As expected, Aidan woke up the next morning with a nasty headache. Anyone else in his place would have vowed to never drink so much again. Aidan, however, vowed to drink even more, once the opportunity presented itself. If he managed to never sober up, he would naturally also never experience a hangover.
He had obviously no idea how far they were from the capital but he hoped for the sake of his stomach contents it wasn't too far. In his previous life Aidan had passionately hated only three things: broken umbrellas, car alarms at night and slow internet connection. Now he considered adding item number four - horses.
"General Minn, how are you doing today?" asked the boy-Emperor, as he overtook him.
Oh, may gods spare him from useless small talk at a time like that!
"I'm fine, thank you," Aidan answered, while every word he said felt like a nail hammered down into his poor head.
"I'm glad to hear it," the Emperor-in-Waiting smirked. "When I mentioned to General Lox that you were inebriated last night, he seemed very surprised. Apparently, you've been practicing asceticism for the last ten years. I'm curious to what made you give up your vows so suddenly."
At this point Aidan couldn't be bothered to think of some bullshit explanation, so he just kept quiet.
"You were much more talkative last night, if I remember correctly," the look in the boy's blue eyes was impatient. "Why are you so quiet? Not used to the effects of wine? Was that the first drink you've ever had?"
His first drink? Oh boy. If he only knew. Aidan would have laughed out loud, if his head hadn't been pounding so bad.
"Mhm," was all he could master to say out loud.
The boy didn't say anything anymore and just kept riding next to him quietly, giving him weird looks.
Most likely the little emperor-to-be was bored. Aidan couldn't blame him – he was also bored but, honestly, he didn't have any desire to babysit a pampered royal. What a shame this realm didn't have podcasts!
The ride to the capital was really long and incredibly tedious – there was nothing but woods and some poorly maintained villages around. The person who was ruling this place was truly incompetent.
The Emperor-in-Waiting noticed Aidan's unhappy demeanor.
"Are you not looking forward to seeing my uncle?" he asked.
His uncle? Ah, the infamous Regent. Aidan was actually a bit curious to see what that evil man looked like – he was almost sure he had either a pornstache or a big hairy mole. All villains tended to have one or the other.
"Mhm," yet again Aidan gave an ambiguous response.
The boy's expression darkened and his voice became deeper, as if all of the sudden he was a different person.
"I dare you to answer my next question with "mhm"," he said.
Shivers ran up Aidan's spine. Caught off guard, he looked at the boy – the little blue-eyed angel was gone. All he saw was an icy stare of someone who was sure of his power.
What a creepy metamorphosis. And here he thought the guy was not so bad for a royal!
"As I said before, I'm grateful for what you did for me, but there are limits to my gratitude," the boy continued. "So, tell me what do you think of my uncle?"
Aidan was in a bit of a pickle. He didn't want to antagonize the little "prince" with another "mhm" but at the same time he had actually never met the Regent and all his thoughts on the man were limited by what he had heard from others. Also, most likely anything he would say now can and will be used against him.
YOU ARE READING
In Pieces
RomanceA majorly depressed slacker transmigrates into a medieval RPG where he is supposed to be a ruthless General. Now he has to deal with his issues, as well as with a young royal who becomes dangerously obsessed with him.
