ATREUS THYESTES
"So, your grandfather is going to punish poor Ajax for losing?"
Gu Jinsung asked moving his lounging chair and a small table to seat in the same area as me and Alex. I sighed and answered.
"Yes, I believe he might take away something Ajax likes or he might...."
"Forcing him to get married to a girl he doesn't like for political reasons." Alexander said finish what I was planning to leave unsaid.
"Oh, shit!" Jinsung exclaimed with a worried expression on his face.
"That's the worst outcome. I would know because I'm getting married to an absolute."
"Angel! Siwa is an Angel." Gu Chaerin said interrupting her cousin.
"I was gonna say bitch but whatever." Jinsung said shrugging.
'Why did the population have to drop to 7 billion? for a planet that could house 19 billion people sure the people would starve due to a lack food but still.' I asked myself as I am reminded of my fat to wed Fate and Maria late of next year for I had turned ten and six last September I Would turn seven and ten in this year's September.
'But to think I have to marry both of them.'
Although the wars over the past 300 years have taken many lives it still doesn't make sense to reintroduce polygamy of things. Yes its mostly amongst the nobility and only mages 10star and above may have more than three spouse it was still.
'Its still not according to nature!!' I snapped inwardly trying to use reason to understand the benefits of polygamy with no emotion in my heart.
To do that I decide to remove myself from the matter.
So, a young scion of a great and legendary house that has existed for thousands of years is getting married to two woman from houses as old as his. One of the houses has been annihilated leaving two daughters behind but said house had similar magic to the young man's own house meaning that by combining both powers the results would be incredible.
'Although it irks me to admit this is ration.'
Now as for the young man's second spouse she's from a great house that is ruled by one of the 13 most powerful mages in the known worlds who so happens to be the young woman's father. That is not all however because said young woman is monstrously talented meaning that a combination of both houses that use lightning magic and have formidable martial arts makes for a rational match and an incredible result.
I ground my teeth having to admit that what my grandfather had agreed to was a deal as sweet as honey.
"Ah....are you good?"
"...Huh."
I snapped out of my thoughts to see Jinsung and Chaerin giving me concerned looks.
"I am....fine." I paused for a moment and added. "Just thinking about how annoying anything to do with politics is."
"Oh it seems we all have transcended cunts for parents." Jinsung said with a laugh which caused Chaerin to grimace.
"Actually that's one of the reasons why the are so many sell swords nowadays." He mumbled taking out a wine skin from the sleeves of his robes.
"Oh, is the court of Yeon that bad?" Alex asked leaning back on the soft couch.
'That's a bad habit.' I thought.
"Its even worse than you think it is. Tell me my lords are you fond of stories? Because I know I am."
Alex and I nodded interested in what the young and bitter man had to say.
"Ahem, once the was a young martial artist and all he sought was the martial peak. So to achieve said goal he left his small village in his home in the Yeon empire to seek out worthy opponents to compete with he traveled to Sumeru, Penglai fighting in tournament after tournament defeating royal guards from the two nations refining both his body and magic. The fellow grew quite famous song were written about him man wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him....however his greatest test came when he had to make his stop in Ishin after all this was the fame land of swords and the fellow wasn't much of a swordsman."
Jinsung paused to take a swig of whatever was in his ivory wine skin.
"That's the spot now were was I? Ah yes the fellow arrived in Ishin and surprisingly learned swordsmanship quickly he wasn't talented much but still he learned. However the greatest thing he learned not just in Ishin but Sumeru and Penglai alike was honor, justice and loyalty. You see my lords despite traveling three! nations our dear talented humble friend had only spent most of his time amongst man like him soldiers, captains, generals and commoners simple man who lived what most would consider the most honest life. So, it was quite the shock to the fellow when he returned to his nation he was met with letters from the emperor asking him to come to court....."
I sighed knowing where the story was going.
'The fool who touched the flame.' I thought coldly remembering what Alibaba had said to me once.
Jinsung's story with a bad ending continued. And I have to force myself to listen.
"So, the man did as his liege lord commanded and brought himself to court. There the emperor showered him with all sorts of gifts fine silk robes, jewels he even rewarded the man with marriage to the most beautiful woman in the Yeon empire at the time." Jinsung laughead sound full of scorn than amusement.
"Our dear emperor is quite generous isn't he? However our nameless hero trusted his liege lord and the emperor trusted him back and they became fast friends. After being wed to the 'jade beauty' the hero soon departed for the castle that the emperor had rewarded him with in which he spent 18 years with his wife but of course the emperor would call him if the were any rebellious lords causing trouble after all the world needs strong and honorable hero's does it not?."
'I feel the same as Jinsung.' I thought with intrigue even though his full of scorn and sneers I find myself liking the way he is telling this story.
"Interesting." Alex murmured.
"So, one day when the emperor invited his friend to the capital our dear hero did not hesitate to say yes to his friend and liege lord. So, the hero took his wife and one of his three sons to the capital he met with his old friend who wanted him to serve in his council the hero agreed readily. Since he was know as a just and honorable man who understood both punishment and most importantly mercy!!"
"Mercy is for the foolish." I muttered under my breath.
"The hero spent six months in the capital as the arch judicia of the empire however he found himself both despising and being despised in court how could a hero who had leaved the straight and narrow stand a place field with man who were spineless, whoring lickspittles and woman who could lie with easy and make it seem like it were the truth? Of course not a hero such as he could not bare with such people so he began justly punishing members of court who broke the law and were guilty of corruption during one of his investigations he found out a shocking revelation and that was that the empress had not only cheated on his friend the emperor and had mothered five bastards with her own...."
He paused for suspense and finally said.
"Brother."
"What the actual fuck!!" Alex and I exclaimed while shifting on the couch.
"I know right crazy stuff." Chaerin said drinking from her own ivory wine skin.
Shocked I sighed and motion for Jinsung to continue his insane story.
"Ahem, as I was saying....the hero just like the two of you young leopards was flustered and shocked to learn that the empress had committed such a vile and treacherous act but...that was not the end of the wench's treason because when the hero dug even deeper into the matter he found out that the empress had one of the emperor true born children poisoned. Our dear friend the hero was disgusted and wished to tell his friend the emperor about this treason but the hero was a man of honor and mercy!!" Jinsung might as well have spat the word out.
"This you see, is because over the course of his journey in the Southern continent he had joined many campaigns to subjugate a rebellious lords or a usurper who wanted to steal the crown from an emperor or king and lets just say whenever said rebellions failed the family of said rebel would be...."
He does not need to finish his sentence for us to know what he speaks off. I have to admit to myself that ever since I arrived in this world from the red hand I have realized that my kind that being man can be more violent than the Abyssal monsters that ate my mother alive.
'Do I myself have such a violent beast buried within me? I...'
I banished the thought and focused on the story that was being told.
"I'm sure my friends you could see the troubling situation that our dear hero was dealing with in one hand he could trust his friend the emperor with anything including his own life but could he trust him with the lives of the empress's innocent children? After all to the hero the children had not asked to be born in the way that they were born and what type of emperor would allow his own wife to commit such high treason without any punishment?"
He sighed as if the part of the story he was about to tell was annoying.
"So....so in an act that he considered honorable!! our friend the hero warned the empress that he knew of her children's birth and told her to flee with all five of her children because he would soon tell the emperor of her treason. The vile wench had not only laughed in his face but she had told him that she found the emperor to be lacking and disgusting she did not stop at that however she also claimed that her children were pure violet-haired and beautiful unlike the blue haired children she would have bore the emperor. Realizing that he had made a mistake the hero tried to tell his friend of this treason but despite him making it to the throne room he found that his friend had went to war and left him to rule in his stead as regent."
Jinsung ground his teeth hard and spat with pure venom coming out his mouth.
"Our!!! dear! hero that dumb fucker! had all the time and power in the world to seize the vile empress her brother and their children but...." Jinsung raised five trembling fingers.
"For five years....five fucking years my friends the hero waited for the emperor to return and in that time his fifteen year old son had turned twenty and without him knowing it he had given the empress enough time to buy the entire court meaning that the hero had no allies in the capital. So, when word reached the capital that the emperor had died in battle our friend the hero did not know what to do he could not just seize the two traitors and their children it was not suppose to be his call to make it was meant for the emperor not him! But the emperor was a wise man in his own way for he had left a letter that declared that until his eldest son who was seventeen at the time turned five and twenty the full might of the crown would be left to his good and just friend the hero."
I rubbed my temples annoyed at how predictable the fate of this 'hero' would turn out. I cannot for the life of me believe that the has ever been a more stupid and docile hero.
"As you must've guest if you have a higher IQ than the stupid hero. Fuck what dumbass...anyway as I was saying the moment the letter declaring the hero as regent the empress had the man who had brought the letter thrown in the dungeons the vile bitch also took the hero his wife and his twenty year son outside were a crowd that had been informed that three traitors were to be executed. The empress being a schemer told the foolish man to confess to being a traitor because if he did she would spare both his beloved wife and son."
"Let me guess she broke her oath." I said my voice sounding flat.
"Oh, no the empress outdid herself not a moment after the hero had confessed to killing his friend both him his wife and son were hanged their heads decorated spears of the men who soon marched on his to eldest sons keep in which the eldest of his sons was slain and the other one had not choice but to flee to Ishin with a few retainers."
"So, to answer your question yes the court of Yeon is that fucking bad."
"Oh, by purity my brother is exaggerating the whole story." Chaerin drawled and jabbed a finger at Jinsung.
"You're done pushing your agenda right? So tell the two leopards about the happy ending of the story."
My eyebrows rose.
'Impossible stories such as these don't have a happy ending unless....'
Jinsung raised both hands into the air in surrender.
"Fine, fine I'll tell the boring part of the story. Ahem so after the empress had nearly wiped out both her diseased husband family and the hero's family only leaving a son and daughter alive, she began ruling in her son's stead filling the court with more lickspittles and sycophants who did as she said but all tyrants grow fat from their power."
Jinsung proceeds to tell us about how the hero's second son had returned with an army of sell swords at his back and beside him stood the emperor niece who had survived the purge of her house hold and had wed the hero's last son and had declared her so-called cousin as a usurper and an abomination born of incest.
As he was about to tell the las part of the story however I had to ask my self one thing and that is was the hero right to tell the empress that he knew of her treason? I myself would say no he was not right the decision was made using ones heart instead of using something that all man have that being reason. The other question would be was it a just decision on that matter I would have to say yes because the murder of the innocent is never right after all.
But if we look at the situation with pure cold logic with no emotion whatso-ever the hero should have told the entire court about the whole matter during the early years of him being regent then they would have held a great council in which the empress and her brother would be executed and the children would have to publicly renounce their claim to the throne and would swear an oath to live in exile for the rest of their lives.
'That's what I would've done if I were the hero. Yes Surely this is reasonable and just is it not?'
"So, the two lovers hanged all their foes from the highest point of the imperial palace and lived happily ever after." Jinsung declared with a broad grin.
To add to the theatric Chaerin rose and said loudly.
"Thank you for listening." She said smiling.
Then her last words sand a shiver down my spine.
"To the story of how, house Sung became the rulers of the Yeon empire!!"