Keiser had honestly thought it would be a slow night.
Ever since the royal brigade had been called back to the capital in a hurry, barely a day after their return from the last expedition, he'd been hoping for at least one proper night of sleep. A warm bed in Hinnom, a quiet al, and maybe a mont where his bones didn't ache from cold or battle.
Instead of standing under another freezing sky, half awake and listening for anything that might lunge out of the dark. His companions had offered to keep watch before, but he never took that kind of comfort anymore. The first ti he trusted others to watch his back, he was the only one who ca back.
So he stayed half awake.
And when those sa idiots sohow let a Gula form and nearly reach Hinnom, he decided he'd rest his case, literally and figuratively. So people, he thought grimly, were just born to make his life harder.
And that was only half the ss.
The village itself had turned out to be in an even sorrier state than he'd expected. They couldn't even get past the gate at first, apparently, the missing prince had decided to lock everyone out, from both sides no less.
The first prince's fiancée and the tenth prince's vassal eventually figured out a way to open it, though not without giving everyone else a headache. He still rembered standing there, dumbfounded, as they sliced open their own palms and started scrawling blood-soaked symbols across the stone walls of the gate.
So kind of crude runes, ssy, uneven, but that was enough to work.
Keiser could only stare while his companions whispered about 'taboo arts of mana' and 'bloodscripting,' like they were at a damn lecture. All he could think was, 'why do royals always have to make everything so complicated?'
The gate eventually gave way, or rather, apparently reform the invisible barrier he hadn't even realized was there. He'd only known it existed because when he kicked the air or struck it with his sword, he could feel it crack like glass under pressure.
They'd barely gotten through when a ssenger bird arrived, cutting their short-lived victory even shorter. Orders from the capital. Urgent. Imdiate return.
And that was how Keiser found himself once again lying on the rough planks of a wagon instead of a bed, watching what was left of the royal brigade doze in awkward positions as the wheels rattled beneath them.
Two days. Two miserable, sleepless days on the road.
He stared at the faint glow of the moon through the canvas roof and sighed, muttering under his breath,
"Royal business never lets you rest, does it…"
When they finally made it back to the capital, Keiser's first welco wasn't by ceremony or gratitude, but by the sheer incompetence of the knights stationed at the gates.
The so-called capital guards had decided that the returning royal brigade's wagon was fair ga for a 'routine inspection'. In reality, they were just trying to ransack the cargo and squeeze the wagon drivers for a 'late night fee'. Apparently, soone in their ranks had invented a new form of extortion and decided to call it a 'right'.
Keiser jumped off the wagon before the wagon drivers could even finish stamring an apology, cracking his neck as he walked up to the armored idiots blocking their way. Behind him, his companions didn't even bother to get up, instead, they started betting on how long it would take him to break the knights' formation.
It didn't even last half a minute.
By the ti he was done, the would-be extortionists were sprawled on the cobblestones, groaning and clutching their ribs, helts dented and pride shattered. The drivers stared wide-eyed. His companions laughed and started collecting their bets.
After that brief but satisfying warm-up, Keiser finally got the full explanation, and it made absolutely no sense.
Apparently, the noble council had ordered a capital-wide lockdown during the nights, claiming it was to maintain 'order' while the King's Gambit and so sort of upcoming auction, or political stunt, depending on who you asked, will take place soon. They said it would 'attract undesirable elents,' so their brilliant solution was to make everyone else miserable instead.
Keiser could only grit his teeth as he listened to the council drone on, a room full of pompous old n and won, dripping with perfus and self-importance, talking like their words could polish over their incompetence.
There had been brawls, riots, rumors, and half a dozen 'unapproved duels' in the streets already, but the royal brigade, as usual, was told to stay out of it. "Not their jurisdiction," the council said. "Let the capital knights handle it."
And of course, 'the capital knights' were the sa bunch he'd just beaten into the pavent.
Still, despite his objections, he couldn't refuse the final order, what was left of the royal brigade would be stationed within the palace walls, 'to ensure the monarch's safety.' As if the palace didn't already have an entire legion of personal guards, runed walls, and more wards than any sane person could count.
Keiser only muttered under his breath as he adjusted his sword belt, "Right. Keep the king safe… from what, his own damn nobles?"
He honestly thought that after coming back from hell, both literally and figuratively, he could finally return to his real job… serving as Gideon's personal knight.
He had even t his lord once since their return. Gideon had been busy as always, muttering sothing about 'preparing a surprise' for Keiser's twenty-fifth birthday, which was, apparently, soon, take nine days or less.
Keiser had just stared at him flatly and said, "What's the point of a surprise when you're practically telling you're planning one?"
Gideon froze mid-sentence, scratching the back of his head like a guilty child and not the sa age as him.
Ebony burst out laughing from behind them. "Yeah, your highness, that's, uh, the opposite of a surprise!"
Yuka, ever the patient one, just sighed and face-pald while mumbling sothing about how she deserved a raise for putting up with them.
For a brief mont, Keiser thought maybe, just maybe, things were settling back into sothing normal. The sa kind of chaotic peace he'd grown used to… Gideon's impulsiveness, Ebony's constant teasing, and Yuka's exasperated babysitting. It almost felt like family again.
Until two sweaty old n ca barreling toward his station on a wagon.
He had been stationed at one of the quieter sections of the palace wall, a wide-open area most people avoided because of how exposed it was. Perfect for so peace and quiet, away from the chatter of his subordinates. That peace shattered when the wagon ca blasting out of a narrow alley that wasn't even wide enough for it to fit through.
Keiser barely had ti to blink before the old n started shouting, "He's here! He's really here!"
He reached for his sword, ready to cut the reins before they crashed, but the two sohow managed to yank the horses into a sharp skid, dirt flying, and the wagon jerked to a stop just inches in front of him.
Keiser stared. The two n panted, drenched in sweat and looking half-dead from exhaustion.
He exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"...If this is another surprise, I swear I'm burning everything this ti."
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