Domnal felt stifled, mainly because he had been quite unlucky lately, and yet he still had to stand there like a log, waiting for the Bulgars to enter.
The Gael, who had always been very confident in his choices, was now doubting whether his decision to join Rostislav was truly correct.
He got beaten just for joining, and although that was the price for petty thievery on the battlefield, Domnal absolutely refused to acknowledge it.
Then, after finally joining the Bodyguard Unit, he was tormented daily by that barbarian Gvaran. That bastard was definitely taking personal revenge, which made his Gael companions who joined with him suffer immensely. If it weren't for their strong bond, they would have left him long ago.
Next, the Prince quickly gave him a task, but that task only gave him a headache: staying with an arrogant noble all day, waiting for the so-called Bulgar exiles who would arrive at an unknown time.
Fortunately, the Bulgars finally arrived, and he returned to his long-desired Moscow. However, he hadn't even had time to rest before he was dragged into the audience chamber to serve as part of the honor guard.
Domnal swore that this was definitely Gvaran, that old geezer, tormenting him.
Damn that old geezer, he kept using such harmless but extremely disgusting tricks to annoy him, causing little damage but immense revulsion.
While serving as honor guard, Domnal's thoughts drifted to a blonde girl he had once seen outside the Bodyguard Unit barracks.
Her appearance and figure made him incredibly drawn to her. The Gael warrior was now contemplating the beautiful girl while standing guard.
And in front of them, as the audience hall doors opened, the entire Prince's Court entered and then stood beside the Moscow Prince.
The Gael saw a large group of nobles led by Leo, the Moscow Steward, and Gvaran, the Captain of the Guard. Seeing this, Domnal quickly became more serious. That old geezer was here; if he caught him slacking off, it would be terrible.
— — — — — — — —
Rostislav looked at the two Bulgar nobles, one tall and one short, dressed in fine silks, pondering their origins.
Rostislav recognized the tall one, Aleph. He had once campaigned against Rus', and Rostislav himself had fought him on the battlefield. He was a very powerful warrior.
As for the short one, that must be Adam Dulü, a twelve-year-old child. This child was very beautiful; if it weren't for his short hair, you might even think he was a girl.
Both of their eyes held some despondency. The Prince was very pleased to see this; these two knew their place. They were merely beggars, noble beggars dressed in fine clothes and speaking diplomatic language.
His wife's attention was entirely elsewhere. The adorable child clearly touched her heart. Ever since she became pregnant, Zoe had become very maternal. Clearly, the beautiful boy in front of her had aroused Zoe's maternal instincts.
The Prince subtly placed his hand on his wife's wrist, and Zoe immediately reacted. She was not one to be consumed by emotion and understood the occasion.
Compared to his wife, who cared more about cuteness, the Prince was more concerned with the pendant on the child's chest—it was a cross.
He had heard rumors that the heir to the Bulgar kingdom was very interested in Christianity. He had initially thought it was a rumor, but now the truth was laid bare before him.
"Nobles of Bulgar, Moscow welcomes your arrival."
Watching the two stand still, Rostislav spoke the opening words, declaring the beginning of the audience, with the entire Moscow Court bearing witness.
— — — — — — — —
The meeting was brief.
Or rather, because everyone knew how the process would unfold from the beginning, it felt like it proceeded very quickly.
First, the exiles from Bulgar expressed their predicament, denounced the usurper Akad, emphasized their legitimacy, and finally requested the protection of Rus'.
Rostislav naturally followed the script. He had already planned to take in this extremely powerful card against Bulgar. This card would be very effective whenever played.
Then, having gained protection, the Bulgars began to ask the Moscow Prince to help them send troops to drive out the usurper occupying the Bulgar throne.
For this, the Bulgars promised a large amount of compensation, but only when their Khan's son ascended the Bulgar throne.
The Moscow Prince then explained the many difficulties they faced, stating that now was not the time to send troops to Bulgar. Finally, he stated that as long as their strength allowed, they would invade Bulgar and install the legitimate heir.
These were not just diplomatic words. Rostislav had indeed hesitated for a long time before giving his answer.
This was indeed a good opportunity to intervene in Bulgar. Bulgar had just experienced a usurpation, and the entire country was unstable.
If he seized this opportunity, he could achieve a greater feat than all his ancestors: conquering the great city of Volga.
For a moment, that great success tempted him, making him forget his concerns.
But in the end, he chose to give up. The harsh reality forced the Prince to make this choice.
Northeast Rus' was already exhausted after last month's war. A large amount of resources that should have been used to develop this land were instead used on the battlefield.
The next theme should be construction. Rostislav was well aware that his authority had not actually been implemented in this land, and the wilderness was full of restless individuals…
Moreover, if he went to war with Bulgar, who would ransom the nearly ten thousand captives? Was he supposed to keep them here? That would be enough to bankrupt him.
And that Akad did not seem like an easy person to deal with. To appease the people, he not only had to ransom all the Bulgar captives who couldn't afford to ransom themselves.
He also generously distributed all the money to the Bulgar nobles. His generosity was enough to make all dissenters behave.
And what did they have on their side? A group of less than thirty exiles, and their twelve-year-old Khan. This did not look like a combination that could challenge a kinslayer.
When the Prince refused, the Bulgars inevitably showed disappointment.
However, for them, gaining the protection of the Moscow Prince was already enough, because the Moscow Prince's willingness to take them in meant that this Prince would one day raise Adam, the legitimate heir of the Dulu Family, and return to the Bulgar kingdom.
As for now, what needed to be done was to accumulate strength. This was easy to do, because after Akad ransomed back those Bulgars, he would inevitably launch a large-scale purge.
At that time, they only needed to gather these people and wait for the moment Rostislav was willing to send troops.
— — — — — — — —