Arc of Fire

For a moment, Wang Zhong wished the Prussian Army would attack soon, so he could make a big show of himself, but recalling the peaceful scenes he had just witnessed, this thought gave way to the simple wish that war’s pace would slow.

Wearing a complex expression, he rode into the estate on horseback.

About two hundred maids came to greet him, spacing themselves five meters apart to guide Wang Zhong’s unit to three three-story buildings at the northwest corner of the garden.

The buildings, made of red bricks, reminded one of the red brick buildings of the Royal Naval College on Earth or of Peking University’s red halls.

The parade ground enclosed by the three buildings seemed to be able to accommodate three to five thousand soldiers at once.

To the north of the buildings stood an arsenal and a parking lot.

Yegorov exclaimed, “This is practically a barracks! I fought near Argesukov during the Civil War and even stayed in the city; how come I’ve never heard of a barracks here?”

No one answered Yegorov.

Wang Zhong directly asked a maid standing by the road, “When was this barracks built?”

“This is a barracks from the period of the Civil War,” the maid replied, “We’ve already cleaned it up yesterday, please arrange to move in. Dinner will be served in the guesthouse in two hours.”

The Crown Prince said, “That’s perfect. Get the troops settled and ready for dinner, and we’ll go to the main building to see your father. Weren’t you going to continue commanding your troops? If you don’t go over and tell the Duke now, you’ll be soon keeping company with pickled cucumber jars!”

Wang Zhong kept a straight face. He didn’t want to end up in the storage room, so he said to Yegorov, “I’ll leave the rest to you; I’m going to meet my ‘father’.”

As he said this, Wang Zhong felt a bit awkward; he still resisted calling another man ‘Dad,’ but he couldn’t call him his foster father either, so he just had to go along with it.

Yegorov waved his hand: “Remember to requisition more troops for us, as well as technical equipment!”

Pavlov added, “And staff officers!”

Wang Zhong waved his hand: “I’ll do my best.”

At that moment, Ludmila, who had been moving with the unit, got off a Divine Arrow Company vehicle and called out to a maid, “Vera Vladimirovna! Get my horse ready! Alyosha, I’m coming with you!”

Vladimirovna bowed to Ludmila: “Miss Mailehovna, welcome. Your horse will be ready shortly.”

The Crown Prince said flippantly, “Do you really need to go through all that trouble? Just sit atop Alyosha’s saddle, right?”

Ludmila just smiled slightly, without responding.

————

Twenty minutes later, the three rode their horses to the front of the manor’s main building.

Suddenly, two hounds appeared from nowhere and started barking at Wang Zhong.

What, even dogs dislike you?

As Wang Zhong complained, the horse he was on, Bucephalus, kicked out, sending one dog flying away; the dog rolled over, stood up apparently unharmed but with its arrogance gone, whimpering sharply.

Seeing this, the other dog stopped barking as well and turned to run away.

Several military vehicles were parked in front of the main door, one of them bearing the insignia of the Front Army headquarters – presumably the car Petrov had returned in.

Passing by a gardener trimming the flower beds, Wang Zhong heard him grumble, “Great, the little demon’s back!”

Little demon? What, am I Xiao Yu’er from ‘The Legendary Twins’?

Ludmila, who also heard the gardener’s words, laughed, “Everyone still thinks you’re the same person that both humans and dogs despise.”

Wang Zhong replied, “You’re the only one who doesn’t despise me, this human-and-dog-despising guy; a secret crush confirmed.”

“I just treat you like a mischievous little brother,” she retorted.

Reaching the front, the coachman had already been informed and was waiting; they would take the horses to the nearby stables and see to saddling and grooming, ensuring the horses were in top shape.

Watching Bucephalus being led away by the coachman, Wang Zhong casually asked, “How many people are on this estate?”

“There should be about three to five hundred servants,” Ludmila replied, “Ever since the end of the Civil War, the servants have been getting paid, and on the empire’s records, we’ve transitioned from lords to farm owners, employers.”

Right after she had finished, the Crown Prince lamented, “What a pity, back when they were serfs, you could lash them at your leisure! Whipping anyone who didn’t work hard! Now it’s just dull.”

Wang Zhong glanced at the Crown Prince, thinking to himself how quickly the guy went from buddy to wastrel—or rather, it seemed just the sort of mischief two wastrels would enjoy, hence their friendship.

As the three approached the stout doors, before they could even touch the handle, the doors swung open from the inside, revealing the impressively dignified butler who bowed slightly, “Your Highness Antonov, and young master, Miss Mailehovna, welcome back. The master and the eldest young master are waiting in the study.”

The Crown Prince waved his hand, “I won’t go. Is there any afternoon tea? I’d like some walnut jam and bread, plus some wine. What wine do you have here?”

The old butler replied, “Shall I open a bottle of Chinandega red wine for you?”

“Good, good, a wine with a name will do; I can’t really tell the difference anyway.” Saying this, the Crown Prince confidently headed toward the room on the left-hand side, as if he was already very familiar with the layout.

He must have been here many times before.

After the Crown Prince and the old butler walked away, Ludmila looked back at Wang Zhong, “You… remember the way to the study, right? The 381 heavy artillery was quite something, it seems to have wiped out all your memories.”