"What did you say?" Charles asked his butler again.
The words of his butler left the Emperor quite surprised. "His Roya Highness hasn't returned to the Royal Palace yet." As the Head Butler, he knew of everything that happened in the Royal Palace. It was his duty to report anything strange or out of place happening in the Royal Palace to the Emperor. It was the first time in a while that the Crown Prince had not returned to the Royal Palace.
In fact, Charles had forgotten the last time that the Crown Prince did something like this. In the past, if he was sent somewhere, then he wouldn't return to the Royal Palace until he had completed his task. But this time, the whole situation was different. Hearing his butler's words, Charles knew why his son was doing this. He can pretty much accurately guess the reason. Sigh...!!
While sighing, Charles rubbed his exhausted eyes. "Why must that stupid son of mine make things so difficult for me?" It felt as if Garrick had entered into his rebellious phase.
The Garrick of the past would never do something like this. 'All changes after he visits the Istarin Empire. If I had known that this visit would change his mindset this much, then I would have never sent my son there.' The previous Garrick was very calm, collected, and reliable. But the current Garrick was the opposite. The thing that angered Charles the most was the fact that he dared question his decision and even talk back to him.
This really hurt Charles's ego. He was the Emperor. He wasn't going to tolerate anyone talking back to him or questioning his decision. This is one of the reasons why he decided to use violence against the protests around his Empire. And this is the reason why, he ended up punishing Garrick like this. 'Maybe I was too harsh with my punishment.' Charles kind of regretted not being a little bit more soft towards Garrick. After all, Garrick was his child and was going to become his successor.
But it was already too late. There was a big crack in their relationship. While Charles might think that everything was alright with his son, unknown to him, his son's mindset had changed. Since he banned him from bringing any woman, including Emma, to the Royal Palace, Garrick must have decided to take revenge on Charles by deciding to spend the night somewhere in the Capital.
'Is he even in the Capital?' Charles suddenly asked himself. "Has he left the Capital?" Charles asked in a worried tone. His butler shook his head. "There hasn't been any news of His Royal Highness leaving the Capital." If Garrick did use the teleportation array, then someone would informed Charle's butler about it. "Alright!! Then let him do whatever he wants for now." Charles decided to have a nice and long chat with Garrick once he had dealt with all of this mess. Once everything around the Empire had become stable again, he would see Garrick. Hopefully, till then, Garrick will also cool down and go back to his previous self. "If he returns to the Royal Palace, then be sure to report it to me." "Understood!!" Charles was about to go back to reading when he remembered his daughter, whom he hadn't seen in a while. "Has my daughter left the Palace at all during these days?" Charles asked while reading. But his ears were listening to what his butler had to say.
"Her Royal Highness hadn't stepped outside of the Royal Palace. Most of the time, she is in her bedroom. During the evening, she goes to the garden with her maids. She stays there until sunset." Hearing this, Charles nodded his head. "Soraya was gotten so big. I guess it's about time that I seriously start looking for a good candidate to be my daughter's husband." But first, dealing with the protesters was going to come first. •••
Scene Change_____
Somewhere in the Capital of the Dune Sovereignty Empire, Garrick and Emma were staying in a luxurious inn. They were staying on the top floor of the inn. The Inn had four floors. He entirely reserved the top floor. "Your Royal Highness, have you made up your mind?" Emma gently asked. Garrick had spent more than 24 hours deeply thinking of what he was going to do next. In these 24 hours, Emma always has been by his side.
She supported him when he felt weak.
When he doubted himself, she cleared his doubts. Emma was an angel that Heaven sent for him. She was perfect in every way. She was the one who gave him the courage and the mental strength needed to make a tough decision. Garrick's had his eyes closed. Hearing her question, he opened his eyes and looked outside from the balcony. "Emma, I have made my decision." Unlike before, his eyes were clear and firm. There was no look of doubt or hesitation on his face. "I have been given a promise that I will become the Emperor yet the current Emperor refuses to fulfill his promise." "I have waited not just a couple of decades but more than five centuries."
"I have proved my capabilities time and time again." "I never asked a question nor raised my voice. If I was ordered to do something, I followed it and tried to complete it as perfectly as possible." "Despite all that I have done, I have received nothing but shame and humiliation." "At the same time, the incompetence of the current Emperor is becoming clearer with each passing day. So I think it's about time that the next generation took over."
"It's time for my father to step down."
"I am the chosen one." "I am the destined person that will start a new Era." "I will be the one who will bring unimaginable levels of prosperity and wealth to the Dune Sovereignty Empire." Emma looked very proud of Garrick. When he looked at her, he could see a very genuine smile on her face. She looked very happy for him. "Emma, I will be needing your support." Just having her by his side was enough. She was the best motivator in the whole world. She understood him like no one else. With her by his side, Garrick was sure that he could never do anything wrong. 'Once I have become the Emperor, I will propose Emma.' Garrick made up his mind. Emma was the perfect and the only one worthy of becoming his queen. "Your Royal Highness, you will always have my support. Even if I have to give my life for you, I won't hesitate." Garrick nodded his head while feeling very satisfied with her answer. "Emma, we will need a solid plan if we want to me to become the Next Emperor." "The current Emperor has been ruling this Empire almost since the start."
Emma nodded her head. "You, Royal Highness, if we want you to become the next ruler of this empire, then we will need to eliminate one person first or get his support; either situation works for our case." "It's the Prime Minister, Eldric," Garrick asked.
Emma nodded. "Sir Eldric has been the prime minister of this empire for as long as the current Emperor of this empire. He is the most trusted and loyal man of His Majesty." "It's clear that Sir Eldric is very capable. His loyalty towards the Empire cannot be questioned." "And nowadays, it seems His Majesty favors Sir Eldirc more than you." This sentence hurt him, but it was all true. "We would need to make Sir Eldric loyal to you. But if he doesn't agree, then eliminating him would be the best choice. After all, such a capable man would definitely give us a lot of headaches if he is not taken out."
"Sir Eldirc is like His Majesty's ultimate shield. That she could have been used as a weapon against His Majesty. But it all depends on Sir Eldric's decision. If he doesn't agree, then eliminating him is our only option, even though it's very regretful to kill such a capable person." Garrick nodded his head with her words. He agreed with what she said. Aside from her words and her reasoning, which he agreed with, Garrick personally wasn't that fond of the man that the Emperor trusted so much. The Emperor allowed the Prime Minister to break the rules. The allowed the Prime Minister to put his family before placing the interest of his family first. And now, it was clear that his entire extended family has been taking advantage of his position. After a quick research, Garrick found that, of the 23 family members, 21 of them work in some high-ranking position. More than half of them weren't even qualified for the job. Rather, the Prime Minister used his connections to train his family members for the position while much more talented individuals were fried. So this provided Garrick the perfect opportunity to get some revenge on the Prime Minister. "Your Royal Highness, I have a plan." Emma was grinning. "Go on.....!!"
"You must know that the Prime Minister is very fond of his family." Nothing more needed to be said. The Crown Prince and the soon-to-be Emperor understood what his future wife was talking about. Garrick looked at Emma and grinned. "Let's do it!!" Since the Emperor was busy suppressing the rebels, this was going to be even easier now.