Herald of Steel

“Assazd is no fool. He knows very well just how many nobles who cannot wait to chop his head off. That’s why he has one of the best security I have ever seen in my life. The snake literally checks everything.”

“Like before entering a room, he will send men to confirm there are no assassins hiding there. And whenever he travels, he has a very large entourage to fend off any ambushes. Sometimes he will even make multiple decoys to bait our potential detractors. Not a few nobles have lost their heads trying to plot against him.”

“And the same kind of scrutiny extends to his food as well. He has his men in the kitchen keeping watch constantly. And in parties and balls, he will rarely have anything served to him with his bodyguards tasting it prior. Even in toasts, the man will only pretend to take a sip, but never actually wet his throat.”

“Believe me, brat, if we thought we could poison him, me, Inayah or Seelima would have secretly done it already! But I think there is no way to kill him without using a small army.”

Pasha Farzah let out a sigh of half bitterness and half admiration as he this, before finally ending with this chime,

“And despite all the protection, I hear he still practises with his swords two hours every day. He has been doing this for the past four decades! It is even said he is one of the best swordmasters in the country… but I have never been able to verify this. He has never even competed in a single tourney.”

“…..” Hearing the man’s accomplishments and cautious attitude, Alexander would also have to admit- this Lord Assazd was a tough cookie.

He knew everyone hated him to their guts and so took all the necessary steps. He was an iron fortress.

Although that being said… there was something in Pasha Farzah’s words that managed to catch Alexander’s ears like a vice. “My lord, you said, he has his bodyguards check all his food? Those that include drinks as well?”

There was a mysterious tinge to his voice that Pasha Farzah certianly detected but failed to understand. Still, curiously raising his eyebrows, he nodded as a matter of fact, “Of course! That goes without saying. That is checked even more closely than the food.”

“I see! Then my lord, does Adhan have a way to turn water to ice?” Alexander quickly followed the confirmation with another seemingly random question.

This made Pasha Farzah instantly curious because from just his experience some time ago, he could tell this was going somewhere. The Alexander he knew might sprout random things, but it was never garbage.

Thus, rather than interrupt the man, just like his answer with the number of men, the experienced lord tried his best to give the most detailed answer possible,

“We do have ice. But we do not make it here Adhan. It is too hot. This ice is either cut from frozen ponds or rivers in winter and then stored in very well insulated strawed vaults deep underground. Or if they run out, sometimes, the palace will even order ice blocks from other places, going as far as Matrak.”

“If you want to make ice, I am afraid you will have to go to Matrak. There, many peasants will put a metal pot with some water at night and have frozen crystal balls in the morning. They will sell these to travelling merchants who transport them to all parts of the country and sometimes even as far as the eastern deserts!”

“Why? Do you have some kind of pain in your body?”

After informing Alexander of the details, Pasha Farzah added this last bit with a tinge of concern in his voice because in here ice was mostly used only for pain relief and to reduce swells or heal burns.

The Adhanians did not yet have the culture of eating ice creams or other desserts using this cool product.

One, simply because no one had thought of it, and two, a possibly greater reason- because it was too expensive to transport it from the place it was formed to the scorching places it was needed in.

Thus it was only the richest of nobles able to cool their drinks using it.

Alexander on the other hand, skipped past Pasha Farzah’s extraneous question, deeming it irrelevant, and continued with his own line of query.

“Do you think if we put some water in that ice room, and keep it overnight, it will freeze? It does not have to be much. One glass will be enough!”

The weird request once again intrigued the elder man, and after a while, lightly nodded, “…That… should not be a problem!”

“Excellent!”

The answer received an enormous grin instantly from the boy. Because with this, he had all that he needed. He found a way to remove this thorn!

“…” While Pasha Farzah remained silent, only sending Alexander a cool, yet expectant look.

Of course, he was curious to know what Alexander intended to do these disconnected bits of information. He was so curious that his heart felt like swelling out.

But as a dignified Pasha as well as an elder, there was also no way he was going to ask him for it.

He expected the boy to explain himself voluntarily.

However Alexander, being a cheeky brat pretended not to notice this.

With a mischievous grin, he rather chuckled, “My lord, what do you say if His Majesty were to be suddenly poisoned by our enemy?”

“…..” The mirthful look in Pasha Farzah’s eyes instantly disappeared, replaced with a wild rage.

“Brat! I told you once. I am not going to say it again! If you touch Ptolomy, I will personally wring your head. Do not think you have gone to the top of the world just because you won one or two milk victories!”

Hearing the answer and judging by his widened pupils and clenched fists, Alexander could really see the old man was being very serious.

This option was not open for even discussion.

Yet despite the potential minefield, the Lord of Zanzan seemed to forge on regardless, his only precaution the flashing of his palms and promising,

“Lord Farzah… please, please. I was only talking in hypothetical. Do not be angry. You know I would not do anything without your support.”

“Now, just I imagine, heavens forbid Amenheraft manages to suddenly do this. What happens to us then? Do we have a replaceable candidate?”

“If that happens we are fucked!” The slightly vulgar answer came instantly in a short, single breath, “There is no one who can take his place.”

Pasha Farzah was very sure to make that crystal clear. In fact, that was also why he was so tolerate towards the Lord Assazd- Ptolomy alliance. Because breaking it would destroy their entire faction.

All of Alozmer’s other children were either incompetent or were married to a family who had already aligned themselves to either faction.

There was no powerful, independent royal Pasha Farzah who could prop up on the throne in case of an emergency… even as a puppet.

While hearing this, Alexander also could not help but spookily let out a gentle sigh as this potentially fatal risk factor,

“Sigh… let us really hope Her Highness or Her Princess gives birth to a boy.”

Right now, he felt a sword was hanging just above his neck, tied by only a single string. The birth of a boy would at least add another secondary string.

But Pasha Farzah seemed to disagree that the finishing line was so close, as clenching his fist, he snorted,

“Even if they do… Ptolomy will not be going anyway. The boy needs to at least become an adolescent before we can even think of this! The nobles will not accept a child emperor. And they will certainly never accept someone not of the royal family ruling on his behalf.”

Saying this, the old man then very imperiously turned to give Alexander a heated look, pointing his fingers directly at him and pressing, “Brat! You would do well to remember this… the nobles here are really touchy about doing anything to the royals. Don’t do anything I would see as foolish!”

“….” Alexander could do little more but obediently nod here, proving to Pasha Farzah that he had thrown the idea of harming the king out of the window.

After all, all three of his allies were vehemently against it. He would not dare to proceed without their blessings.

As for doing it later as the elder lord suggested, well, that was decades in the future.

By the time the boy grew up, Alexander would probably have to ask for the crown prince’s permission to assassinate his father.

Surviving up to that point depended on taking actions now and here.

In addition, Pasha Farzah’s words also let Alexander understand why the Matrak lord was so eager to break away from their influence, even going as far as to help Alexander spread his faith as counter to the Father’s.

The royal family, even weakened and split to this point commanded such respect among the nobles. Alexander dreaded to think of the kind of power it had under Alozmer or even his righteous predecessors.

“Enough! Brat! What is your deal with the ice! And how are you going to kill that snake with it?”

As Alexander was musing about Pasha Farzah’s words, the old man seemed to have finally lost his patience, and asked the direct question.

Alexander gave a sly grin.