Valius had been stern toward Dominatus at first, but as the two started drinking, the governor loosened up in no time. Even as dawn started to break, he had an insatiable desire to listen to Dominatus’s heroic tales. It was later revealed that Valius had admired gladiators since his youth and had even tried to enter a gladiator school. Naturally, his father was vehemently against it, and tossed the young Valius into the army instead. Perhaps this boyish admiration still remained in his heart. After work, he returned to his manor and immediately requested a match with Dominatus using wooden swords.
Valius was a famed, skilled swordsman in his youth, but now past middle age, his body didn’t move as nimbly as he wished. He didn’t stand a chance against Dominatus, but very rarely, the governor would score a point against the gladiator. Valius would crow with victory like a small child, leaping up and down innocently.
“I doubt there aren’t many in the world who could land a blow against you, Dominatus, the greatest gladiator of our age,” Valius gloated.
“Indeed,” Dominatus agreed. “I haven’t suffered a loss during matches or even practice battles for many years now.”
Thanks to Dominatus’s flattery, Valius became happier still, and the two men grew so close that they would bathe together. Often after dinner, they would play board games and drink until morning. At first, Lucianus watched this wholesome sight with a smile on his face, but Valius monopolized Dominatus so much that the noble soon grew annoyed and jealous.
One day, Valius brought home a soldier who was rumored to be the strongest within D’Aleppo. This soldier was ordered to have a hand-to-hand battle with Dominatus, and the two fought without brandishing any weapons. The soldier was brawny and splendid, but he ended up surrendering when his joints were locked by Dominatus.
“You’re amazing with the sword, spear, and even your bare fists!” Valius gushed. “I’m sure that you can do the work of thirty men on the battlefield.”
After this, Valius favored Dominatus even more and refused to let the gladiator leave his side. Dominatus, perhaps respecting the governor in turn, didn’t look at all upset whenever he was called for. The two men didn’t resemble each other in appearance, but when they clashed with swords, they looked like brothers with an age gap or perhaps a father and a son.
On the sixth day after Lucianus set foot in D’Aleppo, they received news that the road to the south had been restored. That night, Dominatus said words that shocked Lucianus to the core; the noble couldn’t have expected to hear them.
“Lucianus, there’s something I’d like to talk with you about,” the gladiator said. He had just parted ways with Valius, the smell of alcohol lingering on his breath.
Lucianus had been dozing off in bed and blearily rubbed his sleepy eyes as he sat up.
“Is anything the matter?” he asked. “Is it tiring to be with my uncle? I ask that you endure it until tomorrow. Everything will be over then.”
“No, that’s not what I’m referring to,” Dominatus replied. “Valius is a splendid man. I respect him from the bottom of my heart.” He gripped a sleepy Lucianus’s hands. “He asked me to go with him to Dyna.”
“I see. So you’re going with him to Dyna. That’s… That’s… No, that’s not fine at all! Not one bit!” Lucianus was shocked awake in an instant. He was on high alert, immediately understanding the implication. “Dyna?!” he cried. “What in the world are you on about?!”
“Valius took a liking to my swordplay skills, and he invited me to serve him as his guard. I’m thinking of accepting his offer.”
No words left Lucianus’s lips. Dominatus was deciding something so important on his own—he wasn’t in his right mind.
“No! I won’t allow it!” Lucianus shouted. “You swore that you’d never leave my side.”
“I did,” Dominatus replied. “But that doesn’t mean that we must always be right next to each other.”
Of course Lucianus knew that. Even so, he couldn’t obediently nod his head.
“We went through such hardship to get here,” he said, unable to hide his panic. “Are you saying that you’ll return to Dyna as a soldier? We worked so hard to complete our journey, and now it shall all be for naught.”
“Not at all,” Dominatus said. He cupped his beloved’s face in his hands. “Our journey together wasn’t meaningless. I’ve learned many things. I was able to learn more about your priceless feelings, and they will support me in the years to come. Listen to me, Lucianus. Quite honestly, I couldn’t care less about Dyna’s politics and the future of the Balmain Empire. None of that matters to me. But Azerius is my enemy. A battle to defeat him is a battle for myself as well. I want to fight for myself and to protect your family as well. That’s my reason for heading to Dyna with Valius.”
Dominatus had steeled his resolve. This wasn’t a decision he made on a drunken whim, but a choice he’d settled upon after much agonizing.
“Then I shall go with you,” Lucianus insisted. “I’ll go with you to Dyna.”
“No,” Dominatus replied. “You must wait here. If you’re near danger, I would be so worried it would affect my performance and put us both in danger.”
Lucianus bit his lip. He didn’t want to be apart from Dominatus, but he refused to become dead weight.
“Don’t worry,” Dominatus assured. “Valius will win. I’m sure of it. And I’ll hold you in my arms once more. There’s no need for me to promise the natural order of this world. I beg of you. Please stay here and wait for me.”
Lucianus was silent for a while before he spoke. “You’re telling me to wait again. I doubt you’d understand just how painful it is to wait for the return of your beloved.” He slumped his shoulders with tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Dominatus said. A grimace was on his lips. “I’m aware of how cruel my request is. But I must fight this battle.” He used his thumb to wipe away the tears that formed at the edges of Lucianus’s eyes.
“Is fighting so important to you?”
“I’ve fought countless battles for my survival, money, and the applause of a crowd. For the first time, I’d like to fight for my pride. I know that I’m being selfish. I truly feel bad for doing this to you, but I hope that you’ll forgive me.”
Never had Dominatus been so desperate to get his wish. His earnest desire to have Lucianus understand his feelings was apparent. A man who had spent his life in battles wanted to fight to protect his pride for the first time. Driven by this impulse, a blazing fire had been lit in his heart. Lucianus knew that there was no stopping the gladiator once he had his mind so set on his goal.
“Very well,” Lucianus said. “I shall wait here. The moment I receive word of your victory, I shall head to Dyna.”
“Lucianus…”
“Say no more. Another word, and I shall slap you.”
Spurred by the hopes of becoming Dominatus’s greatest ally and the only one in the world that could understand him best, Lucianus relented. But his feelings of understanding and his emotions of refusing to do so were fighting bitterly within his heart. Should Dominatus say anything more, Lucianus would be tempted to recant his claims.
Dominatus was silent as he tightly hugged Lucianus, who was desperately trying to control his emotions. The gladiator petted the noble’s head many times as though to pacify a crying child. Lucianus calmed down upon feeling Dominatus’s warmth.
“Hug me tighter,” Lucianus ordered like a petulant child.
“Like this?” Dominatus asked.
He squeezed tighter, enveloping the noble in his embrace. Lucianus entrusted his body to this temporary sense of relief while suppressing his sigh. Not once had the noble wished to become a soldier. But now, he was bitterly regretting the fact that he hadn’t grown into a brawny man. Had he been a knight, surely, he could’ve tagged along and fought by Dominatus’s side. All Lucianus could do was wait, and this sense of powerlessness made him deeply frustrated with himself.