Herald of Steel - Chapter 1615: Pasha Farzah’s Method (Part-End)
Chapter 1615: Pasha Farzah’s Method (Part-End)
Pasha Farzah felt quite cross at Alexander bringing up the topic of Pasha Ozman and his recently departed son Shahel, finding the latter’s gall astounding. He could not believe he had the nerve to poke his nose into this mess he himself had caused.
It particularly hurt as Pasha Farzah actually quite liked Shahel personally- the boy was a strong warrior and appeared infatuated with Mikaya, reassuring the loving father that his daughter would be treated alright. If that had not been the case, Pasha Farzah would have certainly never handed his most beloved daughter to him- no matter the political benefits.
Thus even though it might have seemed like the elder lord had let Alexander go regarding the assassination, really, he simply tolerated it for a myriad of factors- the main one being the young man was also one his in laws- married to his precious granddaughters- whom the old lord loved even more than his daughter.
If not for that… well, Alexander would have then certainly had two daggers stabbed into his back at the court today.
’That girl.. Mikaya! I have flattered her too much until now. She is out of control.’ Thus for now, Pasha Farzah could only turn his anger helplessly towards his youngest child, locating her as the main culprit and clenching his fist with determination, ’I promise I will straighten her out today! Killing her own husband! Arggghhhh!’
However, all that anger would immediately turn to water as soon as the elder lord met and listened to her side of the story.
Naturally, given how clever she was, Mikaya had an adequate excuse prepared. She very well understood the gravity of what she was dong and thus embellished many of the events when justifying her actions to her father, exaggerating the way Shahel mistreated her as well as showing a few well made fake bruises along her arms and legs, all supplemented by scant real ones around her necks and back.
Topping it off with very teary eyes and a choking, wounded voice…and the whole thing was game, set, and match even before Pasha Farzah would get the first few words out.
In fact, the dialogue and delivery there was so good that if Alexander were there and it was his daughter Alexanderia in Mikaya’s place, he too would have likely folded.
“…..” Pasha Farzah’s snapping answer regarding this gave Alexander all the clues he needed to switch lanes. Thus with a gentle nod, he suddenly changed his tone, letting his voice become sweet and flattering,
“Then grandfather in law, when do you plan to hold the marriage ceremony for your precious granddaughters? We must make the union official, right?”
The different question yet again caused Pasha Farzah to twitch his lips, and he instantly snorted with some anger, “Snort! You already had them in bed! What more do you want?”
Pasha Farzah felt a pretty strong headache coming at Alexander’s reminder, as he asked himself just how he was going to explain to the twins about the things that were going on with their father.
’I cannot believe this brat did that to his own father in law!’ He cursed inside, making the elder lord unwilling to even think about how he was going to solve this.
Alexander on the other hand was not satisfied with this arrangement, nor did he think the two events were a matter to solve. In his mind, Amenheraft and his daughters had long become estranged.
Thus wishing to fish for his own benefits, he turned to the seething lord and cleverly posed in a prodding tone, “Lord Farzah, as proper blue blooded princesses, it is not proper for me to take Azura and Azira like this. Once or twice is… okay since the situation is a bit special now. But to continue this indefinitely… what difference would then they have between a wife and a concubine?”
“….” The words hit Pasha Farzah exactly where Alexander wanted, letting his eyes flash with a chilly light- no daughter or granddaughter from his glorious family was going to be a concubine or mistress, no matter who the man was. Pasha Farzah would not see Azura and Azira have almost the same status as a maid even if the emperor of the world offered it.
Thus as soon as he heard this and he subconsciously clenched his fist tighter than ever.
And Alexander took advantage of precisely this sentiment, and with an innocent, anticipating look, quickly proposed, “My lord, the wedding arrangements of Lady Mikaya and Lord Shahel are still there, right? Why don’t we use that for your beloved granddaughters instead?”
“The guests are already here… and I heard it was going to be quite the celebration. Would it not be such a shame to let all that money and effort go to waste? Azura and Azira surely deserve such grandeur!”
Pasha Farzah turned to give Alexander a slanting glance at the suggestion, before quickly producing a disdainful gaze, “I do not know which is more shameless, brat- you wanting to hijack my daughter’s wedding after killing her husband… or making me pay for your wedding? Snort!”
Alexander let out a suppressed smirk at the accusation, while Pasha Farzah curled his thick lips up and sneered,
“I do not want to hear anything about this anymore. Just count yourself lucky that nobody has really objected to what you have done. That is about the only good thing that came out of this chaos.”
Pasha Farzah was referring to the fact that with the recent poisoning and the great call for war, Alexander’s controversial taking of the holy priestesses had mostly been swept under the radar.
Something that should have properly stirred up Amenheraft’s faction was now too busy trying to survive, while Ptolomy understood that without Lord Assazd, his decrees were mere words, he lacked any strength to go against his two most powerful retainers.
Alexander’s heart thus turned gleeful at this mention, and could not help but grin, “Indeed, indeed, my lord, are you not glad that your granddaughters were able to find a good suitor without any problem. I was also quite worried about trouble with Amenheraft, yet… ahhh… you have snatched such a rich grandson in law so easily!”
“Snort!” Even though Alexander sounded very sweet, Pasha Farzah suddenly found it very distasteful to look at the man’s face and turned his head away in irritation. Just the thought of giving away his precious kin seemed to ignite a jealous, protective fire in his heart.
While Alexander did not let the imperious response get to him, but with that same oily grin, posed, “Then my lord, if the marriage is due soon… when do you propose I have a child with the two princesses?”
Alexander asked this because in Adhania, children born before marriage socially had a lower status compared to siblings after the official union- the latter were generally considered more legitimate and respected.
In fact, in some instances, the elder siblings born out of wedlock would even call the younger more legitimate siblings as ’elder brother or sister’… a clear proof of the difference.
And for Pasha Farzah who was very sensitive about the status of his family- this was a big no-no. He would not tolerate any progeny of his being treated as second class goods.
“….” Pasha Farzah’s eyes thus suddenly turned fiery and looked as if he could not wait to punch Alexander’s teeth out. Of course the old lord could see what the man was trying to do- how could he not?
Alexander wanted to hold a large wedding right here in front of all the nobles to show off the tying of the knot with the divine lineage and increase his legitimacy over the rule of Zanzan.
However Pasha Farzah already had enough on his plate and did not want to deal with this right now. Since the nobles had somehow forgotten about this small detail, he was more than happy to let it be.
He could deal with the matter after all the other things had been settled.
Alexander on the other hand had a completely different thought process. He figured this chaotic situation was the best time to force this union through, especially as Ptolomy was now weak, Alexander could force him to ratify the marriage contract even if he was unwilling.
And traditionally, if the king was willing to vouch for any such marriage, then the deal was as good as it was going to get. As the divine representatives of the gods on earth, his approval was seen as approval from the gods and the heaven itself. Few would ever dare challenge that!
In addition to this, Alexander was also physically tempted to make children with the twins, his manly desires tantalized at the thought of seeing the naive, beautiful girls produce inflated, round bellies carrying the crystallization of his seed. He did not want to wait much longer for this good deed.
“Sigh! You are going to be the death of me, brat!” Pasha Farzah too understood Alexander’s point without him having to spell it out, and vigorously rubbed his temple in response, the anger dying down to be replaced by the previous worries.
Thus finally, he proposed a compromise, “Wait till we have Bahu. We will hold a grand ceremony for you there. But right now… if I were to use Mikaya’s wedding preparations on you, it would look really bad to Ozman. He… has taken the death of his son very hard.”
“….” A look of realization dawned on Alexander that was not present before, as he instantly nodded, ’Right! I had forgotten about that.’
