The next day, they did not go to the first high-born on the list. As it turned out later, there were no military uniforms of such small sizes, and they had to sew new ones for Egor and Lilith.
"We can abandon the idea of taking them with us and go immediately, said Augustus at dinner."
"Don't even start. They will go with me."
"Why are you so stubborn? You are not stupid, Klaus, so why can't you understand that they will be of no use in negotiations. And what if everything goes completely wrong and we have to fight?"
"I have you, the prince shrugged."
"As flattering as it is to hear that your trust and confidence in my strength is so great, I doubt that I can protect you alone."
"I can take care of myself."
"By smashing the entire estate to smithereens? No, brother, your strength is not suitable for diplomacy. And you can't do everything. Remember that monster with regeneration near my father's estate? If it weren't for me and Merid, there wouldn't have been a wet spot left of you!"
"What diplomacy can we talk about if we're attacked?" Klaus was surprised. "Exactly! I was saved that time. So this Merid is a water mage? And a pretty strong one. Why haven't you introduced me to him yet?"
"Such that if you smash the estate of some, the others will immediately back down. And don't forget that we want to act quietly. How many days do you think it will take the king to figure out whose doing this is? He's a tyrant, but far from stupid. He'll immediately suspect something is wrong and then we'll be denied access to any highborn. And as for Merid, he's on a mission right now. He can't wait to say hello to you either," August smiled mysteriously.
"Don't push it. I'm not going to act so thoughtlessly."
"I'm glad to hear it, but you've always had anger issues. Are you sure you can control yourself if things get tough?"
"August, I'm not the teenager I used to be," the prince shouted at his brother, driving the knife he'd just been cutting meat with into the tabletop with all his might.
"Yes, eloquent proof of your incredible restraint," August sighed.
Klaus looked at his hand still clutching the knife, pulled it out, carefully placed it on the table and sighed. Yes, he clearly needs to work on that.
He failed to work on his explosive temper again. He's been trying to talk to Egor for the second day now, but he still hasn't found his friend. Lilith shrugs, the other inhabitants of the underground town he asked don't know anything. Where did that guy go?
Klaus managed to see Egor only the next day. He was standing with a tall, broad-shouldered man and the captain near the exit from the cave. All three were dressed in black military uniforms, and on the chest of each stood out Klaus's coat of arms, where lightning deliberately shaded the sun and moon, as if pushing the royal coat of arms into the background. On top of that, each one buttoned up a cloak at the neck, where a similar sign also adorned the back.
Klaus was in his "ceremonial attire", Lilith got the same uniform as the others. The faces of the prince's companions were covered by a helmet.
"Oh, the prince has finally deigned to honor us with his presence - Augustus bowed to him playfully."
"Egor?" Klaus turned to his friend, ignoring his brother's antics.
"Yes, my lord. I am ready to accompany you," his friend bowed slightly.
Klaus was speechless. Anger had already begun to distort the prince's face, when he was distracted by the captain.
"Klaus, this is Gorald. He is one of the best warriors in our humble kingdom and a master of air magic. You will be amazed when you see him in action."
"My lord," the big man bowed.
"I am glad you are with us. If my brother says that you are an excellent battle mage, then I have no reason to doubt you. It will be an honor for me to fight shoulder to shoulder with you."
"That's it, that's enough formalities. It's time for us to go," and August took out one glass ball, similar to those that Klaus and Egor used for the portal, only the magical vortices in it were bright yellow.
"What an interesting color," Klaus was surprised.
"This is not just pumped out magic. Strong intentions and particles of soil from the destinations were used here."
"Strong intentions?" Klaus did not immediately understand what his brother was talking about.
"Klaus, don't tell me that you need to be taught the basics? As far as I remember, you had an excellent teacher."
"I don't need to repeat the basics, I know that a mage controls his element with the help of intent. It arises instinctively and we practically don't feel it." The prince began to get irritated. "I didn't understand your statement about strong intent, how to evoke it? And what is it anyway?"
"Don't ask me, I haven't delved into studying magic more than I should have. I've always been more attracted to the sword and fresh air than stuffy libraries and dusty books."
'Then introduce me to this genius. I'm curious to talk to him."
"As soon as we finish with the border high-born, we will have some time, then you can sort things out with him as much as you want," August grinned and turned his attention to the ball in his hand. "Open," he said and sent a weak magical impulse into the ball.
The portal lit up faintly, and an oval funnel, almost two meters high and almost the same size in width, appeared in front of the young people. Bright yellow vortices slowly and smoothly swirled in a spiral.
"What are we waiting for?" asked August and was the first to step into space. The others followed his example, and their next step was already many kilometers from the cave. They were standing on the edge of the forest.
"This damn Mist messed something up with the portal again," August said discontentedly.
"Mist? I remember you called the portal mage another name - Klaus clarified."
"Yes, that was his teacher, but he didn't have time to teach him properly. They executed him when they discovered his inventive activity."
"Maybe the teacher just wasn't very skilled either?" the prince suggested, remembering his journey to another world.
"Okay, let's go. We need to walk about half a day to get to the Twig estate. Well, what are you standing there for?" the captain began to urge them on.
Klaus was even glad about this turn of events. He now had plenty of time to talk to Egor, but he didn't have time to think about where to start, as he called out to his friend.
"Hey, Egor, wait."
The young man hesitantly slowed his pace.
"Does my lord want something?" he asked coldly.
"Stop calling me that!"
'Excuse me, Your Majesty? Your Highness?"
"Yeah, what the hell is wrong with you?" Klaus hissed, trying not to attract the attention of the others, but the companions were already looking at the couple with suspicion.
"I'm behaving as befits my position. What's wrong with you?" Egor continued.
"Listen," Klaus couldn't stand it, grabbed Egor by the shoulder and turned him to face him. "I never asked you to follow such rules. They don't apply to you, got it?"
"Yeah, these rules don't apply to me, because I'm an outsider! None of this concerns me, I know that!" Egor said with annoyance, giving in to his weakness and ceasing to pretend to be polite. "I know all this without you! Your... brother... never tires of reminding me of this! I know that I'm nobody in this world, and I was nobody in mine either! So just let me learn what everyone in your world should know and be able to do!"
"You don't need to try to change for the sake of this world," Klaus shook his head. "I never asked you about it! Why did you decide that you need it?"
"Yes, you didn't ask, because you knew in advance that I wouldn't be here for long. From the very beginning, you wanted to get rid of me, like a useless burden, and I, like the last arse, followed you, clinging and slowing you down. I'm not like him," Egor glanced (at least, that's what it seemed to Klaus due to the slight turn of his head. Unfortunately, his eyes were not visible through the helmet) August "and I can't give him what he can, but that doesn't mean that I'm completely useless."
Without waiting for an answer, the young man pulled his hand out of the prince's relaxed grip and quickly caught up with the big guy. Klaus was again unable to talk normally to Egor, and anger was beginning to get the better of the prince. He decided not to try a second time. He would do it after negotiations.
They arrived quicker than August had expected. The sun was still at its zenith when five men in black stopped at the gates of the Twig family estate.
"Wait, who goes there?" a voice came from the watchtower.
Augustus stepped forward and announced loudly and clearly:
"The Crown Prince of Isorobia, Klaus Deffendre, has honored the Twig family with his presence and requests an audience with them." Klaus stepped forward and raised his face so that the soldiers could see him and get a good look at the tattoos on his temples. The gates opened and a procession of five soldiers came out to meet them, bowing deeply, and the one in the center spoke:
"Your Highness, it is a great honor for us to meet you. We are very glad that the rumors of your death turned out to be false. Please follow us."
Klaus nodded in agreement and followed the soldiers. August was walking to his right, a step behind, Egor was standing to his left, and Gorald and Lilith, who looked very strange next to him, were bringing up the rear of the procession. The girl seemed like a small mouse next to a tiger.
Naturally, the family had already been warned who had arrived, and they were already greeting the crown prince at the door of the house.
"We welcome the crown prince, Klaus Deffender, to our modest home," a middle-aged man, apparently the head of the Twig family, bowed.
Next to him stood a woman with a plump figure and a good-natured face. She was not much younger than her husband. Next to the woman, nervously shifting from foot to foot, stood a girl of about twelve or thirteen years old, and by her round cheeks, like her mother's, and her skinny figure, like her father's, one could definitely say that this was their daughter.
"We apologize for not being able to give you a proper reception, we were not notified of your visit."
"There is no need to worry," Klaus hastened to reassure him, "we did not warn you about the visit for this very reason, we did not want to raise unnecessary noise. I came to you with a business proposal, and not for an entertaining event."
Lilith watched her master and was amazed at how much he changed when he was in the company of strangers. A confident look, an even posture, an expressionless face and a voice that did not tolerate objections. He was serious and with his whole appearance showed that he was much higher than the others.
The girl shuddered. It was a good thing she knew the other side of this man, otherwise she would never have dared to even raise her eyes in his presence. He radiated power and strength, and when he opened his mouth, he made it clear who was the main one among those gathered. Lilith had never seen people who could make you bow down just by looking at them.
Is this the real face of the master? No, this is his mask, created for those around him. The face under the helmet stretched into a smile. She had seen the master like this only at their first meeting. Now he never released his overwhelming aura in front of the girl, which meant that he had accepted her into his circle of close people, and this definitely warmed the girl's soul.
"Please, let us go to my office then. Your escorts can wait in the dining room, I will order that snacks and wine be brought to them."
After the head's words, August and Gorald, without saying a word, took a step forward, finding themselves on par with the prince. The head shuddered, clearly understanding the hint.
"There is enough room in my office for six people. Please follow me."
Klaus immediately noticed how quickly the owner of the estate had prepared, despite the unexpected visit of guests. The prince counted at least twenty armed soldiers along the perimeter, two at the base of the stairs, four more near the office. Mr. Twig was clearly afraid of something, and this was the first thing the heir decided to find out before moving on to negotiations.
"Only one will go with me. I don't need so many guards for a simple conversation, right, head of the Twig family?"
"Yes... yes, of course, Your Highness. You can be sure that you are completely safe here," the owner stammered and could not hold back a sigh of relief.
Klaus, August and the owner himself entered the office. Judging by the burning candles and scattered papers on the desk, Twig was busy with his own affairs when he was disturbed with the news of the prince's arrival. The room still smelled of burnt paper, and in the corner of the room Klaus noticed the remains of recently burned documents. This confirmed his theory.
"Please, make yourself comfortable." The owner pulled up two chairs from the other end of the office and sat down opposite him. "I will arrange for tea to be brought to us. Or would you prefer wine? I am just..."
"There is no need to worry," the prince stopped him "I hope that the conversation will not take too much time."
"Okay... yes... so what does the Crown Prince want to talk about with a family so far from the capital?" it was obvious that the man was nervous. Beads of sweat were gathering on his forehead, and he did not have time to wipe them away with the silk handkerchief that he was constantly fiddling with in his hands.
"Why is the gentleman so nervous?" the prince asked. "Or do I have reason to suspect you of something forbidden?"
"No, what are you saying," the man blurted out. "I respect the laws of Isorobia!"
"Yeah? And I have completely different information on this matter," the head's eyes widened with fear confirmed that he was moving in the right direction, "but do not worry. I am not my father."
"…."
Klaus sighed.
"Mister Twig, you've probably heard that my relationship with the king is currently strained. Let's just say that the current king and I aren't getting along very well, so it would be best for us to keep our meeting and everything that will be said at it a secret. Don't you think so?"
"So you didn't come to hand me over to justice?" the man asked hopefully.
To hand over to justice is a beautiful phrase that implies the inevitable execution of the offender without trial or investigation. The worse the offense, the more family members were wiped off the face of the earth.
"No, I came precisely because I don't consider your deviations from the law something that requires punishment. Tell me, Mister Twig, how did you come up with this?"
"Your Highness, I don't understand..."
"Sir. I have already told you several times that I hope our meeting will not take long. Why evade, if I already know everything? If I wanted to hand you over to justice, I would not be sitting here with you."
Twig was silent for a few more minutes. He did not know how to hide his emotions and the cruel struggle that was currently taking place in his head was reflected on his face. Klaus frowned, leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs, showing that his patience was running out. This hurried the owner of the estate and he, looking down, spoke.
"Your Highness, I want to say right away that I have not planned anything bad and have never questioned the unlimited power of the crown, but we live at the southernmost border. Skirmishes between the royal army and its neighbors have always brought a lot of trouble to the inhabitants of the borderlands. I was simply following the agreements that my grandfather made!"
"Very well. And now I want to know more about these very agreements."
"We are not such an influential family. Hiring soldiers is expensive, it is impossible to raise a warrior from a slave without a proper mentor. Our lands used to be ruined and if the raids had not stopped, then nothing would have remained of our family. The status of highborn is all we have. My grandfather took this step out of despair."
He caught his breath, quickly glanced at the prince and, seeing no signs of anger, continued.
"My grandfather first made an alliance with our neighbors. We gave them part of our harvest in exchange for the safety of our lands, but it was difficult to grow more wheat and vegetables than the decree allowed, so my grandfather suggested an alternative. We provided them with labor and restored the fields on their territory. We, the highborn, are allowed to have slaves, but their number is also taken into account, so we had no choice but to hire labor from nearby villages."
"So you sent village workers to restore the fields on the other side of the border?"
"Yes. We paid them and in a way protected their mages from slavery. Inspections are usually carried out from spring to mid-autumn, just when the villagers have the opportunity to work away from home and spend the winter peacefully with their families. But later another problem arose, a financial one. My grandfather practically exhausted the family treasury."
"And he came up with the idea of concluding another agreement with the neighbors?"
"Yes. He offered to rent part of their land for personal use, and in exchange he would give away part of this harvest. Selling the rest would allow him to fully pay for the peasants' work and even have some left over."
"And how were you able to sell so much food and remain unnoticed?"
"Here... here we concluded another agreement, or rather, my father had already done so..."
"What agreement?" the prince hurried him, tired of waiting for him to continue.
"Please, Your Highness, my betrayal will cost the lives of more than one family, do not ask me to continue!"
"Okay," Klaus sighed. He understood the horror that had now gripped the owner of the estate, but this did not at all curb his impatience bursting out. "Let's do it this way. I have a proposal for you. Mutually beneficial."
Twig's expression showed interest through the fear. He was still deathly afraid of the consequences of his family's actions that had lasted for generations, but the prince's calm, expressionless face gave him hope that things might not end so badly.
"Anything, Your Highness."
"Let's say I completely disagree with some of the state of affairs in our country and want to make some adjustments."
"I don't understand..."
Klaus raised his hand, calling him to be silent.
"I don't like our relations with our neighbors, and I would like to improve them, do I explain myself clearly now?"
"Extremely, but I don't understand why you are telling me this and not the king?"
The prince's patience was running out. He was completely unsuited to diplomacy, but no one was asking his opinion. So he inhaled very slowly and exhaled just as slowly, watching the kaleidoscope of emotions on his interlocutor's face.
"What do you think, Mr. Twig, how will the king react to my proposal? That's right," Klaus continued without waiting for an answer. "He will not like it at all. Why am I turning to you? It's simple, your family has found a way to cooperate with its neighbors for generations and, I must say, everything is working out quite well. I have never had diplomatic relations with other countries for a reason known to everyone, but you are a different matter."
"Do you want to go against the crown?" Twig exclaimed in horror and immediately covered his mouth with his hand, realizing whom he had just accused of treason.
"No," Klaus said firmly "I want to change the head wearing the crown."
It dawned on Twig, and he didn't immediately cope with the initial shock. While he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Klaus didn't wait and continued.
"Mister Twig, owner of the border lands, I offer you cooperation. You help me improve relations with my neighbors, and I, after I get the throne, will allow you to openly develop trade and arrange a symbolic percentage of duty on the border for those who still want to join the foreign trade."
"Do you want me to go against the king and help?"
"Yes, because I am more loyal and will not cut off the heads of everyone who shows ingenuity. I like innovations. So what do you say to this?"
"And if you fail? You, like no one else, know the influence of the ruling family. How can you resist this?"
"That's my problem. As you just said, there's no one who knows more about the ruling family than I do. I'm not suggesting that you openly take my side now. We'll make a deal, and you'll help me from the shadows."
"But if it doesn't work out..."
Klaus stood up abruptly and slammed his open palm on the table. His patience snapped. August rose slowly.
"If that happens, you don't owe me anything and I'll take our little prank to the grave with me."
Twig thought for a moment. He saw that he didn't have any more time, but he still decided to agree, again, because he had no choice either, but the heir's offer really seemed tempting to him.
Before moving on to further discussions, they made a deal, or rather, agreed on insurance for the prince. They would put a portal in the estate, and if Twig decided to betray him, Klaus would personally destroy his entire family at that very moment.
Twig said that his father had made a pact with the northern border families, who also guarded their holdings like their southern brethren. The exchange of goods produced underground allowed two different states to be supplied with what they could not produce, or could, but in insufficient quantities.
Of the six border families, only four were in the so-called conspiracy. With the help of the communication mages, they could exchange data almost instantly, and Twig's first task was precisely to negotiate with the accomplices. He had to prepare them for the prince's visit and convey his offer.
August protested about the second part, but Klaus did not want to do the same thing four more times. He decided to make things easier for himself, which he had no doubt about. In case of refusal or if someone decided to report to the crown, they had portals that would allow this misunderstanding to be resolved quickly, with little bloodshed.
Pleased that these drawn-out negotiations had finally come to an end, the prince left the office of his new ally. They refused the offer to stay the night at the estate. The not very insistent offer to stay at the estate even longer, and left the gates when the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon.
"We have not chosen the best time to hang around near the forest," Gorald said seriously, as soon as a child's cry was heard on the outskirts.
"Master," Lilith squeaked. "Will you help the unfortunate man?"
"It is a monster luring its prey," the big man answered for the prince in the same tone. "There is no child there."
"But suddenly... What if... Master?" Lilith said pleadingly.
"Okay, come with me," Klaus sighed and, without turning around, headed closer to the forest.
The girl perked up and almost skipped after her master.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" August appeared next to the prince. "I'm starving, let's go home already!"
"I told you that I want to show Lilith the world, and monsters are an integral part of life. Besides," the prince stretched and put his hand on the hilt of his katana, "I'm very tired and want to warm up a little. Come on, August, don't you really want to fight?" the prince smiled.
The captain couldn't hold back his smile, shook his head and also put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"There won't be many of them on the outskirts, not even enough to warm up."
"Shall we go deeper?"
"Another time, I told you, I'm starving. Why didn't you agree to snacks?"
"I didn't think it would take so long."
They approached the first trees and slightly to the left they saw a small but deep hole, from which they could hear the plaintive cry of a child. Klaus beckoned Lilith to him and nodded his head so that she would come closer and see for herself that there was no child there.
The girl carefully approached the hole, looked in and saw nothing, she turned her head to ask something, but before she could squeeze out a word, thin and long ropes suddenly dragged her to the bottom. She screamed shrilly when the ropes began to wrap around her body.
"A cruel method of understanding the world," August noted, looking down at the girl and lazily cutting off the monster's root-like tentacles reaching for him with his sword.
"This is more understandable," and raising his voice so that the girl could hear him, he added "Well, how is it? Did you find the child?"
"Sir! Save me! Ouch, they're climbing into my mouth!"
Klaus jumped down with a light movement, examined the bottom of the pit and made three precise blows underground. The ropes on the girl's body immediately loosened and, shuddering in death agony, they fell down.
The unfortunate girl quickly rose, shook herself off and threw herself into the prince's arms.
"Thank you! Thank you, my lord! Lilith is so weak and useless!"
'Everything is fine. But now you know what happens if you are not careful at night, especially near the forest. Shall we continue to study the varieties of evil spirits?"
The girl quickly shook her head in refusal and pressed herself even closer to Klaus's chest.
"August, can you lift us up?"
'Climb up yourself. Weren't you the one who wanted to stretch your legs?"
"Warm up with a sword, not rock climbing on loose earth," Klaus noted, and the ground under his feet began to slowly rise up until it reached the edge of the pit.
"Thank you. You are very kind," Klaus bowed playfully to the captain.
"You will owe me! And now we are going to eat!!!!"