𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲'𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝 || 敵の旦那様 (𝐁𝐋) ✔ [COMPLETE]

17. To Be a Man of Honor

As General Haoran stood at the edge and stared at the man beneath the hooved roof, he had mixed feelings about the whole issue. He kind of wanted the fire to consume this bastard so he wouldn't have to deal with his antics, but he also felt relief at the thought of his empire being safe from this shit's existence.

Either way, he had a strong feeling about something.

And that was that he really couldn't stop his urge to pull out that ugly piece of fringe. Actually, he kind of wished that the fire would burn it off—never mind if that bastard's face gets burned in the process.

"Your Highness!" General Haoran yelled, "Please get back down! This Imperial General is here to escort you back home."

As soon as Fu Lin heard that voice, it was not just his fringe that shivered. He immediately ducked down, trying to squeeze himself between the tiles of the roof in an attempt to hide.

Really now? Did he seriously assume a grown man could successfully hide himself in this narrow roof slab?

"Your Highness," Haoran sighed, kind of angered that he had the gall to hide himself in this kind of situation. "There is absolutely no point in hiding. There is nobody in the entirety of the Empire of the Blazing Sun with a fringe as unsightly as that."

When Fu Lin heard that, he stilled and slowly got up. The way he got up somehow looked extraneously dramatic, as if he were some legendary master who was looking down on his savage disciple as he stood tiptoeing at the edge of the roof, his salmon-ivory clothes billowing in the wind. As soon as Fu Lin's eyes met the general's, he looked away.

Calm down, the general told himself, knowing that the mosquito bastard was probably just scared to look him in the eye. He was not ignoring him.

"Your Highness," he said, "please get back down."

Fu Lin looked away, although she was shivering.

Never mind; to get acknowledged by that thing was a greater disgrace than getting ignored. General Haoran was suddenly struck by an idea, and so he brought a well-dweller to meet Fu Lin.

"Now, Your Highness," General Haoran spoke coldly, "will you get down or not?"

Fu Lin immediately turned his head to the well-dweller who was brought and answered the general's question, "...I won't get down."

General Haoran really wanted to climb the roof and beat up this guy, but he wasn't sure the roof could hold onto his weight. "Your highness, please do not be ridiculous," he said, annoyed. "I know that you must have some kind of condition for you to behave like this, so please state your intentions."

Fu Lin was still looking at the well-dweller as he answered, which was beginning to get on Haoran's nerves. "I-I..." He kept gazing at the general out of the corner of his eye, saying, "I want you to promise something."

"Promise what?" he asked disdainfully.

"That you'd catch me if I jumped down and not let me fall."

General Haoran nearly coughed up the breakfast he had in the morning. Why would he have to catch... and subsequently touch this disgusting mosquito bastard? Can't he just get down like a normal human being?

It was then that General's gaze zeroed in on the distance between the roof and edge. It is perfectly normal for a soldier to jump down and roll over, but not for a civilian, especially a chicken like this bastard. He, however, was absolutely against touching this fellow.

"Give me a few minutes," General Haoran said offhandedly, "and I'll bring somebody else over—"

But he couldn't continue as a man in blue robes rushed towards him in a frenzy, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Imperial General! The fire... The fire caught a whiff of the wind direction and is now spreading through the roof area!"

However, it took only a second before the general could react, and even before Fu Lin himself could understand what was going on, he felt a turbulent heat lashing at his wrists. He held his breath and looked behind him with one singular eye. A gigantic wave of fire was roiling and gushing through the dried hay on the roof, burning and blackening everything in its path. Fu Lin was so paralyzed by fear that he stood motionless for over a minute.

"Your Highness." General Haoran's eyes were unfathomable. "Do you want to die?"

"But-but--" Fu Lin flailed about like a headless chicken. He was scared of both the fire and General equally! In fact if he had to pick the General was scarier than the fire! He decided he would get down by himself in that case when he heard the General's crisp voice.

"Fu Lin." The general looked him in the eye clearly, his lock-like eyes now locking onto Fu Lin's own. This was the first time that the general called out his name instead of 'your highness'.

"Jump. I will catch you."

Fu Lin stood, gazing into his eyes, for one more second as flames erupted all around him. Just as the burning embers reached his salmon-colored flowy robe, he had thrown himself into the air, the violent wind and heat grazing past his cheeks and hair as his eyes fluttered. Fu Lin closed his eyes, entrusting himself to the one who promised, his body and weight shifting downward, eclipsing slowly with burden. He kind of expected his body to hit the ground and shatter into pieces.

But he did not hit the ground. Instead, his body was garnered gently by two large palms that smelled of metal and wrapped firmly in a soft embrace, the lull of his long hair brushing against the gunny bag armor filling him with an indescribable haze. The general had caught him.

"Feeling sleepy?" The general asked.

"Mh..." He looked at the general, wanting to thank him. "Yes. Very sleepy."

"Don't bother," The general said, "you will wake up now anyway."

The next moment, he had dropped Fu Lin on the ground.

He only promised that he would catch him when he jumped, not that he'd keep holding him just because he was too lazy to stay standing.

And hence, the general felt he had honored his promise and walked away with ease. However his sense of ease didn't last for very long as he walked to the gates of the arsenal, a man clad in raven black robes with heavy gold embroidery stood bowing at the head of the road. General Haoran recognized the uniform to be of the Imperial Royal Palace's inner guards and he had an ominous premonition as he marched towards the man.

"Imperial General," The Royal Guard greeted him and bowed before him, "the Royal Court summons the Imperial General and his family on an immediate decree."

"Is this His Imperial Royal Majesty's direct order?" Haoran asked.

The Royal Guard paused but then replied unhesitatingly, "Yes, Your Grace."

General Haoran nodded his head. He had failed to protect the emperor's royal responsibility towards him and let the arsenal get destroyed.

It seems it was time for him to face the consequences.

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