for him. There are plenty of other workers at the archive, but he needs someone who truly understands the matter.”
“How right you are! My father is the Heavenly Throne’s treasury secretary, and he is always complaining about the difficulty of finding good people. There are so many dishonest people out there who only think about how to put money in their own pockets. Can you imagine? They buy houses, boats, fine carriages and expensive paintings, but their heads are absolutely empty!”
Uni sighed. “That is a sign of our times. Money without culture and culture without money. In the ancient world, the leaders were enlightened. They took wise men as their advisors, and their governments and their people prospered. When wisdom is separated from power and power from wisdom, the country becomes like a body that is missing its head!”
“You always put things just the right way!”
“I am but a simple fisherman who spends his days chasing after the truth with the tattered nets of his thoughts,” Uni replied. “I’m not the first person to realize that powerful people ought to pay attention to those who have great knowledge. When wise men are ignored by those in power, they always turn their voices to the rabble, becoming leaders of the mindless crowd, whose animal instincts drive it to destroy the foundations of a civilized society. It is a shame that our self-important civil servants do not wish to see what is right in front of their faces: it would be better to spend one hundred leros today to hire a handful of wise men than spend a thousand leros tomorrow to put down a revolt!”
Siana smiled happily. “I agree with everything you say, but remember that not everyone is as thoughtless as you think. My future husband, Semilius Torvey, has the greatest respect for talented young people. He says that the empire stands on their shoulders.”
“Your future husband?” Uni felt a wave of hot blood rise to his head. He froze. A black mist clouded his vision. He put his hands to his head.
“Of course, it would be more correct to say that he is my fiancé, but the matter has already been decided. I thought you know him. Semilius is one of the commanders of the Solar Sentinels. I expect you’ve seen him at the palace.”
“No, I haven’t. I mean, of course, I’ve heard of him. Have you known him long?”
“Three months. Remember when you met me at the square in front of the Imperial Court? He was standing next to my father. He’s tall and strong, and his face is very fierce, with such a manly profile! You know, I’ve never been a very emotional person, but when I saw him for the first time, I felt like a wave knocked me off my feet. Something just pulled me to him!”
“I see.” Uni’s face was as hard as stone. He sighed, folded his hand behind his back, and started walking again, trying to look like he wasn’t dying inside. “He sounds like the perfect hero. I suppose all the girls dream of a brave young man like that saving them from a dragon…”
Siana gave a little frown. “He’s fifteen years older than I am, so he’s not exactly a young man. I’d say he’s a man in his prime. And he’s very, very smart. Just listen, I haven’t told you everything yet. Semilius told me that after we are married, he wants us to host a salon of the most intelligent people in the empire. He always says exactly what you just did: educated book-lovers shouldn’t be allowed to mingle with poor people. There needs to be a place where they can come and discuss their ideas while they drink and eat and have a good time. We are going to host elegant dinner parties like that. Just imagine: philosophers sitting around our table having heated discussions! I hope you will come and take part.”
“Me? Thank you for the invitation. I doubt I’ll come.”
“What’s wrong with you, Uni? You’re such a nice boy. You should think about your career. If you spend time with the best people in the empire, you’ll get noticed much faster. Wise men and leaders around the same table! That’s just what you were talking about, isn’t it?”
“Of course.” He paused. “Siana, you are always telling me how smart you think I am, but you’re wrong. Today, for the first time, I realized that you are the smart one. I’m a fool. That’s the truth.” Uni’s voice wavered as he stared off in the distance.
“How strange you are! How could I ever be smarter than you? You’ve read so many books, and you know more things than I could ever imagine. I may know a little bit about a lot of things, but my only chance to really learn is when I talk to people like you!”
“Will I ever see you again?” Uni asked, easing himself into the role of martyr.
“Of course! Come by during the week and tell me more about the Arincils. My father says we will be at war with them soon, but Semilius doesn’t believe it. What do you think, which of them is correct?”
For a moment, Uni said nothing, but then he gathered all of his strength and mastered the wave of despair that was drowning him. “I believe your eminently respected father is closer to the truth.”
“I think so, too,” the girl said, leaning toward him trustingly. “But please don’t tell Semilius. He doesn’t like it when I disagree with him.” She glanced at the setting sun. “It’s time for me to go. The sun is down. Time always flies when I’m with you!”
“Let me walk you home.”
“No need. There’s a palanquin waiting for me at the entrance to the gardens. Goodbye, Uni. It was so nice to spend time with you.” With an elegant wave of her wrist – encircled with a gold bracelet in the form of a grape vine – the girl left Uni standing alone in the ruins of his unfounded expectations.
“My dear boy, I can’t understand why you ever had any hopes. What were you thinking?” The heavy-set young man walking on Uni’s left was the absolute picture of sarcasm. He was only a hair taller than his tragic friend, but he made himself more noticeable with his smug bearing, brightly colored robes, and the unpleasant smirk on his well-bred face. “Did you even know who her father is? He’s Otonius Zainey, the right-hand-man to the Emperor’s tax collector! Think of it like this: you’re both birds, but she’s sitting in a much nicer tree. Does that make sense?”
The young man on Uni’s right frowned. “That’s not the problem, Sorgius,” he said with a shake of his dark curls. He was tall and well-built, a giant next to his friends. “You always think everything has to do with rank and money. What actually happened is that our little hero spent months and months dreaming about a girl who was already preparing to light a fire in her husband’s hearth.”
“Little hero? We were born in the same year, yet you keep calling me ‘little.’ With the Sun as my witness, I’ve had enough!”
Sorgius made a face. “Oh no, he’s getting upset.” He turned to Uni. “My boy, it takes more than admiring pretty girls if you want to be a man. You need brains in your head instead of book dust. Plain old common sense. And you need to get outside more often. You sit inside that archive like a child in its mother’s womb. You haven’t even been born yet. You’re a baby!”
“Perhaps I don’t know life, if you define life as these filthy drinking parties of yours, filthy whores, gluttony and licentiousness, and the stink of that weed you smoke!” Uni shook his head. “Man was created for purity and light, to attain the secrets of this world and to respond to the call of tender love. I will never be like you two. Why do you always attack me?”
“Speaking of filthy drinking parties,” his companion on the right interrupted him. “Shall we stop in at the Rabbit? What do you say? I think that’s the perfect place to drink yourself into a stupor over unrequited love.”
Uni winced. “I thought you would understand me, Vordius. I suppose you’re done with your friends now that you’ve found love. Have you forgotten how we poured beer down your throat when you were heartsick?”
“That we did,” Sorgius recalled happily. “But for some reason, I was the one who vomited. Those hotheads from the guards certainly know how to drink. We were at the Roasted