August was already angry, but after meeting Egor, his anger reached unprecedented heights. He was going to see his brother, whom he had not seen for several years, but this meeting definitely did not carry a hint of a happy family reunion.
The captain loved his brother. He neglected him, did not pay due attention to him, but in his own way he loved him. Not even that, he treated Abel as a family member, whom he should love by default. He respected his father. Once. He missed his mother, her warmth and all-consuming love for children. He sympathized with the older sisters, who, having left the parental nest, were already busy with their own families. But love?
August truly loved only one person - Klaus. From their first meeting at that banquet, where the five-year-old heir to the throne greeted the guests with an important air.
Before that day, August had only attended a reception on the occasion of the birth of the heir, and the baby had only just been introduced to the guests. August was ten then. He, his father, mother, and two older unmarried sisters saw the baby, were touched, and each went their own way.
At that banquet, August saw the little prince and could not pass by. He was touched by the child's seriousness, his caution and distrust. From then on, this rascal occupied all his thoughts. At first, the captain looked at Klaus as a younger brother. A real one, whom he wanted to protect, teach, and spoil.
Their next meeting happened several years later. At that time, Klaus was already living with Fazli. August was seventeen and filled with youthful maximalism. He volunteered to serve on the border and protect his country from the "barbarians".
Klaus became even more gloomy and silent, but he recognized August immediately and after just a few minutes of communication, the very smile that pierced August's heart blossomed on the gloomy child's face.
They communicated only by correspondence. Klaus always eagerly awaited news from his brother about his new adventures and shared his discontent with him. Fazli did not give the young man any slack.
At the age of twelve, Klaus returned to the court, and August saw the already grown-up prince for only a few hours before setting off on a long campaign. He had deliberately postponed it to support his brother. The separation was hard. For both.
Klaus hoped that at court there would be at least one person he could trust, but August could no longer cancel his plans. He was twenty-two. The veil of youth had already fallen, and the captain saw his country with different eyes. Even then, he was trying to find a way out for the people. Even then, he mentally placed his hopes on his younger brother.
He returned four years later and went straight to the court, without visiting his father and brother. It was on that day that everything was irrevocably lost for August. A young man met him. Serious, handsome, with long black hair and piercing eyes.
The change in Klaus over the past four years left August speechless. He didn't immediately understand why his heart was beating faster, but Klaus did something he hadn't done in four years. He smiled sincerely, and the ground disappeared from under his cousin's feet. At that moment, he realized that he had fallen in love. Really in love. And these were far from brotherly feelings.
How could he admit such a thing to the man who smiled at him like that? Trusted him and looked up to him? How could he allow base desires to take over? He decided to keep himself in check until Klaus grew up and then go on the offensive.
August stood near the door of the dungeon. His hand clenched into a fist. He had waited so long for Klaus to return to him, and this degenerate had almost deprived him of the most important thing in life. He took a few deep breaths, assumed a calm appearance, shoving all his anger deep down. Now was not the time for him to take over. The captain opened the door and entered.
Abel was sitting in the corner of the dark room, hugging his knees. They had not tied his hands. An iron hoop hung around his neck. The anti-magic rope had been crudely fused into it. Credit for the ingenuity. A crude decoration, but quite effective.
"Well, hello, brother," a cold smile blossomed on August's lips.
"What the hell are you still breathing for?" Abel answered angrily.
"What a warm welcome! Glad to hear your brotherly love extends beyond Klaus, you little bastard!"
"And you, I see, are still drooling? How do you like being pushed into the background? Enjoyable?" Abel grinned and then squealed when dust from the stone floor flew right into his eyes.
"Shut up! One more word and I'll make you beg for death."
"I'm your brother! You wouldn't dare," Abel was scared, and all his bravado instantly evaporated.
"Want to check?" August raised an eyebrow. "You said yourself that I'm still drooling over Klaus. What do you think I'll do to you after all this?"
Abel shook and pulled his knees closer to his chest. He had long ago realized that August's love for Klaus was far from brotherly. It was hard not to notice, unless you were Klaus himself.
"Why did you come?" Abel decided to change tactics. He did not want to check whether his brother's threats were true. He knew they were true.
"To find out what happened at the estate."
"And haven't they reported to you yet?"
"I want to hear the full version."
Abel was silent. Fine dust rose from the floor again and swirled around him menacingly. The younger Deffender covered his eyes with his hands.
"I can shove it into your nose, ears or throat. Right now you are powerless even against fine dust, so it is better for you to speak and not test my patience."
"What do you want to hear?" Abel shouted, without opening his eyes. His patience did not last long. "What did I want to do with your precious Klaus?"
"I want to hear who told you to do it?"
"It was my decision."
"Don't talk nonsense! You've always been silently jealous of everyone, but you don't have the guts to take real action. Who?"
"I myself," the dust was already tickling his nostrils "Aaaah, wait, wait! I really did, but Uncle gave me complete freedom of action. He said that he wanted to see his eldest son at home. Alive or dead, and hinted that the dead one would be more useful."
"And father? How could he allow you to act so openly? He is always so cautious!"
"He did not know."
"You are lying."
"No! He did not know. I made it so that he was temporarily busy and could not interfere with me."
"And what would you do if he found out?"
"And what would I do? The King is above him! What would he do to me when I have such a man behind me," Abel smirked.
"You are a moron!"
Augustus understood that envy and the desire to assert himself had completely erased any traces of reason in his brother. The captain understood that in case of success, Abel would become the next victim. And failure would lead him to the same result. He could let Abel go to all four sides right now and be sure that he would definitely not live to see the next month.
"Are you jealous that the king paid attention to me? Noticed my talents, and sent you with a bunch of soldiers to certain death?"
"Are you really an idiot," August shook his head. 'The slave revolt is your work?"
Abel even opened his eyes and lifted his chin with pride.
"And you thought I was completely useless? My abilities are much more useful than yours, or Klaus. What can you do? As far as I remember, your ability is resistance to external damage? Big deal, it's impossible to pierce, but you can burn or drown, or better yet, strangle! You can't imagine how happy I was when they brought us a charred ember with your insignia!"
"As far as I remember, you don't have any ability at all!"
"Well, yes! Yes, maybe I don't have very good water magic..."
August snorted. "Not very good" is putting it mildly. Abel had mastered his element at a level that was only good for producing stimulants.
"Laugh, laugh! But I was able to distract our father! He had to mess around with his slaves for a long time. Even his activation of the seal couldn't stop them, and do you know why? Because I can control the minds of ordinary cattle without magic! I wonder how many of them died while he tried to pacify them with activation?"
August was silent. He was shocked by what he heard. His worthless brother got such a powerful ability. To control the minds of ordinary people and judging by the fact that Jiro personally had to intervene, the number of subordinates was impressive.
"How many have you subdued?"
"A couple hundred," shrugged the brother. "They were under my control for about an hour, and then father had to figure out what was wrong and count the losses. None of you could have thought that I was capable of such a thing, right? But the king noticed my talents and immediately appreciated them!"
"You are a truly sick bastard, and I want to wring your neck, but I do not want everything to end so easily for you. You will sit here for a week, and then Klaus will decide what to do with you."
"A week? Are you crazy? I need a healer! And a bath and a bed! Food and much more. Don't you dare treat me like cattle! I am your brother!"
"You are a sick bastard, and as you can see," Augustus pointed to the scar on his temple "I cut out family ties with a knife. Rest, brother, while you can."
And he left the cell, listening with satisfaction to Abel's screams. He was proud of himself. Of his restraint. He had managed to talk to him without killing him. Klaus would definitely be proud of him.
August went to the dining room. He needed to stock up on Brod's brew and some food before going to the one he didn't want to leave at all right now.