Chapter 405 Brothers and Sisters
On a summer afternoon, Dilingang was extremely hot and the chirping of cicadas everywhere made people feel irritated.
There were no pedestrians on the street. The sun in the southern port was extremely scorching. Except for the busy fishermen, no one would expose themselves directly to the sun.
The sea is calm, which is indeed a good time to go fishing, but it also means that there is not a single breeze in this place today, and even if you stay in the shade, you will feel hot and stuffy.
In September, Dilingang may be the hottest place in the entire continent except for the Desha Desert.
In Kairos's house, everyone was too hot to wear clothes - for example, the maids...
Well, they all had some scraps of cloth on them, even though they were useless.
There are a lot of people in the courtyard today, probably because Wendy is not here.
But Alina was here, she was talking to Leon, but her face didn't look very good.
Li Ang was being wiped by several maids with a look of intoxication in his eyes, while he was talking to Alina absentmindedly.
The wounded can't take a shower, but they still have to wipe off the sweat.
I just don't know why it takes so many people to wipe the sweat off...
There was also a long row of pretty girls standing nearby, some holding basins, some holding towels, and many dancing - and it was probably considered erotic dancing, after all, normal dancing usually doesn't involve showing off one's breasts and flirting with others...
There were a few guards standing outside the yard, actually they were old friends like Klose and Sammer.
In fact, all of these old friends from Mettenheim are officers now - at least squadron leaders of the Silver Hand.
As Li Ang's personal military officers, these guys would be the objects of everyone's flattery if they were put outside. Logically, there is no need for them to stand guard in the scorching sun.
But they insisted on "setting an example and not fearing the scorching heat" and "personally taking action to closely protect His Majesty Li Ang"...
This is certainly not because they suddenly developed noble moral character. In fact, they snatched this job from their brothers - they were "grateful for the hard work of their brothers" and "kindly" changed the shift order and gave the guards who were originally supposed to take on the duty of standing guard a holiday.
The main reason why these guys suddenly became so kind was simple. It could be seen from the way they peeked in through the cracks in the door and the hollow walls...
"Oh my... so big and white... cough cough! The sun is so dazzling ! I have to go on patrol..."
Klose wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth, wiped the sweat from his forehead, stared at the maids in the courtyard through the hollow flower wall, and prepared to go on patrol.
For a job like guarding, it is really important to find a good sight angle...
"Boss, don't you feel hot?"
Sammer, who had been sticking to the crack of the door and carefully observing the movements, fanned himself with his helmet, and his bright bald head was covered with shiny beads of sweat - the porch of the courtyard could at least provide some shade, but Klose's "patrol"...
The bright helmet on Klose's head reflected the scorching sun. Going on patrol under the sun in such a weather was basically like putting a frying pan on your head and waiting for it to be heated. Sammer felt that it wouldn't take long for his captain's brain to be fried.
But... I guess they will get familiar with the game faster without helmets - these old guys from Mettenheim shaved their heads together a few days ago because the weather was too hot, and now they are all bald tough guys.
"Cough...hiss..."
Klose turned a deaf ear to the calls and walked back and forth outside the flower wall, smacking his lips from time to time, patrolling very seriously.
It’s just that his eyes were always looking in the same direction… or it could be said that his entire head was fixed, and no matter where he walked, his head was always facing the same direction.
Sammer swallowed his saliva and decided not to let his captain suffer , so he put his helmet on his head and followed Klose.
"Your Majesty Li Ang! I have already found all the most beautiful girls in the entire Dilingang Port... Don't be so ungrateful!"
In the courtyard, Alina's voice gradually became louder and she seemed a little angry.
"Why are you shouting so loudly... I've already said that I want to choose a concubine! Choosing a concubine, do you understand? Then I must choose the best one from among so many beauties..."
Li Ang's voice also increased, and his tone became a little vulgar: "Actually, you don't need to look for so many girls, and you obviously know who I want... You are the most beautiful girl in Bucks..."
"Leon! Don't go too far!"
Alina seemed angry: "I didn't expect you to be such a person! Aren't you satisfied with wives like Amy and Wendy?!"
"Look at what you said... This kind of thing requires mutual consent, so what's the point of being dissatisfied... Alina, you were the one who asked for a ceasefire, so I have to bargain, right? You want me to withdraw my troops and return Sava River Fort and Almeira Fort, but you don't want to give me any benefits. Who is dissatisfied? Although you have a good relationship with Wendy, you can't ask me to hand over the land I have occupied with both hands just because of your relationship, right?!"
Li Ang's words became louder and louder.
"Aren't you afraid that Wendy will cut off all ties with you after she finds out about your shameless request?!"
Alina angrily threw the cup in her hand.
"Wendy is the queen of the Noldor Principality. She needs Almera Castle, and she also needs me...Haha, otherwise why do you think she would let me enjoy singing and dancing here?"
Leon showed an evil smile on his face: "Alina, I can agree to your conditions, a ceasefire, the return of Sava River Castle and Almeira Castle, I can even return Walven and Karen Deer Castle to Bacchus, but you have to agree to my conditions..."
"Dream on! I'd rather fight you to the end!!"
Alina was completely furious. She kicked over the table in front of Li Ang and turned away.
"Then you have to think it through... All the troops in Dilingang are gone now, and your guards are probably no match for the Silver Hand. Moreover, my large army is 'cooperating' with General Ivaylo to pursue the Snake Cult army. You also know that once we enter the Noldor Forest, who can come out alive will be decided by the Noldor elves..."
Li Ang didn't even turn his head, but kept uttering threatening words.
Alina stopped in anger, her whole body trembling, but she probably couldn't suppress the anger in her heart, so she stomped her feet and left the courtyard.
When she opened the door to the courtyard, she happened to see the Mettenheim people outside peeking furtively. Alina kicked down the flowerpot in front of the door and left angrily.
"Hiss...are you actually quarreling?"
Summer showed an incredible expression and nudged Klose with his elbow: "Ms. Alina actually lost her temper with His Majesty?"
"Well, it's normal to quarrel... We didn't see anything, and we didn't hear anything, understand?"
Klose reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the courtyard and gave Sammer a look.
When Sammer saw Klose's eyes, he was stunned for a moment, and then looked in the direction Klose's eyes were looking.
In the corner of the courtyard where Li Ang was, there were two inconspicuous maids who stood there without looking around, forming a sharp contrast with the other maids who were peeking around and whispering to each other.
Summer nodded to Klose and turned his attention to Leon... and the girls beside him.
…
At night, in Alina's study, Alina paced back and forth anxiously.
Her study was always brightly lit all night long.
But this time, she did not read a book or stay alone. Instead, she discussed important matters with a few confidants.
"General Sura is arresting those on Agasson's list. It will take at least a month for the Shadow Wolves to return..."
Brutus was reporting the situation with his head down: "Including the Immortal Legion, almost all the elite troops of the Empire and the combat troops around the Imperial Port have been taken away by General Ivaylo. There are no other people available at the moment. I only have 200 guards in my hands. It is impossible for me to fight against Leon's Silver Hand."
"Leon and his Silver Hand have helped the Empire before. The Knights of the Glorious Cross and most of the citizens will not be enemies with them... Moreover, we cannot harm Leon. If he dies in Imperial Harbor, Ivaylo's troops may not be able to return. The Empire will face the revenge of the New Pendor Kingdom when it is short of troops..."
Elena, who looks similar to Alina, also added to the situation with concern.
"Do I have to be coerced by him like this?! Cassian, does your Viper have any solution?"
Alina turned her gaze to the other expressionless person.
This is Cassian, the leader of the secret spy organization 'Viper', Justus' former subordinate, and now Alina's subordinate.
"Leon knows us very well... It's difficult for us to sneak in. Even if we sneak in, there's nothing we can do. His Silver Hand protects him very well. Those guys are not afraid of the Snake Heart Stone. We have tried it."
Cassian shook his head.
"Is there no one who can deal with him? I just need to make his injuries worse! As long as we can wait until General Ivaylo brings back the Empire's troops, or until General Cleon brings his troops here, he won't be able to threaten us anymore... We can threaten him instead!"
Alina gnashed her teeth as she looked at her trusted subordinate in front of her.
"Maybe... someone can find a way..."
Cassian said hesitantly.
"who?"
Alina paused and turned her head.
"...Lord Ales, your brother is in Diling Port now."
Cassian looked at Alina and said slowly: "He came to see me this afternoon."
"Why is he in Dilingang? Shouldn't he be in Ahun?"
Alina frowned.
Ales is Alina's biological brother, five years older than her.
Although Justus prefers his daughter Alina, the two siblings have always had a good relationship because they have a common worry - their father Justus.
However, Alina was troubled by her father's urging to get married, while Alers was just the opposite - Justus would not allow him to get married...
Previously in Desha, Alina had participated in the bidding for Ashcoman in the name of Ales, but at that time Ales had no intention of targeting Luha at all.
Because Alers has a girl he likes.
But the problem is, the girl he likes is a slave.
She was an ordinary female slave that Alers bought from Sinjar when he was eighteen years old - the kind that was treated the same as livestock and was publicly selected by everyone next to the livestock market.
Justus was actually an open-minded man, but no matter how open-minded he was, he could not let his son marry a bought slave - he could keep her by his side, or treat her as a mistress, as long as she had no official status, anything was fine, but no father would agree to their marriage!
But Alles is a romantic man, and young people always have a rebellious mentality. The more Justus disagrees, the stronger his backlash becomes.
In the end, Ales simply used his status as an imperial knight as a guarantee to allow the slave girl to become a free citizen, then gave up his military position and eloped with the slave girl...
This happened several years ago, when Justus had just perfected the intelligence organization "Viper".
Ales had been living in seclusion in the town of Ahun near the city of Bozhi, and only told Alina where he lived.
Justus knew, of course, that his son was in Ahoun—a fact that his spies could not hide.
But since he had forced the girl to elope, and knowing that there was too much rift between him and his son, Justus did not intervene again.
Later, people rumored that Justus preferred his daughter and didn't care much about his useless son.
But in fact, Justus was just hiding Ales on purpose.
Ales is a graduate of the Royal Academy of Siyuan City and has the status of an Imperial Knight. He can be said to be both civil and military, but he has never had any clear ambitions. In other words, he has no lofty ambitions and no goals to strive for.
It is normal for the eldest son of an aristocratic family to have no goals to strive for - because their life goals are usually determined by their parents when they are born.
For a young master like Ales, if those major changes had not happened in the Bacchus Empire, his life would have been doomed from the day he became an imperial knight.
When he was in his twenties, he would serve in the army, accumulate merits through some harmless tasks, and then transfer to the local area to gain administrative experience under the care of Justus;
When he is thirty, he will become the Archon of the City of Knowledge or the Chief of Military Affairs;
When Justus retires at the age of forty, he will naturally become the governor of the empire and inherit Justus's reform ideas - yes, even his governance ideas will be determined, after all, he is the son of the initiator of the reform.
When everything in the future is laid out in front of you and the path of your life is already determined, it is normal to have no goals to strive for.
Just like Fothergill, he had no goals before he met Leon. Instead, it was after his father, Duke Alma, was assassinated by Milgan that Fothergill truly found his own path.
Alles eloped with his female slave and lived in seclusion, which was actually a way to express his resistance.
Justus was a smart man, and he could naturally understand Alles's rebellious mentality, so he acted like he liked his daughter more, and seemed to ignore his son, but in fact he had always let his son be responsible for distributing intelligence and delivering messages.
This job is perfect for someone like Alles who has no goals in life.
Moreover, the father and son have work contact, but they don't have to meet and quarrel. This level of getting along is just right and has indeed eased the relationship between father and son.
Alina was able to obtain so much information because her brother Ales had been silently supporting her.
The siblings seldom meet each other, but their relationship has always been harmonious.
"Why did Ales come to see you?"
Alina was a little confused now, she knew her brother too well.
In terms of martial arts, Ales could only withstand three moves from Klose at most; in terms of strategy... come on, if Ales had great strategy, he would not have eloped in the first place; plus, he really had no ambition and just wanted to live a simple life with his slave sister-in-law - what was he doing in Dilingang?
"Lord Ales came to me this afternoon to find out what happened between you and His Majesty Leon..."
Cassian said with a bit of embarrassment: "But I didn't know what happened at the time, so I didn't say anything... But now that I think about it, Lord Ales seems to know what happened to Leon, which means that he probably secretly planted someone around Leon..."
"So, among the maids I sent to Leon, there were people from Alers?"
Alina's frown deepened.
"It should be, and those are not our people... They are probably Lord Ales's own men."
Cassian nodded - this was why he was embarrassed. As a professional spy leader, his team had no way to deal with Leon, but Ales, a half-way intelligence distributor, was able to place spies around ...
"But those girls were going to be my maids..."
Alina sneered: "Ales, my brother... He came to Dilingang secretly and planted spies around me, but he didn't tell me anything..."
