The camp was already asleep when Klaus entered his tent, where Egor was waiting for him.
"Why aren't you in bed yet?"
"Decided to wait for you. How was the meeting?"
"And August hasn't told you yet?" Klaus grimaced.
Their friendship, if it could be called that, had become even stronger in recent months. The prince understood that they had become close only to control him, but he was glad of the changed atmosphere. At least they were no longer feuding.
"He told me a few things," Egor looked away.
"Let's go to sleep? Tomorrow we'll get to this damn capital, or I'm not Klaus Deffender."
"I hope that all this will end soon," Egor sighed. "Listen, I understand that now is not the time or place for such conversations, but..."
"Egor, is something bothering you again?"
"August said that today the Minister of Finance..."
Klaus groaned tiredly.
"If you mean marriage, then I turned him down. I've told you that many times already. I'm not going to get married."
"I know, but..."
"What else?"
"What if... What if after you sit on the throne, they force you to do it? I understand that they are right and I often thought that I would like to be born a woman, but I can't. I won't be able to give birth to children and so on…"
"Stop it. Look at me. Can anyone force me?" Klaus smiled and hugged Egor to himself, "throw these thoughts out of your head and let's sleep."
"Yeah," the fair-haired man mumbled, closing his eyes, but this did not dispel his worries. The closer Klaus was to his goal, the more anxious thoughts tormented Egor, and August was only too happy to fuel them.
Yes, they are on the same side now, but this does not stop the captain from constantly sowing doubts in the fair-haired head. So many "Ifs" had already settled in it that it seemed that the brain would soon boil and flow out.
Egor sighed heavily, snuggled even closer to his beloved and tried to fall asleep. He had chosen this path himself and would never back down, even if he had to ruin all the bride shows or make a complete idiot of himself. He would do everything to ensure that Klaus remained his only.
***
They were ready for a new attack. They had thought of all the contingencies, but the main goal of the first wave of the siege was to distract attention. For this purpose, each rebel soldier put on a helmet. They hid their faces so that the enemy would not notice the absence of just one person.
This idea had long been in the prince's head, but he hoped that he would not have to resort to it. Had to.
"I still do not agree with this idea," August objected once again.
"I have already heard your point of view and my decision will not change." Klaus answered.
"I just want you to think it over again. It is dangerous. What if you meet him face to face and lose control?"
'I will not lose it."
"Klaus, you can not ..."
"August, please don't start again. Where is your vaunted Merid? I remember you promised to introduce me to him back in the first days of my stay in the underground city. More than half a year has passed, and during this time I haven't seen him even once."
"He doesn't like fighting," August sighed, "but nevertheless, he agreed to participate in your adventure."
"I didn't ask you about this. If he doesn't like fighting, then let him sit on the sidelines. I originally planned to go alone. There is no time to wait any longer. Call Pritik."
August left silently. Merid was never punctual, but this did not apply to critical situations. So why hasn't he shown up yet?
This man had been his friend since the time when Augustus was exerting all his strength at the border. Merid was one of the soldiers. He came from a noble family. He had no ambitions or aspirations. He simply went with the flow, although he had enormous magical power and masterfully wielded it.
Merid saved August' life three times. In those moments, he was not like his usual passive version. Precisely calculated blows. Subtle control of water magic. Deadly attacks.
"How? How can you fight like that without any desire?" August once asked.
"I have no desire to fight, but losing friends is harder for me than going to the battlefield," he answered.
"Then what do you want? Why did you join the army?"
"It was my father's wish, and I simply followed his decision. What do I want? I want to see that beautiful greenery every day that fascinates me when I look at enemy territory. I want to see those beautiful flowers that were trampled on the battlefield. We have neither. The border is the only place where I can look at it, albeit from afar."
"You're strange," August said thoughtfully.
Nothing has changed since then. Merid supported August and was ready to come to his aid, but the captain never forced him to fight. Only in extreme cases and always only for Klaus. Like that time when the prince was almost killed by a monster.
A rider appeared in the distance. August breathed a sigh of relief.
"He made it in time after all."
The plan was absurdly simple, and Klaus chose it precisely for its stupidity. Ichiro would never have thought that the prince could pull such a trick. Especially not again.
- It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Your Majesty – the man bowed.
He really did not look like a warrior. Too thin and tall. It seemed that only his clothes gave him volume. A sharp, angular face, graying hair combed into a careless bun and mesmerizing green eyes. Klaus had never seen such beautiful and at the same time dead eyes.
"You must be Merid? You do not have to come with me."
"I know, but I will go anyway."
"August explained our task to you?"
"In general terms."
"In that case, we will do it, although I do not see the need to take you with me. Oh, yes. Just call me Klaus or stay here."
'I understand everything, Klaus."
"Pritik, are you ready?"
The portal opened, and Klaus turned to Augustus.
"I am counting on you."
"Be careful."
Initially, the prince planned to enter the palace on his own and pull off the same trick he did at his mother's estate. Replace the royal banner on the top tower with his own, shout a command in his father's name, and quickly return.
Thanks to the camouflage artifact, he could enter the tower unnoticed. The only problem was the portal itself. It couldn't be opened just anywhere. The most inconspicuous place was needed.
The choice fell on the heir's old room. He figured that it was probably empty now and a flash of white light would not attract unnecessary attention.
The second problem was time. The concealing artifact worked for no more than an hour, and the entrance to the tower with the flag was on the opposite side. The prince calculated that if no extraneous factors arose, the entire undertaking would take no more than half an hour, and as soon as the banner changed and he ordered the gates to be opened, he would use the portal on the spot and return to the rebel camp.
Everything seemed simple, and he still did not understand the need to take anyone else with him. Merid would only get in the way.
Everything was going according to plan. The prince's bedroom was indeed empty, as was the entire wing. Most of the guards were concentrated along the perimeter of the castle territory and on its first floor. All other corridors were guarded only by small detachments.
They reached the tower safely. It had a great view of the city. You could even see the city gates, where the battle was already raging. No matter how hard Klaus's army tried to take the city by force, they had no way to break through such impeccable defenses. They needed a gap through which they could crawl, but there was none.
All the city walls were well guarded. The prince tried to break through from all sides, but was defeated. Now he had a chance for a small breach. It would be enough to remove the bolt from the main gate, and they would break through. That's why he was here.
There were only ten soldiers on the tower, bored during their duty. There were no problems dealing with them. He also did not need the help of Merid, who was simply standing to the side. The man showed concern only when Klaus began to unfurl his flag.
As soon as the banner hung over the castle, panic broke out in the city. As Klaus had expected. The soldiers did not know what to do and were glad to hear the order that rang out over the city.
The prince used two inventions of one old man at once. We must give him credit. He devoted his whole life to this and in the end, only thanks to him, the rebels will take the city.
With one artifact, Klaus changed his voice, making it lower. With the second, he strengthened his speech.
- The enemy army has captured the castle. Open the gates. We have lost - the king's voice rang out over the city.
A second of confusion. The powerful bolt on the gate began to move, and then the ground at the main entrance of the castle cracked. The king's anger swept far along the streets, breaking the road, crushing the nearest buildings, but it was too late. The gates flew apart in different directions. The enemies, like a swarm of ants, moved forward.