But of course, the above information was all opaque to the young prince. As he rushed day and night to Thessaloniki, he had only one clear piece of information in his head: the emperor, his father, was there to rally a fleet to stabilise the situation in Albania. This meant another round of war, which was the very last thing Leo wanted to see, especially after his brief tour around the region.
Instead of seeing a mighty navy and marines being rallied in the city, the young prince saw nothing. Upon arrival, there was no sign of military preparations.
All that awaited him was a slim old man in a wheelchair, with the seemingly equally old Cerberus standing behind him, staring into the fading sun on the horizon. Beneath them, the harbor was as bustling as ever, perhaps even more prosperous than the last time Leo had seen it, with merchants of various tongues arguing and bargaining with one another, and audit officials calculating and collecting taxes on every single transaction.
