Capítulo 56: Your fate is extraordinary!
After the eunuch messenger finished reading the decree for promotion to Magnus Valorion, Magnus immediately accepted the decree and said, "Thank you, Emperor!"
"In my haste earlier, I did not ask for the noble eunuch's name."
The messenger eunuch replied indifferently, "Sir Magnus, my name is Basil Lekapenos."
Goodness, Magnus thought, recalling the origin of this name.
Basil Lekapenos was a significant eunuch in the Byzantine Empire in the 10th century, leaving a profound mark on Byzantine history and even influencing the emperor's decisions in some instances.
To rise to such a position as an eunuch, that is truly a life of success!
"Eunuch, to be honest, I also have some skills in divination, and I see that your fate is extraordinary!"
Basil Lekapenos came from a poor family and was on the brink of starvation, so he had no choice but to endure a painful operation to become a eunuch in the palace.
Initially, he thought he would serve the emperor directly, but to his surprise, even eunuchs were ranked, and he was among the lowest ranks of the Royal Court Chamber eunuchs.
This time, he was assigned the arduous task of delivering the decree to this remote and harsh frontier.
As a philosopher once said, fortune-telling and sincere worship of the gods are also expressions of aspiration, hoping for a brighter future.
When Basil Lekapenos heard Magnus say that his fate was extraordinary, his curiosity was piqued.
"Oh? Sir Magnus can read fortunes? What does my fate hold?"
Magnus pretended to walk around Basil Lekapenos, then quickly stepped back a few paces.
"Click-click-click~ click-click-click~"
"Incredible, incredible!"
Magnus's theatrics genuinely startled Basil Lekapenos.
"Sir Magnus, what is it about my fate?" Basil Lekapenos asked anxiously.
Playing along, Magnus exclaimed, "Goodness, goodness!"
"Eunuch, your fate is truly extraordinary."
Basil Lekapenos, who had been nervous, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked, "Sir Magnus, what is so great about my fate?"
"Your fortune is as boundless as the sea and sky, like a great roc."
"The roc is a giant fish in the Northern Sea, its body spans a thousand miles, swimming freely in the North Sea. When it transforms into a bird, it is called the roc. The roc's back spans thousands of miles, and when it rises with the wind, its wings are like clouds hanging from the sky, soaring up to ninety thousand miles!"
Hearing such grandiose and surreal statements, Basil Lekapenos was stunned.
Basil Lekapenos's heart raced, and his face immediately became affectionate and flattering as he asked, "Sir Magnus, please tell me, when will I soar?"
Magnus paused and changed the subject, "Eunuch, you've had a long journey. I have arranged a meal for us; shall we move to the rear hall and discuss while we eat?"
Compared to the modest meal served to Edmund Hale, the dishes Magnus prepared for Basil Lekapenos were much more sumptuous.
Magnus was being so courteous to Basil Lekapenos mainly to place an informant in the capital.
Once the table was set, Magnus dismissed the servants, intending to pour wine for Basil Lekapenos himself.
Eager for Magnus's guidance, Basil Lekapenos quickly stood up, took the wine jug, and poured for Magnus instead.
"Sir Magnus, you are an official, and I am merely a servant in the palace. How could I trouble you to pour wine?"
Magnus didn't contest and let Basil Lekapenos pour the wine. Instead, he reached into his wide sleeve and pulled out three small gold bars, placing them in Basil Lekapenos's hand.
Basil Lekapenos was shocked. Coming from a poor background and even in the palace, he had never seen such wealth.
Even rewards from nobles in the palace were just small silver coins or copper pieces, which would be heavily deducted by the head eunuchs.
But now, Magnus had given him three shining gold bars!
"Oh my, oh my! Sir Magnus, this is too much!"
Though Basil Lekapenos said he couldn't accept, he quickly pocketed the gold bars.
"I can't take this without merit; how could I accept such a gift from you, Sir Magnus?"
Magnus seized the moment, pointing to the gold bars, "Eunuch, didn't you ask when the wind would come? Here is your answer!"
Although Basil Lekapenos was fond of money, he still didn't quite understand Magnus's meaning and asked again, "Sir Magnus, what does this mean?"
Maintaining his mystique, Magnus said, "Eunuch, the heavenly secrets cannot be revealed too much; otherwise, they will lose their efficacy. I can only tell you this: when the dragon stirs, the wind and rain will come, and before the wind and rain, there will be a great calamity. These three gold bars are my loan to you for protection."
Basil Lekapenos was so frightened by the mention of a calamity that he dropped one of the gold bars.
Magnus picked it up and returned it to him, saying, "Eunuch, do not be alarmed. This calamity will be a fright without danger; your life will not be in peril!"
Hearing Magnus's confident assertion, Basil Lekapenos looked at the gold bars in his hand.
Wealth excites people, and money emboldens them. Basil Lekapenos felt reassured.
"Since Magnus said there is no life-threatening danger, what more do I have to fear?"
Basil Lekapenos hurriedly thanked Magnus, "If I can overcome this calamity, Sir Magnus will be my savior!"
"No need for that, no need for that!" Magnus said modestly, though he thought, "I don't need a childless eunuch as my son!"
Magnus calmly helped Basil Lekapenos up and continued his ruse, "Once you overcome this calamity, Eunuch, you will soar high, reaching the clouds!"
"Reaching the clouds!" Basil Lekapenos was so excited by Magnus's words that he was disoriented.
Seeing Basil Lekapenos's reaction, Magnus felt a sense of triumph. "Heh, whether it was the spring from the well last time or fooling Basil Lekapenos this time, I never thought I had the potential to be a mystic."
Had Basil Lekapenos not been present, Magnus might have shouted to the heavens, "The sky is dead, the yellow sky will rise, the year is in Jiazi, the world will prosper."
But Magnus didn't forget his main task and quickly asked Basil Lekapenos about the situation Edmund Hale reported to the Emperor Adrian Montague.
Because Magnus didn't know how many bandits were under Sinbad's command, he couldn't negotiate with the authorities about the number of troops he needed.
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