"Sometimes he's hard to understand, one day he's angry, the next he's down, and the next he's overflowing with joy…."
Cynther Residence, Anko, Afriki
First week of the first month of 576
Sitting on the edge of his bed, Philipart kept his eyes fixed on the floor, unblinking, breathing deeply, fiddling with his fingers.
A somber expression dominated him.
"Why did I do it?"
He rested his elbows on his knees, sinking his face into his hands.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Tears fell from between his fingers.
He was not sane at the moment when, driven by pressure, he declared himself a rebel against the Senate and Arcadio.
By the time his mind cleared and, he was aware of his act, it was too late. The news had already spread to all corners of what was, once, the Arkonian Empire.
"Why do you always regret the decisions you make?" Nazly's sudden voice made him feel exalted.
He wiped his tears, stood up, walked to the window.
"Because I make them driven by impulse, not by reason." And looking sideways at her with disdain: "I still can't believe you convinced me to do such a thing!"
Nazly was undeterred, approaching Philipart with a cautious step.
"Do you really blame me for your mental weakness?"
Hearing those words made her body tense up, stopped her urge to scream, an arrow stuck in the deepest part of her being.
He fell to his knees beside the window.
"Sooner or later your impulsiveness was going to take its toll."
"Shut up...."
"You turned your friend upside down under the pressure."
"Shut up! Shut up!" He held his head with both hands, shaking it from side to side.
Nazly, who was already only a few steps away from him, could hardly believe her eyes: Philipart, hiding his face in his arms, kneeling on the ground, his body dominated by an intense trembling; so helpless, so vulnerable.
She already had him right where she wanted him.
"What is it, my love?" With a sweet and hypnotic tone, she leaned towards him, touching his arms delicately. What happened to the general who served Lino Victorinus?
"Stop...."
"Where is the one who was once the most powerful of all the arkonians?"
"Please...."
Philipart pressed himself to the wall, covering his ears.
"Ah! True! He turned away from his son made in sinful love! He was chosen as magister only because he was submissive to orders! He failed in the expedition in Araquia! The Senate took away his power! And now he cries like a dog!"
"Enough!" He stood up roughly, causing Nazly to fall to the ground in fright. "I'll show you that there are still traces of that general worthy to serve Lino Victorinus!," he said no more, and after throwing a spit on Nazly's side, he left the room.
She opened her eyes wide, following him with her gaze, dumbfounded.
She succeeded in devilishly speaking to the one she loved....