Chapter 186 Audience with Theodosius II (Part 1)

"Hey, sir, who are they? They look about the same age as us, but why do they have a recommendation from Augustus of the Western Empire?" Looking at the backs of Luca and his group as they walked away, a soldier didn't understand, or he was not convinced. The pale comparison made him feel even more tormented.

"They are destined to have a promising future." The old officer kept rubbing the two fingertips of his left hand, as if he still had a slight feeling for the parchment used by the royal family. He answered slowly after watching the backs of Luca and his group disappear behind the Europa Gate west of Constantinople. The old man's eyes were deep, and then he looked to the distant east. Across the strait, in Asia Minor, and further east, on the desert plain, there stood an equally powerful empire. They were sharpening their fangs and claws, eyeing the land of the Eastern Empire!

After bidding farewell to the relatively hospitable gate guards, Luca, Andrew and his party finally entered Constantinople.

The gray slate-paved road, the smelly drainage canals, the crowded houses, the narrow streets, the pedestrians coming and going, the street vendors hawking their wares at the venue, the soldiers patrolling from time to time, and even the girls soliciting customers on the street, all of which are full of Roman style. There are new faces and new things everywhere. The vibrant Constantinople dazzled Luca. In addition, he was unfamiliar with the place, so he naturally got lost on this road. Looking back, he found that he had come to a central store with crisscrossing roads. For a moment, he couldn't even tell the way he came.

Pedestrians were coming and going on the road, most of them were civilians, and their clothes were quite good. Because they were located in the East, people with black hair, black eyes, and big beards with Central Asian features were everywhere on the streets, but people with blond hair and blue eyes were rare. No, no, no, that's not the point. The point is how to get to the palace! "Damn it!" Luga clenched his fist and swung it fiercely at the air in front of him, thinking that if he had a superpower, it would be good to make a road. Now he just needed a guide, a guide, a guide! Luga stared at the pedestrians coming and going on both sides, and was about to reach out to stop a passerby to ask, but he was stunned, because he remembered the reminder before setting off: When you arrive in Constantinople, don't talk to any passerby.

"Fuck, what kind of rules are these!" The hand that had just been stretched out froze in mid-air, and then drooped down like a deflated skin. Luka was a conservative person after all. Since it was a reminder, even if he didn't reveal the reason at all, he naturally had his reasons. Maybe he was used to seeing all kinds of people on TV who didn't follow the rules and did what they wanted, and ended up getting hurt or even killed. Luka himself knew his current status and responsibilities, so he would never dare to do anything reckless.

Looking up, I could see the royal palace standing out from the crowd in the center of the city from a distance.

Andrew became more and more angry as he walked, and he simply complained in the street: "This is probably the old emperor deliberately trying to intimidate us. We thought we would be treated well here, but who knew that we were treated like civilians. We are really not afraid."

"That's enough, Andrew. Be careful there are ears around you!"

Andrew was a man with a quick temper, but it made sense. After all, he had a letter of recommendation from Caesar of the Western Empire, so even if he was an envoy, he would need someone to receive him.

"What? I'm a guest of the Western Empire. How come I've come all the way here but haven't seen any reception or even a guide?" Deeply disappointed with the Eastern Empire's hospitality, Luca could only lead Andrew and a few of his followers and guards to face the royal palace. They didn't care where the road would lead to in the end. They only knew that the current passage was indeed heading towards the direction of the royal palace. So who cares if it changes lanes!

"Caesar, they're here!"

A waiter dressed neatly and decently was standing on the top floor of the Royal Palace, where there was an aerial garden full of various plants, Roman stone columns and various finely crafted full-body statues. It was originally suitable for a quiet environment, but the sound of the iron chain dragging on the ground destroyed it. It turned out to be the slaves responsible for taking care of the garden. They were all female slaves, dressed simply, and out of tune with this beautiful garden. They were young, all girls, and came from the Western Empire, including Germans and Burgundians. (There were tens of thousands of Burgundians who surrendered in the Battle of Worms. Aetius would naturally not ignore the huge interests behind these tens of thousands of people. Of course, a considerable number of them were sold as slaves. The already saturated slave market suffered a huge impact. For the sake of business, slave traders had to sell these slaves farther and farther.) They were Augustus' slaves.

He was facing a figure from behind, a middle-aged man in a purple robe, looking a little old and busy. The middle-aged man was tending to a pot of flowers whose names he could not name. He was obviously old, and he had been in power for thirty years. He was naturally tired of politics and began to be obsessed with the flowers and plants that were only good for show. The waiter deliberately kept a distance from him, probably because he was afraid of the two warriors with strong armor and sharp swords beside the old man. He lowered his head and was very respectful.

"Oh?" Theodosius II stopped what he was doing and turned around. Seeing this, the guards beside him immediately brought him a silver plate with only a wine glass made of fine silver and a piece of beautifully woven cloth on it. The wine glass was filled with wine diluted in a strict proportion. Theodosius II put down the sharp little dagger. The dagger was used to trim flowers and plants. Although it was a waste of material, the value of the dagger increased exponentially after passing through Augustus' hands. Even though it was expensive, it was just a knife for trimming flowers and plants to Theodosius II, not a special thing.

He picked up the cloth casually, wiped his hands carefully, and then threw the cloth on the silver plate. Then he picked up the wine glass elegantly, first put it to his nose and sniffed it gently, then pressed his lower lip with the mouth of the glass, and dipped his upper lip slightly into the rose-colored juice. In other words, he took a sip, and the process was only a few seconds, but the aristocratic temperament revealed in his every move impressed the waiter. It was a temperament that was cultivated for many years and radiated from the inside out, and only members of the royal family and famous families could have it.

"My cousin, whom I have never met, recommended two reliable guards to me for the first time." Theodosius held the wine glass and leaned against the marble fence. His black eyes were as mysterious as his grandfather's. He began to think, silently calculating what kind of person his nephew, whom he had never met, had sent. "The Western Empire is suffering from an unprecedented barbarian invasion. He recommended people here when he needed them. It seems that he has a lot of talented people under his command."

"Then your majesty!" The guard beside him, who was wearing black scale armor, spoke up. Since he could speak up, he must be someone extraordinary. At least he had a certain status in front of the emperor. He continued, "Since Augustus of the Western Empire could recommend someone, he must have a reason."

"Reason? Ha!" Theodosius II sneered. He gently put the wine glass to his nose and sniffed it. He said, "What kind of plan can an eighteen-year-old child have?"

"How about we write a letter and have those people take it back. I think they have been exploring the city for quite some time."

"Then let them look for it again!" Theodosius II drank the wine in the glass, put the empty glass back on the silver plate, and turned around. The whole city seemed to be at his feet.

"If they can't even find my residence, how can they be qualified to be my personal guards?"

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

(End of this chapter)