Baery and Ernest stood shoulder to shoulder in the distance. They watched Suzanna with wide eyes. They looked like they were appreciating a rare masterpiece. More than a dozen people in knight suits stood behind Baery and Ernest. However, the knight suits they wore were intern knight suits, not the uniform armor of Maho empire knights.
"Uncle Ernest, General Baery." Anfey immediately walked over with Suzanna. He should have called Baery first, based on their ranks. However, Anfey did not care much about the so-called rules. In his mind, he respected Saul the most, followed by Ernest. Everyone else should be behind them.
Ernest turned to look at Anfey. "Anfey, did you kill Deswright yourself? Suzanna must have helped you."
"I did not," Suzanna said, giving Ernest a sweet smile. She would never want to steal her husband’s thunder. She needed to make it clear: "When I got there, Anfey had already killed Dewright."
Ernest and Baery looked at each other. Their expressions had changed when they heard Suzanna’s explanation. Ernest was proud, while Baery was shocked. They both could sense an almost invisible force running through Anfey’s body. This force did not seem to be able to threaten a master swordsman. They could not believe Anfey actually did it. This only proved their theory that a supreme power indeed passed his skills to Anfey.
"Uncle Ernest, you are here for…?" Anfey asked.
"Baery came here to talk to Master Marino," Ernest explained. "I did not want anything to happen to him, so I came with. Besides, I knew you would be here too."
"It isn’t that important to find Marino anymore. Anfey, I need to talk to you," Baery said abruptly. He turned to look at Suzanna and smiled. "Madam, can I?"
Suzanna was shocked for a moment before she moved to the side to allow Anfey to pass. Alice had not left yet. She looked perplexed. Baery did not mean to discuss it with Anfey but asked him to do it because Anfey was younger than him. However, when he called Suzanna "madam," he had treated both Anfey and Suzanna as his peers.
Anfey felt weird about it, but he did not say anything. He walked behind Baery.
"Deswright was a student of Philip, but we did not know about it," Baery said casually as he walked. "I did not know all the details. I heard when the news got to Sacred City, Philip passed out, which caught the attention of the chief general."
Anfey smiled. He wondered who this chief general was. He had heard about him from Saul and Miorich. Now he heard about him again from Baery. It sounded like he was in a high position with considerable power.
"In fact, Philip should be respected," Baery said with a sigh. "He has helped at least three people--Shawn, Dalmatian and Deswright earn the title of master swordsman for the empire." Baery chuckled, then continued, "The accomplishments Philip achieved were almost as many as Newyoheim in Ellison Empire. Anfey, do you know why Philip ended up in a such bad situation when he got older?"
"Because he has a good-for-nothing grandson", Anfey said.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Baery smiled. He turned around to look at Anfey.
Anfey quietly looked back at Baery with his lips pressed against each other. He did not respond to Baery because he was not sure what Baery meant.
"I know you are very sophisticated. You seemed to have already drawn too much attention from others. I understand. I just hope we can have a heart-to-heart talk today. Since I am your elder, I should show the gesture first." Baery smiled. "Philip’s accomplishments are tremendous, but he is narrow-minded and unforgiving. He thought he made Shawn and Dalmatian master swordsmen. Without him, they could not be who they are now. He thought Shawn and Dalmatian should completely listen to him and obey his orders. If Philip wanted to work for the Empire, our king would never give him a hard time. Philip had so much control over Shawn and Dalmation not for the country, but to strengthen his own power."
Anfey quietly listened to Baery without comment.
"Philip has challenged the king many times. The worst was when the king asked Shawn and Dalmatian to go with the negotiating team to Ellisen Empire. Philip sent Shawn and Dalmatian a letter asking them go back to join his birthday party. How should I put it? Philip is too arrogant. He thought he was better than everyone, and the king would not do anything to him no matter what he did. He never took the king’s feeling into consideration. The king still forgave him, because he knew about Philip’s personality." Baery slowly said. "You did not forget about what happened a year ago, did you? The king lied about his death and tried to lure Ellisen Empire to invade Maho Empire. In fact, the king had planned everything out. He did not expect you to kill Zeda and escape with Niya and the others. Philip chased you on his own. Once again he forced Shawn and Dalmatian back to help him after Ernest tried to stop him from chasing you. As you know, our empire has limited resources. Shawn and Dalmatian both have very heavy responsibilities on their shoulders. Anfey, what do you think? Where should Shawn and Dalmatian be?"
"As wise as our king is, he should have expected Shansa Empire to do something to the empire when Ellisen Empire invaded Maho Empire after hearing of the death of our king," Anfey said calmly.
"You are right. Edward VIII is a chicken," Baery said coldly and distantly. "He is stingy and has alligator arms. If someone bluffed him, he would immediately step back. Shawn and Dalmatian were under my leadership. If they had taken their troops to different places to trick Edward VIII, Edward VIII would not have been able to tell that Death Roaring mercenary group had left the eastern front. How many cities were taken over by Shansa military? How much stuff have they taken from those cities? How many people have lost their families? All of these were because of Philip. Because he only cared about his own interests, not the country’s, he ruined the king’s whole plan. That is why the king could not forgive him anymore. I have worked for the king for so many years and never saw him so enraged. The chief general told me this time the king was so angry at Philip that his body shook. Since then, the king has started to keep a distance from Philip."
"It was my fault too. If I did not kill Zeda, none of this would have happened," Anfey said bitterly.
"No, it was not your fault. The king is just and fair to everyone, including you. Similar incidents happened previously in Sacred City. A nobleman liked a girl, but she already was married to a businessman. That nobleman wanted to rob the girl. The businessman and his personal guards fought back hard and killed the nobleman. The nobility advocated that the businessman and his bodyguards should be killed, but king pardoned them. The king said every innocent person had the right to defend his life." Baery smiled. "You killed Zeda to defend yourself. It was not your fault. It was Zeda’s fault. However, those noblemen did not see it the same way as the king did. That was the reason the king could not punish Philip. Philip could have blamed Archmage Saul for that. The king could protect you but could not punish Philip, since it might look like the king tried to challenge the privileges royals had. As in the example I just mentioned, the king could protect that businessman, but could not take away the nobility’s rights of inheritance. In other words, he could not punish noblemen for that reason."
"General Baery, what are you trying to tell me? You can directly get to the point," Anfey said slowly. He looked serious and sounded cold and distant. What was Baery trying to say? He blamed Philip for everything and pointed out the main issue Philip had was his strong desire for control. What does it mean?" Anfey thought to himself.
Baery was shocked for a second and immediately realized what concerned Anfey. He laughed hard. "Anfey, you are not thinking we are trying to get Suzanna, are you? Don’t worry about that."
Ernest, Suzanna and others were some distance away from Baery and Anfey. When they heard Baery’s laugh, they all looked at him in confusion. Anfey looked a little uneasy as others looked their way.
"If you thought my talk had anything to do with Suzanna, it once again proves you are not very sophisticated." Baery stopped laughing. He curiously looked Anfey up and down. "But this time, you think too much. I have worked for the king for a very long time. Do you know what makes me feel the most secure?"
"What is it?" Anfey asked.
"The King never gave me a hard time. He thinks I am a good general, or cares about my feelings. Anfey, you do not know our king." Baery said quietly. "If you could work for the king for awhile, you would know the feeling of being appreciated and cared for."
Anfey went quiet. He could tell Baery did not respect Yolanthe for his position but respected him as a person. It was actually more than respect. It was admiration.
"Anfey, you think everyone is trying to get you. It is really unnecessary to think that way." Baery pause for a moment. "Alice is amazingly talented. She is still young and needs more experience, but she is smart and has good vision. She can achieve so much in the future. Why did you have to keep her in Moramatch? You do not trust her. Is it only because you do not know her background?"
"No, Alice knows neither magic nor combat power. Moramatch was the safest place for her," Anfey explained. He knew it was not a good excuse.
Baery smiled. He stopped asking Anfey more questions and changed the topic. "Anfey, you are getting very powerful with the help of Suzanna, Alice and many mercenaries who are willing to work for you. Suzanna is good with fighting while Alice is very strategic. So what is your dream now?"