Foundation of Smoke and Steel

Chapter 189

NathanNathan had been bored for three hours.

Not the manageable kind of boredom that could be solved with food, idle conversation, or even a quick spar in one of the courtyards. This was the deeper, more irritating kind, the sort that settled into his bones and made everything feel slower than it actually was. He had been told, very clearly, to behave, to remain available, and to avoid causing problems while the fortress filled with nobles, dignitaries, and whatever other important stuffy BORING people had decided to descend on Crescent Hyr.

He had agreed because his brother-in-law asked him to.

That didn't mean he liked it. Boring people were just that. BORING.

Instead of boring he was going to be happy. Maybe he could find something to cut down.

That was always fun.

He moved through the halls with far more energy than the environment required, his steps quick and uneven, his path wandering wherever his interest took him. At one point he pivoted around a pillar for no reason other than the fact that it was there, his hand brushing the stone as he spun, humming something under his breath that absolutely did not belong in a fortress currently acting as the center of half the Empire's attention.

"Zippity-doo-dah," he muttered, grinning to himself completely off tune as he continued forward. "Zippity-day…"

Yes, deciding to be happy was good. He felt fantastic. Maybe he should find a local girl to woo.

He paused. When he was happy, stuff usually interrupted it. It usually meant something unfortunate was about to happen, but Nathan had never been particularly concerned with avoiding those kinds of patterns. If anything, he leaned into them.

The fortress had changed as the place filled up with boring stupid people.

He noticed it as he moved and people became more frantic. Well, not him. He refused to dwell on it.

But he quickly noticed there were too many people, too many unfamiliar faces layered over the familiar. Suddenly there were more nobles, retainers, guards, and servants, and everyone seemed to be moving twice as fast as usual while pretending they were not. Conversations stopped when he passed, then resumed once he was out of earshot, as if everyone had collectively decided that whatever was happening here mattered more than anything else.

And at the center of all of it—

His brother-in-law.

That was to be expected. His brother-in-law was probably a demon, after all. Demons did shit. They were evil and stuff, but at least they got shit done.

Nathan's grin widened as he adjusted his path without thinking, angling toward the main hall where he knew Ethan would be. He needed to find him, not for anything important, but because if he had to stand still for another ten minutes while people discussed strategy and diplomacy and "appropriate responses," he was going to start a fight, and that was always fun.

There had to be something better to do.

A spar.

A hunt.

Anything involving motion and preferably a weapon. Or maybe some sort of explosion. Yes, it would be fun to blow shit up.

His expression brightened further as a thought clicked into place.

Maybe he could convince brother-in-law to test that ridiculous weapon system again. That had been fun. The kind of loud, chaotic, and extremely satisfying outcome he was always looking for. He thought back to how his brother-in-law had leveled that Murai's head.

There had been fire. There had been explosions. There had been absolutely no subtlety whatsoever.

Yes.

That was the plan.

Nathan rounded the final corner into the main hall—

—and stopped.

Because, once again, his brother-in-law was surrounded by beautiful women.

Nathan stared for a moment, letting the scene fully resolve in front of him before reacting.

His scary sister stood slightly to one side, her posture flawless, every line of her frame poised with the same effortless grace she brought to everything else. There was nothing soft about the way she occupied space. She did not need to demand attention. It aligned around her naturally. She could have been a mosaic or a sword.

The Princess stood near her, composed in a different way. Less rigid, more fluid, but no less intentional. Her gaze moved carefully, tracking details, measuring interactions, always aware of how she was being perceived and how she was perceiving others in return. He liked how golden her hair was. One of these days he would ask her to touch it.

Anmei was there as well, leaning just slightly into the space as if proximity itself were a form of participation. She looked entirely at ease, her expression bright, her attention so sharp it was predatory.

That was three. The three he expected.

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Nathan opened his mouth, ready to make a comment—

—and then he saw the fourth.

He stopped.

Actually stopped.

His momentum died in place as his attention fixed fully on the woman standing near the center of the group.

Yu Meishan.

The Poet of Earth.

Recognition came immediately, though Nathan had never met her. There wasn't a hot-blooded man alive who didn't know the Poet of Earth. She was the daughter of Yu Ziyuan, the Mother of Terra. She was probably the most powerful spirit cultivator of this generation in the Empire. She was so integrated with her cultivation spirit that nobody actually knew who the spirit was, or where the contract came from, only that Yu Meishan exuded divine power. She exuded not just mana, but divine power, the very pure kind. Something that, in and of itself, was out of the ordinary.

Nathan slowed as he approached, his earlier momentum giving way to something more deliberate as he took the full measure of what stood in front of him.

Three out of the four Great Beauties of the Empire, and the Princess, who was on par with the rest of them. It was actually one of those scenes that made you want to stop and just watch.

His sister was all jaded beauty and cold refinement, every movement exact, every expression controlled to the point of perfection. There was nothing accidental about Vivian Li. She was the straight edge of a blade given form, sharp lines and flawless balance, the kind of beauty that cut before you realized you had been struck.

Lu Anmei was the opposite in almost every way that mattered to his scary sister. She was heat and motion and unapologetic presence, bright and immediate, her energy spilling outward without restraint. There was something inherently dangerous about her raw depiction.

Sophie Virelyn was the anomaly amongst these women. It was like she was completely foreign-born, with her golden eyes and golden hair. Her figure was somewhere in between the rest, the perfect balance of proportion, hips, and bust, her long hair cascading down with the sort of wavy polish that was either completely deliberate or so wildly accidental that it became stylish. She was an anomaly amongst the rest of them, but still just as enticing.

Then there was Shen Minhua, who was missing the party and was probably going to be very upset about it. Her look was somewhere in between the others. Where Vivian was ice and Anmei was fire, Minhua was a more intricate creature, like the slamming of waves against volcanic rock. Elegant, graceful, but also sensual, and layered with intention. Her beauty came with thought behind it, an awareness that sharpened everything about her. She could both overwhelm a room and study it, understand it, and then adjust herself until she became part of its structure.

Together, the four of them defined what people meant when they spoke about the Four Great Beauties of the Empire. Add the Princess who usually hid behind a veil. Well…

Now, Yu Meishan stood among them.

She did not fit cleanly into any of those patterns.

She was softer. Though that wasn't to be confused with weak. Nathan was not stupid enough to make that mistake. Yu Meishan was not weak, but softer in the way she presented herself. Her features carried a quiet balance, her expression composed without effort, her presence steady in a way that did not push outward or demand attention. Instead, it seemed to draw the space around her inward, as if everything naturally settled into place in response to her.

Passive wasn't really the correct word.

It was… grounded.

That was the only word Nathan could come up with that didn't feel completely inadequate.

And standing there, looking at the four of them together, Nathan came to a very simple and extremely important conclusion.

Nathan stepped forward slowly, his grin returning as the shock settled into something far more entertaining.

"This," he said, gesturing loosely at the group as he approached, "is not awesome."

Several heads turned toward him.

He ignored them.

"There are now three out of the four Great Beauties of the Empire standing in one room with a side of princess," he continued, his tone growing more animated as he closed the distance. "Brother-in-law, you cannot have another one. The masses will absolutely revolt."

He stopped just short of the group, shaking his head in exaggerated disbelief.

"I am calling foul," he added. "This is a violation of basic human decency."

Anmei laughed immediately, the sound light and unrestrained.

Vivian did not.

The Princess made a small sound that suggested she had already regretted his arrival.

Yu Meishan simply looked at him.

Then she smiled.

The smile almost sent Nathan to the floor.

The expression shifted her entire presence. It was like looking at the sun after days of rain. She inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment.

"We meet again, Master Li," she said, her voice soft but clear. "I was coming to see your family and to check on Marissa Lin."

Nathan blinked once and changed focus. He had more important things to think about. Then he pointed at her, then at Ethan, then back again.

"Another one," he said, turning his full attention to his brother-in-law. "Another beautiful woman who came here specifically to see you. You need help. I am serious. You should hire someone to manage this situation."

Ethan looked at him like he was reconsidering several life decisions at once.

Nathan waved a hand, dismissing the concern before it could fully form.

"It's fine," he said. "You can handle it."

He paused, then nodded to himself, fully convinced.

"Yes. Definitely. You'll be fine."

There was movement behind him.

Nathan turned slightly, just enough to catch the approach of two more figures stepping into the space with quiet confidence.

Their pace was measured but not deferential. These people belonged here, or at least thought they did. He respected people who took control even if they were wrong.

The people looked strangely familiar…

"Robert Zhou," the man said.

"Margaret Zhou," the woman followed. "Young Master Li, it's good to see you again."

Nathan stared at them for half a second.

Then his expression lit up.

"Brother-in-law, why didn't you tell me that Mom and Dad Zhou were coming? I was supposed to prepare gifts for them."

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need to prepare gifts for my parents, little brother?"

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Because, obviously, brother-in-law, your parents are my parents. That's just how math works."

Brother-in-law put his hand to the bridge of his nose. "Brother, I'm not sure you actually know what math is."

It was then that another person made his appearance as he started laughing. The sound was soft, bemused, and sounded like a younger version of his brother-in-law.

Nathan looked over and saw a younger man with a younger face and innocent eyes looking at Ethan, his parents, and the women around him with bemusement. Not exactly jealousy, but a sort of detachment that was interested and amused, if not jealous.

The young man caught Nathan looking at him. He raised his hand. "Hi, I'm Ryan. You probably don't remember me from the wedding, but—"

Nathan was on Ryan like white on rice, using an acceleration spell to pick the young man up and spin him around. "Little brother-in-law! I've been so worried about you. I heard people were trying to bully you. And they tried to hurt your woman. Here, tell older brother-in-law what's going on. We'll go and kill all those people. I'm so glad that you're here. I should have been training you in the sword, and I apologize for not doing so. But fear not. Your older brother-in-law is literally the best with the sword. We will start immediately. Don't worry, then we'll go find those bastards and kill everyone related to them. How dare they touch your woman. Don't worry, younger brother-in-law. I will avenge you. And no one will be able to bully you ever again."

Everyone froze. Ryan in particular looked confused, terrified, and exhilarated all at the same time.

Vivian hit her head against her palm. "Shit."