"You've always been this pessimistic."
Only after confirming Aidan was no rival did Annan hand him the wine.
"Because things keep getting worse."
He had gone from heir to the High King to a wanted criminal, then died, and finally ceased to be human at all.
Annan raised his fruit juice. "But look at it another way. All those setbacks failed to beat you. What's left that could make you bow your head?"
"Talking to you really does lift my spirits."
Prince Aidan clinked glasses with Annan, then drained his in one gulp.
"Annan, I came to say goodbye."
"You're dying again?"
Prince Aidan took that as Annan's way of asking where he was going. "I should return to the Chaos Cult."
"They still haven't caught on?"
Aidan shook his head. Neither the Ratfolk nor the demons knew what he had done, and on the Empire's side, only a few ministers knew.
If word still gets out, and the Empire is as vulnerable to corruption as Annan says, I might as well join the forces of Chaos while I can.
Annan had thought Aidan was a spy sent by the Empire. Now it seemed that wasn't the case.
"Did that brother of yours put you up to this?"
Aidan shook his head. "After I came back to life, I was no longer a Hernandez. I have nothing to do with the Paem Kingdom, either."
"Is there something in the Chaos Cult you can't leave behind?"
Aidan shook his head again and told him how he had joined the Chaos Cult.
Resurrected but cut off from everything in his past, Aidan had wandered without direction for a long time. While he was considering going to Free City, he met the Bard, who invited him to join the Chaos Cult. Later, Aidan