A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor-Chapter 890: Oliver Patrick - Part 3

"My goodness!" Mary said, horrified. "He can't do that, can he? He can't draft an Academy student whilst he's still in the midst of his studies?"

"He's already done it, dearest," Skullic told her. "He set the precedent three years ago when he inducted a boy into military ranks. He's been painting the picture that this boy is different from the others – ordinary rules do not apply to him. If Oliver is drafted, no one will look twice. They'll think it to be natural. Some would be asking why it hadn't happened sooner."

"That's horrible," Mary said, seeming more distraught for Oliver than he was for himself. "How can you sit there so mildly, Oliver? What a cruel blow they intend to inflict on you. They'll make all your years at the Academy appear for nought. It will be like you've never been here."

"I have learned much here, Mary," Oliver said. "He can not take that away from me. Passing Scroll or not, I've already gotten what I wish for out of the place. I shall be fine."

"But he'll steal the security that comes with the Passing Scroll. Officers are required to have a Passing Scroll if they wish to advance highly in the military. He'll steal all that from you," Mary said.

"Worry not," Skullic said. "It is a General's discretion, at the end of the day, that will decide how an army is structured. The official guidelines are merely guidelines. Providing Oliver services under Blackwell, he won't have any problems."

"There will come a day when he won't, and there will be problems then," Mary pointed out. "I think the High King knows that very well. He's stealing power from you."

"There is little to be done," Oliver said. "Three years of peace – I have secured power in other places. I have three hundred good strong men of my own that I can rely on, and I have Solgrim. The High King will have a harder time displacing me than he had before."

"Do not forget your allies," Skullic said. "Queen Asabel has done well. She's assimilated the lands that her father was forced to recede to her. Whilst she isn't a true Silver King until the day that her father dies, she rules as though she were one, and she wears the title. She has immense power in that. More importantly – she has armies.

She was not naïve enough to neglect them. Lord Blackthorn will see her well served to the end, and I dare say Lord Blackwell himself would ally with her if it became necessary."

"Don't make it sound like the Kingdom will be plunged into war over me," Oliver said.

"I make it sound like that, for it is very much possible," Skullic said. "If there is a blatant injustice against you, Queen Asabel will move. Her sense of justice is just as strong as Arthur's."

"Come, I've hardly seen her these last three years. Even when she was still at the Academy, she no longer had time for a man such as I," Oliver said, "we are worlds apart. She's a true Queen. She must care for her people, before she cares for someone who she once called a friend."

"You underestimate her," Skullic said, pouring himself a glass of wine. "That girl remembers."

…

…

"It seems a silver lining that you chose today for my visit," Verdant said. "Did you predict that Skullic would have such a thing to say, or was it mere chance?"

Verdant was working to fulfil the contract he'd made with his father, Lord Idris. One day, the Idris lands and domains would fall to Verdant, and Lord Idris was grooming him properly as a successor. Determining that becoming a fully-fledged Lord in his own right was the best way to help his liege, Verdant had thrown himself into the task with Oliver's blessing.

He'd stopped living in the Academy two years prior, but made certain to visit at least once a week. It was an immense burden on the man, given the journey, but never once did he complain, or even allow himself to look haggard. Even now, he showed not the slightest sign of fatigue, as Oliver delivered to him the news.

"Skullic seemed to have known for as long as a week, but he was holding back," Oliver said.

"For your birthday, my Lord? That was kind of him," Verdant said. "It would seem that many are too quick to label Skullic a cold-hearted man."

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"It's a misplaced kindness," Oliver said, frowning. "He need not have worried on my account."

"But he did, my Lord. He will not likely forget the service that you have done for him, in battling all these years, carrying his name, as well as your own," Verdant said. "I expect you already know, but your feats lent him the leverage that he needed to make the risky proposal of the heart that he did."

"His marriage, you mean?" Oliver said.

"Indeed," Verdant said. "A daring move, and a passionate one. It is no wonder that his men love him as they do."

"Daring and passionate is true…" Oliver murmured. Even before they'd married, the two of them had been all but enamoured with each other. Oliver figured that there likely would never be another creature on the planet that could make General Skullic listen as his wife Mary did.

"It is a shame, however," Verdant said, his smile fading, and his eyes quickly taking on the cold gleam of anger as he recalled the news. "The High King still swings his serpent's tail."

"Not in the corridors Verdant," Oliver chided him. "They'll hear you. It will only mean more problems."

"My Lord, you have worked diligently, beyond all that could be expected of you. I daresay, now, you're in the position to at least be a little outspoken," Verdant said.

"I think not, Verdant, as much as my anger would tell me so," Oliver said. "We've Prince Tory Emerson taking residence in this very Red House. I do not think that he would be loath to report us to the High King. At the very least, he doesn't seem to be that fond of me."