Herald of Steel

Alexander’s call for independence initially got him a very muted response from the court. Everyone was too shocked by this incredulous ask. Even those who would have agreed remained silent, as the matter was too big and important to comment on without really thinking it over.

So they simply listened to him with a stunned look, before a group broke down into a flurry of chaotic curses.

“Rebel!”

“Traitor!”

“Arrest him!”

“Kill! Kill!”

These shouts mostly came from Ptolomy’s group, but Alexander also spotted some of the more hot blooded men from Amenheraft’s camp making their way towards him, clenching their fists menacingly as if they were eager to beat him up to a pulp.

“Silence!” The pandemonium was only halted upon the humongous roar of Ptolomy, breaking everyone out of their revelry.

Nobody had ever heard the usually meek and tractable man raise his voice to such a degree and they turned to face the man with some fear.

“Are you done, Alexander?” While the enraged man with flushed cheeks ominously turned to Alexander, looking at him with eyes that seemed to want to set him on fire.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” And the Lord of Zanzan simply answered with a small nod, seemingly completely oblivious to the consequences.

“Good!” Ptolomy heavily nodded with a cold hmph, before suddenly pointing his finger and imperiously ordering, “Guards! Execute this man right now!”

“…Ptolo… Your Majesty! Sto…”

*Clang*, *Clang*, *Clang*

The Queen Mother- who too was utterly shocked by Alexander’s declaration was the first to snap out of her mind and tried to object, desperately grabbing him by the hands.

However she was a bit slow.

The bodyguards around Ptolomy were already rushing towards Alexander with their swords drawn, ready to cut him the very next instant. What Alexander said had also made them extremely angry, and thus they followed their orders eagerly, eyes burning with determination.

*Clang*, *Clang*….., *Clang*, *Clang*, *Clang*….*Clang*….

The four men only stopped when they saw the rows of men stationed around the court also draw their swords and rush to Alexander’s defense, forming a literal shield wall.

This unprecedented sight stunned them, as they could not understand how so many men could betray them so quickly.

The same sight only incensed Lord Assazd.

“Pasha Farzah…what is the meaning of this? Are you also rebelling? You…” And as one of the sharpest tools in the shed, he was able to immediately put two and two together, so he turned his head and instantly roared angrily as such.

“….” The old lord held off answering with pursed lips, simply content to keep on watching as Alexander’s men gathered around him, until fifty of his best men had formed a solid, impenetrable ring around him.

By that point, the charging bodyguards were also forced to stop and reassess their situation. And they turned to give Ptolomy a hesitant look, waiting for new orders.

If their king kept his old command, they would still be willing to charge regardless and die as a martyr. The men were that loyal.

However they wanted that last confirmation.

While Ptolomy, shocked by that sudden turn of events was too shocked to say either yes or no. The plump man could hardly believe such a huge plot had been hatched right under his nose and was unfolding so blazently right in front of him.

“Alexander has committed high treason! How dare you protect him, Lord Farzah? This…. This is you are the same! You…” Lord Assazd on the other hand was still shouting, animatedly pointing his finger and accusing the elder lord of clear collusion.

“Assazd! Let me remind you of who you are talking to. I am the Pasha of Matrak! You are nothing but a mere Matrbar (Marquiss),” Until, Pasha Farzah finally lost his patience and chimed out in a very grave tone.

“….” This pulling of peerage rank finally shut the scalding lord down, and he quickly flashed a plea for help from Ptolomy. This was one argument Lord Assazd knew he could not win no matter how glib he was with his tongue.

In an extremely hierarchical society like Adhania, this was an unbridgeable gap- it was almost instinctual for nobles to follow their superior.

In fact, this was one of the main reasons Alexander was allowed to act as he did despite being a clear outsider- both his enemies and retainers, even if they were dissatisfied, found it hard to go openly against him.

“….” Ptolomy did not get the chance to step in for Lord Assazd- he was too preoccupied reeling from the shock himself and thus Pasha Farzah took the opportunity on his behalf,

“Your Majesty! Let us put Alexander under house arrest. Let him explain himself. Maybe we have misunderstood him!”

“Misunderstood? Heh!” The excuse sounded so cheap to Lord Assazd that he instantly barked with extreme derision, fearless sneering at Pasha Farzah with mocking disdain, “Alexander’s call was so explicit that even a deaf and dumb would fail to miss it. So tell us, what exactly did we misunderstand, Lord Pasha?”

“….” Ptolomy on the other hand refrained from making any comment. He, as slow as he was, was still able to realize the two men were clearly in cahoots. And finding both his most powerful lords were against him, chilled the man’s heart.

He knew he could not survive without their support.

“What do you think?” So in his time of extreme crisis, he ignored everyone else to turn to the person he trusted the most- the Queen Mother, looking at her like a wounded deer- hurt, confused and out of his mind.

The sight was enough to pang Seelima’s heart- no matter what had happened between them recently, she had raised the boy from childhood, caring for him just like a son. Thus seeing him in pain also pained her.

She was also very confused about the insane rant Alexander had given, as well as Pasha Farzah explicitly supporting it, finding no logic behind either action.

‘What are they even doing. Have they decided to betray us? But… why? No! They also don’t seem to support Amenheraft. So…’ The call for independence was too sudden and even too alien for her to wrap her head around, as the regal lady became slightly confused.

However despite all her misgivings, the Queen Mother ultimately knew they could not lose Alexander’s support no matter what.

“….I also think Lord Alexander should get a chance to explain himself.’ Hence in a cautionary note, the Queen Mother tentatively agreed with Pasha Farzah, while also making sure to make her tone appear quite hesitant.

This was to show the court that she did not hold any favorable impression towards this decision.

Thus in addition, she also quickly added the following with a very clear tinge of anger,

“But in addition, Pasha Farzah must also be stripped of his ability to command the royal guards. He has grossly betrayed our trust by letting so many unknown men infiltrate the royal palace, endangering not only our lives but every guest here. This was a terribly shameful thing for you to do! We expected better!”

“….” The old lord accepted his punishment with only a placid smile and a gentle nod, showing not the slightest bit of resistance.

Lord Assazd however was hardly satisfied with this penalty, finding it too lukewarm.

‘Bah! If anyone had done this during Alozmer, he would have been burnt at the stake no matter what!’ He shouted to himself.

But at the same time, he also knew the importance of Pasha Farzah and Alexander to the current circumstances. So he did not poke Ptolomy with his baton, fearful that he would cause the whole house of cards to come tumbling down.

Instead he argued, “Your Majesty! Lord Farzah’s crime is also nothing short of Alexander’s. I pray we strip him of his post as prime minister and have him also be placed under house arrest! He needs to explain himself as well!”

“No need! I can explain everything here and now. Why drag out the talks anyway?” Alexander’s bold, unapologetic words pierced the tense atmosphere like a sharp arrow, drawing everyone’s sights to him and making the situation much worse.

The breezy, damn caring tone particularly made Ptolomy and Amenheraft shoot him a frigid glance, like they wished him to slaughter him then and there.

Even the Queen Mother, in a once in a century instance, rubbed her temple openly in clear violation of royal protocol, trying to fight off the oncoming headache.

She could not imagine this coming to an end in any way without someone being dead, and wondered what Alexander had eaten that day to make him act like this.

The man in question however pretended to be completely oblivious to the anger being directed towards him, and pressed with a humorous chuckle,

“Mmm…why go through all the trouble of setting up a trail when we are all already here? Let’s save all of us the time and effort and ask any question you have right now…. I will be glad to answer all your queries.”

“….” The frank offer caused another bout of silence in the court, as the people were confused about how to react to this.

They did not dare to open their mouth when Ptolomy was still fuming like an enraged lion, desperately holding himself back from pouncing on the rebellious lord.

“What is the meaning of what you said, Lord Alexander?” So at last the Queen Mother, as a member of the royal family took it upon herself to break the tie, asking this is a very cold, unfriendly tone.