The same crippling appendages, the same waiter dress up, the same militaristic air, all of this instantly reminded Du Wei of the assassination attempt he faced while coming to the capital!
As Du Wei's intent emerged, the waiter immediately noticed something was wrong and fixed his gaze on Du Wei. However, unlike the previous rock solid face, the waiter hinted a flash of wariness in his eyes!
With his hand already touching a magic scroll hidden in his sleeve, Du Wei was ready for anything. Since the assassination attempt that nearly took his life, Du Wei had built up a very good habit of always carrying around some magic scrolls under a hidden pocket in his sleeves. This way, he would at least be able to protect himself in the worst case scenario.
Right now, the scroll he readied is petrifying scroll. With his gaze focused on the waiter, Du Wei is ready to pull out his the moment the guy made a move.
"My dear friend, what's wrong? From your appearance, you look like you are a bit unwell." With that gentle question, Prince Son slowly stepped forward. Unsure if it was intentional, but the placement of the Prince just so happens to be in the middle of the two, which caused the tense atmosphere to scatter like the wind.
Du Wei forced a smile and took a deep look at his Highness: "Nothing, I just had a little headache." Then, looking beyond where the Prince stood, his gaze fell on the waiter's hand: "I was just wondering why the waiter's hand..."
Hearing his word, the waiter seems to let out a sigh of relief. Silently bending forward to give Du Wei a bow, the guy couldn't hide the stiffness in his movement as if readying to make a run for it. Once the waiter raised his head, the guy didn't turn and simply walked away while still facing Du Wei.
"This is not the right place to speak." Prince Son's word quietly whispered into Du Wei's ear. Instantly, Du Wei could see a deep and compelling look from the prince's eyes. With a fake cough, Du Wei said: "I'm just a little curious."
Afterwards, Prince Son already came out of the door and out into the terrace.
The terrace is not only big; the dark blue stone gave the entire place a mystifying vibe. Deliberately looking at the ancient warrior statue in front of him, Du Wei was surprised to see that the eyes of this statue are made out of a precious gemstone.
After staring at the statue for a long time, Du Wei suddenly said this, "The back of this place should be the military."
Without replying right away, Prince Son leaned against the railing and took a sip from his glass. Taking in a deep breath, he waited for a moment before speaking: "Look at how beautiful the roses are below the terrace…. If one were to bring their beloved and propose under the moonlight, wouldn't it be a wonderful experience?" With that, Prince Son turned to glance at Du Wei: "My friend, tell me, do you have a girl you love?"
"..." Du Wei silently looked at his Highness and carefully thought for a moment… …
A girl I love?
Not knowing why, the scene of his separation with the stuttering Vivian flashed across his mind. On that day, the charming yet timid girl gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving and he couldn't stop remembering it right now.
"There are perhaps" Du Wei could not help but smile as he replied.
Prince Son quietly glanced at Du Wei, a faint sense of sadness crossed his handsome face: "Unfortunately, I don't."
With that, he shakes his head and gulped down the last bit of wine from his cup. Setting the glass down, the prince came closer to Du Wei and smiled: "Your guess just now is good. The back of this is indeed a part of the military." Du Wei's face showed no change as he heard this.
"I don't know what's wrong with you earlier." Prince Son frowned slightly, "But I need to remind you, in this place, you'd better not make any moves out of the ordinary. The level of depth in this place is beyond your imagination.
At this point, Prince Son glanced at Du Wei: "What's on your mind?"
"It's nothing." Du Wei replied in a mild manner: "Just that I feel it is incredible that such a place is run by the military….."
"That's correct." Prince Son had a helpless look in his eyes: "It is very sad….. But perhaps this is the first indication of oncoming storm."
Sighing, he then stood shoulder to shoulder next to Du Wei: "It is no secret within the circle of nobles in the capital. Everyone knows, but no one would point that out. Even my father knows about the existence of this place and that the military is the ones behind such a place…. Hey, Hey! For the great imperial forces, guardians of the empire, to create such a place, do you think my father would be very happy? Every time this place is brought up, my father would get so angry that he would start throwing things….. Yet, what other choice is there? Even those bosses in the military – including your father – cannot do anything about it despite their dislike for it."
"Why is that?"
"For money!" Prince Son bitterly laughed: "Because the military lacked it!"
With that, Prince Son raised his head to look at the Moon. Softly sighing, he continued to explain: "My father, his Majesty the Emperor, ruler of the continent for 44-years… … Let me say a word of truth, if he was born during a time of war… … Let's say the era of Aragon, or the time our Augustine family uplifted the empire, he would be a great king with his personality! Unfortunately, he is born in a time of great peace and prosperity….. In his heart, he likes to fight and conquer, so a peaceful era can never fill up his desire."
Du Wei did not speak–the other party is the current emperor. Speaking ill of the monarch from the back is a complete sin. Even though the Prince is talking ill of his father, but the guy is the apple in his father's eye, so even if Du Wei agrees, he cannot say anything in reply!
"My father reigned for 44 years, but the continent had long united, so there is nothing that can fill the conquering desire in his heart. The only place left is the area after the northwestern dessert. There, the tribes living in that region would sometimes cause a small rebellion here and there, but never anything serious. Yet, 20 years ago, my father organized an expedition and slaughtered 100,000 tribal members. With blood staining the sand, this one act sets in stone a hateful blood feud between the empire and the peoples living there… Ah, long before my father took the throne, my grandfather used a appeasing policy to calm down that area, but with my father's single act, the 30 years of effort by my grandfather went up in smoke." At this point, Prince Son glanced at Du Wei: "Do you know about that war in the desert?"
Du Wei nodded.
Although the war took place 20 years ago, long before Du Wei was born, he had learned of it through historic books in the library.
In the northwestern part of the continent lies a vast desert, and in the center of this place is a prairie. Facing a snowy mountain in the back, this land is home to numerous nomadic tribes. Due to the environmental conditions, the people of this place are all untamed by nature and abnormally healthy and sturdy. For hundreds of years, the control of the empire had always been weak on this place because of the barrier created by the desert. As always, whenever a rebellion breaks out, the financial loss always outweighs the benefit.