Herald of Steel

Chapter 1616: Lord Iyizard’s Gift

Alexander decided to at last drop the matter of marriage with the twins as Pasha Farzah brought up the matter of the grieving Pasha Ozman. This lord did not seem to yet suspect Alexander, and it was considered prudent to keep it that way.

Hence the Zanzan lord switched to the last topic at hand, asking in a firm tone,

“My lord, I was also thinking of having my army attack the rebel parts of Zanzan while we were at it. Use the call to war here to launch a surprise attack on them. What do you think?

“…Hmmm…” Pasha Farzah lightly frowned at the suggestion, “You mean to call for your own levies using this as cover?”

“Yes. With the others distracted as they are…” Alexander’s eyes shone with greed for he was never one to let go of a good opportunity. If he could gather 25,000 to 30,000 men without sounding many alarm bells… it would be too hard to destroy the two rebellious Matbars (Marquisses) of Zanzan. The two men, as powerful as they were certainly did not have a comparable force to meet his on such short notice- it would cost too much.

Alexander hence determined that if he played his things right, Melodias and Remus combined could easily accomplish the task by themselves.

Thus he declared with clenched fist, “I believe this is the perfect opportunity to have the whole of Zanzan for myself. It has been five years since the province was promised to me and it is time I had it!”

“….” Pasha Farzah’s eyes flashed a chilly glint at the ask, the old man somewhat surprised and then even amazed at the level of ambition. To launch three attacks simultaneously from three different directions…

“Fine! I have no objection.” The elder lord ultimately gave the approval with a breezy wave of his hand- the plan was at least on the surface adequate.

On top of that, Pasha Farzah was already swamped with too many obligations to look into it much further. Thus since someone as accomplished as Alexander had decided, he gave the approving stamp readily.

…

That was the end of the meeting with Pasha Farzah and Alexander for now. With the preliminary points worked out, the two men quickly went their separate ways.

Pasha Farzah went to find his youngest son Kayvan- intent to deliver the young man the news of his new position as Matrak’s brand new general, while Alexander went to his room, breaking for lunch.

Thankfully, the chaos at the palace did not have any effect on the kitchen and Lady Inayah’s daughters had a sumptuous meal already prepared for him, the main dish consisting of a local special bread roll stuffed with eggs and other spiced vegetables, few types of delicious cheese, a heap of shredded pork and a sweet drink made of fruits and wine to wash it all down.

As Alexander dined on that, he also suddenly remembered something extra regarding the conversation he just had with Pasha Farzah and quickly turned to ask the girls with an eager look, “My lady, how would you recommend I get closer to your grandfather? Is there anything he likes?”

The strange ask caught the trio a bit surprised, as they were unable to figure out what Alexander truly meant here. The girls knew that if he wanted something from their maternal grandfather Lord Iyizard, all he would have to do was ask- in terms of sheer status and power, Alexander vastly outranked him.

Thus Lady Ezaya asked for some clarification with a gentle prodding voice, “What does my lord wish to know?”

Alexander gently wiped the oil stains off his lips and explained with a smile,

“Here is the thing. Pasha Farzah will be leaving for Matrak for some ’urgent’ matter soon. In the meantime, he has asked me to fill in for him. But I am completely new to Adhan. I do not even know the name of the head of the royal guards here or any of the magistrates.”

“So I was thinking of asking for some help from your mother and grandfather. What do you think would be a proper gift before I ask for such a favor?”

The three ladies eyes shone with understanding hearing this. In addtion, Alexander also detected a hint of curiosity in them as they naturally wanted to know why Pasha Farzah was moving at such a critical junction.

Given everything that was going around- the preparation for the war, the poisoning, the recent tart exchange between the king, the assassination of the elder lord’s young son in law and many more… simple basic common sense dictated that it was vital for the lord to be here- right at the thick of it. Only then could he attempt to control chaos.

However much to Alexander’s surprise and appreciation, Lady Ezaya and her sisters once again proved to be every bit as professional. Thus the eldest sister took the lead to dismiss all the queries plaguing her, and simply gracefully nodded,

“I see! Then we wish the Lord of Matrak blessings from the Father. As for grandfather…” The mature lady at this point sexily placed her long, painted nails on her fluffy cheeks, as if trying to recall a specific memory,

“I remember him really appreciating those round, juicy sweets you sent him. What did you call them… ’Misti’? I recall he was repeatedly telling mother to find out how it was made. Maybe you could try to offer that recipe.”

Alexander instantly understood what Lady Ezaya was talking about. It was a sweet, soft, large candy like dessert made from milk curds, flour and boiled in a sugary syrup. And its popularity somewhat surprised him- as personally he was not a big fan. He had simply made it out of nostalgia.

“Hahaha… is that so? I never knew. If Lord Iyizard enjoyed it so much, he could have simply asked.” Alexander chuckled very pleasantly at the lady’s information, before graciously offering, “But will just a simple dessert recipe be enough? My lady don’t need to be shy. You can ask for more.”

“No, no, this is a great gift! Grandfather has such a sweet tooth, I am sure he will love it.” He was very quickly and eagerly answered from the back by the vivacious Lady Anisha, whose eyes suddenly sparkled with undisguised delight.

Tightly clenching her fist in excitement, she widely grinned, “My lord has surely seen the bee farms we have, right? That is all grandfather’s doing! He loves to eat honey- he has it with milk, wine and even water! So….” The youngest daughter longingly licked her lips as she trailed off, quite easily showing she had also inherited her grandfather’s preference.

The thought of having some sweets every day very much excited her. This was also the reason they did not reject when Alexander brought up the matter of gifts. The chance was too alluring.

“Hahaha, okay, okay, bring me some ink and paper.” Alexander too acquiesced to the ask easily, finding it very cheap. He gave the recipe for that dessert readily then and there, handing the rolled parchment over to the girls with a playful smirk, “Just remember to put in a good word with your grandfather for me, okay?”

Lady Ezaya received the paper with a courteous nod, before, unable to stop herself, started to eagerly peruse through it then and there. She also did this despite the fact that they had all already read the contents of it as Alexander wrote it, paying close attention from the side.

And the reason for this was largely because of the novel way Alexander wrote the recipe, it was so clear and concise that it mesmerized her- his way of writing was unlike any recipe book she had read.

Lady Ezaya, as a proper lady of a very old and prestigious noble house, had naturally come across her share of cookbooks and yet… the way Alexander divided the whole thing into neat segments of ingredients, measurements, cooking time and proper chronological procedures all captivated her.

“Sigh! Lord Alexander is indeed a gifted writer!” Even the usually taciturn Lady Elia, who was craning over her much taller sister’s shoulders on her tip toes, could not help but give such a hushed whisper of praise, her cool eyes becoming unusually misty. As a bit of an introvert, she loved to read all kinds of books and so the new format impressed her the most.

Thus she and her sisters read the paper once again, their eyes feeling cooled by the neat words.

“My lord, you must be tired after the long day. Why don’t you let us sister help you relax?” Then as a sort of thank you for this unexpected treat, the girls made this sensual offer, dragging the accepting man to the nearby bedroom with amorous intentions and…

Well, by the end of it, Alexander was certainly left satisfied.

Lady Ezaya boldly opened the upper part of her dress to offer her full breasts, pushing them right up to Alexander’s face and letting him suckle on her mature nipples. While the tightest of the sisters, Lady Elia let him fully enjoy himself inside her, giving her smooth back to him as she rode him vigorously. Lastly, the youngest daughter eagerly played with all of Alexander’s sensitive areas, pinching, licking and squeezing them… all to draw out all his ’exhaustion’.

Alexander only woke up from his afternoon nap after dark, when Lady Ezaya informed him that a messenger had come from the Queen Mother asking him to have dinner with her.