A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor
Chapter 1335 - 1335: The Young General Slayer - Part 1

"What could be done?" He said. "You know what Lasha is like. She's as stubborn as an ox being pushed from the side. There was no way I could move her."

"I could not say what you said, but I can definitely say that you didn't try as hard as you ought to have, did you?" Nila said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "It's written on your face, with that stupid smile you get when everything goes exactly as you intended it to. What, did you think you were clever, playing hard to get?"

"Not at all," Oliver said.

"But you do think you were clever, for never having your hopes voiced, but having them achieved in the end, eh?" Nila said, her arms folded, as she pouted. "So you feel quite content to dance around the issue with other people, and have them speak when they are ready to, but with me, it was fine enough to embarrass me in front of everyone that we knew?"

"You did not seem particularly embarrassed," Oliver noted.

Somehow, that comment seemed more embarrassing to Nila than the supposed embarrassment that she was mentioning, for even in the dark, the faintest of blushes was visible in the flickering of the torchlight.

"…You just say what it is you want to see," Nila said, trying to force irritation in her voice, but Oliver could see that her lips were quivering, and she was fighting as hard as she could not to grin.

"You seem to be pleased," Oliver said.

"Shut up."

"You wanted Lasha to have a reason to stay as well, didn't you? After the two of you have become such good friends," Oliver said.

"Shut up."

"You were ever so sad when she was away. I wondered what I could do to bring her back, without being overly forceful. But here she is herself. I must be quite the Captain, eh?"

"Shutttt upppp," Nila groaned. "Where do you find all that confidence? If I had just the smallest fraction of it, I'd own every shop in Ernest, and this little Guild that you've been fighting with would be bowing low to me in the street."

"Well, the confidence comes and goes, I think," Oliver said. "Today has just been a particularly good day."

"…You should have let Lasha see you smiling like that," Nila said. "You're cruel to hide just how pleased you are for her. As if you were the one doing her the favour."

"I would not want her to serve me for the sake of charity," Oliver said. "She needn't have sympathy for me, swaying her heart in whatever decision she makes."

"Excuses," Nila said. "I know what you're like by now, Oliver Patrick. You might have everyone else fooled into thinking you're cunning, but I can see through the way you present yourself. Your desires are written clearly on your face."

"Are they?" Oliver said. Something about the way he said it made Nila turn away again. The girl sighed, and then, like a terrible carriage driver, she forcefully changed the subject.

"Anyway. You're going to the Capital tomorrow, aren't you?" Nila said. "Good luck to you, I suppose. I hope that you don't do anything stupid."

"They're just the rewards for all my hard work," Oliver said, shrugging. "I can't possibly do anything stupid."

Nila rolled her eyes at that. "Well, I'm glad that you seem so content with the idea now, after you made it so hard for the rest of us to convince you."

"I suppose my mind is quickly changed," Oliver said.

"If only we knew what it was that changed it, perhaps the rest of our lives would be far easier," Nila said. "You called Lasha stubborn, but there's no one more stubborn in all the world than you. I think you're the sort of person who'd be happy to hold on for decades without budging, no matter what unrest it might bring to your life."

"Well, perhaps, but you're quite the stubborn woman yourself, Nila," Oliver said. "You said you wouldn't move from your door, and you haven't moved a single step."

Nila sniffed. "I do as I say I will. If even I take my own word to be a loosely said thing, then how are other people to place trust in it?"

She said that line in a mocking tone, as if she was trying to imitate something. Oliver cocked his head, but he just couldn't quite place the voice. "Who's that meant to be? Certainly not Greeves… It sounds like him, but he wouldn't say anything like that."

"Idiot, it's you," Nila said. "Do you not remember saying that? And to think, I thought you looked somewhat respectable when you did."

"Just somewhat?" Oliver said.

"I can see where this is going to go, you're going to poke fun at me for the rest of the night, and I'm going to regret having come out here without a coat," Nila said.

"You can get one if you're cold, I'll wait."

Nila shook her head. "As much as I would like that, you should be resting. It's already late enough, and you've a long journey ahead of you. I will come and see you in the morning."

"Hm…"

"Go," Nila said impatiently, shooing him away with her hands. "And good work today… Apart from toying with poor Lasha. What you endured in Ernest was… I'm not sure how to put it into words, but I worry for you, seeing things like that, over and over. Especially in the city this time, and with there being a woman… Anyway! Anyway… You had better go. Sleep well, Oliver.

I will see you tomorrow."

Carriage rides, it was safe to say, were eternally the bane of Oliver's existence. He had felt – quite rightly – that it would have been an easier business to take Walter and ride straight for the Capital. But apparently, this was an affair better to be done in a civilized manner, rather than a swift one. None of the people close to him would budge on the matter.