The next day, August, as promised, announced that the Crown Prince had finally joined their ranks and was ready to give a speech today. This inspired the people and allowed them to relax. Now they knew how to behave with Klaus.
The morning was tense. Egor was ashamed of yesterday's prank, he tried not to catch Klaus's eye and, as soon as he woke up, he ran out of the room, deciding to freshen up. August found him there.
"Good morning. How did you sleep in the new place?" he asked, undressing.
"Thank you, quite comfortable," Egor answered dryly.
"And is Klaus still sleeping?" and, without waiting for an answer, continued. "Although, he always liked to sleep longer, especially after our sorties."
"Yes, Klaus said that you were quite close."
"Really? Did he tell you about me? That's very nice to hear. I thought he didn't like to get close to people."
"That's true."
"But you're still here."
"Yes."
"So what happened if he agreed to take you with him, and defends you so desperately? Do you know some shameful secret of his?" Pretending to think about it, August continued his interrogation. "Or is he sleeping with you? Although no, he's not keen on physical intimacy."
August had been watching the changes in Egor's face all this time.
"Neither one nor the other," Egor answered dryly. No matter how much Klaus extolled this man, the young man didn't particularly like him.
The anti-mage stood up and was about to leave the bath when August spoke again:
"If you believe my natural powers of observation, would you prefer the latter option?" Egor froze. - Am I wrong?
"What's between me and Klaus doesn't concern you at all."
August didn't answer. Egor managed to quickly dry himself and get dressed when the captain called out to him again.
"Egor." The young man stopped but did not turn around. "I would advise you not to cherish hope. He is our future king and like all kings he needs an heir from a woman from a respected family. You cannot give him any of that."
"Thank you for the advice, but I can decide for myself what to hope for and what not."
"I am simply warning you. What you can offer is in no way comparable to what I can offer him. Do not stand in my way."
"And what does that mean?" Egor nevertheless turned around and looked at the smiling man who was calmly soaping his head.
"It means what I already said."
August did not pay any more attention to Egor, and the young man left the bathhouse in an even worse mood than in the morning. He turned the corner and did not notice that someone was coming towards him, crashed into him with all his strength.
"Excuse me," Egor looked up and ran into a wide and painfully familiar chest.
"Egor?"
"Your dearest brother is waiting for you there," he said to the prince and quickly retreated, leaving Klaus wondering what had happened in the bathhouse.
When the prince entered, August was just finishing his water procedures and was about to get out of the bath, but when he saw Klaus, he relaxed and sat back down with his back to the edge.
"Good morning, dear brother. How did you sleep?"
"What did you manage to tell Egor?" the prince skipped the polite greeting and got straight to the point.
"Just like that? No hello, no how are you. Are you that worried about your "friend"?" the captain's voice was clearly sarcastic on the last word.
"Yes," Klaus answered monosyllabically and dove into the pool head first.
"I didn't tell him anything. I just explained the upcoming events a little bit," the captain answered as soon as the prince emerged and threw his wet hair back.
"Or more precisely?"
"Listen, do we really have to discuss him now?"
"He's not a stranger to me, and so yes, I want to clarify the situation."
"I don't like this new trait of yours at all. Before, you only communicated openly with me."
'So is this jealousy?" Klaus grinned. "What kind of childish antics are these?"
"I won't deny that I don't like this replacement. Think about it yourself, why do you need him? Send him home. Whatever happens next doesn't concern him at all."
"I already told you. This is not up for discussion."
"Okay, let's approach it from the other side. You don't want him to suffer, do you? Who do you think will be the first victim of the dissatisfied? The way you value him is obvious to the naked eye."
Klaus had nothing to say in response. He understood that if he got involved in these games for power, all his close associates would be at risk. August was right. Egor was not safe with him, but on the other hand, it was his choice. Klaus had repeatedly warned his friend about the danger, but he stubbornly followed him. He even branded himself for this.
"It's his choice and if he wants to leave, I won't stop him, - the prince answered."
"Great, that will suit me too," the captain patted Klaus on the shoulder and left the pool. "I'll wait for you in my room. We'll exchange information before your speech. I don't want you to get lost halfway to the general assembly hall."
"Why put it off, it will only take a few minutes. Come here."
"Well, I was thinking of spending some time alone with you," August said feigning offence, but nevertheless he walked to the edge of the pool and sat down.
"And now we are not alone?" the prince raised one eyebrow.
"Not anymore."
At this time, soldiers entered the room; judging by their dirty clothes and exhausted appearance, they had just returned from a scrape. Seeing the captain and the crown prince, everyone froze in the doorway, then bowed, and a loud greeting rang out in the bathhouse:
"Your Majesty."
"Sorry, we didn't know anyone was here. We'll come in later."
"No need," the prince responded. "This is a public bathhouse, and if I'm embarrassing you, I've already finished and was about to leave."
"No, what are you saying, how can we!"
But the prince didn't listen to them anymore, he just waved his hand in the direction of the men and took a towel.
"Let's go to you," he said to Augustus.
***
A girl knocked on their door.
"Excuse me, Your Majesty," was heard behind the door.
"He is not here," answered Egor, and the door timidly opened.
"Could you pass on his new clothes," and she handed over a neatly folded set of black uniform, smelling of fresh leather.
"Put it on the table," Egor said casually, not looking up from his occupation, namely contemplating the ceiling, lying on the bed and thinking about August's words. It seemed that Klaus's older brother did not like him either.
Lilith was enthusiastically reading some thick book, written by hand, which a pretty girl had brought her a little earlier. Egor recognized her immediately, and his mood worsened even more. But really, what did he count on? That Klaus would accept his feelings, and they would live happily ever after, abandoning all business and worries?
Yes, deep down he cherished exactly that, but August opened his eyes. More precisely, he made him pay attention to what he had previously stubbornly refused to pay attention to.
There was another knock on the door, but this time the door opened immediately.
"Excuse me." A man, or rather an old man, looked into the room.
"Well, what else!"
"The captain asked you to bring clothes for the crown prince to his room."
"And you yourself can't?"
"I'm just passing on a request," the old man hesitated and closed the door behind him.
"Will you come with me?" He turned to Lilith.
"No, go alone, I'm busy," the girl waved him off, not taking her eyes off the notes.
Egor sighed, but still took the clothes and left the room.
***
"What did you ask him for?" Klaus asked August when the old man left the room.
"Bring your new clothes. You can't show yourself in front of your subjects like that, can you?"
Klaus looked at his simple white shirt with the top button torn off, his leather pants, his polished boots and was genuinely perplexed.
"What's wrong with my appearance?"
"You look great, no doubt about that, but you're a bit short of being a royal."
"I thought we wanted to make sure that they attitude towards me changed to a less knee-jerk attitude."
"Yes, that's why you still need to change your clothes. Go ahead and get started. I'm dying of impatience!"
Klaus walked up to August and touched the spot between his eyebrows.
At that very moment, images flashed through the captain's head: Monsters with glowing eyes, with people sitting in them. Music playing by itself, a box in which people were talking, weapons with small iron projectiles, deafening and deadly, and many other things that Augustus could not even imagine. At that very moment, the knowledge of all these unusual inventions and their purpose came.
One moment passed and everything that Klaus knew about the other world appeared in the captain's head. This power of the prince was truly amazing and caused admiration more than the incredible power of lightning of the future king.
The first touch was immediately followed by a second one, and corridors, dead ends, rooms and the layout of their locations flashed through Klaus's head.
Footsteps were heard behind the door. Klaus guessed that they were carrying his clothes, so he did not turn around at the opening door.
"Now I understand the principle by which everything here is…," he did not have time to finish the sentence.
Augustus jerked him towards himself, pressed his hand on the back of his head and bit into the prince's lips. To say that such an action did not surprise Klaus would be like lying. He was so confused that he did not even resist and slightly pushed Augustus away only when he heard the sound of things falling to the floor. He turned his head and saw the stunned Yegor.
Pain was visible in the young man's eyes. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.
"What are you doing here?" Klaus asked.
"I called him," the captain's voice was heard, cheerful as always. "He is your servant, judging by the slave mark."
"Sorry," Egor said hoarsely "I did not want to disturb you."
"Wait," Klaus tried to explain, but the fair-haired guy had already run away.
Klaus took a step towards the door to catch up with his friend, but the captain grabbed him by the arm.
"There is no time now, change. They are waiting for you."
"Why did you do this?"
"What did I do?" August asked in surprise?
"Called him, kissed me. I did not notice your attraction to men."
"Ah, Klaus. You are a completely different matter," he smiled condescendingly, putting his hand on the prince's shoulder. "Didn't you like it?"
"Captain!" a man in military uniform and a black cloak on top appeared in the still open doors. "Everyone has already gathered."
"We will be there soon."
"We will discuss this later," Klaus threw to his brother, grabbed his things and began to change.
It really was not a royal robe. His new attire consisted of light black leather armor, the same black undershirt and a black cloak decorated with white lightning bolts creeping from the bottom up.