Chapter 145 Memories
I never expected to meet Fred here. I thought he was ruthlessly abandoned by Alessio just like that poor soldier.
"Hey, gentlemen." Fred greeted both of us very happily. He looked very healthy and not hurt at all. It seemed that he had left during the perimeter defense.
"Okay, Fred, my friend." Alessio looked around and asked Fred, "Why, where is our carriage?"
"Oh, sir, here it is!" Fred said, and blew a few rhythmic whistles into the woods. Unexpectedly, the bushes responded instantly. After a while, two carriages that were not very big and not very conspicuous were seen slowly coming out of the bushes, pulled by two old horses. There were also four or five big men in simple clothes accompanying them. This must be the last belongings of Aresio.
"Sir, please!"
Fred stretched out his hand and led Aresio to the first carriage. A soldier hurried over and knelt on the ground. Aresio stepped on his back and used it as a fulcrum to get on the carriage. The carriage in front was used to pull Aresio and was his exclusive vehicle, while the one in the back was used to load goods, such as food and weapons, and no one was allowed to sit.
There was no other way but to lower his head and follow the ordinary soldiers step by step.
"Here! Keep these. Eat them so you have the strength to continue on your journey."
Fred handed us a kettle and two pieces of bread, which were a little dry. After taking the bread and kettle, I felt that I had a good time on this journey.
"Hurry up, the slaves of Bagauda will look for me everywhere if they can't find me." Aresio sat lazily in the carriage and straightened the fur blanket on it. Maybe the blanket was not made of precious animals and the fur was not so comfortable, so Aresio did not look so happy lying on it.
"I am very sorry for causing you any injustice. For the sake of safety, please forgive me, Governor." Fred stood beside the frame, lowered his head to Aresio, and behaved very respectfully.
Alessio was not a rude and unreasonable person. When he learned that this was for safety reasons, he did not pursue any further questions. He just lay down gently, muttering, "This bed is far worse than my bed. I should have taken it with me before I ran away. What a pity!"
Fred heard it all, but he just smiled. He knew that the Governor was just saying it in anger and he would not pursue the matter. He quickly gave orders to the coachman, urging him to get on the road quickly.
The driver whistled skillfully. Perhaps that was the only "language" that the old horse could understand. Look, there was no need for the driver to wave the whip in his hand. The old horse had already started pulling the cart forward.
"Hopefully we can reach our destination safely."
Fred came up to us, smiled at us, and soon trotted up to catch up with the carriage in front.
It seems that the army of Bagauda was going to attack Agrippina, so they didn't see any scouts or patrolling soldiers along the way. This road always felt very familiar, until I passed a forest with piles of bones. I immediately understood this road. Isn't this the place I came to ten days ago? It was also where Fred and I met.
"We once tried to break out of here." Fred pointed to the white bones on the ground. (The nearby wolves must have eaten the corpses clean, otherwise there would not be so many bones.) He continued with a serious face: "But there are too many slaves of Bagauda. They formed a human wall, like a big net that cannot be escaped. We are too few in number. No matter how well-equipped we are, we can't tear a hole in the net."
"So, you failed?" I asked him. I could see that he was a little upset at the moment. He must be still brooding over that failure.
"So, the wound on the Governor's face..." I am still curious about Aresio. After all, he really has a face that would make young girls jealous. Such a handsome face would surely make his owner love him very much.
"No, the wound on the Governor's face, um..." Fred hesitated. It seemed that he was still a little embarrassed to answer my question. He must have some unspeakable secret.
"It's thanks to Aetius!" At this time, the one who answered me was no longer Fred, but Aresio who was lying lazily in the carriage. "Yes, it was your Marshal, the popular Aetius beside the Regent Queen Placidia!" Aresio said, his voice changed a little, and his words revealed his resentment and anger towards Aetius.
No way, could it be that our Grand Marshal Aetius would also be jealous of this peerless beauty? I thought to myself, could it be that they have some other origins, and they are both nobles named Flavius, fighting against each other, even if it was the Emperor himself, he would not allow it here.
"If possible." I mustered up my courage and looked up at Alessio who was lying on his side. He covered his chest with a sheepskin to hide the blood. He must have heard me calling him. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at me with his blue eyes. He seemed to be listening to my next question very carefully: "I know why you hurt your face because of Aetius. After all, this is a very unacceptable loss."
I was a little overwhelmed after saying this. My heart was beating wildly. It was over. It was over. Did I say something wrong? I knew that such a beauty would value her appearance so much that it would even be higher than her life. I lowered my head and did not dare to look into Aresio's eyes, for fear that he would be angry because of my rudeness. Did I poke his sore spot? Such a noble who lost her beauty and came to such a remote area, even a strong person would cry secretly. Thinking of this, I had a good answer for his behavior of not lighting the hall of the Governor's Mansion and staying in bed all day. No, no, no, this is not the most important problem to face now. Oh, what on earth was I thinking about! Perhaps he saw that my expression was a little uncomfortable. I think Aresio, who is well versed in the world, can understand my entanglement and guilt.
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He sighed deeply, then pulled at the sheepskin blanket on his body, looked at me, and said slowly: "It is really boring to walk such a long road without saying a word. Well, do you want to hear my story?"
“Your story!”
I stared at him with my eyes wide open in surprise. I never expected that he was not angry. That was really great! I smiled at Alessio, and he looked at me and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Then, let's start, from the day I became famous..."
The next chapter will tell the story of Flavius Aresio's past, a bloody court struggle. He is a nobleman and a witness. He is the enemy of Aetius, and he also witnessed how Aetius, a down-and-out nobleman without even the title of a noble, rose to the pinnacle of power in the empire!
(End of this chapter)