Chapter 29

General Hazas listened to the "huffing and puffing" sounds coming from inside the tent. With supreme composure, he pulled a tobacco leaf from his pocket and chewed on it twice.

This tobacco had been brought back by merchants who sailed the seas; its flavor was intense and stimulating—a perfect companion for staying sharp during night watches. It was said that as early as the time of Tutankhamun, the Egyptians or Phoenicians had traveled west to South America millennia before Columbus, bringing back the indigenous specialty: tobacco. Ancient travelers had even reached as far east as China, with excavated mummies wrapped in silk serving as proof.

General Hazas smacked his lips and sighed, "I’m getting old. It’s so easy to get sleepy at night. But once this official mission is over, I’ll surely get to see the Prince take a bride. The Hittite royal family hasn't had a joyous occasion in over a decade—the last one was when Princess Mitamun was born!"

Inanna, listening silently from the side, pricked up her ears and tossed a piece of dry firewood into the hearth.

General Hazas’s feelings for the Prince were those of a father and a mentor. Long before Prince Izmir was born, Hazas had already fought by his side, rising to the rank of Imperial General. During the Hittite-Mitanni wars, he had led chariot divisions against the Hurrians and achieved immortal merit in the campaign that captured their capital, Washukanni. If Labarnas had taught Izmir to be the scholar he was, then Hazas had taught Izmir to be the warrior who bathed in the blood of the battlefield.

"Sukamum," General Hazas laughed proudly, "aside from the sacrificial rites in Hattusa, I have yet to see what a royal celebration looks like! For such a grand event as the Prince taking a consort, every nation will send envoys to offer congratulations. Hattusa will be teeming with the world's wealthiest merchants and its most precious treasures. The ceremony will be held at the Great Temple of the Storm God, the highest in Hatti, to seek the blessings of the thousand Hittite gods, praying that the Prince and his new consort will soon bear an heir for the Empire. Taxes across the realm will be halved, minor offenders will be pardoned, and the subjects of the capital will receive silver and clothing. There are few nations in this world that can achieve such a feat!"

Inanna treated his words as nothing more than wind whistling past her ears. What she was thinking was: once the Prince marries, wouldn't her chances of pilfering the treasure increase significantly?

While both were preoccupied with their own ulterior motives, the sounds from inside the tent suddenly ceased.

General Hazas was startled. As a man, he was no saint himself. In his early years beside Huwali, the Hittite King would play with his own concubines, and Hazas occasionally found it a source of amusement, sometimes indulging in his own affairs in private. He thought to himself: the Prince had only spent a few moments, and it was already over? That was far too fast.

Being a seasoned veteran, he lifted a corner of the curtain. By the light inside the tent, he saw the "Daughter of the Nile" lying on the bed like a smooth, pale noodle. The Prince was sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking her back repeatedly; the poor girl had already fainted.

Hazas frowned. He thought: *Prince, stroking her like that won’t reveal a woman’s heart or produce a child. Has he