Herald of Steel

Once Alexander reached the top of the hill, he found Lapitus and a handful of his officers waiting for him right at the gateway, ready to receive him.

And as Alexander rode up to meet the man, he could not help but suddenly feel a bit guilty.

He did not why he was feeling so at this moment, especially since he felt nothing when committing the act.

He had even taunted the lady about her husband.

But now, somehow seeing him face to face, the immorality of the act made Alexander a bit ashamed.

However, such a feeling only lasted an ephemeral moment, for what he had done was committed between two consenting adults.

And as long as the man did not know, it would not hurt anybody.

It was with these thoughts that Alexander finished his pleasantries with Lapitus, congratulating the man on a job well done, and even proclaiming him 'Hero of Thesalie'.

A title many Tibians would surely throw rotten eggs at given what happened after the gates were opened.

And as he followed the man to the mansion, he could not help but marvel at the huge front courtyard ahead of him.

Built using the finest marble, the magnificent pavement glowed like the stars under sunlight, and from the gates to the actual mansion, there were three beautiful gardens- an enclosed one at the center, and two on either side.

These gardens were very beautiful, decorated with various fruit bearing trees, like figs, oranges, apples, and pears, with each tress being ringed by a variety of vibrant flower bushes, sporting colors of all shades- red, blue, pink, and yellow to name a few, all which were meticulously pruned and shaped.

Given fall was yet to arrive, everything was fresh and verdant, and spilling over with color, and after what Alexander had seen in the lower parts of the city, they were a sight for sore eyes.

The clean, pristine of the gardens were also something that surprised Alexander a bit, for he had thought given the months long siege, they would have fallen to decay.

But it seemed the maids and gardens were employed to look after these decorations even then.

As Alexander rode on his horse to the mansion, Lapitus walking behind him, the former made some small talk, 

"I have greatly enjoyed the company of your daughter. Fabiyana is a lovely young lady to be with. As a father, you must be proud." Alexander gently smiled.

To which for the briefest second Lapitus produced a weird look, as if to say, 'So you are that type?'

But instantly hid it, knowing he had to ability to judge.

In fact, he was even weirdly happy thinking Alexander had slept with his daughter.

Even though he had originally thought that might have been too early for her, but now knowing that someone claimed as a pasha had taken a favorable liking to her, Lapitus could not help but feel his heart surge with joy.

He felt truly happy that his daughter was able to find such a great partner.

And even though Lapitus's actions in modern times would have been seen as deplorable, but in this time period. for being able to find a matching suitor for his daughter, Lapitus would have been said to be a great father.

Society would praise him for his wit and even his daughter would thank him for getting her such a nice suitor.

The evidence of this being how many of the nearby men who were within earshot sent subtle envious looks toward him upon hearing Alexander's praise.

Something that not only Lapitus found not unpleasant, but relished in, heartily chuckling in his heart, as panning his lips upward, he heavily nodded, 

"I glad my lord enjoyed her. Fabiyana has always been a precocious child. Sometimes when I talk to her, I wonder who is the adult one, hahaha. If Lord Pasha wants, I can tell you some of her childhood stories."

At the mention of his daughter, Lapitus suddenly seemed to have transformed into a very talkative man, clearly showing his like for his daughter, as the tone he spoke with was full of pride, with the only worry in his heart being, 'Hopefully she will not be bullied by his other wives.' 

But Alexander's interest was far more drawn towards the phrase. 'enjoyed her'.

It made his lips twitch.

'That's not what I said. I said companionship,' He swore, though to be honest he did enjoy one of his family members.

So he did not bother to correct the man, instead building on the wordplay, playfully grinned, 

"Mmmm, I also 'enjoyed' Lady Felicia. She is truly knowledgeable and I learned so much about Tibias from her."

Lapitus of course failed to detect anything, even when Alexander purposefully emphasized that word, and only returned the smile, nodding. "Yes, yes, like mother, like daughter. Felicia is quite learned. Her father used to regularly praise her." 

Alexander sensed Lapitus was very proud to show off his family.

And then subtly swaying his head like he was searching for someone, Lapitus asked, "My lord, is Felicia not with you? Did she not come? Is she still in the camp?"

All three of Lapitus's questions were filled with longing and care.

And this was where Alexander decided to fib a bit, succinctly recounting, 

"Lady Felicia seemed to have caught a small cold yesterday. Changing seasons. The camp doctors reassured me that it was nothing serious. But just for safety told her to rest for the next days. She will be joining us soon."

This was also the summary of the letter he had left for Lady Felicia so that she could play her part in tune if asked.

"Sick! Is she alright? How bad is her cold? Is she taking medicine?" 

But what Alexander thought should have been an innocuous excuse really got a massive reaction, as Lapitus's body appeared to be shaking like he was in shock.

Alexander was very surprised at this, feeling like this should not be the reaction of a man who abuses his wife.

'Was she lying about that as well?' He wondered.

But right now, Alexander decided to focus on the man right in front, reassuring him, "Do not worry Sir Lapitus. The doctors tell me she is in no danger. You can even visit before dinner."

'Why after dinner? Why not now?' 

But even though hearing Alexander's words reassured Lapitus, he still wanted to blurt so out.

He wanted to go see her now.

But that was almost impossible.

Lapitus was here accompanying Alexander, and he could not simply leave.

So giving a curt nod, he phrased it a bit better, "Does Lord Pasha wish for me to carry out any specific task?" 

Lapitus left the other half unsaid, which was- 'If there is nothing for me to do, I would like to go see my wife as soon as possible.'

And how could Alexander miss this implicit intention?

Seeing which he commented to himself, 'Either he is really possessive of his wife or really wants to see her.'

Now, letting Lapitus see Lady Felicia right now would be a recipe for disaster for Alexander.

So he had to keep Lapitus at least till dusk.

And thankfully he had many tasks for Lapitus.

'Yes, as a matter of fact I do." Alexander lightly nodded to the inquiry, then turning to face the man he added, 

"I want to see all the information the city lord had. Any and all secret messages he received and especially all the military maps of the country area."

"Lady Felicia has already informed me about much about Tibias but I want to see them on maps. Where are the cities and which noble rules what."

This was a very reasonable ask, as Alexander's next route would depend on what the map revealed. 

"... Yes my lord." But surprisingly, for a brief second, Lapitus appeared a bit shocked and even reluctant.

But then quickly complied.

The reason for that slight hitch was that given who Lord Ponticus was, the amount of top secret information he had could be said to be staggering.

Detailed maps of almost every notable part of the country, stacks of intelligence reports on numerous noble that revealed so many things- from their dirty secrets to secret treaties, to trade routes, to even just their traditional alliances, to various city's garrison strengths, to even the true state of current Tibias.

All such information was with him.

The revelation of any one of these information could be said to be of great detriment to Tibias, not to mention all of them at once.

And being once a loyal Tibian, Lapitus felt timorous to reveal them to the enemy.

If there was one truth among all the lies Lady Felicia spewed, it was about Lapitus's shaky loyalty to Alexander.

Even after he betrayed his country, deep in his bones, the soldier was still a soldier of Tibias.

He would have never done what he did if circumstances had not pushed him.

And for a brief flash of a second, Lapitus had even contemplated hiding much of the information.

But quickly buried that thought.

Alexander had said this order out aloud, and a few of the officers were privy to the much of the information as well.

So there was no point.

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