A Bad News

The people's cheers boomed inside the city of Solon as Prince Timothy and his soldiers entered the gate. The main street leading to the Earl's Villa was decorated with banners of the royal family. The people on the sidelines were throwing flowers to the soldiers and cheering for the Prince.

Their cheers were along the lines of 'long live Prince Timothy', 'Savior of Castonia', 'Prince Timothy please name my child'.

Wait.

Name a child? That will be exciting. Timothy pulled the reins of his horse and stopped. The whole column also stopped. He looked for the source of the voice and saw a woman in her thirties holding a baby.

"Boy or girl?" Timothy smiled at the woman.

The woman was speechless. She must have never expected that Tim would hear her request. "Girl Your Highness" she raised the baby and showed it to Timothy.

"Stella is a good name." Timothy said as he inched his horse closer to the woman. "Where is your husband?"

The woman's expression which was of joy turned grim after Timothy mentioned her husband.

"He's dead Prince Timothy. He sacrificed himself for us and held the Tulosans. The Tulosans descended on our village like locusts. Only a few of us escaped."

Timothy's heart ached after hearing the woman's story. This conflict had taken a huge toll on the lives of the people. They were living their lives and then everything changed in an instant.

"I grieve with you madame. Your husband is a good man for loving his family more than he loved his own life. He is a true Castonian, brave and righteous." he consoled the woman.

Timothy then turned to the people who were silenced by Timothy's conversation with the woman.

"Stella will grow into a beautiful lady someday. She will have dozens of suitors and will live in a peaceful and prosperous Castonia. That is my dream, our dream. For that dream to happen, we need to remain strong. We need to work together as a nation. We are Castonians, offsprings of the warrior. We will survive and come out stronger. The white lion shall stand in the pedestal of nations and will be held in high regard. Are you with me Castonians? Will you follow me to the future?"

The people again screamed Timothy's name. It was louder and more powerful than before.

"Do you have some sort of disease that requres you to make a speech every few days?" Erik asked with a grin.

"What? Moved by words again?" Timothy shot back. And then his face became serious.

"Strike the iron while it's hot, Erik. We have the momentum both in military power and the support of the people. We should not waste it. Besides" he looked at Erik "Don't make it sound like I was insincere. I really felt pity for her you know."

"If you say so Rooster Prince" Erik smiled.

The whole parade lasted for a few hours and it was afternoon already when Timothy reached the Mathias' Villa. The city guards dispersed the people and Timothy let General Marvin lead his army to their camp just outside the city.

Timothy examined the villa. It had been at least a year since the last time he was in Solon but the villa was still the same. The building was large and spacious, displaying the wealth of the Earl. The gate of the villa can fit two wagons side by side and its walls were so tall that one could mistake it for a castle.

The Earl then greeted Timothy at the gate.

"Our savior, Prince Timothy has arrive!" He approached and embraced Timothy. He then whispered to his ears, "I'm sorry Tim. I really am. I never thought you could win"

"It's okay Mathias. I know you did it for the sake of Leo's Tear." Timothy whispered back.

The Earl had already expressed his apologies many times in his letter. But it seems his friend still felt guilty.

Mathias freed Timothy from his embrace and gestured towards his daughter. "Celine also wants to express her gratitude towards you"

Celine held the hem of her dress in front of Timothy. "Prince Timothy"she bowed. Her smile was mischievous and childish. She never change, Timothy laughed inwardly.

The last one who greeted Timothy was Freya. "You made Lucia and I worried." she smiled. Her face now radiates a rejuvenated glow, a far cry from her depressed state a month ago. Timothy was well aware of how he had hurt Freya when he rejected her feelings. But now it seems his friend had recovered.

Mathias then ordered the guards to close the gate. Timothy and his retinue went inside the villa.

"I believe Lucia had already told you about our guest?" Mathias said in a hushed tone while walking towards the building.

Timothy nodded, "I want to meet him. All the officers we have captured so far revealed useless information. But I believe First Spear, as important as he is, knows more. We need him Mathias."

"I don't believe that your eloquence can break his shell Tim."

"No, it won't. I can't make him talk. Nevertheless, I need to meet him face to face"

"I will arrange it immediately"

After sending his retinue to their respective rooms, Timothy secretly went to First Spear's room.

"I will wait for you outside" Mathias said as he put his hand on the handle of the door "If something happens, just shout"

"Come on, do you think I'm a child?" he looked at Mathias. He then sighed "Okay I will."

Mathias opened the door and Timothy entered the room. The first thing he saw was a man reading a book on his bed. He cleared his throat to indicate his presence.

"You must be Henry" Timothy went closer and offered his hand.

Henry looked at him first, but then he started to avoid eye contact. He slowly reached Timothy's hand and shook it. "I am. And you must be Prince Timothy."

Timothy let go of Henry's hand and pointed at the book. "Abott? I'm a fan of his works. His ideas are new and convincing."

"Yeah" Henry's eyes lit up "He discussed in this book what he think about nobility. He said that having capability as qualification is better than blood. Nobles are born powerful, but most of them are not capable."

"And you believe him?"

"I don't know. It seems logical, but many things are different in theory compared to reality. Nobility has it's downsides like what he said, but it also has advantages."

Seeing Henry enthusiasm in philosophy surprised Timothy. He thought that the famous First Spear was a warrior, strong and war-like. First Spear was famous for leading his cohort in the front, demolishing his opponents in battle. But the First Spear in front of him was very different from what he expected.

"Good catch" Timothy smiled. "If you want, I can lend you more books written by Abott. I have the whole collection"

"Really?" Henry asked like a child. But then he seems to remember his position and went back to his formal self "Thank you, but I'm sorry I can't read them." he lowered his head. "I am to be executed soon?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I heard about your victory. It was stunning. I also heard that you accepted their surrender and I must thank you for that." He closed the book and put it on the table. "I want to be judged with them."

"While I will let you see them, you won't be judged with them. It's too dangerous. Some of them still harbors hatred towards you. Also, your crimes are not that severe so your punishment will be light"

Timothy sat on the chair and faced Henry.

"I want my judgement to be fair Prince Timothy. I don't want to get special treatment."

"You won't. But like what I said, your crimes are not that severe. Even before your battle with Prefect Romel, you have already purposely let go of the villagers." Timothy's face then turned serious "I am a just person, Henry. I'm still angry that you slaughtered the innocents. But I will give you fairness and I say you need redemption more than you need punishment"

Henry frowned at first, but then he gave a resigned smile "You sound like her"

"Who?"

"Freya"

Thoughts then started to flood Timothy's mind. Maybe First Spear was the reason of his friend's recovery. He needs to know more.

But just as Timothy was about to ask personal matters, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Tim!" It was Freya's voice. Well speak of the devil, he thought. But what Freya said next dispelled his calmness. "Lucia is in danger!"

Timothy rushed to the door and opened it. "What happened!?"

Freya handed him an opened letter with a red seal. Timothy grabbed the letter and read it.

It was Lucia's handwriting. From the looks of it, she was in a hurry. Timothy could not believe what he read. Skall Wismar attacked her retinue and she was forced to flee Nirvana! And then Tim read the last part of the letter.

'Tim, if you're reading this, I want to say that I'm sorry for being a fool. I never expected this to happen. If I don't make it to Solon, I want you to know to know that I like you Tim. I really do.'

Timothy grasped the letter so hard that it was crumpled. Fool, he thought, say that to me personally.He then turned towards Earl Mathias who was startled by the events.

"Prepare all of our guards" he gritted his teeth "They have just crossed my bottom line."