General Lox kept quiet, and from the way his shoulders slouched forward Aidan could see that he was entirely defeated.

Why wouldn't this man say anything in his defense?

The Regent shrugged and motioned for the servant holding a broad sword to come forward.

“Well then, let's not make this unnecessarily long and unpleasant. Any last words?”

Aidan couldn't take this anymore and despite the fact that none of this was any of his business he decided to do the right thing.

“Wait,” he spoke up. “There has been a misunderstanding, Your Excellency!”

All heads suddenly turned towards him. Aidan wasn't sure, if he was breaking some kind of palace rule but he didn't exactly care.

“You have something to say, General Minn?” the Regent gave Aidan an icy stare.

“For what it's worth, it wasn't General Lox who was offering slaves to others. It was General Kear,” Aidan blurted out.

“Interesting,” said the Regent with a cold smile. “And how would you know?”

“General Kear offered me a slave when we were stationed next to the fort.”

“Hm, General Minn admitting to his own debauchery. I thought I wouldn't live long enough to witness this day,” said the Regent.

What debauchery?! Aidan was no lawyer but even he could tell he hadn't admitted to anything yet.

“I... didn't... nothing happ....ah, dammed. The important thing is that General Lox had nothing to do with it. At least conduct a proper investigation, before you execute him,” Aidan was starting to lose his patience. Why was he even participating in this thing? He much rather would have been out on the streets, looking for some good wine.

“Are you speaking on behalf of General Lox because you are concerned about proper justice? Or is it because you think he's handsome?” the Emperor-in-Waiting said suddenly in a soft amused voice. His uncle raised his eyebrows but kept quiet.

In the meantime General Lox gave Aidan a stunned look.

Oh no, please don't misunderstand! I'm just trying to save your life.

“What a funny joke, your Royal Highness,” said Aidan, trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice. If he wanted to help Lox, he at least needed to appear somewhat courteous. “I am, of course, only interested in justice. If you require proof of my words, my...s...helper Corus can confirm the involvement of General Kear in this matter.”

“Corus. If I remember correctly, he is the slave whom you refused to hand over to the Empire, General Minn,” said the Regent in a weird tone, as if HE was the one tired of all the bullshit. “Putting that aside for a while, let's not forget that as your slave he would be obliged to say whatever you want him to say, and that would not make him a reliable witness, would it?”

Aidan honestly didn't know what to do anymore. He just gave his best shot and exactly like in his real life it helped fuck all.

“If nobody else has any objections, we shall proceed,” the Regent rolled his eyes.

“I have an objection,” a melodic voice came from the young woman in red who was sitting next to the insufferable Emperor-in-Waiting.

The Regent seemed surprised – his blue eyes filled with warmth as he looked at the young woman.

“Yes, Lady Miri?”

“I hear, General Lox is one of our best fighters, and we're still at war with the savages. Do we have the luxury to throw away our strongest assets at a time like this?” the woman asked, avoiding the eye contact with the Regent.

That was indeed a good point. Why didn't Aidan think of that?

“What you say is true. However, if we let someone escape punishment just because they are a talented fighter, wouldn't that set a dangerous precedent?” the Regent said slowly, as if thinking over every word.

“I didn't say he shouldn't be punished at all, but...” the young woman responded, yet she was interrupted by one of the general's in the first row of the formation.

“With all due respect, Lady Miri, this is not the time for a woman to...”

The general also didn't manage to finish his sentence, as he was stopped in his tracks by the Regent's icy stare:

“What gives you the right to interrupt my niece? Lady Miri, please continue.”

The woman didn't seem to be bothered by that exchange, as if she was long used to things like that happening, and calmly proceeded:

“The punishment should not prevent the General from fulfilling his duties, if such necessity arises. And, if I'm not mistaken, it will arise.”

“My sister is wise beyond her years,” said the Emperor-in-Waiting with a smirk. “Why waste such a handsome person? Stripping him of his General's title and letting him assume an identity of a slave himself would not only give him a taste of his own medicine but would also serve as a deterrent for others in the future.”

“My dear nephew, you are showing mercy?” the Regent sounded touched for some reason.

“Senseless murder is wrong. Didn't you teach me that?” the Emperor-in-Waiting raised his eyebrow, as if mocking his uncle.

“I had no idea I've gotten through to you,” the Regent said quietly. “I have to admit, my niece and nephew have provided excellent insights – in this case I can only oblige.” He then asked General Lox to hand over his pin.

“I will forever be grateful for this mercy,” said Hayl Lox, as he obeyed the order. Aidan could see some drops of sweat on his forehead.

“You should be,” sighed the Regent. “From now on you're stripped of all of your possessions and all of your lands. Your General title has been removed with no possibility of restoration. You are to join our armed forces as a regular soldier, whenever required. In the meantime you are to serve in the palace kitchen.”

“Don't we already have enough servants in the kitchen?” asked the young Emperor-in-Waiting, carefully examining his nails. “Besides, I wouldn't want to eat anything prepared by him.”

“You have a better suggestion, Kai?” the Regent asked - his tone neither impatient, nor angry.

The young monarch smiled sweetly and turned around to the man standing behind him. Strangely, only in that moment did Aidan notice this person in a dark robe. His hair was cut short, messy and completely white – it clashed weirdly with his overall youthful appearance. The man was not very tall and even the big robe couldn't hide that he was extremely skinny. His unnaturally dark eyes with purplish tint seemed too big for his narrow pale face. Somehow he looked like a mix between a cute child and an evil spirit.

“My good friend Niki here is in a dire need of a butler,” said the Emperor-in-Waiting. The man shook his head quickly, indicating that he had no need for something like that. But the Prince gave him a stern look:

“You will do as I say. You've been wearing the same robe for weeks now – it's disgusting. One thing that our dear Hayl knows is how to look good. I think, he'll be able to help you. Am I right, Lox?”

The man kneeling on the floor had no other choice but to nod.

“Thus, it's decided. Let this be a lesson to all present,” as the Regent said that, he gave Aidan a pointed look. A look that said - “you might just be the next one to fall from grace”. There was obviously no love lost between Adnan Minn and the Regent.

Aidan sighed and looked at poor Hayl one last time as he left the hall, feeling dejected and somehow angry. What kind of judicial system was that? No one had doubted the words of General Kear! The man was not even present, for fucks sake! And if it wasn't for the nice young woman in red, Hayl would have been killed in cold blood right in front of everybody.

What annoyed Aidan the most was that Hayl didn't even say anything in his own defense. Did he actually do something to the slaves? Somehow Aidan just couldn't believe that.

Deep in his unhappy thoughts Aidan suddenly felt somebody put a hand on his shoulder. Almost instinctively he shoved the hand away. However, he forgot that he was now in Adnan Minn's body and didn't limit his strength – what was supposed to be a light push, turned into a forceful shove. Aidan looked back and saw the Emperor-in-Waiting fly into the wall.

“What's going on here, General Minn?” he heard an ice-cold voice. Of course, it was the Regent. Just his luck being caught beating up the Prince right in front of his doting uncle's eyes. Aidan imagined that a punishment for this crime in this world would be something unreasonable like lifetime imprisonment or dismemberment.

He was almost ready to take the page out of Hayl's book and plead guilty, when the Prince said:

“It's nothing, uncle. I asked General Minn to be my martial arts instructor and he showed me some moves. I obviously have a lot to learn, uncle.”

The Regent furrowed his brow but didn't express any disbelief.

“Well then, as you were,” was all he said, as he proceeded down the hall, following the young woman in red.

The Emperor-in-Waiting wiped the blood from the corner of his lip and said with a crooked smile:

“And now let's have some fun, my dear General.”