The Mist and the Lightning. Part 12

“Yes.”

Nikto turned to Arel, who was standing next to him, his face lit up:

“I have the rarest and most expensive. Which no one else has!”

Due to the fact that Arel participated in hostilities, he was freed from all the attributes of a slave. He was not wearing an uncomfortable collar and the nose ring that got in his way. He could speak.

“Arel, you will stay here with Lis and wait for me. Lis is your master in my absence. Obey him!”

Arel glanced quickly at Nikto with undisguised excitement.

“Don't worry so much,” Nikto chuckled, “I'll be back very soon. Not a whole hour will pass in your world.”He patted the prince like a dog on the top of his head, stroked his completely disheveled braid:

“Arel, is that all? There’s February in your eyes, have you lost your mom? Don’t spoil my blood with your suffering.”

When Nikto and Verniy left, Lis looked at Arel, standing in complete confusion, and even some pity flashed in his gaze:

“You can sit on a chair.”

Arel, silently, apparently, the habit of being deprived of the opportunity to speak all the time, sat down at the table. Lis poured him some wine and placed a bottle next to him:

“You can drink. That’s your favorite.”

But Arel didn't want to.

After a while, Kors came down to them, he greeted Lis.

“Yeah, the Reds lived here on a grand scale,” Kors remarked contentedly. “I really liked the rooms! There are so many antiques.”

“Sit down, Kors,” Lis gestured to a chair. “Have a drink with us.”

Kors sat down and poured himself wine into a beautiful crystal glass:

“And their wine is very good.”

“Yes,” agreed Lis. “They make everything generally better than blacks.”

Kors grimaced in displeasure, clearly not wanting to continue this non-patriotic theme, and asked:

“Where is Karina?”

“Just like you, he enjoys a chic environment. She’s taking a bath, it seems. There is running water and warm water here.”

“Yes. I also took advantage of this. That’s very comfortable!”

“Women do it longer, you probably know.”

“Of course. Let her put herself in order.”

They were silent for a while, and Kors, while resting, drank wine with pleasure.

“Are you going to gather everyone in the courtyard on the square?” He finally asked Lis.

“I will, a little later. I want to wait for Nik and then gather everyone. There’s no rush, let them come to their senses too.”

“They will collect the corpses…”

“Yes,” the face of Lis didn’t reflect a single drop of pity for the dead.

Kors handed him his glass:

“For the victory, Alis!”

Lis smiled rather indifferently, he was not at all euphoric that they had captured the Fort. And so much time and effort was spent on preparation, so much excitement and hardship endured. But he still held out his cup to Kors, and only Prince Arel didn’t participate in their conversation and didn’t raise his goblet.

“You seem to be not very happy?” Remarked Kors.

“No, I'm glad,” Lis disagreed. “Kors, I'm not a boy to jump for joy, and this is not my first victory. I have had many other victories. I'm used to it.”

Kors studied him carefully.

“I am thinking now about Karina, about my daughter. Why did she fall in love with you?”

“Well?”

“And I can even understand her to some extent,” said Kors. “You are not stupid, you are cunning. Without a doubt, there is some charisma in you. And this all together makes you interesting, despite the appearance.”

Lis who drank the wine literally choked:

“Here it begins…” he drawled.

“Sorry, Alis, but you are dirty, infinitely dirty. Unfortunately, you have combined the most unrepresentative features of both races. The ugliest combination I've ever seen, and believe me, I've seen a lot of reds and their half-bloods,” Kors raised his glass of dark red wine and looked thoughtfully at Lis through the glass. “Red hair often has a burgundy shade, it's beautiful, like the color of expensive wine, your hair is lighter. Your eyes are not as beautiful as they should be. I will not say anything about the nose. Surely it has been restored countless times and inaccurately, because I see, in addition to the scar on the bridge of the nose, there is generally a curvature. But, however, your dirty appearance doesn’t surprise me, because your mother was a whore, and before your red father conceived you, at least a hundred peasants and soldiers had already cum into her. How couldsomething worthy appear from this cesspool?”

“What?!” Lis looked at Kors with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t fully understand what he had just said. “Don't you dare insult my mother!” Finally, he barely squeezed out of himself.

“As a noble sir, I have the right to do so – your mother is a commoner and a whore!”

“Shut up! Have you overdrank wine or something?”

“It is noble that you protect her, though not very fiercely, rather, within the bounds of decency. After all, you yourself understand everything, but…” Kors threw up his hands, “you observe the norms of behavior, this is normal, Alis, and moreover, this is correct.”

“I am sick of your arguments about the nobility and purity of blood! You consider me a subhuman, but why did you breed a half-blood yourself? Karina is a half-blood just like me!”

“Her mother was a virgin, and Karina absorbed the best of the features of the Supreme White and noble Black race.”

“And what about Nik then? Why so bad? Why hasn't he absorbed the best?”

“He has perfect facial features!”