“And what does he write to you?”
“Nothing. There was money. I gave more than half to this witch for the ceremony. Excuse me.”
“This is your money, Karina, don’t report to me.”
“Yes. But here's one more thing, and I'm sure this is for you.”
Karina pushed the box towards him: it contained a ring with a blue stone and a mask.
Nikto seemed to be sincerely happy:
“My mask! Is he giving it back to me?”
“I think yes.”
“And the ring? Is it just me, or does your father want to make up?”
“Yes. He wants peace. And me too. Forgive me.”
“I have nothing to forgive you!”
“For this stupid ceremony. I will do whatever you need. I swear! I will correct my mistakes!”
“You do everything. You are smart. Everything is good,” and Nikto handed her a glass of red wine.
Arel wanted to punish Karina, tie her to a post and whip her with a whip, just as he regularly did with servants. But Nikto ordered not to touch her. For the time being.
Chapter two. News from Vil
Prince Arel looked doubtfully at the plump stack of sheets.
Lis went down into the living room and, seeing the papers in Arel's hands, asked skeptically:
“Has Vil sent a book?”
Arel put aside the message:
“I won't read this,” he said firmly.
“I won't either,” replied Lis. “My tongue has not yet fully healed, and it is difficult for me to speak, let alone read such voluminous texts aloud. Or maybe he's loading you with accounting again? I see there are some numbers.”
“It looks like he sent a full report,” Arel said in confusion.
“That’s what happens when one makes a fool pray to the gods!” Lis grinned.
“Here Vil managed to white a whole book, but there is still no news from the idiot Tol!” Arel said indignantly. “He’s definitely an idiot!”
“Well, don't you know Tol? He will send his report, I'm sure,” Lis reassured him.
“Come on, I'll try to read it,” volunteered Karina, seeing that none of her friends were eager to do this.
Arel readily thrust a sheaf of sheets into her.
She took the first page:
“Sooo… Arel, well, here he describes on a whole page how happy he is that we are alive and well. And how he loves us all. And… he calls you his big brother!”
“Then don't read it,” Arel said. “Look further.”
Karina began to read. Vil described in detail how he arrived at the Castle that ill-fated day and didn’t find anyone in the main hall. How he read Arel's note, how he found the will.
“Pass it,” Arel said quickly. “I don't want to listen to this!”
“And I'm already wondering,” said Lis.
“It's too personal, Lis,” Arel retorted. “It's none of your business.”
Karina dutifully skipped Vil’s outpourings on the topic of brotherly love and moved on to the story of how Vil found Enriki unconscious in the room. Vil described what happened in bright colors, and the friends froze, listening to how he injected water into Enriki’s vein to dilute the concentration of the poison, how he took him to the doctor and how Enriki survived thanks to Vil’s feat and the fact that he was not taken aback at a critical moment.
“And Kors lied to me that Enriki had overdosed,” Arel said quietly.
“I don't think he knew,” Karina tried to protect her father. “Vil writes that Caspar Janti kept everything a secret.”
Then Vil told how he met Zara. And Lis laughed:
“Zara! I remember that stripper whore!”
“Here he writes that they fell in love at first sight,” said Karina. She also remembered Zara, but was not sure what to tell about it.
“I don't want to hear anything about Zara!” Arel said too nervously, according to Karina, and she didn’t understand him. She wanted to answer him:
“Yes, Arel, I don’t want to hear anything about Zara either.” But she said:
“Arel, you tell me to skip everything. What then is the point of reading? How do we get news from the city? There is a lot about Zara and more…”
Then Vil told how Zara helped him and introduced him to very good people. How Morgan Talas began to help him and how they hold the Castle and Upper. And all the time he noted how great he was and how Arel can be proud of him.
At some point, looking up from reading, Karina looked at her friends and, seeing their bored faces, could not stand it, laughed:
“Arel, there are ten pages of layouts: all regulations, payments, income, expenses and accounting. Should I read?”
Arel, who was sitting with his hand on his cheek, shuddered:
“Eh? Of course not! Let it all go to hell! All this shit!”
Nikto held out his hand:
“Give it here, Karina, I'll figure it out. And I'll write Las what to do next.”
“Will you write it yourself?” Arel asked hopefully.
“Myself. Take it easy.”
“Right here, at the end,” said Karina, and her voice trembled:
“The lies about Enriki's death were revealed, and he, his sister Mily, doctor Caspar Janti and other accomplices were arrested and will be brought to trial. This was done by Leonardo, who now took over as Vitor Kors, and we could not do anything…”
“What?” Arel barely uttered, he put his hand on his throat, as if something prevented him from speaking, and looked questioningly at Nikto.
“Are you sure, Nik, that everything is going according to plan?” He asked carefully and with excitement.
And Nikto smiled torturedly:
“Yes.”
“It was easier to pretend to be a lamb, wasn't it, Nik?” Lis said, looking closely at the upset Nikto. “No expectations from you. And now we've put everything on you. And we are waiting for the results. Don't let us down!”
“Don’t be afraid of anything!” Nikto said firmly. “You are just people, and your fear will get you nowhere.”
“Are these the words of a Demon or a human?” Lis asked and smiled as he had not smiled for a long time. And, opening his mouth, showed them the tip of his tongue, which was now bifurcated, like the sting of a snake.
And Nikto turned away.
“Enriki’ss girl, Agatha, turned out to be alive, she served Caspar Janti in the hospital until his arrest, and later was sent to an orphanage in the “Lower City”. Agatha escaped from the shelter and returned to our Castle. Zara likes her a lot and allowed her to pick up a kitten. The kitty has grown up and has now brought three kittens,” Karina read, but, looking up and seeing the expression on their faces, stopped short.
Nikto had studied Vil’s report for a couple of hours and wrote a response to him and Morgan Talas. And Prince Arel was lying on the bed, unable to fall asleep, and now he drank, then smoked, then admired his Nik, then tossed and turned from side to side. Finally, he could not resist:
“Nik?”
“Yes. What? Arel, I'm a little busy, you see. I'll fuck you later. Be patient.”
“I