Chapter 459: The East Prepares

Placing a jug of wine and a pair of glasses, the servants bowed towards the two emperors and left the room. "I’m glad we could make this possible, Emperor Kaban." Sitting across from Julius was a bald man with a saintly appearance. His soft smile showed his white teeth almost as pale as his skin. On his head rested a large crown with a purple orb in it.

"Well, your father was a distasteful person. After these years, I’m glad to have some peace." The two sat in a manor on the border of the Severian-Ammerian border. It took a year to reach this point, but both sides were eager to have peace. They both knew it would only last their lifetime, and war would start again, but it gave them both the opportunity to rebuild and prepare their nations for the future wars that would come.

Julius smiled and grabbed the jug of wine, pouring himself a glass before pouring one for Kaban. Pulling his mask off, Julius revealed his scar and grabbed his glass of wine. He gave it a deep inhale before drinking, "Say what you want about the Bactrians, they make quality wines and teas."

"Indeed." Kaban watched Julius take the first sip before taking his own. Savouring the taste for a second, Kaban put the glass down, "But I assume we are not meeting after so long just to talk about wine and tea."

"No." Julius paused, taking another sip, "Shall we be honest with one another, and dispense with the games?" Kaban’s smile widened with a soft chuckle, "I personally don’t trust you or Ammeria, nor do I see some long spanning future. But much like Ammeria, Severia has found itself further isolated from the world. All we have is that fool who thinks with his cock, Theodoric and my dear brother in the Holy Seat. As for you, the Khorish states in our south don’t care. They will send support your way, but it’s never anything official."

"Yes..."Kaban swirled his wine before taking a sip. "It is a shame that my fellow brother and sister of Khors forget about me, but it is not much of a problem. We have survived since the end of Prodora, and we will continue to do so."

"And yet here you are." Kaban smirked, making Julius chuckle, "You can see the tides shifting. My brother, as repulsive as he is, will completely support me going forward. Although the church has had setbacks, it has done a good job of keeping power. You don’t want to face the full might of both Severia and the Church."

"And you want to focus west." Kaban leaned forward, "Listen, we can work out this marriage, but this is as far as it goes. I will hold off on attacking, but do not count on my Empire to support your ambitions. My faith is still with Khors." Julius smiled, expecting nothing "My daughter." Kaban’s smile became sweet. "She is quite infatuated with you after the few times you met. Lord knows why with that scar you carry, but she wants this marriage."

"And your sons?" Julius cut in, making Kaban’s smile fall.

"They will do what I wish so long as I live. All my vassals will." Despite his saintly appearance, his temperament changed to one of a supreme sovereign, "This I promise." He paused again and leaned back, swooping the wine glass with one hand. Finishing it, he let out a deep exhale, "You see, however, my daughter is a lovely girl, and your family has a terrible history. What you do before this marriage is fine, but if I hear so much as a whisper that you lie with another, even if it’s a common whore, I will rain hell onto Severia."

Julius chuckled at Kaban’s murderous tone, "My father’s legacy has made me quite... averse to such things." Julius turned his head to look at the guard he had brought with him, "Bring the package." Turning to face Kaban once again, Julius smiled like the devil, "I do have a gift regarding my father."

"Ohhh." Kaban eagerly smiled and waited. Minutes passed, and the door opened, the guard pushing a wooden box in. Kaban covered his nose at the stench that came with it and looked at Julius, wondering if he wished to insult him after things were going well. Getting up, Julius, with the help of his guard, pushed the box over, its top opening, a figure rolling out.

Kaban shot up in surprise, looking at the person who was more dead than alive. His smile twitched, unable to comprehend what he was seeing, "That is?" Staring at the emerald eyes, he knew the figure was a true member of the Cosmatos dynasty.

"My father." Julius happily said, crouching down and showing Theodsius’ face, "He lost weight these past couple of years, but I made sure to keep him alive. The problem is Elias knows about him, and I can’t discreetly get rid of him anymore without some risk. It took a lot of planning to bring him here without anyone noticing. Honestly, Elias is quite annoying, having so many spies watching where I kept him, but they became predictable after a while. It was just a matter of working around their shifts."

Kaban was stunned, silent, staring at Theodosius. All he could do was chuckle and shake his head, "What did you do?"

"Not enough. But I am bored with it now, and I need him gone. I know you have grievances with him, so to sweeten the deal, you can have him, or what’s left of him. Of course, this can’t be public, and I trust you to keep it that way. You know what would happen if you dared to voice that you captured my father, especially when he looks like this."

Kaban stared at the previous Emperor. He had never seen him in person before, but from what he knew about him, he could tell Julius had completely broken him. The arrogance that he was attributed with was washed away, replaced with a dead look that had resigned itself to inhumane treatment. Scars and infected wounds littered his body, which was only skin and bones compared to his previous fat. He wondered how the man was still alive. Glancing at Julius, he shook his head, having misjudged the boy.

He had thought of him as someone graceful, hiding a deep anger. The source of that anger was obvious, given the scar that covered half his face, but the anger itself was something else.’He’s mad. To do this to your own father. It’s contained madness.’The meaning of the gift was clear. ’If I can do this to my own blood, what can I do to my enemies?’

Kaban swallowed the saliva that had built up in his mouth and happily smiled, "For my daughter’s hand, I think this is enough." Stepping forward, he looked down at Theodosius. "I don’t wish to sully my hands with his blood, but I can have him dealt with if that’s what you wish. Of course, no one can know."

"Well, one person does. My dear sweet brother."

’This family.’Kaban had never seen a family so messed up, yet with so much power. Constance was a man who masqueraded as an angel who led the Holy Seat, but was actually the devil. He knew Bardas as a crazed dog that would do whatever its owner told it, until it was ready to bite them. It was a surprise that the rest of Julius’ siblings weren’t completely deranged, mad, or evil like those three.

Looking at the shell of a human, Kaban sighed,’How can you make your own children hate you this much?’With a shake of the head, he walked over to a window and opened it, wishing to air the room of the horrid stench Theodosius brought with him, "Prepare it for me to take. I’ll make sure this goes away." Clasping his hands behind his back, he spun around and looked at Julius, "I look forward to our future partnership."

"As do I." The two shared a smile, looking into one another’s eyes. Julius’s emerald eyes glowed with a bright light, happy to finally be free of his threat to the east, able to focus on Alfred.

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Constance hummed a small hymn, staring out the window. He watched as the clergy laughed and prayed with one another. He watched the Templars train, headed by Ramiel, all of them exhausted but not allowed to quit until Ramiel said so. The setting sun over the walls blanketed the ground outside in a mellow orange hue, as the two moons rose.

Constance didn’t know when the workload had lightened up, but recently, he had found himself at peace, finally able to relax. It was the calm before the storm; he knew that much, but he was going to take any moments of peace he could have after the hectic few years as Pope.

A light knocking interrupted his hymn, and turning around, he watched Gabriel walk in with his usual stoic appearance. "We received news from the west. The Head of the Ammary Navy has left. Apparently, she has begun an expedition into the sea."

"The sea?" He frowned and turned back around to look out the window. "What does he want to achieve?" Sighing, he thought about Alfred. He thought he knew him before, but now, he had no clue. "He is a mystery." Muttering to himself, he turned back to face Gabriel, "This is good. Send word to Julius."

Gabriel nodded but didn’t leave. Raising his eyebrow, he waited for Garbeil to continue. Gabriel smiled and exhaled, "We received news. A grand convoy was seen in Far Mile, followed by a fleet leaving the dock. We can only assume they are going one place."

"Lisa." Gabriel nodded, "He wants us on the sea, then. Even without his best Admiral." Clicking his tongue, Constance shook his head, "Do as I said, send word to Julius. We are beginning soon. The threat in the West will be dealt with."

"As you command, Your Holiness." Gabriel formed a symbol of Sol with his hands and bowed, leaving the room. Looking back out the window, Constance hummed again, enjoying his peace once more.