Chương 54: Chapter 1.54: Harmless Fun

The room's muttering died down, yet somehow it was no longer just the heat that pressed in on Favius as Serpens continued to speak.

"Surely a display of our young generation's martial prowess would liven up the evening." Favius felt a heavy weight grab his guts. Murmurs of approval replaced the outrage in the crowd. Serpens bowed and smiled at Valeria, who strode across the room with a stormy expression. It was a masterclass in controlled anger.

"That is, if our most honored hostess would permit us the use of her gymnasium." Marcus stepped forward, brushing Serpens's hand aside.

"Valeria, surely there is no need to turn a fine evening of food, entertainment, and rhetoric into the background for a brawl between boys."

"A brawl between boys?" said Serpens, with a faint smirk.

"Marcus, my friend, it would be far from a mere brawl. The challenge to a formal duel has been issued, and any duel within the bounds of the law is sacred under the eyes of the Warrior. Is that not so?" He looked across the room, and a man wearing robes heavy with bronze and iron plates and a gleaming helmet stepped forward.

"That is true, Senator. I, as a priest of the Warrior, would be willing to sanction this duel." Valeria made a dismissive gesture, and the man's mouth clamped shut.

"Serpens, clearly you cannot be serious. One of them is a mere child and the other..." She glared at the man, then at the boy who had bullied Urania.

"Is on the precipice of becoming a man." Serpens chuckled.

"Valeria, clearly you must not have been kept well informed about the progress of my children. Carydras will only reach his first majority two weeks hence." The disapproval of the crowd turned to excitement and nods again. Favius fought to keep his expression neutral. So this kid is two weeks from having his fifteenth birthday, and that makes it legal for him to fight a ten-year-old? Fuck this. But Serpens continued quickly.

"And furthermore, Marcus, did you not have your boy announced as a Cultor Bellator? A few years are surely balanced out by the might of a cultivator's insight?" He gestured towards the priest, who nodded eagerly before the man had even finished.

"That indeed makes it a fair duel in the martial traditions of our Republic." Suddenly, a familiar voice cut through the hall.

"Father, let me fight in my brother's stead. Surely a duel between two prodigy cultivators would bear greater providence!" Favius's eyes widened as the boy with whom he had spoken to at the buffet stepped forward. Father? Favius bit his tongue. I thought I was just having a relaxed conversation. But I was hanging out with the child of the man who wants me executed. Fuck. I may have been an adult scientist in that other world, but... He swallowed.

I'm not ready for a world of vicious politics and people who have trained for nothing else their entire life. For the first time, Serpens's expression darkened.

"Be silent, son," he spat out. He glared at the boy, but soon refocused on his other child, who was still glaring at Favius.

"The insult to our familia's honor was delivered upon Carydras. Thus, it is his duty to wash it clean with blood." Like a beaten dog, the boy from the buffet flinched back and melted into the crowd. But Favius was barely paying attention. His heartbeat rushed loudly in his ears, and he felt the rising anger. This entire thing. He tells me to my face that I should have been executed, and then he sends his children at me to dig for information and to bully my sisters. Bastard.

Serpens gestured at the crowd like an actor presenting the turning point of a drama.

"With all of that settled, let us wait no longer. After all, there is a duel to be fought." The man smiled and gestured at Favius and his own son. Aelia stepped forward. The floral smell of her aura and the verdancy of her dress seemed to increase and drown out all other sensations in the room. It was oppressive, yet somehow gentle as the shade of an oak in the noon sun. The floral notes never became cloying and remained pleasant yet undeniable.

"I do not believe that, given the lineages and occasion, the officiation of a recently ordained priest is sufficient." Serpens's expression tightened, yet he instantly controlled himself. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Marcus smiled broadly at Aelia.

"So what do you suggest, Consul?" said Valeria. Favius's grandmother gestured at the crowd.

"Tiber Ahenor, would you mind stepping forward?" The crowd again erupted into murmurs.

"The Pontifex?"

"She cannot possibly mean to..."

"This... this..." A dozen heartbeats passed. Finally, a middle-aged man, his hair strictly cropped, his clothing a leather gambison reinforced with small plates of bronze, copper, dark iron, and glittering arcane steel, stepped in front of the crowd. He slammed his staff into the ground, similar to how Brutus had used his axe to announce Favius. The bottom of the staff was a two-headed warhammer of bronze, the middle was forged from black iron, and the top was a flawless blade glittering with magical steel.

Unlike Aelia's elaborate staff, this was no trinket designed to impress with artistry and elegance. The copper and iron bore marks of crude forging. Scars and chips decorated everything except the blade. Its rainbow steel was utterly flawless. The priest who clearly had been a retainer of Serpens swallowed hard and shrunk, taking two steps back.

Aelia continued, "Pontifex, I know this is an imposition, yet would you do me the favor of officiating this duel and ensuring that it occurs in line with the virtues of the Warrior?" The man let his eyes run over the room, his expression rich with disgust as he dismissed every politician, senator, consul, and aristocrat with utter disdain.

"There is no favor required, Consul. It is my duty and honor to serve the glory of the Warrior in the face of profane ideals and those who would seek to twist martial virtue into political tools." He slammed the bronze butt of his staff into the ground, and the side of Favius's mouth twitched as he noticed the marble splintering under the strike. The expressions on Marcus's and Serpens's faces had reversed.

Marcus was now nodding and smiling, whereas Serpens's jaw was working slowly as the man adjusted to the new situation. The Pontifex gestured towards the three leaders of the Constitutionalists.

"That is, if the parents and hostess will permit this affair to go forward. After all, it is customary that no duel between mere children occurs without consulting their families." Serpens was the first to rally.

"Yes, of course. I'm honored by your offer to officiate the duel," he said and gave the man a not-quite-genuine smile. Marcus glanced at Favius, and Favius narrowed his eyes. Is he asking me if I want to do this? Well, the Pontifex just gave us an out. I could avoid this. Maybe. But Urania grasped his arm, and he saw the tears that hadn't yet run down her cheeks.

"Make him hurt, Favius," she whispered, and the boy's snort at Urania's request sealed his fate. Favius nodded towards Marcus, and in short order both his Father and Valeria gave their assent to the duel. Serpens began striding towards the two of them the instant the Pontifex nodded his agreement. The crowd whispered with excitement, and Favius heard more than a few bets being exchanged. Well, looks like I'm going to remain the center of attention for a while longer.

The shattering of wood and the sound of a door slamming into the mosaic walls resounded through the hall. Screams erupted. Favius spun around. Everyone looked at the side door, yet he couldn't see over the crowd of adults, but a familiar voice rumbled across the room.

"Now, now. I heard we are engaging in bloodshed, and no one bothered to invite me over." A smile sprang over Favius's face. He couldn't help it. Brutus had arrived. A wave of fear ran over the crowd like a blast of winter wind.

"It's the Hundred-Man-Slayer."

"Kestrelo!"

"How is he alive?"

"Shouldn't he be…"

"No. He swore an oath to Senator Ovinius Loran." The guests shuffled a few collective steps backwards until Favius had a clean view of the man. Moments later, a dozen guards clad in bronze and helmeted with iron, clearly the elites of Valeria's household, rushed in after Brutus. He stood casually, his axe resting on his shoulders. Do I need to speak up? Favius's thoughts were racing as he reassessed the new situation. Brutus. Brutus cannot mean to start a fight here. He would never survive. But...

He looked at the anxious senators and their retainers. But I'm clearly in the minority believing that he isn't a danger. The Magnicultor's mouth twitched as he met Favius's gaze. His aura washed over the room. Sharp, biting electricity. Cold, deliberate killing intent. Blood and steel. A stark contrast to all the other auras that had touched Favius today. He couldn't help but shiver alongside the crowd. The first person to rally was the Pontifex.

"Ovinius Kestrelo. I see the rumors of you advancing your cultivation were not exaggerated." Brutus laughed.

"Pontifex Bellator. It's been far too long." The man chuckled.

"It has indeed. If only I had been informed of your presence here, we could have shared a cup of wine." Brutus laughed.

"I do not believe the opportunity to spill a few drops together has passed yet." Muffled gasps erupted from the crowd, and Favius noted how Valeria gestured frantically as a few of the guards surrounding Brutus went for their swords. This is ridiculous. He is just one man. But he couldn't help it. A chuckle erupted from Favius's throat, and people looked at him with horrified expressions. Brutus joined in, but there was little mirth in it, merely a cold mockery of humor.

Finally, Aelia stepped forward and walked towards Brutus, into the zone that everyone else had agreed was the man's personal killing field. She lowered her head.

"I have yet to thank you for swearing the blood oath to Senator Ovinius Loran and his son and your effort in protecting and educating my grandchildren." The cultivator shifted the axe down from his shoulder. All the guards flinched. Yet Aelia remained perfectly calm.

"It is nothing, Consul. Merely the continuation of an earlier oath sworn to a great man." Aelia laughed and closed the final distance, putting her taloned hand onto Brutus's bulging biceps.

"So I assume you have joined us to witness your charge's duel."

"I have indeed. After all, I have sworn to protect him from and avenge any harm. Nonetheless, a duel seems like an excellent opportunity to develop his skills. Wouldn't you agree, Tiber?" The Pontifex laughed.

"I have not yet heard truer words spoken in these halls, my friend." The Pontifex marched over to Favius, and his hands snapped around Favius's and Carydras's wrists. Favius noted absentmindedly that Serpens flinched at the gesture, frozen somewhere between his peers and his son. Favius could have sworn that there was a dawning horror in the man's eyes, yet as he looked again they were as cold and amphibian as ever. Valeria's guards fell in beside them, and they left the feast hall towards the gymnasium.