Maxi arched an eyebrow in surprise.
"Save Aveline?"
"Aveline needed saving?"
"She's Count Ardan's principal heir, and even without that, she's still a chevalier."
Maxi couldn't understand how Aveline could have been in danger.
Dorian nodded, his gaze darkening.
He gulped down the rest of the wine in his glass, set it down and leaned back in his chair, looking up at the wooden ceiling.
"The wedding wasn't ant to seal a lasting alliance between our families. My father had an entirely different plan."
Maxi went and sat down opposite Dorian.
He had a feeling this was destined to be a long night.
"Another plan?"
Noticing that Maxi had sat down in front of him, Dorian stood up and took a glass of wine from a cupboard.
Then he set the glass down in front of Maxi.
"A glass of wine?" asked Dorian as he took the bottle and temporarily ignored Maxi's question.
"Apparently I don't have much choice." Maxi replied with a smile.
"A guest has no reason to refuse the kindness of his host." added Dorian as he poured Maxi's glass and filled it to the brim.
A glass was never filled to the brim; there was usually a line marked on the glass not to be exceeded.
But Dorian didn't care at the ti.
With this gesture, Maxi had confird that it was really going to be a long night.
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He could only cross his fingers that he would rember all the information he would get in this room.
After serving Maxi and himself, Dorian sat back down in his wooden chair.
Everything in the room, except the candles, glasses, books and bottles, was made of wood, even the table where the glasses were set.
The few candles scattered around the room, together with the moonlight streaming through the window, provided so light in the room.
But the atmosphere was particularly pleasant, in Maxi's opinion.
"My father wanted to exterminate the Arden family and then rightfully reclaim their land. Aveline was the key piece that could make that possible," said Dorian in a light, bored tone.
But Dorian's words were shocking to Maxi, who almost spat out his wine.
Dorian hadn't finished, however, and after a short pause he continued.
"One child from Aveline and would have been enough. Following which, he would have killed the child too, in case the child ever knew the truth and wanted revenge."
Maxi remained silent for a mont, digesting this information.
"And you waited until the wedding day to act? Why didn't you denounce this plan earlier?"
Dorian looked down at his wine glass, a look of regret on his face.
"Because I had no tangible proof, and my father is an intelligent person. It was all organized in the shadows, with the elders of the family."
"If I had confronted him publicly, he would have denied it, and I would have lost all credibility. I might also have been disowned by my family."
"And despite the dark sides lurking there, my family is still my family."
"I have nothing else in this world."
Dorian's words hid real distress.
"I could also have told Aveline, but I think she would probably have refused to believe a man she despises."
"I also know that this marriage was important to Count Ardan, so she would have found herself in an awkward position if I had told her."
"Instead of tornting her with it, I figured it was better for everyone if I took this on alone."
He sighed deeply.
"And when I thought about it, I made the only decision that was possible. By refusing to marry him, I cancelled my father's plans. Without marriage, he has no legitimacy to attack the Ardans."
"And with this plan, even though my father will hate for a while and my position as heir to the family will be seriously questioned, I won't be disowned."
But Maxi didn't think that sounded very good.
"You're still going to end up distancing yourself from your family, aren't you?" asked Maxi.
"Not the one I care about."
Maxi frowned.
"aning?"
Dorian looked at Maxi and smiled.
"I'm an illegitimate son, my mother's a courtesy girl if you know what I an."
"Besides, it's contributed rather well to my excellent reputation that I regularly visit my mother at work," Dorian said, laughing.
A long silence settled over the room, Maxi digesting what he'd just heard.
He was just an ordinary young man in the real world, so he'd never co into contact with the darker side of humanity.
"If this kind of thing could happen in Eternity, then there must be similar things in the real world," Maxi thought with disappointnt.
"No more talking about , it's your turn Maxi."
Maxi looked up in surprise.
"What do you want to know?"
"Well, how did such an exceptional rcenary co to be in this world?" he said lightly.
He didn't realize he'd directly hit Maxi's nerve.
"Exceptional? I'm not," he replied, hiding his discomfort.
But Dorian smiled as he played with his glass of wine.
"I don't want to boast, but in this Kingdom I have the reputation of being one of the greatest geniuses."
"And yet before stands soone younger than and not afraid to challenge ."
Maxi smiled, thinking of sothing.
"You also have a reputation for beating up won."
Dorian laughed.
"Yeah, that's true." he replied, still laughing.
"And is that really the case?" asked Maxi, curious.
"Why should I hit won? Only the weak who fear the strong do that." comnted Dorian scornfully.
"Unless this woman is a knight challenging to a duel, in which case I won't hold back my blows."
Maxi looked at him unsurprised.
The more he spoke to him, the more his impression of Dorian strengthened in a positive way.
But there was one question that nagged at the back of his mind.
"Why do you have that reputation then?"
"Why should I tell you?" replied Dorian almost imdiately with a smile.
Maxi thought for a mont, then shook his head.
"It's true, we're not that close.
"However we could beco family if you join my rcenary group."
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