Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 196: The bad one of the litter(2)

Chapter 196: The bad one of the litter(2)

The days passed in an unchanging rhythm, with Tiberius settling into a routine, each moment blending into the next in the quiet solitude of his room. Yet despite the steady flow of monotony, he noticed a shift in his young servant. The boy's eyes always held Tiberius figure whenever he entered , always making sure he was disarmed, even though he attempted to keep his gaze respectfully lowered.

Tiberius found the transformation almost amusing. Where once the boy had slipped into the room like a shadow, practically ignoring Tiberius's presence, he now lingered just a moment longer as if waiting to catch a hint of expression or movement. And though their exchanges were wordless, Tiberius could sense the boy's tension whenever he set the tray down. 

 He'd even become more eager to answer this time, readily disclosing small details whenever he asked something 

It was remarkable, he mused, how quickly a person's attitude could change, as though with one sharp encounter.

Over the next several days, Tiberius managed to extract more than just guarded glances and quiet observations from the young servant; he even got his name—Edric. At first, the boy muttered it reluctantly, barely meeting Tiberius's eyes as he stammered his own name. But it was a beginning, and Tiberius used the boy's interest in talking to coax more information out of him. It started with simple details about daily life in the outside world, but soon he had Edric sharing bits of news from the empire itself.