Chapter 73: Is he really 10 years old?
"He impressed me that day. On that fateful day, I met that young lord of Aurellion, though I would likely not see how he would go before I die."
"How flawlessly he managed to navigate through the complex world of politics."
"What I did take Solace in, though.... is that the Chavarian empire had lost such a terrifying talent and has even made them an irrevocable enemy."
"One who would make endless trouble for the empire and whose family had the potential to even take it down one day in the distant future."
Duke Ancel Gallomour II of Plantaria
....
The tension between the two men could be cut through with a knife, but while their bodyguards had their standoff, each taking in the skill and presence of the other man, the two negotiators were instead calm, ignoring their scuffle as if it were not there. If the bartender were not a war veteran, he would be shaking as he hoped the two powerhouses would not battle. Otherwise, even his tavern may be destroyed in their deadly battle! For a fight between two powerhouses of their calibre was no joke, for they were at least at the master level and likely the grandmaster level.
Though he was sure, the duke would compensate as they had served together and became friends despite the difference in their social status, which the duke gave zero shits about it still did not sit well with him that the fate of his tavern was dependent on the calm emotional state of two touchy grandmasters.
This was also a reason why the duke was loved and respected, for he did not care about your background. As long as you were helpful or talented, the duke was more than happy to help you out and even give you a position in his court if you merited it. The barman known as Old Joe to the city took an arrow to the knee during a battle, and instead of becoming a city guard, which was typical for wounded soldiers like him, he instead decided to start a tavern, which now the duke used to have a secret meeting with an obviously powerful client.
The bartender’s experience taught him not to ask questions or inquire about these sorts of things, or he may lose his head. After all, many people have been silenced this way by influential people who could not allow what they saw or heard to be told to others. It was why the duke chose this place that was run by one of his old friends and comrades in the first place as the venue for their meeting, for he could rely on the tight-lipped bartender to keep his mouth shut.
’This little shit!’
The duke thought to himself as he calmed the anger that threatened to consume him and thought back to Lucius Aurellion and how he was just as weird and frustrating as his son. It did not help that both men strutted with a confident arrogance that implied they had a backup plan no matter what you tried to do against them. Even now, the young boy made himself at home and acted like he owned the place despite being in someone else’s capital. Whether he did this intentionally or was just eccentric or naïve would require more pondering from the intelligent duke.