Herald of Steel-Chapter 1536: Lord Mirzah

There was a bit of a glazed look in Lady Inayah's eyes as she introduced Mikaya's mother, almost like she was impressed by what the lady had been able to accomplish.

A reaction she explained by turning to Alexander and mysteriously smiling, "She is the only white lady to have been able to capture Pasha Farzah's heart to such an extent. You will know why when you meet her at the wedding."

"....." From the context, Alexander guessed the lady must have been very beautiful and charming, enough to perhaps make even a woman like Lady Inayah a bit smitten. But given how pretty Mikaya was, that was hardly too alarming.

Although Alexander also guessed Pasha Farzah favoring Mikaya and her mother had to do a lot with him losing his eldest daughter. The grieving father must have tried to fill the void with the only daughter he had left with him.

In addition, Mikaya was also a very clever girl, as sharp and smart as her father, if not more. The fact that she was able to hide so many of her ill doings with so many other men without her father even suspecting a thing was proof.

Her talent in painting, calligraphy and poetry… the three most important quantities for measuring a woman's intelligence and charms were also said to be unmatched in the whole of Matrak and she had an air of natural grace and beauty that even moved her biological father.

Hence once she was allowed to get close to him, she was quickly able to endear to her parent's heart, to the point that Mikaya became Pasha Farzah's one true blind spot.

No matter how many times whispers of her doing some abominable things with other men reached the pasha's ears, he simply brushed them off as malicious rumors trying to slander his daughter.

Some of the messengers were even punished by flogging or outright dismissed for reporting this, so after some time they stopped informing the Pasha on this altogether.

This let Mikaya and her two maid sisters ever increase their hedonism.

Alexander absent mindedly mused all this as that infamous beauty's topic was brought up and then even curiously chimed to himself with a small smirk, 'I wonder if her mother knows her daughter's true color? I believe she should.'

Given the lady had been able to charm her man despite possessing an extremely disadvantageous complex, it went to reason she was more than simply just a pretty face. Surely, her womanly instinct would have caught on to her daughter's misadventures long ago.

But it was also completely understandable for the mother to hide this from Pasha Farzah even if she knew, as such a thing would only enrage the man and cause the downfall of both her and her daughter.

"Some time ago, I heard some rumors about the mothers of Pasha Farzah's second and third sons.."

It was while Alexander thinking this that the Queen Mother suddenly chimed up from the side like so, curiosity lacing her tone,

"There were also some rumors of their mothers being Mirzah's spoils of conquest… that he captured them during one of his expeditions against the northern barbarians and then gifted them to his father upon return. Is that true?"

"...That is a blatant lie." The answer came immediately in a very firm voice, "The brothers are only separated by a few years, so Mirzah would have been only a toddler when the others were born. That is clearly impossible. It is only a rumor spread by Mirzah's faction to discredit the two boys."

Lady Inayah sneered with very clear disdain as she revealed the flaws in the claim, before slanting her eyes and jeering,

"I thought this type of foolish words worked only on the gullible peasants. I cannot believe you of all people would believe in such a thing, Seelima! Has the drink started to get to you?"

"....."

In the entire country, Lady Inayah was probably the only one who talked to the Queen Mother like this without getting her head chopped off.

Even Ptolomy would have received a stern telling off.

But facing her friend's frank words, the lady only gave a hidden glare and then covered her face with the crystal wine glass, taking a large sip to drown her displeasure.

While Lady Inayah finished by adding a small note,

"It was Mikaya's mother who was taken as a captive. I believe she was the princess or wife of a tribal leader… I can't exactly remember the details. Pasha Farzah was leading that expedition and personally picked her as his spoils."

This last note intrigued Alexander because he knew of Pasha Farzah's preference. Hence for him to voluntarily pick a young girl whose skin was white as driven snow… it really made Alexander want to meet the legendary concubine even more.

"My lady, thank you for your introduction." The man first thanked Lady Inayah for her patiently making this detailed introduction, then in a polite tone asked the question he had yet to receive an answer to,

"But I still fail to see why Pasha Farzah wants to replace his eldest son. From all that you have told me, Lord Mirzah seems like the ideal pick. Besides, aren't the laws of inheritance of Adhania quite strict? Can Pasha Farzah replace his son from the main wife with another even if he wants to?"

Using his knowledge, Alexander thought the nobles supporting Mirzah might have a point."

"....." Lady Inayah lightly pursed her lips at the question, displeased not at Alexander per se, but at the thought of having to answer him.

She really did not feel like it. But not explaining the situation to Alexander was also not an option.

"Do not count on Pasha Farzah to care about those traditions. He already calls them old fashioned."

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Hence the ebony lady finally began with this, first dismissing Alexander's reservations about the inheritance with a small sigh, "Once that old fart gets something into his head, he will do it no matter what. Not even all the nobles in Matrak combined can change his mind. And he actually has good reason to want to favor Kayvan over Mirzah…"

As she trailed off, Lady Inayah's lips pursed further, and her frown deepened, as if she was reliving some bad memories.

Finally with a heaving sigh, she let everything out quickly in a single breath,

"The boy has some very bad flaws in his character. He has tortured and killed multiple working maids just out of fun and the way he has subjugated some of the northern tribes…. leaves one with a very bad taste. So Pasha Farzah believes if he hands over the seat to him, his entire family would not be safe."

"....." The answer was both surprising and unsurprising for Alexander.

Surprising because of course you did not usually meet such real life sadistics. And it was certainly a great tragedy that such things happened to those maids.

But it was unsurprising because they did exist. Pasha Muazz, the lands whom Alexander now ruled also did similar things, if not worse.

Thus as much as Alexander agreed with Pasha Farzah on a moral basis, he did not actually support the man in removing his son because at the end of the day, Mirzah was very competent. And once Pasha Farzah inevitably passed away, Alexander would need a very strong, reliable ally.

However observing Lady Inayah's clear dislike for the boy, he did not butt in with his own views and kept the thoughts to himself.

"I heard he once killed one his concubines for having hair between her eyebrows…. Is that true?" It was right then the Queen Mother suddenly interjected Lady Inayah with this ask, sounding quite curious.

"Mmmm…an unibrow? I heard it was armpit hair. Mikaya told me it was actually leg hair." Lady Inayah recounted several different versions of the story, before solemnly nodding,

"But yes. It did happen. He once stabbed one of his concubines just for some extra hair. She was even pregnant. He killed her by stabbing her belly more than ten times, killing both her and the baby."

"....." Even the Queen Mother's strong stomach, one that had killed a king, churned at the news. And given her current state, she subconsciously clutched her belly, shielding her unborn child from his invisible threat.

"...." While Alexander's lips very visibly twitched, finding this to be indeed a problem.

It was one thing to kill a few unknown maids and torture one's enemies… those could still be defined as mere psychos.

But to kill one's own child over something so trivial… this was a complete madman.

You could reason with psychos, but what can you do with someone who is not quite right in the head?

Thus Alexander was beginning to see why Pasha Farzah was so apprehensive about his family's safety in the hands of his eldest son.

"The boy is an absolute sadist!" Lady Inayah at last finished with this curse, and then turned to look at Alexander for his reaction.

"....." But the man did not react. He was still processing the information and how best to navigate through it.

Which was why Lady Inayah then added this last coup de gras, with a taunting sneer,

"Brat, are you thinking you can still make friends with him? I know how you think. You value talent over all, so perhaps you are thinking of just bearing with it? After all, what does a few maids matter to you?"

"Heh, well sorry to be the one to burst your bubble, but Mirzah hates you. He hates your guts… just because you are from Thesos."