Chapter 308 — On Negotiation
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 3
So these were the two elven physicians the emperor had summoned?
A flicker of interest stirred in Pei Yi, and he quietly studied the two elves before him.
They were a pair of silver elves of nearly identical appearance, bearing their race's signature golden hair and pointed ears. Both were tall, their features all but flawless. They wore white court gowns (or, in plainer terms, the dresses of noble ladies), with a badge patterned after leaves and branches pinned to their breasts—which seemed to indicate that they also held the status of superhuman adepts of the druidic faction…
What struck him most was not their beauty or their bearing, but the sense of "synchronicity" between them—a rapport even tighter than that of twin sisters. They spoke in unison, bowed in unison, their movements almost perfectly matched, giving Duke Pei Yi the illusion that he was watching a single person and her shadow.
"I have never met you before," Duke Pei Yi Wendell said, his tone detached and reserved.
There was no need for him to say much to two physicians—especially elven superhuman adepts in the employ of the crown—but even if he asked a few more questions, no one would think to question it.
"Indeed you have not, for we are not court physicians," the two elves said in unison for the first half, and then the slightly taller of the two continued, "We merely answered His Majesty's summons."
"I see." Pei Yi gave a slight nod, then turned his attention from the two elves and continued on his way to Luo Yan Augustus's reception room.
The emperor's summoning of physicians on short notice was uncommon, but it was a private matter of the emperor's, and as first duke he had no reason to pay it undue attention.
That emperor of great ambition and ability sat in the broad chair at the head of the reception room, awaiting his first duke.
This middle-aged emperor had the keen eyes of a hawk. Though his temperament was gloomy and his frame gaunt, those sharp eyes still made him as fearsome as a wolf in full vigor. He sat in the wide-backed chair, lamplight spilling from behind it, so that he was swallowed in the shadow of the backlight—but once Pei Yi entered the room, this middle-aged man who so loved to shroud himself in shadow rose of his own accord.
"My lord Pei Yi, how glad I am that you would come to see me in such foggy weather."
Pei Yi froze for a moment, scarcely daring to believe what he was seeing in Luo Yan Augustus.
The emperor's frame was still gaunt, his air still somewhat gloomy, but the eyes beneath that short gray curly hair shone with a clear and lucid intelligence. He stood straight, and though the smile on his face was much muted by his naturally somber temperament, there was no doubt that His Majesty's spirits were in better condition than ever before.
Pei Yi could no longer remember how long it had been since he last saw a smile on Luo Yan Augustus's face, since he last saw that fully lucid look in the other's eyes, since he last heard the other call his name in that easy, familiar way. That mad curse which had shrouded the Augustus family for over two hundred years had actually, for the moment, lifted from His Majesty!?
The Great Emperor Luo Yan seemed not to notice Pei Yi's brief astonishment. Smiling, he walked over to another chair beside him and sat down, gesturing for Pei Yi to sit across from him as relaxed as ever, and spoke: "Coming out in such fog—is there something important you wish to tell me?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Pei Yi drew a breath and sat down before the Great Emperor. "I have received intelligence from the border…"
As he recounted what he had learned, he carefully watched the Great Emperor Luo Yan's expression for any change.