Tired, smelling of smoke and alcohol, Klaus slowly turned the key in the apartment lock. The light was on in the kitchen, and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee was in the air.
"Good morning, young man," Pouoka's calm voice was heard.
"I hope you will treat me to coffee?"
"Help yourself," she pointed to the teapot and looked at the young man from head to toe in surprise.
Klaus never changed his clothes. After he had safely delivered his charge home, he spent a long time trying to leave the expensive apartment of a lonely woman who, apparently, did not want it. The girl literally pounced on the guy as soon as they crossed the threshold of the apartment.
"I understand perfectly well that I should not do this. You are still just a boy, but God knows I cannot resist you," she said, pushing the young man in the back in the direction of the bedroom.
"I'm sorry," Klaus tried to stop her "but you're right. We don't have to..., I mean, you're very tired and probably want to rest. Let me help you get settled in bed and then I'll go."
"Maybe we should have something else to drink? Or are you still going to insist on going straight to bed?" She smiled, closing the bedroom door behind her.
"We speak different languages!" Klaus thought and began to feverishly look for escape routes. He was standing near the bed, a drunk and flushed woman was slowly walking towards him from the door, trying to take off her shoes. Klaus tried to gently push her away, but the woman was assertive and so, a couple of minutes later the guy was already lying on the bed, and the girl was sitting on top of him.
"I'll regret doing this to the child tomorrow," she said, trying to unbutton his shirt.
"Look. Let's stop here," Klaus begged almost beggingly. Yes, he could knock her out with one move and calmly leave, but how would he explain it tomorrow if the woman decided to complain? He had never found himself in such a situation before.
"You want to take the initiative into your own hands," she whispered, exhaling the fumes of the whiskey she had drunk in his face and bit him sharply in the neck. Klaus, taken by surprise, threw the girl off himself and pressed her to the bed. It was a purely instinctive action, but in this situation it looked unambiguous.
"Listen to me. You need to rest. Let's stop here?"
The woman smiled predatorily, raised her knee to his groin, sighed languidly and... fell asleep? So abruptly that Klaus was taken aback. How did she manage to do that? Sighing with relief, the young man got out of bed, carefully covered the sleeping girl with a blanket and left the bedroom. Then he returned, put a bottle of water from the refrigerator and a couple of aspirin tablets that were lying on the kitchen table on the table.
He spent an hour at most in the client's apartment and spent several more hours trying to get home. It was difficult for him to catch a taxi until, in complete despair, he saw a parked yellow car with checkers on top and a peacefully sleeping driver in it. The whole absurd situation of today convinced him that a mobile phone is the most necessary thing in this world and he must get one before his next shift.
The young man poured himself some coffee, put it on the table, took crumpled bills out of all his pockets and put them on the table in front of Pouoka.
"Is that enough?"
Pouoka looked at Klaus with a puzzled look, carefully folded the money and counted it.
"There's even more here, considering what we already have. How did you get such a sum in just one day?"
"Don't ask. How many times do I have to tell you? I earned it. Call your Andryusha, let him start looking."
"Are you sure you can find the same amount in a week?"
"More than sure," Klaus sighed. "Is Egor home already?"
"He went to bed literally before you arrived. He told me everything."
"Do you understand my haste now?"
"Now I understand that I'm not so unique and if I haven't met people from our world, it doesn't mean that they aren't here. We need to keep an eye on suspicious individuals."
"And look for tattoos."
"Unfortunately, there are many ways to hide them. Cosmetics, clothes, camouflage with another tattoo. Yes, you can't remove them because of the special method of application, but you can easily hide them."
"Damn, the headache is only getting worse! You only have one ball? Did you really flee the country and not grab more stimulants?"
"I didn't have time for that. I found this one. One of my pursuers dropped it. Mercenaries really like using stimulant balls, which is probably why they die like flies."
Egor was lying on his mattress. The door to the room opened slightly. Klaus came in.
"Are you asleep?"
The young man said nothing. "Let him think I'm asleep. I'm very angry. I don't want to talk to him." Klaus went to the closet, took out a fresh towel and a change of underwear. He smelled of women's perfume. "He must have had a good time."
When Klaus left, Egor opened his eyes and clenched his teeth. He could not believe that the prince could be so careless. Because of this stigma, Egor almost said goodbye to life! He had to give evidence for several hours, convincing his colleague that he was hit on the head by a would-be robber, who got scared and disappeared. He was even more surprised by the appearance of Klara, who looked around the bar with an incomprehensible face. At this time, two policemen, Egor and Stepan, who was holding towels on the back of his head, had already settled down at one of the tables.
"What's going on here?"
"Clara?" Egor was surprised. "Have you been here the whole time?"
"I was doing my business in the office, but what are you doing here, and with the police?" She glanced at the broken door. "What happened here?"
Egor told a made-up story about a failed robbery. He was surprised that Clara hadn't heard all the commotion. Just the broken door and Styopa's screams were worth it! How could she not have heard anything!
"I often listen to music on headphones when I do abacus. It helps me not to die of boredom," she spread her hands in response to Egor's question.
And so, after several agonizing hours, dozens of repetitions of the same story, Egor finally found himself at home, where he spent almost another hour telling the real events to his grandmother.
"This magic stimulator worked in my hands! Grandma, Klaus said that only those who are predisposed to magic can use it! Is that true?"
"Yes, that's right," Pouoka sighed heavily "but it won't give you anything. Forgot? There is no magic in this world."
"What kind of artifact is this anyway?"
"These are some kind of stimulants. As a rule, such balls are made by using slaves whose magical abilities are not strong enough or their magic does not benefit the master. They pour it into these balls until they faint from exhaustion, rest, replenish their strength and pour in magic again. Balls are used as a doping, for example by mercenaries. If during a fight their strength is running out, they absorb the magic of the ball, thereby replenishing their strength. There is also a downside to abusing this method. Magic is replenished, but it does not stop physical exhaustion and, if, for example, you use several balls in a row, then as soon as the ball's effect ends, the person falls without strength, and often without life. Like Klaus, when he depleted the last reserves of magic. Remember?"
"But if you say that a person who has exhausted all of his magic reserves dies, then why did Klaus stay alive?"
"I don't know for sure. Maybe it's because in this world the body can't replenish magic naturally. The same thing happened to me when I first arrived in this world."
"And if, say, I absorb the magic that we collect in the ball, will I also gain some abilities?"
"I doubt it. When a person is born with a predisposition to magic, he absorbs it from infancy, and the first abilities appear no earlier than five years. Your body must feel what magic is, get used to it, establish a limit to its capabilities. It's not that simple. Some people, having the makings of a gift, never reach a state where it can be used. Magic also needs to be learned, so in Isorobia there is a rule at the legal level - children are tested annually for magical abilities between the ages of five and ten, and it doesn't matter whether you are a slave, a free person, or the offspring of nobility."
"How confusing it all is. So, in order to try to discover the gift in myself, I must end up in a world where magic is natural?"
"In a sense, yes, but even that won't give you a guarantee that the gift will manifest. To be honest, I don't even know what will happen to you if you end up in our world. I didn't know such people," Pouoka spread her hands. "Why are you interested in this question at all?"
"I thought that if I had some kind of superpowers, I would be more useful."
"There is no use for magic in this world. Again, look at Klaus. He was born with the elemental magic of lightning. It is the strongest and most deadly. In addition, he has the gift of absorbing information with a single touch of his finger - the gift of knowledge. He could become a god in this world, but as you can see, the crown prince lives in our small apartment and makes a living by serving guests at the bar. And what use are his magical abilities?"
"In some ways, you are right. But he has other abilities too. He is strong, brave, fearless! Why did he need to learn to fight at all if he could fight with lightning?"
"The supply of magical energy directly depends on the physical abilities or knowledge that a person receives. Everything depends on the direction of the gift. It also needs to be developed, proportionally to the spirit and body. And it is not always possible to defeat an enemy with magic, sometimes you can't survive without a good sword."
"I thought everything was much simpler" Egor sighed. "Okay, I'll go get some sleep."
While Egor was pondering the events of that night, he fell into a restless sleep in which Klaus laughed surrounded by half-naked girls and said, pointing his finger at poor Egor, "Get lost! I don't need you anymore!"
The young man opened his eyes sharply, breathing heavily, and turned his head towards the bed where the crown prince was peacefully sleeping, and fell asleep again.
Klaus opened his eyes and looked at the clock hanging above the door to Egor's room. It was already past three. He had slept for half a day. The mattress where Egor was sleeping had already been removed, and barely audible voices could be heard behind the door. There were more of them than Klaus was used to hearing in this apartment. He stretched, threw off the blanket, pulled on a T-shirt and sweatpants. Before checking who had come to visit, the young man decided to tidy himself up and immediately headed to the bathroom. Judging by the serene conversations and laughter of Pouoka, his new family was not in danger.
"Good morning," Klaus greeted, looking around the kitchen.
"More like good afternoon, young man," the man replied. "What a small world! Isn't it?" he smiled good-naturedly.
"Professor Skotsky," Klaus nodded to him, "I'm glad to see you." I've wanted to thank you for helping me for a long time, but somehow I never had the chance."
"What are you saying, what are you saying! I was so scared that day, I thought I'd hit you. What were you doing on the highway at such a time?"
"It's a long and uninteresting story," Klaus tried to get out of it.
They were drinking tea with a cake brought by the professor. Egor was acting strangely. He tried not to look at the prince and ignored all his attempts to talk. Klaus realized that Pouoka's grandson was offended at him. Probably because yesterday he left him alone to sort out the situation with the police. But hadn't he just recently declared that he wanted to be useful? What was the point of sulking now? And anyway, why should Klaus care at all?
"Get ready. I need your help," he addressed Egor in his usual manner.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. I have my own urgent matters."
"Really? And what exactly?"
"I... I've been wanting to watch a movie for a long time. Well, today I had the opportunity, especially since Klara gave me the day off."
"That's great, you can watch it later. I need to buy a phone."
"No," Egor said seriously, folding his arms across his chest.
The professor and Pouoka exchanged glances.
"By the way, I almost forgot. Klaus, you need to go to Andryusha today. He said that regarding that question," she looked meaningfully at the young man, "he will only talk in person. And don't forget the envelope we prepared for him. Egor," she turned to her grandson, "why are you sitting there? Get ready. Didn't you hear what I said?"
"What do I have to do with it? Your Andryusha is waiting for him, let him go himself."
"Egor! What kind of kindergarten have you created!"
The grandson blushed to the tips of his ears. He cast a displeased glance at Klaus, but still stood up from his seat.
"Keep in mind, I have no desire to talk to you," he said to Klaus as soon as the young people crossed the threshold of the apartment. "Let's get this done quickly and go our separate ways."
"What the hell happened to you?" Klaus couldn't stand it, grabbing Egor by the shoulder and turning him around abruptly.
"Don't touch me!"
"I asked a question. Are you freaking out because you had to sort out the situation with the police yourself? And didn't you think that if I had been there, there would have been more questions? And, anyway, you yourself said that you wanted to help as much as you could, so what, have you changed your mind now?
"It's not like that!" Egor blurted out, removing the prince's hand from his shoulder.
"And how then?"
"I'm not taking back my words, but how could you go have fun in such a situation!"
"Have fun?" Klaus looked at Egor in bewilderment.
"I saw everything. I didn't think you liked older women, but it's none of my business!"
"Are you talking about a client?" Klaus asked with a strange laugh.
"A client?" Egor now had a puzzled look.
"Well, yes. It's a guest from the second floor. She drank too much, and they asked me to take her home."
"So she's not your... how to say... girlfriend?"
"Ha, don't make me laugh. What makes you think I got a girlfriend? Do you think I care now?"
"But I thought... I saw her throwing herself at you, and you hugging her. You smelled of women's perfume in the morning! What else could I have thought?"
"It's just part of my job," Klaus waved his hand.
"I saw you being taken to the second floor yesterday. Do you work there now?"
"Yes. And please, let's not discuss this now," Klaus's face was distorted by a painful grimace. Egor realized that the prince was not easy in his new position, whatever it might include, so he decided to leave the conversation. His mood rose sharply.
"Let's stop by on the way back and buy you a phone? I'll help you choose!"
Klaus raised an eyebrow, shook his head and smiled.
"Your mood changes like a pregnant woman's."
"Shut up." The blond man smiled back.
The weather was wonderful. Despite the fact that May had just arrived, it was unusually hot outside. The young people came out of the underground coolness of the metro and took off their sweatshirts, deciding to walk to the old building where Andrey had set up his office. Egor entered the address into the phone navigator (they had taken the bus last time) and they slowly wandered along the side of the road, where hundreds of cars were noisily rushing by, but it didn't bother them at all.
Teenagers were riding past on bicycles, strangers were running hurriedly about their business, Egor enjoyed this short respite, breathing in the warm and no longer spring air and talking casually with Klaus. He wanted to learn as much as possible about the prince's homeland. Not just about magic, but about everything. How did Klaus spend his childhood?
"Since I was five, I lived in a lonely hut on the outskirts of the capital with my teacher. I was taught writing, history, politics, languages, sword fighting and martial arts. Back then, my magical abilities were just beginning to manifest themselves, and I tried to cheat, extracting knowledge from Bysel, as I did with you. At that time, my abilities were only enough for a small amount of information, and I could not yet control the flow of magic to direct it to the small fragment of the teacher's knowledge that I needed. In fact, my machinations led to nothing, and when Bysel realized what I was trying to do, he loaded me with a bunch of new lessons. Until I was seven, I was afraid to even think about pulling off my trick again."
"So your abilities didn't help you in your studies at all?"
"Not at all, I learned several dialects of neighboring countries, learned about sex before I began to understand what it was and learned to cook porridge according to his special recipe. More precisely, I learned a special ingredient, but it didn't affect my culinary abilities. I'm a complete mediocre here," Klaus threw up his hands.
"You're from a royal family, why do you need to know how to cook?"
"We spend most of our time on the battlefield, in campaigns and hunting. More precisely, warriors spend their time like this. Either we conquer new lands, or replenish the ranks of slaves, or defend our borders and our property. In the field, you need to be able to feed yourself, but, alas, I can't even roast game properly."
"And why did they send you to the boondocks? Is this how everyone is taught, and at such an age?"
"No. Children are taken away for training at the age of ten. As a rule, a teacher comes to the estate and works with the child there. One teaches history, another grammar, a third hones martial arts, and so on, depending on the status of the family and its field of activity."
"So why did they do this to you then?"
"I don't know, but I think my father wanted to raise me as a real warrior, not a pampered aristocrat. Basically, the children of highborn people do not participate in campaigns and battles. For this, they have trained slaves and mercenaries. In fact, for us, as for you, everything is ruled by gold, and not by force, as I used to think. If you have enough money, then you yourself don't have to get your hands dirty - Klaus thought about his own words. For him, too, this was a revelation. He looked at the politics and life of his country with completely different eyes."
"And when did you start mastering magic?"
"It was around the age of seven. According to the rules, children from five to ten years old are required to take a test for magical abilities every year until they are discovered, and then everyone studies in their own specialization. My first test was when I was seven. By that time, I already had some lightning magic, well, as I told you, I tried to master the magic of knowledge."
"What kind of test is this? How do you pass it?"
"It's very simple. To do this, take a ball, like the one Pouoka brought with her, but several times larger. About like a basketball, maybe a little bigger. The child comes up to it and puts both hands on it, if it starts to glow, then magical abilities are present. Then they check their affiliation. The child stands by the ball for about an hour until it changes its color from the usual bluish shade to another. This shade determines what kind of magic a person has."
"So if you have lightning and cognition magic, then there will be two colors?"
"No, in fact, the magic of knowledge also relates to the element of lightning. I had one color - white. Earth magic, for example, has a black color, but this does not mean that a person can control the earth. Everything depends on the strength inherent in a person from birth. Let's take the same earth magic. If you have a low level initially, then you can kind of "hear" the earth. Such magicians are used as navigators, guards, hunters."
"And the brand that I have on my hand," is it also the work of an earth magician?
"Yes, that's right. This is developed earth magic. It is not so great that it can control the earth itself, but it is of a high enough level that such a slave is marked with three circles."
"How complicated it all is. I thought magic either exists or it doesn't, and if it does, you can do everything, say, by casting a spell."
Klaus laughed. Sincerely, without malice. He wasn't mocking Egor's conclusions, he was just laughing. It couldn't be ignored. Egor liked the prince like that better. A cheerful teenager, not an emotionless machine.
"There are no artifacts. It is impossible to use someone else's abilities, but there are artifacts that provide some access to someone else's magic. For example, the portal we want to open is the business of air mages. Any movement is their element, so only an air mage can open a portal. They are generally considered the most powerful after lightning, because the arsenal of air's capabilities is innumerable. Unfortunately, one person can master only one direction in his entire life and develop it to unprecedented heights, but he can also use other benefits at the lowest level. Pouoka, for example, is an air mage. She cannot create portals, but she can open an existing one."
"Wow, I didn't know that she had an air element," Egor admired. "Does that mean I will have air too?"
"Not necessarily. Blood ties do not affect the element, they only affect the presence of magic itself. If both parents had it, then in eighty percent of cases their child will have it too, and if the parents do not have it, then in a couple of percent of cases the child can be born with abilities."
The young people did not notice how they came to an old five-story and seemingly abandoned building. Near the entrance to the only entrance stood a tall and overly muscular man and smoked. When the guys came closer, he looked at them appraisingly:
"Lost?" he asked.
"We came to your boss," answered Klaus.
"Are you sure you have the right address?" he chuckled and threw the cigarette butt aside. Klaus followed the flight of the smoldering cigarette and, frowning, looked again at the man, who folded his arms across his chest and looked menacingly down at the prince.
"Look, we don't have time. Take us to him or step aside. I know the way."
"Snot-nosed brat, I don't like your tone. It seems you need to be taught some manners."
Egor nervously looked at the menacing giant, then at Klaus, whose eyebrows had already come together into one solid line and whose hands had clenched into fists.
"Excuse my brother. But we definitely have an appointment today. Call the boss, please, he will confirm that he is waiting for Klaus Deffender."
The big guy measured Egor with his eyes, but still took out his phone and dialed the number. A few seconds later, someone answered.
"Sveta, there are two youngsters standing at the entrance and they say that they have an appointment with the boss. Name?" He looked meaningfully at Egor, who repeated the prince's name "Klaus Defern... in short, some Kraus with a hard-to-pronounce surname. Got it." Follow me" the man, clearly dissatisfied with the outcome of events, turned around and quickly entered the building.
This time the young people were led to a different door. The big guy led Klaus and Egor to it, turned around and left silently. The young people exchanged glances, and Egor knocked hesitantly.
-"Come in already," an irritated voice was heard behind the door.
This room looked more like the office of a private lawyer or psychotherapist. Both walls were occupied by small bookshelves, on which (most likely, only for show) there were stacks of books. There were romance novels, higher mathematics textbooks, comics, classics, poetry collections, books on art and painting and much more. In the center there was a long table, like in a conference room, at the head of which sat Andrey. Behind him, a light warm breeze blew from the open window, setting in motion the drawn, almost transparent white curtain.
On one of the chairs, to the right of the boss, sat a short man, dressed, despite the warm weather, in a leather jacket, sweatpants and black sneakers. He looked to be over forty, and his build, sagging large cheeks and long sharp nose, combined with his ridiculous outfit, made him look even older.
"Good afternoon, Klaus Deffender," Andrey smiled. - Glad to see you again.
"Hello," greeted Egor, who was clearly not noticed by anyone.
"Did Pouoka tell you why I'm here?" asked Klaus, in his usual arrogant and rude manner.
"Yes, you need to find the girl, but you don't have any information about her, except that she was taken to the hospital two weeks ago from the bar."
"That's right. Can you find her?"
"It's not an easy task, but I have just one very capable person for this case. Let me introduce you to Mikhail..."
"The name is enough," the strange man responded. He stood up and extended his hand to Klaus, who looked at it for a few seconds, and when Egor poked him in the ribs with his elbow, he slowly extended his own for a quick handshake.
"And now, let's get down to business. So why did you need this girl? Love at first sight? She's pregnant and you want to force her to have an abortion? She saw something she shouldn't see?"
"All you need to know is that you have to find her. Here's half the payment, as agreed," Klaus threw an ordinary postal envelope on the table.
"How boring you are. But you're right, why is none of my business." He took the envelope, opened it, counted the cash and nodded with satisfaction.
"When should I expect the results?" Klaus asked, and Andrey looked at his bloodhound.
"It's a complicated matter. I'll try to find her quickly, but it may take time. Perhaps there are special signs, at least something that can lead me to her. At least what does she look like?"
"When I saw her, she was not quite in her right mind, and dirty and with torn clothes. Will this help?"
"Maybe," Misha said, writing something down in a notebook.
"She had branded clothes, I don't remember the name, but they were clearly not poor. She looked no more than twenty-five years old, long hair," Egor thought for a moment. "She was dirty, and it was dark outside, I can only say that they were not black."
"That's better. Okay, I'll contact you as soon as I find out something." With these words, he awkwardly rose from his chair, said goodbye to Andrey, nodded to Klaus and Egor and left the office.
"And one more thing," Klaus turned to Andrey.
"I'm listening."
"Can you figure out who's following us? No, that's not it. This person is in the immediate vicinity, but I'm not sure he can see us."
"What kind of weird things are you saying?" the boss was surprised.
"Basically. I need to figure out the person who was in contact with our waiter shortly before he went on shift. There might be another person coming soon, but for now I only have one waiter."
"So you want me to find out who your waiter has been in contact with in the last few days?"
"I think one day before yesterday's evening shift will be enough. Can you find out?"
"It will cost almost as much as finding your mysterious passion."
"That'll do for me."
"Bring the money, the name and photo of that waiter and I'll give you all the background on him in a couple of days."
"I only need to know what I asked you about. I'm not interested in the rest. I'll bring the money tomorrow. Also half?"
"I'll give you a discount. Bring sixty percent of the amount for the deal with the girl. Pay everything at once and get the information in a couple of days. Does that suit you?"
"More than enough. Until tomorrow."
Klaus and Egor left the office. Egor was sick of talking to the arrogant prince, but he kept his composure until the young people left the building and walked far enough away for it to disappear from sight.
"Are you crazy? Where are you going to get that kind of money before tomorrow?"
"That's my problem."
"I'm serious! I hope you're not planning to rob a bank?"
Klaus looked at Egor strangely:
"Do you seriously think that I'm some kind of bandit?" He raised an eyebrow.
"No, of course not! But getting that much money in one day is simply unrealistic! Wait, us?"
"Yes, the old woman also asked me about the bank. And you know, I'm already thinking that this is not such a bad idea."
Egor's eyes widened in fear. Klaus laughed.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Relax," he put his arm around Egor's shoulders and he tensed up even more, but not because of the fear that Klaus would decide to commit a crime.
They decided to go back by bus to save time. The clock hands had passed seven o'clock in the evening, and Egor was worried that they might not make it before the electronics store closed. Klaus insisted that he needed the phone today.
This short walk together with Egor distracted Klaus from the thoughts that were overwhelming him. He felt that lightness, ease, which he had not felt for several years. No matter how strange the acquaintance of the guys had begun, but now thoughts were creeping into Klaus's head that he could even call Egor someone similar to a friend. He could say that about few people.
Yes, he had Baysal Fazli, his teacher and mentor. He had known him practically all his life. When Klaus grew up, their relationship became more trusting and free. He could hardly call the teacher his friend due to the age difference. He was more like a father or a very older brother.
There was also a girl with whom Klaus spent a lot of time after he returned to the castle. The prince had just turned twelve, and according to the law, at this age, the offspring of a noble family were introduced to palace life. They were taught how to handle slaves, make useful contacts, comprehend the science of palace intrigue and earn a reputation.
For Klaus, all this was more difficult than for the children, who had been watching their parents, guests of the estate, since birth. They all grew up in an environment appropriate for future aristocrats, and not in a hovel on the outskirts of the country, where the nearest neighbors lived about twenty kilometers away.
During this difficult period for a wildling child, despite the fact that the teacher taught him everything a courtier needs to know, but theory and practice are different things, the prince met Alala Anker. The girl was two years older than him and the youngest of three sisters. She was modest and quiet. Later, Klaus learned that her detachment was due to the fear of not measuring up to her older sisters. She was always compared to them, which developed a terrible lack of self-confidence in the girl.
Perhaps it was her lack of self-confidence and Klaus's wild fear of the crowd that brought them together. They went to dance classes together, read books together, sat quietly in the corner at banquets together. Klaus was a prince, but in Isorobia, heirs were only given a title at the age of eighteen. Until then, he was an ordinary high-born child, like everyone else who came with their parents, nannies or other distant relatives to the fortress city, so called Anatodon, because it had everything for the comfortable life of those who had power and money. Only high-born, middle-born and slaves lived in this city, who did all the work of the common people. Mostly, these were royal slaves, but if some high-born gentleman wanted to open a hotel, a brothel, a store or any other establishment, then, with the permission of the king, he opened his own business. In a private establishment, the owner's slaves already worked.
Unfortunately, when Klaus turned fourteen and Alala sixteen, she left Anatodom and returned to the family estate. Children were required to live in the capital until they were fifteen, and then, at their parents' discretion, they could return home or go anywhere else. Many stayed in Anatodom, founded businesses, looked for a profitable partner, or simply had fun, squandering their parents' gold.
For almost two years, Klaus felt lonely. Yes, he was accustomed to palace life and knew how to behave perfectly in the company of those who had tried to build a trusting relationship with the heir to the throne in advance, but they were all superficial and caused only disgust in the prince, as did everything connected with the highborn.
The only other person he could call a friend was his cousin, August. He was ten years older than Klaus, but he treated him as an equal. He taught him how to drink strong alcohol, play cards, and took the innocent prince to a brothel for the first time. Augustus had a younger brother, with whom Klaus quarreled over his cousin's attention. He was always tagging along and butting in on his brother's conversations with Klaus. The prince could see that Abel was trying his best to separate the half-brothers, but August didn't seem to care. He continued to visit the prince late at night, chatting about nonsense, drinking wine, and often falling asleep in the same bed with him, quite drunk.
Sometimes they escaped from the palace to visit a brothel or to gamble in the back alleys of bars, where cunning middle-class entrepreneurs organized various games, fights, or performances for money and services that only high-born young fools looking for adventure could provide them.
Klaus didn't really like such forays, but he couldn't refuse August, because with him he didn't feel lonely. So what if he had to spend his pocket money on prostitutes, whom he was disgusted even to touch. After the first experience, Klaus only pretended to buy girls for fun, but in fact he just sat in their room for as long as it would take several visits. Most often, the slaves were upset that he never used their services, some were surprised and grateful, but the very fact that they were doing this against their will was disgusting to Klaus. No matter how much he wanted to satisfy his male needs, he suppressed them, not wanting to take a woman who was obliged to do what he wanted, having no other choice.
To Klaus's great sadness, on the day he came of age and was given the status of Crown Prince, he was informed (or rather, not to him, but to his uncle, and he simply heard) that Prince August had died in battle. His body was so disfigured that it was only possible to recognize him by a part of the black tattoo of the sun on his temple (only the direct heirs of the king got a tattoo of the moon and the sun, while the rest of the family got one). It was the worst day of Klaus's life, but what struck him most was the victorious smile on his brother's face. He never found out what Abel was so happy about, but from then on he developed a terrible dislike for his brother.
And now, almost two years after August's death, Klaus felt again that he was not alone. He looked at Egor, who was sitting next to him in the subway car, smiled to himself and ruffled his hair, for which he received an astonished look in response, but only shook his head and leaned back in his seat.
The young people entered the electronics store at half past eight in the evening. Klaus completely entrusted Egor with the choice of the phone model.
"The main thing for me is that it calls, sends SMS and has Internet access." Klaus listed the requirements.
Egor walked around the display cases with mobile phones for a long time and meticulously asked the consultant something until his choice fell on a relatively inexpensive device with a small display and a thin case. Klaus held it in his hands, noted with satisfaction that it would easily fit into the pocket of tight trousers, and gave his consent.
While Klaus was making a purchase, Egor's phone rang. It was Klara.
"Good evening, Klara. Did something happen?"
"Yes. Where's your brother?" the displeased voice of the boss was heard.
"He's nearby, should I pass him the phone?"
"No, tell him that I'm expecting him at work in thirty minutes. And let him get his own phone."
"That's exactly what we're doing now."
"I'm glad to hear it. When he's done, let him immediately take a taxi and come here. I'll pay for everything." She hung up.
"Who called?" asked a satisfied Klaus, putting the new phone in his pocket and handing the box to Egor.
"Clara called. She told you to take a taxi and go to work immediately."
"Well, you'll have to get home alone," he smiled his theatrical smile. Egor saw how unbearable the thought of working on the second floor was for him, but he understood that the prince was doing it to eliminate the threat and return home as soon as possible.