While Aidan was waiting, he came up with an excellent way to explain his ignorance to Corus.

“You remember, I have this head injury. So... recently my memory has been a little fuzzy. Can you help me fill in some blanks?” he said to the man, putting on the most helpless expression he could master.

Corus nodded, his face blank.

Aidan wanted to be direct and start with the most important questions on his mind like “Am I by any chance a cannibal?” or “Do I frequently impale people for fun?” and “What's the deal with slavery here?”. But he had to limit himself with questions that wouldn't sound too strange and too out of character. Even though, he still wasn't very sure what kind of character he was exactly.

After a moment of thought, he asked carefully:

“Do I have any prisoners here I might have forgotten about?”

Corus shook his head immediately:

“No, General, dungeons have been empty for a long time.”

Well, that was a relief. At least at this moment he wasn't breaking any international conventions against unlawful imprisonment. Next Aidan wanted to know, just how much was Adnan mishandling his staff.

“Remind me, what am I paying my servants?”

Corus widened his eyes for a second but immediately took control over his facial expression, returning to his default setting of gloomy indifference.

“They get food and shelter,” he said with a shrug.

That sounded like exploitation, so Aidan couldn't help but ask:

“Whats the difference between servants and slaves then?”

This time Corus didn't manage to hide his shock. He looked at Aidan as if he was mentally deficient.

“Obviously, slaves can be sold and exchanged for goods, General. At least they could, until the Regent banned the practice, announced that all slaves are the property of the Empire and ordered Generals and nobles to hand over everyone who was in their property. You remember that, General?”

“Yes, of course. This I remember,” Aidan lied and decided not to push the topic. Maybe some day he'll be able to piece these things together.

He still had an important question to ask but it was hard to phrase properly and somehow Aidan felt awkward addressing it. He hesitated for a bit and sighed. Whichever way he phrased it, it would sound wrong, so Aidan decided to just be blunt about it. He looked Corus directly in the eye and finally said:

“I'm not sure, if I asked you this before but how did you become a slave?”

“I was born a slave, General,” said Corus. Now he looked even more confused.

“You mean, your parents were slaves?” asked Aidan.

“No, I mean, I was born different – weak and not able to fight, so naturally I became a slave,” Corus now sounded slightly angry.

“Naturally,” Aidan repeated slowly. So the status of slaves was somehow predetermined by physical attributes? How primal. No wonder this guy was so gloomy all the time. Aidan would also be gloomy, if he was forced to be a slave just because of some arbitrary characteristics which he had no control over.

“General, how bad is you head injury?” said Corus carefully. “Do you also have blurry vision? Have you been feeling sick lately? Did you maybe get injured again during the fight in the fort?”

Aidan nodded.

“Yes, all of that. I've been having problems with my head for a while now, so don't mind me, if I seem weird,” he bit his lip and then asked: “I don't quite remember the details of why you are still here despite the Regent's orders...”

“I made a request to stay within your residence. You kindly granted it to me, even going against the Regent's wishes. Have you changed your mind?” now Aidan could clearly discern fear in his voice.

“Of course, not. But why did you request to stay exactly?”

“You know that I don't trust the Regent, General, “ Corus seemed uneasy as he said it. “My people have been disappearing without traces... And you kindly gave me the possibility to train my martial arts and allowed me to accompany you during military operations, despite my weak constitution.”

Allowed? Gee, Adnan Minn - what a great guy!

“Besides, it's not clear what will happen with the slaves, once the Emperor-in-Waiting ascends the throne... so I had to inconvenience you,” Corus continued.

“Oh right... when is the youngster supposed to take the throne again?” Aidan asked, suddenly curious.

“In a year – one day after he turns 21,” Corus answered.

Aidan had a coughing fit so strong he almost spit out his lungs and choked on his own saliva. The boy's 20? Only 5 years younger than him? Impossible. Was there maybe another Emperor-in-Waiting?

“Once he takes the throne, he might try to appease the nobles by ending the war with the savages. And that would mean that slave trade would have to resume. With all due respect, that is something I doubt you'd forget,” Corus added.

Aidan nodded yet again. The situation was complicated. On one hand, having a slave was pretty shameful, on the other hand he couldn't just hand this man over to suspicious monarchs with possibly malignant intentions.

As Aidan was about to assure Corus, that he was going to be on his side no matter what, somebody knocked on the door.

“Come in....,” said Aidan, not really sure what was the proper protocol in these cases.

The door opened slowly and the one-armed servant from before entered, looking petrified.

“I'm sorry to intrude but the messenger just delivered a summon to the royal palace for General Minn. His Excellency the Regent Reo Atarian on behalf of His Royal Highness Emperor-in-Waiting Kai Atarian is requesting the General's presence at the palace immediately,” said the man, bowing his head.

Aidan sighed. So it was time to meet the Wicked Witch of the West at last.

Corus led him to the carriage but refused to get inside himself.

“It was only you who was summoned, General. It would be highly inappropriate for me to appear without an invitation,” he said quietly.

Aidan suspected that Corus was just afraid of the Regent but didn't say anything. The poor man needed a break more than anybody.

The palace was impressive, that is to say that outside it looked grand and majestic, while the interior decorations reminded Aidan of those fancy museums in old European cities. Guess, all that slave-trading really paid off.

Upon his arrival, several servants, dressed in dark blue elegant attires, escorted Aidan into the brightly lit round hall. He saw a couple of familiar faces, namely the bunch of generals he had the misfortune to meet shortly after he became Adnan Minn. They were all standing in some sort of military formation ten steps away from a heavy wooden table. Behind it Aidan immediately noticed the blonde blue-eyed Emperor-in-Waiting who all of a sudden seemed older and more menacing.

He was wearing a black leather jerkin with a standup collar which made him look less like a spoiled little boy and more like a strict young man in charge of a country. Aidan now couldn't understand how he managed to have mistaken him for a complete youngster before. He examined the young man carefully as if seeing him for the first time - his face was perfectly sculptured and didn't have the disproportionate “unfinished” look that teenage faces often do.

Previously for some reason Aidan had only noticed the childish side of the young monarch – when he smiled, a small dimple would appear on his left cheek, and there was something so touchingly innocent about the way he pouted when he was dissatisfied. Also, during all their previous interactions the Prince would have his eyebrows slightly raised, giving off angelic airs. But now, his look was serious, his facial expression sharp and unyielding, and the corner of his upper lip was curled in what seemed to be contempt. Truly, the metamorphosis was unnerving. Aidan suddenly got a gut feeling to stay away from this person as far as possible.

To the left hand of the scary guy Aidan saw a young woman in a red kirtle, her tiny waist embellished by a silver belt. Her strawberry blonde hair was neatly tied into a strict bun with not a single strand out of place. She had dark blue eyes just like the Emperor-in-Waiting but her expression rather than being cold and intimidating was aloof and guarded.

Next to her sat a man in a crown so tiny it almost seemed like a tiara. Aidan immediately recognized the infamous Regent. He had blue piercing eyes, long blonde hair which he kept in a high pony tail. No moles, no nasty facial hair. He almost didn't look like a villain. But then he opened his mouth, and Aidan realized how wrong he was in his assessment.

“General Hayl Lox, please step forward,” the Regent said coldly.

The tall nice general that Aidan had had some friendly exchanges before left the formation and took the place right in front of the table, respectfully bowing his head to the royal. General Lox was still wearing his traveling clothes and his slightly reddened eyes suggested sleep deprivation.

“General, are you aware that all the slaves, including the ones rescued from the enemy, are considered to be the property of the Empire and can not be reappropriated?” Aidan could sense a suppressed anger in the Regent's steady tone.

“Yes, Your Excellency,” General Lox said quietly.

“So you know that use of slaves is not permitted without an explicit permission by the Empire?”

“Of course, Your Excellency,” the general now sounded a bit surprised by this line of questioning.

“Right. Then you can imagine how surprised I was after hearing General Kear's report,” now the Regent was not even hiding his anger anymore.

“General Kear's report?” General Lox was obviously confused. Incidentally so was Aidan. General Kear was the sleazebag who sent that slave to Aidan's room after they rescued the Prince, was he not? Did he also send one to Hayl Lox to entrap him in some way? But that would incriminate General Kear more than anybody else? Or was he willing to incinerate himself just to burn down the house?

“General Kear gave me a detailed account on how you took charge of “distributing the loot” after taking the fort. If I understand correctly, you were aware that these kinds of actions were explicitly forbidden, yet you not only took the liberties with the rescued slaves yourself but also instigated others to take part in these unsightly activities,” the Regent's voice was so cold, that it made the temperature in the room sink by a couple degrees.

That was unexpected – this General Kear was not above using some questionable underhanded tactics. And the Regent had fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. Maybe the evil Nazi Goebbels was right after all – the bigger the lie, the more likely people are to believe it without questioning. Aidan now really hoped that Lox would somehow manage to clear up the misunderstanding. As far as he could tell, this man was a definition of a nice guy and not in a bad way.

However, instead of providing an explanation General Lox suddenly dropped down on his knees and said:

“I beg for your mercy.”

“As you know, the punishment for this crime is death by decapitation. Do you admit the charges?” the Regent rubbed his forehead and shook his head.