101 Ways To Tame The Emperor

Chapter 25: Brothers

“JUST KILL me now, you son of a b***h!” The spy sneered.

Leo instantly took out his sword and pressed it towards the soldier’s neck. “You insolent bastard! How dare you speak that way to the General!”

“Stop it, Leo. There is nothing to worry about. Contrary to what you are thinking, this one is a cat and not a tiger. He tells me to kill him and yet, I see fear and hesitation in his eyes. He still has a long way to go in becoming a true soldier.” I turned to face the soldier again. His neck was bleeding. I put down Leo’s sword. “Be careful what you wish for. Next time, I might just fulfill your wish. But since I am in a pretty good mood today, I will let you go. Find your precious Prince and take him back to Jibril with you as soon as possible. Drag him if you must. Because the next time I see you again, I will run my sword straight to your heart and would not even think twice about it. Remember that.”

I stood up and tapped Leo’s shoulder. “Untie him and make sure that he would not mess around. Bring the other Knights with you and tell them to find the Prince as soon as possible. And when they do, report to me immediately. This is the Late Empress’ hometown. I do not want any bloodshed in this place.”

“But General, the Prince and his companions are still on the loose as we speak. If we give him and his subordinates a chance to escape, they will come back later on to launch an attack on us.” Leo protested. “Who knows how long they have been staying here? I’m sure that their target is the Capital and the Imperial Castle.”

“Why are you making a fuss? Since when did Morven lose in a war?”

“If I were to translate the Knight’s words, it should be: why the hell have you become soft, General? You are giving the enemies the chance to strike and kill us.”

Duke Lennon’s sudden appearance made me grin. I just knew he would be here, too, since today was his first day back on duty. Aside from Matthew, he was the one official I trust the most. He was my first sparring partner and was also my older brother. We may have different mothers but that had never become a hindrance to our relationship since my mother raised and loved Lennon as her own, too. We fought alongside each other for the past several years. We had each other’s backs in every war we went through.

But Lennon’s real identity was a secret.

Lennon jabbed the spy’s neck before signaling Leo to leave us for a moment. The poor spy was unconscious in an instant. When it was only the two of us in the room, he put his sword on the floor and kneeled before me.

“Your humble servant Lennon Ricaforte greets His Majesty, the Emperor.”

I laughed. “Silly. I told you not to do this anymore.” I helped Lennon stand and embraced him. It had been a while since we last saw each other. And it was three months ago during his wedding. “How have you been, brother?”

“Better than ever.” Lennon gave me that same triumphant look that he would only show me after winning a war. “You are going to be an Uncle in seven months, little bro.”

I smirked. I knew it. This guy came not because of the news. He was here to gloat. Lennon’s adoration for his wife was visible on his face as if he was still on a honeymoon stage. But this was probably the best news for today. Like Matthew, Lennon had always wanted a family of his own.

“Really? Congratulations, brother! I will send Anna a gift this week. Maybe the both of you could have lunch with me and Catherine to celebrate this good news.”

“We will. I am sure that Anna would love that especially since she looks forward to meeting the future Empress. Anna’s friends kept talking about Lady Catherine at their recent tea party since they claimed to have met her at the tavern a week ago. They showed Anna a magical stone which had a video of her fighting. As a result, my wife’s been curious, too. You know her personality.” Lennon sighed. “Anna reads way too many superhero novels. She must be thinking of Lady Catherine as some sort of a heroine now. She is now a fan of hers even if she hadn’t met Lady Catherine yet and she’s been nagging me lately to bring her to the Imperial Castle that’s why whether you like it or not, we will really come and trouble you both one of these days, Malik.”

Catherine’s fan base seemed to be growing more and more every day as more people hear stories about her. Even women adore her now. At this rate, she could become more famous than the Emperor. I grinned at the thought.

“Seeing how you are smiling like that because of a woman must mean that the rumors circulating are true. You are fond of Lady Catherine indeed. I have never seen your eyes shine like this before. Well, the woman has guts. I have to give her credit for that. I just wish that she is different, that she is not after anything.”

I snickered as I remembered how Catherine beamed while talking about eating merrily in the Imperial Castle. “Catherine is different, brother. You know me. I am always right about people. She is amazing. It’s only been a week since I met her but the truth is, I am now beginning to get tired being amazed by her. She keeps surprising me every time. She is that good. If there is one thing that she is after in the Castle, it’s just food, Len. No need to be alarmed.”

Lennon smiled, amused this time. He must have thought about his wife again. Anna was a Baron’s daughter. She had quite a number of suitors in the past who used to offer her gold and jewelries which she all declined. But she said yes to the only man who offered her varieties of food from pastries to heavy meals.

And that man was Lennon.

When the two became a couple, Lennon hired the best chef in the Capital to serve her. And since meal time was Anna’s favorite time of the day, he would rush off to his house every meal to join her like a lovesick teenager. If I was tagged as the devil in the battlefield, Lennon was known as the ‘beast’.

But that beast could never say ‘no’ to his wife.

“So Lady Catherine is a food lover, too? Like Anna?”

“Right. She’s just like Anna. You will like her, too, once you see her, especially your wife. Those two will hit it off right away.”

“I hope so. I don’t want Anna to be disappointed. I also want her to be surrounded with real friends, not the ones who only brag about their beauty and wealth and who only befriended her because she happens to be the wife of the Duke. Even if she doesn’t say it, I know she doesn’t like attending those tea parties. She was just forced to do so as the Duke’s wife. If she would have a female partner during those times, I would really appreciate that.”

I nodded. “I understand. I wish the same thing for Catherine. She grew up without friends. When I found out about that, I immediately thought of Anna. You see, Catherine can be too much of a woman at times. But I believe Anna can deal with her just fine. I mean she was able to tolerate your personality so what else couldn’t she possibly deal with?”

Lennon snarled at me. “You brute. We are brothers. Your personality is just as worse.”

“Of course not. Everyone likes me.”

“But not as the Emperor so wipe that smug look off of your face, Malik. This is my first time seeing you actually care for a woman’s welfare. In the past, you did not even like discussing about women so Matthew and I gave up wishing that you would one day get married. Who knew this would happen? I have never seen an Emperor acting as a tour guide to a mere Count’s daughter. And to think that Lady Catherine was not even qualified to be with you.”

“I am just as surprised as you are. I never pictured myself doing this, too. But here I am. And you are wrong, Len. To hell about qualifications. Catherine has every right to be with me.”