Admiring a landscape depicting the horizon of the Archduchy's territory seen from the top of the mansion, Mellorus Felnatus relaxes in his office with a glass of the Archduchy's wine.
"I need to call the painter again. Maybe he can capture the beauty of the city during some festivities, I'm sure it will be a beautiful addition to this office." Mellorus said to himself.
Passing through the window behind the office desk, a small bird made of red light lands on the desk on top of a column of documents. The bird then makes a simple sound, catching the attention of Mellorus, who turns to the table, his eyebrows immediately frown at the sight of the small creature, then he sits in the luxurious chair, places the wine glass on the table, and touches the small creature.
The voice that materializes inside Mellorus' head is already very familiar to him, the voice of Boltu Markash, his old friend whom he had known since the war between the kingdom of Orlos and Sskazzar, companions in the army, they were essential in the victory during the invasion by Sskazzar's troops, from this victory the two became central figures and led the counterattack that repelled the enemy troops.
"Commander Boltu Markash is reporting for the weekly expedition report of the southern frontiers under the command of the Judgment regiment."
"Always following protocol, he never changed." Mellorus said with a small smile.
"The village of Maruum is in a state of order, we are smoothly controlling the traffic of merchants and peasants without any major problems, crimes, and minor infractions have been resolved. Everything is going according to plan. The southern roads are being monitored with patrols throughout their extent, the number of attacks on merchants and caravans is very close to zero, so we hope there will be no problems before, during, and after the harvest festival."
"Perfect, perfect, this will increase the prestige of this house, despite the problems I had because of Luccio." With a satisfied look, Mellorus takes a sip of the wine and waits for the rest of the message.
"I received reports that there was an intense movement of criminals near the Antera hills. I was not given numbers or any other relevant information, however, we sent a squad to check the situation in the region. Unfortunately, the squad was ambushed and we had fatalities. Thanks to excellent adaptability, the squad developed an emergency escape tactic that allowed us to learn about the situation without major losses and avoid major sacrifices, the Blindfold squad was sent to find out what happened to the Aurora squad, and they found one of the survivors and captured one of the bandits, after interrogation, they also managed to locate what would be the stronghold of these criminals."
"Mmmmm." Pensive Mellorus tried to remember who was part of this squad.
"With all the information received, I created a plan of attack to annihilate this security threat, avenge those who were murdered, and with any luck rescue more surviving members of the Aurora squad; six survived."
"Almost half a squadron, I will have to prepare condolences to the families and offer a reward to the families of those lost." He took some papers to start planning the funeral rites.
"The attack was successful on the bandits' stronghold, I appointed Captain Bartholomeo to lead an attack unit from the south and Captain Vanessa Cartwheel to lead the attack from the north, with the use of fire grenades, our troops managed to destroy the walls from the stronghold and moving forward, as a final result all the bandits were annihilated and we managed to rescue some hostages who, according to testimony, were going to be sold as slaves."
"With this, I conclude my weekly report, for the glory of Felnatus!"
Boltu's voice quiets, and the archduke then begins to think about how to respond to the message before the effect disappears, but is interrupted.
"This message I will leave is personal, so I will stop speaking as a servant of the house of Felnatus and will speak as your friend and former army companion." Boltu's voice echoes again in Mellorus' mind, who is surprised by the rest of the message. Boltu normally does not use official methods to have an informal conversation.
"Well, I like to be direct even when I'm not talking about my duties, so I'll get straight to the point. This is an unofficial report and a personal request. I've known you for a long time and have always considered you a good friend. Of course, we have our disagreements and differences, but I never stopped seeing you as an honorable person who placed the well-being of the kingdom and the people who live in it as a priority."
"When we offered to be part of the royal army, I was just a young commoner who wanted to change my life. You were the only son of Duke Felnatus, aiming to show that you were worthy of the title of heir. Together we went through intense training, and during the invasion of Sskazzar we managed to contain the advance of enemy troops and counterattack to a spectacular victory. We saw friends die and others triumph with us; our friendship has always been special."
Mellorus smiles as he remembers the past, something rare in recent years due to all the problems that have fallen on his legacy.
"I remember well how happy I was to see you being decorated as an Archduke and me becoming a Duke, I didn't want any territory so I offered my benefits to your family, as I knew they would be in good hands, and you accepted me as one of your first commanders and always allowed me the freedom to act as I wanted, for that I am very grateful, but now after remembering everything I wanted to say something..."
"You have changed completely, and I'm not talking about your ability to lead or govern, I'm talking about your personality. Since you joined the Star Children's cult, your perception of the world has changed. I understand that you did this because you were in love with Candelia, but the cult changed you."
With each sentence, Mellorus's expression slowly changed, his face now showed a lot of irritation, a sensitive topic that he didn't like to talk about. Yes, he loved Candelia, but she failed him, brought a stain to his family legacy, and could not be forgiven.
"Your actions seem to be aimed only at your title of nobility and no longer in favor of the kingdom, your hostility towards people who do not follow the Children of the Stars Cult has become something evil for everyone who lives around you and the way you treat your youngest daughter, yes, I'm talking about Manila, I didn't think you would reach this point, for years I considered my position in your legacy, we did a lot of good things, but, everything has a limit, so I have two things to let you know."
"When this expedition is over, I will step down from my post as commander, you need not worry, I do not want the lands I am entitled to, they were my gift to you and I know that you are much more capable of managing them, I will probably live as a mercenary or maybe live in a place far from the capital. I haven't decided what to do yet."
That was a blow for Mellorus, he would never have imagined that his friend would abandon him like that. The feeling of betrayal grows in his chest and turns into hatred.
"How can he do this?! This ungrateful, damned man, I helped him in several situations and now he abandons me?!" Overwhelmed by his fury, he throws the wine bottle against the office door, and the bottle shatters, partially damaging the door and dirtying it.
"The second thing I'm going to do is to adopt Manila or ask her if she wants to be adopted by me, I think you don't deserve this child and I'm sure if I do that you can remove all this grudge and hatred for her, after all she will never be recognized as your daughter, the stain that you have mentioned several times to me, will no longer exist."
"This is my message, I hope you are well and that your life is good, my friend, but unfortunately, our paths will not go in the same direction."
The message then stops, and a red flash indicates it has finally reached the end.
"Traitor..." A mixture of sadness, hatred, and disappointment floods Mellorus' head. He holds the bottle of wine and throws it against the office door with all his strength, shattering it, and what was inside it becomes a stain on the door and floor.
"TRAITOR! HOW DARE HE ABANDON THE HOUSE OF FELNATUS!? HAS HE FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING I DID FOR HIM?!" He remembered what Boltu said to him.
"...I'm going to do is to adopt Manila or ask her if she wants to be adopted by me..."
"Manila...MANILA!!!THAT DAMN ABOMINATION AGAIN HURT THE HEART OF MY FAMILY!" He punches the office table hard, creating a large crack.
"AMILIATH! SOMEONE CALL AMILIATH TO MY OFFICE IMMEDIATELY!" Mellorus's angry screams echo throughout the mansion, causing an uproar and panic among the servants.
A few minutes later, Amiliath shows up at the office with a smile.
"Yes, my dear father, what do you want from me?"
"Get ready to go to the capital."