After three rounds of drinking, the two of them were already completely drunk. They couldn’t sit properly in their seat.
At this moment, Bunduk no longer had his usual restraint. He began to talk to Derrick about how he admired Derrick.
As for Derrick, he leaned back in his chair and quietly listened to Bunduk’s words.
In the end, when Bunduk’s mouth was dry from talking, Derrick called for someone to bring him a pot of tea. He said, “Drink some tea first.”
“No need. It’s fine as long as there’s wine.” Bunduk shook his head.
“You haven’t had enough?” Derrick removed the wine from Bunduk’s glass and filled it with tea. “People who set off early in the morning tomorrow can’t afford to have a hangover.”
“Who cares? If you drink with me, I have to drink to my heart’s content.” Bunduk waved his hand and said, “If you want to stay here forever, won’t there be fewer opportunities for us to drink together in the future?”
“Sigh.” Derrick sighed alone and said to Bunduk with a smile, “How about this? Whenever you want me to go back to Drondheim to drink with you, I’ll go back immediately.”
“You…” At this moment, Bunduk’s eyes had turned red. “I didn’t know you would be so stubborn. Why didn’t you listen to me after I told you so many times? Now that I think about it, I can see that His Highness revealed the decision he was about to make to me so that I could test your resolve. The outcome now will probably surprise even him.”
After drinking too much wine, Bunduk’s tongue went numb, and his words became irrational. However, Derrick could still hear the meaning in his words. He pursed his lips, raised his hand, and handed the teacup to Bunduk.
“Do you think it will be easy to walk down from this position? The things you are used to will be lost one after another. Why do you have to let yourself suffer those losses?” Bunduk took the teacup, as his lips moved, he thought of something. He placed the wine cup on the table and continued speaking to Derrick.
“I’ve thought about all of this…” Derrick whispered.
“I wonder how disappointed your subordinates will be if they know that you will make such a decision.” Bunduk quickly drank a cup of tea and prepared to leave. However, when he stood up, he wasn’t able to stand properly. He could barely walk properly.
Derrick quickly went forward to support him and instructed the soldier beside him, “Send General Bunduk back.”
“Yes.” the soldier rushed over and placed Bunduk’s hand on his shoulder, holding half of his body.
“Remember to send the hangover soup prepared by the kitchen to General Bunduk.” Looking at Bunduk’s dragging figure, Derrick continued to instruct the soldier beside him.
“Yes!”
The next morning, Bunduk was woken up by the guards. Because he had not only taken a bath before going to bed last night, but he had also drunk the hangover soup and so on, the headache were not as intense as he had imagined.
“Commander Bunduk, we are about to set off.” After seeing that Bunduk had woken up, the soldier retreated to the door and reported to him.
“Alright.” Bunduk rubbed his temples and nodded.
As he had been out on expeditions all year round, the process of washing up in the morning was already something that Bunduk was used to. He appeared in the hall earlier than anyone else.
He met Derrick, who was about to head upstairs. Derrick looked at Bunduk in surprise and asked, “You’re so early?”
“I was woken up by someone. I was faster than them, so I waited here.” Bunduk answered as he chewed on his breakfast.
“I see.” Derrick didn’t go up the stairs. Instead, he turned around and went to the kitchen to bring out two cups of warm milk. He sat down opposite Bunduk and said, “Drink something hot.”
Bunduk took a cup of milk and drank it. “Not bad. It’s comparable to the fresh milk in the military camp.”
“I got someone to order it from Cumberland.” said Derrick as he took a sip.
“That’s a good idea.” praised Bunduk.
“Why don’t I pack some for you to take away?” suggested Derrick.
“No.” Bunduk shook his head with a smile. “If His Highness finds out about this, he’ll kill me.”
“Hehe.” Derrick also treated this as a joke and ignored it.
The two of them chatted casually, and the number of soldiers sitting around eating breakfast increased.
“You don’t have to supervise the construction site today?” Bunduk wiped the table in front of him and asked Derrick.
“I sent my men to watch it for me.” answered Derrick. “I’ll rush over after sending you out of the city gates.”
“Okay.” Bunduk nodded, stood up, and called for the soldiers to quickly gather.
“Let them eat slowly.” said Derrick with a smile.
“If I eat more, I’ll be too full to walk.” Bunduk shook his head with a smile. “Besides, I really feel bad for keeping you here.”
“Hehe,” Derrick chuckled.
After a while, the soldiers of the escort team lined up in front of the lobby.
“The few of you, go and bring the camels from the backyard.” Bunduk instructed the soldiers in the front row.
After everyone packed their luggage, they headed for the city gate.
When they reached the city gate, Bunduk bade farewell to Derrick. “We’ll see you after the new year.”
“Alright.” Derrick waved at him.
Without saying anything else, Bunduk led his soldiers and set off towards the snow land outside the city.
“Your Highness!” a soldier rushed into the senate hall and shouted.
“What’s wrong?” Kant put down the document in his hand and looked up.
“Commander Bunduk has returned to Drondheim with his guards. He’s at the city gate now.” reported the soldier.
“Oh. I understand. You may leave.” Kant nodded and continued to read the text in his hand.
The soldier saw that Kant was so calm and thought that he was really angry with Commander Bunduk. He hesitated and said, “Do we need to… call Commander Bunduk over?”
“No need.” Kant said. “He will come on his own.”
The soldier was stunned for a moment before he replied, “Understood.”
Once again, Kant was the only one left in the senate hall. When Kant heard the sound of footsteps getting further and further away, he glanced at the incense sticks at the corner of the table. He calculated the time in his heart.
After a while, Kant sat in the hall and heard Bunduk’s laughter from afar.
When Bunduk entered the hall and bowed, Kant put the document in his hand aside and said, “You dare to laugh when you left the city without telling me?”
“Uh.” Bunduk squatted down and said awkwardly, “It’s my fault for not reporting to you, Your Highness.”
