I put out his fire

When Rhodes rushed to Mars' house, he first smelled a strong smell of herbs.

Several slaves shuttled back and forth, wiping their hands and sweat for Mars.He was lying on the bed with his eyes closed, breathing weakly and shortly.His tightly pursed lips were purple, like two withered maple leaves.

The slave ignited the stick and dyed his hair and palms. The dark gray smoke grew like grass, and the choking smell of saffron stuck in the air like stifling oil.

Rhode raised his hand and waved away the smoke covering his vision, and walked to Mars' hospital bed.His tough black figure was embedded in the smoke like being buried.

Mars raised his eyes with difficulty, a stiff smile stretched across his face like a thread.

"Rod...you are here..." His voice was hoarse after being smoked by the charcoal fire.

Rhodes' eyes were as serious as gray iron.He straightened his spine, brushed his flushed cheeks, and said after a pause, "You don't look well, Myers."

Mars coughed violently a few times, as if he was going to cough out his lungs.He patted the side of the bed with his withered palm like an old candle, "Come... my child..."

Rhodes sat up, still pressing the hilt tightly with his hand.His black hair was sticking up stubbornly, and his back was tense like a steel plate.

"I voluntarily resigned from the military..." Mars smiled self-deprecatingly, with a bit of relief in his eyes, "My heart will stop beating at any time, and General Otto will not allow a diseased weed that is about to wither to control him of the army..."

"General Otto?" Rhodes became alert, "Is his name Anthony?"

"That's his younger brother..." Mars shook his head, "His name is Munch. I served under him for ten years..."

Rhodes had a cold face, and there was a dark light of thought in his eyes.

A trace of pride relaxed on Mars's face, piercing his original pain, "I didn't expect you to become Domitius' personal guard. He is a promising successor...you have a hopeful career..."

Rhode's solemn expression remained motionless, "That's not what I care about." He said.

Mars smiled, "The direction of fate never refers to people's will!"

He thought for a while, and there was a trace of determination in his eyes, "Most of the positions of the guards are held by the emperor's personal guards. If Domitius ascends the throne in the future, you will naturally have the same position as your father... ..."

Unsurprisingly, the corners of Rhodes' eyes turned sullen red.A kind of entanglement that had been buried deep in his previous life erupted in his heart. He frowned, and the bones of his hand holding the sword hilt bulged like a grapple.

"He doesn't deserve the title 'father'..." he said dangerously, "you can call him Thales."

"I'm sorry, I have to say that!" Mars became stubborn in a rare way, and he, who had always been peaceful, became as stubborn as a turtle shell. "I don't have long lifespan to remind you of this fact..."

Before he finished speaking, he covered his mouth and gasped for breath, the sound of panting was like a bellows used to light a fire in a stove.He was like a fish that was about to dry out, its gills opening and closing, and its fingertips were all an unhealthy purple.

Rhodes shut up and didn't say any more insults.

The slave stepped forward, holding a bowl of sticky brown concoction in his hand.He supported Mars and fed him a spoonful.

Mars swallowed the last mouthful of the bitter medicine, and even his breath had a thick bitter taste.

"I'm running out of time..." He held Rhode's hand, with a hint of urgency in his eyes, "Can you promise me one thing..."

Rhodes nodded without hesitation.

Mars smiled, relief rippled across his face.

"...remember the last words your father once left?" he said with difficulty, "he asked you to get his golden sword and then destroy it..."

A complex emotion came over me.Rhode's breathing stagnated for a moment, and his face was suppressed as if he was entangled, as if he was bound by the wires that bound his limbs on the cross.

"My last wish is to fulfill your father's last wish..." Mars looked at him nervously and expectantly, his green pupils were covered with mist, which was the laxity caused by the intense pain.

Rhode looked into his eyes and nodded.

Mars breathed a sigh of relief, slackening like a taut bowstring.He lay back on the bed, the exhortation just now seemed to reside in his soul, and after he finished speaking, he also floated up like floating duckweed.

"You should know that only the chief of the Guards can get that golden sword..." Mars said, with deep meaning in his eyes.

Rhodes' fingers gripping the hilt of the sword trembled, but then they were as firm as welding.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Mars added worriedly: "If you want to get the sword, you have to assist Domitius to ascend to the throne of God..."

"I know." Rhodes said heavily.His facial features are still sharp even in the smoke that has not receded, "Even if you don't say it, I will do it!"

Mars had a faint and helpless smile on his sickly face.

……

It was already evening when I came back from Mars' house.

There has just been a light rain in Rome, and the rain covers every leaf of the banyan tree like wax oil, and then drips down the veins.

Rhodes walked all the way in the rain.His black hair was drenched and twisted into a few damp locks and stuck to his temples, and his black clothes were also half-damp.He flicked the ends of his hair casually, throwing out a few drops of rain, like a black eagle soaked by rain.

He wiped his chin with his sleeve, and raised his menacing sharp eyes, and caught a glimpse of Nero sitting by the patio.

Nero was dressed in a red robe, under the shade of dark green leaves, like a red poppy growing in it.

Rhodes straightened his steps and looked down at him with half-closed eyes.He has a straight and straight spine, with an unyielding will.

"I am back!"

"I'm waiting for you."

"I see it!"

Nero chuckled, and his slender figure wandered over like a little phosphorescent fire, walking up to Rhodes.

The air smelled of green leaves after the rain, the water vapor was thick, and the sound of raindrops swayed like insects in unknown places.

In this damp, fresh-smelling courtyard, there are two vivid vermilion, which are the moist lips of Rhodes.

Nero stared at his lips, eyes wandering away.

Rhode hung his wet hair behind his ears, his thick black pupils slanted, and asked casually, "Are you in a daze?"

At this moment, a drop of rainwater dripped down the leaf and fell on the tip of Nero's nose, making a few small splashes.

Nero shivered, his nose shrank instinctively, and even the childish freckles shook a few times.This reaction made him look like a rabbit sniffing food.

Rhodes couldn't help laughing.He laughed without hesitation.

Nero is shy.His delicate face was dyed blush, his thick eyelashes were full of moisture condensed by rain and mist, and the tip of his nose was slightly raised.

His overly soft and weak appearance undoubtedly made him feel a little sick.

"I want to go out and do some shopping," he said in a pleading gesture, "I want you to accompany me."

Rhodes nodded, his shiny wet locks pressed against his deep chin, "Okay," he said.

……

At this time, the sun was sinking, bright braziers were lit on both sides of the street, the vendors closed their doors one after another, and the housewives wearing veils brought the starched clothes into the house.The two stepped on the wet stone road, passing mosaic murals depicting goddesses.At this time, there were no people on the street, and Rome, which had been busy all day, just had a sign of rest.

"What do you want to buy?" Rhode asked, holding his sword.His footsteps were like sword lights, and his whole person had a harsh temperament.

"Harp," Nero said softly.The chaotic light and shadow of the flame danced between his eyebrows and eyes, which made him have some evil spirits.

The two walked into a shop selling musical instruments.

Harps hung neatly on the wall, ranging in size from three to seven strings.These stringed instruments are brightly colored, decorated with colorful shells, and exude a faint pine scent.

Rhodes had never touched a harp.He walked to the simplest three-stringed qin, and his quiet eyes swept slowly to observe the structure of the qin.

Nero walked up behind him like a feather, and asked, "Can you play the lyre?"

"No." Rhodes plucked the strings tentatively, "My hands can only hold a sword and draw a bow!"

Nero raised his hand, and stroked his white fingertips like a stream of light, forming a beautiful chord.

"I can play the most complicated lyre," he said. "I've been practicing for a long time."

Rhodes plucked the strings a few times casually, making a clattering sound.The focused light in his dark eyes is still restrained, passing through between the two strings, making him always maintain an urgent aura.A strand of wet, shiny hair fell in front of him, and he gracefully pulled it behind his ear.

Nero stared at him blankly, and suddenly called his name, "Rod..."

"What's wrong?" Rhode raised his head warily.

Nero was stunned by his question, and he reacted for a while before opening his mouth: "Give me the purse, I want to buy a violin."

So the two went out the door each carrying a harp.

Nero bought a lyre and the three-stringed harp that Rhodes played playfully just now.

"This is the No.70 nine harps in my life." Nero said while holding the harp and touching the conch shell on it.

Rhodes simply put the three-stringed harp on his shoulders, looking like a prodigal son, "A harp can be used for a long time!"

"I know." Nero had some dark clouds on his face, "Those violins were destroyed artificially, and I had to buy new ones."

Rhodes glanced over, "Who destroyed it?"

Nero chuckled twice, and suddenly increased his strength in plucking the strings, making an abrupt and heavy sound.

"Who else but my ambitious mother?" The shadow suddenly increased under his brow bone, "She burned the wooden ones with fire, melted the golden ones with fire, and smashed the bronze ones with a hammer." In short, she can be described as creative in this regard."

Rhode's footsteps were slightly heavy.He thought for a while and said, "She wants you to concentrate on politics."

Nero stopped and turned sideways lightly.The flames easily illuminated his pupils, revealing a natural amber color.

And his eyes were like deep brown wells, there was no doubt that there was some monster hidden there.

Rhode fell silent, looking at him sternly.

Nero said indifferently: "When I was still in Greece, I had dysentery once. She was at my bedside, discussing with a nobleman about adopting a child in front of me."

He lowered his head gloomily, and the corners of his wide eyes were ferocious, "Since she doesn't love me, then I have the right to hate her!"

Rhodes paused for a long time.He stared at Nero with serious eyes.

"But she'd better not die." He looked stern, with a hint of warning: "Without her, you will have one less person to protect you!"

Nero's sullen expression suddenly relaxed.He had a vague epiphany.

A gloomy cloud lay across the center of the moon, like a ferocious crow's feather, flitting across the sky at an extremely fast speed.

Nero's pupils were very dim, and the deliberately lowered eyebrows seemed to be lowered.His silver hair and pale complexion now had a layer of gray, representing an ominous and sad atmosphere.

"My surname and blood have given me too much." His voice was as soft as a shadow, filled with indescribable sadness.

"I was born to learn polemics and rhetoric. In the future, I will go to the army to learn riding and archery. In the future, I will enter the Senate and be buried in the papyrus of official documents. I can't decide everything that happens to me in my life. Just like I can't choose my parents..."

He spoke very engagingly.His silver hair looked translucent in the moonlight, like fluffy wool.

Rhode reached out and stroked his hairy head.

Nero shuddered.His eyes were clear, and the confusion and childishness that had not retreated were revealed at the moment when he was distracted.

Rhodes smiled at him, raised his finger, and pointed his fingertips at the night like an arrow ready to go.

"I understand," he said bluntly, "you are just like that dark cloud, you are actually moved by the wind!"

Nero froze in shock.

At this moment, he had a subtle connection with Rhodes.

The author has something to say:

The next update will be on the 22nd!