is yours, Laedio. This gift is deserving of a crown....ask for another castle and it is yours,more budget for your troops?Bloody hell I’ll give you a mountain of gold" Alpheo declared, his mind already racing through a thousand scenarios. He paced the hall, the counterfeit seal clutched in his palm like a holy relic. "Where is the girl anyway? I will prepare adequate rooms for her at court, private, tucked away in the East Wing. I’ll send the finest seamstresses to take her measurements; she’ll need silks, furs, a wardrobe befitting of her new standing.She’ll have to do much more than simply make counterfeit after all.... We’ll need a fake identity, of course. Yes, that will do. I can’t have the court knowing my master artisan was plucked from a den of street-rats and cutthroats." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The Prince was so thoroughly engulfed in his new toy, calculating exactly which what he would forge first, that he was utterly blind to the sudden, pained grimace that twisted the garrison commander’s face.

Laedio cleared his throat. It was a dry, nervous sound that didn’t quite belong in such an opulent room.

"Mh... Your Grace?" he ventured, his tone sounding as unsure as a man stepping onto thin ice.

"Yes?" Alpheo replied without looking up, his thumb tracing the intricate, forged tail of the falcon, completely failing to notice the formality that was now in the ass-mouth of his friend.

"I may have... forgotten one tiny, perhaps slightly significant detail in my written report to you," Laedio said. He shifted his weight, his hand going to the back of his neck.

Alpheo stopped pacing.

"A detail?" Alpheo asked, his voice dropping into a velvet pleased purr. "Regarding our little master of the forge? Does she have a stutter? Is she prone to insult the royal house? Speak freely, Laedio. My patience is a very infinite resource today for you today. I would even accept if she were Mesea with her children and a torch in hand..."