Tursed my worid upside down

"Wow!" Egor exclaimed, his eyes widening in amazement!

They were standing near the gates of Uncle Klaus's estate. The fence around the lands of the king's brother was at least five meters high and the young men could not see anything that was behind it. Except for the guards stationed along the perimeter of the wall and pointing their bows at them.

"Stop! Who goes there?" a loud voice rang out.

"I am Klaus Deffender. Prince of Isorobia." Klaus introduced himself.

"A prince and without an entourage?" the guard asked incredulously.

"Go down and check, pathetic worm!" Klaus growled imperiously, causing goosebumps to run across Egor's skin.

Several agonizing minutes passed until a pair of heavily armed guards emerged from a small door next to the huge gates and slowly walked towards the uninvited guests. As soon as the first one looked at Klaus's face, his grimace distorted into an evil grin.

"Ah, you the brazen liar!" You decided to sneak into the king's brother's estate by deception!" with these words, he rushed with a sword at Klaus, who, after a moment's hesitation, parried the blow and took a few steps back.

It dawned on Egor!

"Klaus! Your tattoos!"

The prince instinctively reached out to his temple and remembered that he had covered the distinctive marks with foundation.

"Stop, guard!" he shouted, but no one listened to him. The prince, in a fit of anger, sent weak lightning bolts across the ground and all five of those meeting him fell to the ground. As soon as he exhaled and decided to erase his cover, a cry of "Fire" was heard from above and arrows flew towards the young men.

The prince spread his arms, and a wall of lightning appeared in front of him. The first volley was followed by a second. Klaus knew that he would not last long.

"Egor, come and wipe this damn cream off my face!"

The young man, who had been standing behind the prince at a short distance all this time, quickly approached Klaus. He had never been near Klaus when he used magic, but now he felt how strong it was. Electric tension was felt everywhere and Egor was afraid that he would be electrocuted if he touched the prince, but he also knew that if he did not erase the tattoos, Klaus would sooner or later run out of steam and then they would definitely both die.

The fair-haired guy reached out a shaking hand to the prince's temple and began to rub the cream off his skin with the edge of his shirt, then moved to the other temple. Oddly enough, as soon as the guy touched Klaus, the tension in that place went away.

A second later, one arrow barely touched the finger of Yegor's hand, having first touched the prince's temple, scratching the skin. Yegor froze, watching as the scratch slowly filled with bloody drops.

"Don't slow down! Rub off this damn cream quickly."

Egor rubbed off the cream, but it didn't change the situation. The guards continued to shoot at the unexpected guests, not noticing the distinctive signs of the prince of their country from such a distance.

The soldiers who had come out to check on the guests, struck by Klaus's lightning, gradually began to come to their senses.

"Look here!" Egor waved from behind the prince, pointing at Klaus's head.

Several agonizing minutes passed before one of them finally noticed the tattoos and ordered them to stop the attack.

"Forgive me, Your Highness! The guard fell to his knees and begged. The others followed his example." We could not even imagine that such an important person as you could appear accompanied by just one person and at the same time hide your title.

Klaus took a breath, straightened up, and looked arrogantly at the people at his feet.

"Take us to Uncle immediately!"

"Yes, sir!"

As soon as the young people passed through the heavy gates, one of the escorts began to loudly announce:

"Prince of Isorobia! The heir to the throne has visited our lands!"

There was a commotion, soldiers lined up, servants fell prostrate before Klaus, who walked past with a proud posture and an inscrutable face, not even deigning to look at them.

Egor trailed a little behind and now saw Klaus as he had been in the first days of their acquaintance. He had already forgotten how arrogant he could be, but at the same time he understood that this was his mask. This was the image he had to maintain. His heart sank treacherously. He did not want to see Klaus like this.

On the other hand, Egor could not understand what Klaus was really like. He could rush at the enemy without delay, protect Egor, save a remote village from attack, provide an old woman with money for several years in advance. But he could also abandon a bewitched person, knowing that he was in danger of death. He could silently leave the village, realizing that there were no people left in it who could protect it. The prince could cut down enemies with a crazy smile on his face.

Who is Klaus Deffender? What is he ready to do for his goals? And how long can he tolerate useless Egor next to him? The last question tormented the guy the most. Egor was ready to do anything, if only the prince was nearby. The guy began to understand that he did not care how many Klaus would kill or maim, the main thing was that he did not leave Egor alone or did not send him to his world forcibly.

The young men entered the wide, wide-open doors. High ceilings, walls made of light stone and a wide staircase ahead, on it stood a man in rich attire, which contrasted with the simple and gray robes of the slaves, who bowed their heads. A few steps behind the man stood another man in a purple robe. Yegor realized that he was also a slave, but of a higher rank. The man was surrounded by guards. Two on each side and five more behind. Also, the fair-haired guy noticed that there were a couple dozen more guards posted near the walls of the hall. Why such security in this impregnable fortress? Was the owner afraid of the slaves' betrayal? Or is he afraid of Klaus?

"Hello, uncle." Klaus addressed the man in an even tone. "Glad to see you in good health. And Abel didn't come out to meet his cousin?"

"You surprised me with your sudden appearance. I'm glad you finally deigned to visit your uncle's estate, but why so long?"

"I had some business. So what about Abel?"

"My son is no longer a boy and I decided that it would be useful for him to immerse himself in military affairs. He serves on the border."

Klaus silently looked at his uncle, who in turn studied his nephew, and then turned his gaze to Egor.

"Dear nephew, the slaves are already preparing your room. Rest, tidy yourself up and eat. Then we can talk to you." He turned his head to the first slave, who was stretched out on the floor in front of the stairs in a low bow "you, show the prince's slave where he can temporarily settle down."

The slave quickly stood up and, without raising his head, approached Egor, who looked at Klaus in confusion.

"No, he is not a slave," the prince said, putting his hand between the servants and Egor. "He also needs to be given a room."

"Not a slave?" the uncle drawled. "And who is he? From what family?"

"He does not belong to the nobility, as well as to other strata of the population."

"Your Highness, you know the rules very well, if he is not from a noble family, then he cannot be part of the royal retinue, and if he is not your slave, then he must be immediately expelled from my domain."

"No. He. Stays. With. Me." Klaus answered, clearly pronouncing each word.

Egor unconsciously took a few steps towards the prince and stood almost right behind his back.

"You are not a king yet and cannot make your own laws. If you want to keep the boy with you so much, then brand him as a personal slave."

"No."

"Dear nephew, you leave me no choice." With a slight wave of his hand, the king's brother set the guards, who had been standing like shadows near the walls all this time, in motion. The soldiers took out their swords and slowly moved towards the young men. Klaus cast a look full of anger at his uncle and freed his katana from its sheath.

"So that's what you decided," the prince confirmed rather than asked, sending strong electric shocks along the blade of the weapon. "Then I'll have to convince you and deprive you of half the guards."

Egor understood that he had brought problems to Klaus again. He was scared, and the young man was glad that the prince was on his side. These barbaric laws had not yet settled in the fair-haired head, but now he understood that if Klaus entered the battle, he would lose any opportunity to receive at least some support in his world. And all because of Egor.

"Stop, Klaus," the guy said quietly, touching the prince's forearm. "You shouldn't start a fight with your only ally."

"We don't know yet whether he's our ally or not. Right now I only know one ally - you."

It was flattering. Egor was pleased to hear this from Klaus and see how he was ready to protect him without hesitation, but the guy came here to help, not to aggravate the situation. He hesitated for a couple more seconds, and then stepped forward.

"I agree to become the prince's personal slave, please call off the soldiers, let's resolve this peacefully."

"Are you crazy?" Klaus growled.

"So what - a tattoo. I wanted to get one at home anyway," Egor giggled nervously.

"Do you understand what you're agreeing to?"

"If I'm branded, will I become your property? Then there won't be any problems with me being near you?"

"True, but you will become a slave! You will lose your freedom!"

"I will become a slave in the eyes of others, but your attitude towards me will not change? Look at this as a strategic part of your plan. It is just an illusion for the others."

Klaus looked intently at Egor. The prince's brother looked expectantly from one young man to the other. The guards with drawn swords froze in uncertainty.

"Good. I will put my personal brand on him. From this day on, he is my slave-servant of the highest rank, who will accompany me everywhere. Prepare another bed in my chambers."