"Henrich was a genius; to this day, I don't know how we managed to win, but at that moment, we didn't have time to think. I remember our routine was very hectic, but despite everything, we had time for love."
Despite the victory, the atmosphere was like a wake. Alan had died in that battle, swiftly, directly, just as death is. And because he was a great man, he had a dignified burial, with many crying at his coffin. But Marshal wasn't crying; that personality of wanting to mess with others was gone. Perhaps a part of his emotions went with Alan, but it was too late now. He wasn't the first and certainly wouldn't be the last, but he was one of the best.
While they were carrying the dead from the kingdoms, one of the band's carts ended up being stolen by a group of thieves. Gaius, being one of the only ones who noticed, grabbed his horse and set off after the thieves to retrieve the cart. Further on, Gabriel and Baron caught up to him:
"Did you see them too?" – says Gabriel
"Yes, bandits like these always get rid of things, stay alert if they start throwing things off the cart." – says Gaius
"What was in it?" – says Baron
"Some treasures." – says Gabriel
"How did only we see them stealing a cart full of treasures?" – says Gaius
Then Gabriel noticed some gold coins falling to the ground, making him stop his horse:
"I'll pick up what falls, you two keep going." – says Gabriel
"Alright." – says Gaius
Gaius and Baron stopped at a farm. It was very strange for bandits to live on a farm; everything suggested it had been robbed too. Very calmly, the two dismounted:
"Gaius, you go through the back doors; I'll go straight in." – says Baron
Baron kicked the doorknob, killing two of the bandits, but was about to take an arrow when Gaius killed the bandit.
"How many were there?" – says Gaius
"I think that was all of them." – says Baron going into the hallway
He found a staircase:
"Well... we've recovered what was ours, but we can explore a bit. You check upstairs, and I'll check the barn." – says Baron
"Alright, but we have to be quick." – says Gaius going up the stairs
Gaius opened the first door and found a room with two small beds. Looking around, he found some rag dolls. He opened the second door, and it was the bathroom. Continuing to the last door, just to be safe, he kicked the doorknob, just like Baron, and found one of the bandits holding a woman hostage:
"One more step and I'll kill her! If you let me go, I'll release her!" – says the desperate bandit
"Killing, is that all you're about?" – says Gaius
"What guarantees you won't do the same as they did to the others." – says the bandit
"I don't make deals with people like you." – says Gaius
"But you ally with people like me, I..." – said the bandit
Gaius punched the bandit in the head, making him fall to the ground. The woman was tied up. Gaius released her, and the first thing she did was grab the bandit's knife and stab him thousands of times:
"Bastard! This is for my family! You filthy scumbags!" – says the woman in fury
Seeing this situation, Gaius decided to calm her down:
"He's already dead. Although they deserved worse, it's done." – says Gaius
The woman, her face smeared with blood, still said nothing, in complete shock from everything that had happened:
"Are you hurt? Do you have anyone we can take you to?" – says Gaius
She still said nothing. Gaius approached her and said:
"Then let's go outside; this isn't a good place to stay." – says Gaius
They passed by the bodies of several bandits, and leaving the house, they realized Baron had already checked the barn:
"Who is she?" – says Baron
"She's a woman these scumbags were holding hostage." – says Gaius
"Does she have somewhere to go?" – says Baron
"I don't know, but the way she is, it's better to take her to the band, just for the night." – says Gaius going to his horse
Gabriel arrived with some coins:
"So, let's go... she's coming with us?" – says Gabriel getting into the cart
"Yes, what's your name?" – says Gaius asking the woman
"I... I... my name is... Beatriz..." – says Beatriz
"Well, Beatriz, now you're going to a safe band. We're not like these animals." – says Gabriel putting away the coins
And as they were about to leave, Beatriz spoke:
"This farm, it was my family's."
After these events, Gaius was no longer happy about the band's victory. Alan had died, and now Beatriz, and still that feeling of being without purpose, besides Henrich, what was he doing in that place? Waiting for something from his old band? To get revenge, but no matter what, he needed to go to the ball.
Tobias found Gaius:
"Hey Gaius, I haven't had many opportunities to see you, but I've already heard rumors that you killed an entity. But putting those primitive matters aside, I brought some formal clothes for you to wear." – says Tobias
"Formal clothes?" – says Gaius
"I'm responsible for receiving some letters and especially goods, and yours has arrived." – says Tobias
"I... have a letter?" – says Gaius
"Of course you do, it's from a young man named Adrian." – says Tobias
"Adrian!" – says Gaius grabbing the letter to read
As he was about to open it, he remembered something:
"Tobias... I can't read." – says Gaius
"You what?" – says Tobias
"My childhood was very difficult, so I didn't have time to learn to read." – says Gaius
"If you want, I can read it for you." – says Tobias
"No, it's confidential." – says Gaius
"Then who would send you a letter if they knew you couldn't read?" – says Tobias
"Good question." – says Gaius
So, that night, Gaius had his hair done and was wearing a very tight suit. He walked to the ball, having a premonition that he would hate this day with all his might. When he arrived, he didn't know what to do until a visibly drunk Gabriel approached him:
"Gaius... be formal... that's right, my dear." – says Gabriel
"Right." – says Gaius
"Come on, everyone, the greatest is here!" – says Gabriel
Gaius saw two idiots approaching, Baron and Tobias:
"Alan... where's that bastard!?" – says Baron hitting Tobias
"He... he..." – says Tobias almost crying
Tobias, Baron, and Gabriel began to cry over their comrade's death:
"Let's drink to forget, drink a little, Gaius." – says Gabriel handing a glass FULL of whiskey to Gaius
"I... I don't drink, Gabriel." – says Gaius
"You don't drink? You look like a boozer... a drunkard... a drunk." – says Tobias
"Heheh, I just think it's bad for the body, that's why I avoid it." – says Gaius
"You idiots, do you know how old he is to be giving him alcohol?" – says Tobias
"How many names do you have?" – says Gabriel
"?" – says Gaius
"Years." – says Baron
"Whoa." – says Gabriel and Tobias
"I'm eighteen years old." – says Gaius
"EIGHTEEN?!" – yell Gabriel and Tobias
"He looks older than me." – says Gabriel
Tobias thought:
"You know who else is eighteen?" – says Tobias
Gabriel and Baron's eyes lit up:
"Is it who I'm thinking?" – says Gabriel
"Tell me, tell me!" – says Baron
"Could it be Miss Leila and Mr. Gaius..." – said Tobias
"Oh, of course not, my friend Gaius is already very sought after. Do you know how many ladies here said they wanted to meet the man who killed over fifty knights?" – says Gabriel
"Guys... where's Gaius?" – says Baron
"Did we lose our child?" – says Tobias desperately
"Let's look for him!" – yells Gabriel
"GAIUS!" – yell Tobias and Baron, scaring everyone away from them
"Gaius, my son, where are you?" – says Gabriel worried because he was so drunk
Gaius left the hall, almost dying, unable to stand all the shouting anymore:
"What a joke, I'm not made for these things. I'm a warrior, not some fool in tight clothes, and those... drunks, I hate drunks!" – Gaius vents to himself
And as Gaius always did, he found a quiet place to observe the stars while thinking about something, but when he went there, he came across Leila, who was wearing a beautiful dress, unlike her appearance when she was battling. And something told Gaius to turn back, as if... something strange happened when he saw her:
"Gaius?" – says Leila
"Hi..." – says Gaius sweating
"Do you have a minute? I... need to talk to you." – says Leila
"Alright." – says Gaius
Gaius sat down as delicately as possible. He still didn't understand why his heart beat faster when he was near her, and Leila noticed how sweaty he was:
"Was it that stuffy in there?" – says Leila
"Yeah... I'm not used to wearing clothes like this. I... don't like dressing formally." – says Gaius
"Me neither. I believe that... for those of us who were never nobility, it feels strange to be like this. I've never even worn a dress in my life, and this will certainly be the last." – says Leila bothered
"It depends, too. If, by any chance, Henrich goes further in this whole kingdom business, we'd have more chances to go to events like this." – says Gaius
"Honestly, I don't like their lifestyle; it seems so stagnant." – says Leila
"I went thinking it would be something cool since they told me so much that noble life was a virtue." – says Gaius
"Alright, but we have to talk about..." – said Leila
"Of course..." – says Gaius
"What's so special about you? You were hand-picked by Henrich, and... in such a short time, you became a commander." – says Leila
"I... I don't know." – says Gaius
Leila chuckled:
"Of course you don't know. I... I can't explain it to you, Gaius."
Gaius didn't understand why Leila was talking about this:
"Henrich is special to you?" – says Gaius
"He... is beyond that..." – says Leila
Leila showed him the scar on the palm of her left hand:
"I've had this scar since I was... eight years old. If it weren't for Henrich, I would have died when it happened." – says Leila
"You would die from a cut on your hand?" – says Gaius
She got annoyed quickly, but Gaius quickly corrected himself:
"You fought and almost lost, but Henrich saved you." – says Gaius
"The fact was, Henrich wasn't easily surprised. This whole journey, I swear... I've never seen him smile. Despite everything, you came as a light to him." – says Leila
"Once... he told me we were alike, maybe this... connection we have, I... I don't know how to say difficult phrases." – says Gaius
Leila was confused but then laughed:
"I understand." – says Leila
But Gaius found Leila strange:
"What were you really doing here?" – says Gaius
Leila became embarrassed:
"Just watching the stars." – says Leila
Looking from a distance, Gaius saw Henrich talking to a woman who was very similar to Jeff III, but then Leila smacked him on the head:
"If you tell anyone..." – says Leila
"Alright! I... I want to see too." – says Gaius
They watched Henrich talking, but Gaius asked:
"Can you hear them?" – says Gaius
"If you shut up, yes." – says Leila
"But then, Mr. Ginterson..." – said Laura (Jeff III's daughter)
"You can just call me Henrich." – says Henrich
"Alright, could you tell me one of your battle stories?" – says Laura
Henrich, looking at his watch, said:
"I don't think a lady like you would want to hear the sad stories of wars I participated in." – says Henrich
"Believe it or not, I'm used to hearing these stories. My father always told me about when he killed a group of thieves while gravely wounded." – says Laura
"Your father is a great man; he is my inspiration for how I should proceed, and and I believe he has a lot of pride in you for sharing this interest in battle stories. Unfortunately, I need to go now, but perhaps another time I can share some of these stories with you." – says Henrich
"Where are you going? We still have so much time." – says Laura
"I promise to return soon, but I need to resolve some important matters." – says Henrich leaving
After hearing this part of the conversation, Gaius and Leila decided to return to the hall, as the party was already coming to an end:
"Have you ever been part of a band before?" – says Leila
"In this way, I have participated in a certain way, but I was too young to help as much as I help this one." – says Gaius
"That's why you're not getting wasted with the band." – says Leila
"What do you mean?" – says Gaius
"If I were you, I'd talk to all the women who are dying to hear you, talk to the guys in the band, becoming much bigger than you would be." – says Leila
"That's idiotic." – says Gaius
"Idiotic is listening to Henrich's conversation." – says Leila laughing
"About how to be a great knight." – says Gaius laughing too
As they entered the hall, they observed some drunk people dancing completely uncoordinated to the sound of classical music until Tobias finally found Gaius and hugged him:
"I found him! I almost lost him, how could I be so." – said Tobias before being pushed by Leila
Gaius, a little lost, asked Leila:
"Where are we going?" – says Gaius
"Going to see Henrich." – says Leila
Leila took Gaius's hand as if leading a child to their parents, but as they were about to go, the music changed; now it was time for the ball, where they had to dance in pairs:
"Gaius... there's only one way to get through this many people." – says Leila
"No, I don't..." – said Gaius until they both started dancing
"You don't have to be so perfect; it's like walking." – says Leila
"You say that as if it's easy." – says Gaius
They moved through the people while dancing, to the point where they began to enjoy themselves, to the point where Gaius and Leila laughed while doing it. That day, Gaius's morale fell flat.
After several spins, they finally reached Henrich, who had just entered the hall, and they were visibly tired:
"So you got to know each other better." – says Henrich looking at the two holding hands
"It was just practice." – says Leila a little embarrassed
"Well, that doesn't matter. Leila... would you mind giving us a minute?" – says Henrich
"Okay..." – says Leila leaving
"She's not..." – said Gaius
"Personal matters, Gaius, come with me." – says Henrich entering the castle corridor
Although the castle had been conquered days ago, the decorations were already ready. Henrich passed by a door and said:
"Through here." – says Henrich
"Where are we going?" – says Gaius
When he opened the door, he realized it was a room with some cleaning equipment:
"So, what do you want to talk about?" – says Gaius
"Well... I don't know if you knew me well, but one of the reasons I quickly rose in these lands was because I never lost." – says Henrich
"I know that very well." – says Gaius
"And... do you remember my ambitions? To do what's right, we need to do some things that would be... questionable." – says Henrich
"Right." – says Gaius
"When I say 'questionable,' I mean something that many empires choose not to affirm. It would be something like, question my means but don't question my results." – says Henrich
"Henrich?" – says Gaius
"And to continue as, what did you say? 'Alike'?" – says Henrich referring to the conversation Gaius had with Leila
Henrich extended his hand to Gaius:
"Be better than him, Gaius, be loyal to whom you belong." – says Henrich
Gaius thought about it for a moment but then shook Henrich's hand:
"But explain to me why this is?" – says Gaius
Henrich smiled:
"Good."
Henrich became serious:
"I want you to kill Jeff III."