Star of Blood

9 | Mendax and Dorobo

Jude took a few minutes to explain to Shin and Sayaka what he found out about Mendax earlier today. He talked about everything he and Prema found in that underground shelter, and Prema nodded every now and then to confirm.

After that explanation, the prince and princess, funny enough, had two completely different looks on their faces—while Sayaka was obviously concerned, Shin had this victorious aura from knowing all along that the Mendaxians were scumbags. As much as Jude hated it, maybe Shin was right this time.

"I knew you people were pathetic," he scoffed. "Riding your high horse when you know fully well that you've done something like this—"

Sayaka must've kicked his foot under the table. "Brother, be quiet!"

"Also, Jude just said he had no idea about this," Prema added, downing some wine. It was the first wine she ever tasted, and everyone could tell she loved it.

Shin sighed, sipping his glass in a more elegant manner. "Well, what about the rest of your people? Do they know?"

Jude shrugged, still trying to ignore the piercing stares of the other Dorobans in the tavern. "I haven't asked them yet. I just found out about this a few hours ago."

The prince blinked. "You learn this truth, and the first thing you do is to go to our empire and tell us about it?"

"Yes, I don't get that," Sayaka nodded.

Jude took a while to respond. "Well, for the past few days—or rather, the past few years—I've been thinking about having a talk with you guys. It's like I said—I hate fighting with you guys. In fact, I don't always love my job as Mendax's Saviour. Besides, I know there's alway two sides to every story. But I decided to have that talk now because it's going to be a while before I can face my people with my new knowledge."

It was incredibly complicated. All his life, Jude served Mendax and the Crown, devoting his freedom and power to the kingdom in war. He always did what he was asked without questioning his people's ideals. That was why learning about the atrocities done to the Hantri was such a crushing blow to his entire mentality. Especially when the Mendaxians were the ones painting the Hantri as the villains. That being said, Jude already knew he was in for one hell of a talk once he was ready to return home.

Also, Jude meant what he said about having a peaceful conversation. After all, he never really understood why Mendax and Dorobo were enemies. When he asked his parents and the nobles why, they said the conflict seemed to just come out of nowhere. According to historical records, the kingdom and the empire were on neutral terms. Then, somewhere along the line, they got into lots of disputes about land and resources and whatnot. Over time, it turned into a clash of beliefs about magic and culture.

Usually, it was Dorobo who had the upper hand in war. But that changed once Hilda the Berserker came and pushed them back a few ways. After her disappearance, the Dorobans tried to regain their advantage, but it wasn't long before Jude came into the world and pushed them back even further. Even with all these turning points, though, the generations-long war seemed like it would never end.

"Might as well start preparing to have that talk then," Shin replied. "You need to be in peak lecturing condition to put your stubborn fellow Mendaxians in place."

"Well, I suppose the Mendaxian invasion explains why our old Hantri encounters suddenly dropped out of nowhere, according to our documents. Up until a few generations ago, we've been having problems with them nonstop," Sayaka said.