Page 40 of Rise of a Fallen Man

“The games master will kill me,” Regit moaned.

“The black puss building up in your cock will kill you before she does if we don’t do something about it.” I got up to my feet. “Tell me where to find the warlock who did this to you.”

Regit peeked at me from under his arm. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll go to the city, find the bastard, and get from him what he should’ve brought to you already.”

“I’m not sure he’d appreciate your visit. He doesn’t want the public to know he offers this kind of service.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t, but I don’t care how he feels about it. If he doesn’t want any follow-up visits to his place, he should’ve done his job and come here himself.”

“What if he refuses to give you anything?”

“Then, I’ll make him. Don’t let my sweet appearance fool you.” I smirked, making him smile, too, despite his pain. “I don’t like hurting people, but I can be very persuasive if I have to.”

“Well...” he sighed. “It’s not like I can ask the healing witch for help here.”

“No witch will get involved in this now,” I agreed. “The warlock started it, he needs to do it right.”

Going to the gladiators’ healing witch would get Regit in trouble. As much as the court ladies might end up enjoyingthe “improvements” to Regit’s cock, surgeries like that weren’t approved by the crown.

“When was the last time you took the powder?” I asked.

“Just now.”

“Don’t take more, then. Too much of this stuff can be bad for you. Take the rest with dinner, and I’ll bring you more to take for the night.”

“Raeb,” Regit stopped me as I placed a hand on the door handle. “Take a horse from the stables. It’s allowed. And... Thank you. A lot.”

I nodded before leaving his bedroom.

After grabbing a cloak from my room, I left the building, but I didn’t go to the stables. The less I saw of a riding crop, the better off I was. Ever since leaving Lady Lana’s manor, I couldn’t bring myself to hit another living being with a crop, be it myself or an animal.

Instead, I walked past the tall red barn where the games master supposedly held a three-winged dragon from the faraway Ekans Isles, then circled the wide dome of the underground terrarium with the fire-breathing mud worms, and made a brief stop at the animal enclosures.

The bear I’d nearly choked to death while fighting for my life in the arena had recovered by now. The lazy bum was napping on a flat rock over the pond in his special enclosure. A black-and-white beetle buzzed over the bear’s ear before landing on his nose. The bear swatted at it with his paw and rolled over on his other side without even opening his eyes.

The games master strictly forbade the gladiators from approaching the animals. We weren’t to form any kind of relationship with them for two reasons.

One, it wouldn’t work for the show if the predators recognized us in the arena and acted friendly while being presented to the public as wild.

And two, if we had to kill one in the arena, it was easier to do so when the animal wasn’t raised as a pet.

Watching the bear relax in the sun, I found it hard to believe that this was the same beast who’d nearly tore my arm off less than two weeks ago. The games master mentioned the attack wasn’t the bear’s normal behavior. She hadn’t allowed for the bear or the lion that had mauled me to return to the arena since, worried that they had become unpredictable, unmanageable, and therefore too dangerous.

“Bye, buddy,” I said quietly enough for the bear not to hear me.

Before leaving the grounds, I pulled the hood of my light linen cloak lower over my face. The chances of someone from my distant past recognizing me had been going down, the more time had separated me from those years and the more occupations I’d changed since, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

I hitched a ride with the family of a teacher who was returning to Egami after visiting relatives in the country. Her wagon moved slowly toward the city center, as the road was already congested with both carriages and pedestrians.

“We should’ve left earlier,” the teacher lamented. “I knew the royal wedding ceremony was today, but I hoped we’d make it home before the crowds gathered.”

The ceremony wasn’t until the afternoon, with the special reception beforehand for the invited guests. It’d be followed by a celebratory dinner and a ball later tonight. But the crowds were already flowing toward the palace.

Their excitement was palpable. This wedding was a joyous occasion that the entire country had been waiting and praying for.

The city had been decorated with colorful banners and ribbons. Posters with the portrait of the couple hung in almostevery window. It was hard to avoid looking at them, no matter how hard I tried not to look.

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