"Grandpa, what should we do?" Bree asked in a low tone.
Right now, they needed a lead.
But how did things get so worse?
Aditya's cousin beca the Emperor for a valid reason. The young Crown Prince was exiled from the Celestial Dragon Empire and from the Main Continent and vanished sowhere in the Six Continents. This ant that if the Emperor did not have any other children, then the cousin would be next in line to be the successor.
In the eyes of the Public, everything appeared smooth and perfect. On the surface, nothing felt strange. No one raised any questions. No one suspected anything. There were no whispers of a hidden plot or a conspiracy. To the common people and even to most nobles, the transition looked peaceful and fair.
Yes, a few sharp minds noticed that the Previous Emperor had stepped down earlier than expected. Especially when compared to the reign of so of the older Emperors, whose ti on the Throne lasted for several centuries, but even that was not a big issue.
After all, the current Emperor was no fool. He was mature. He was steady. He was already managing many affairs of the Empire long before the Throne was officially passed to him. He had been guiding the Empire in the shadows, silently supporting the Previous Emperor. In fact, many believed he had already earned the title long before he wore the crown.
If everything were truly that simple, then there would have been no problem. Even the most hard-headed nobles would have eventually accepted the arrangent. Maybe there would have been murmurs inside the noble circles, quiet gossip over expensive wine, and so questioning of the Emperor's decision to pass the crown to Aditya's cousin. But those voices would have quickly faded away like smoke in the wind.
However, the real problem began when the Emperor gave his cousin too much power. Not after he beca Emperor.
The real Problem ca when the Emperor gave the Cousin too much power, even before the Emperor ca and then closed his eyes. It was like he no longer cared. As if the fate of the Empire no longer mattered to him.
That was when things started changing. But the changes were not loud. They were quiet.
Even before he officially beca the Emperor, Aditya's cousin had already started showing his true colours. He began showing his fangs. He didn't wait. He struck fast and without warning.
He started targeting those who were the most loyal to the Previous Emperor. People who had served the Royal Family for generations. People who had proven their loyalty ti and ti again.
One of the first victims was Butler Alfred. He was frad. He was set up in a way that made sure there was no escape. The Old butler was left with no way to prove his innocence. A man who had devoted his entire life to the Empire… was thrown into a prison far from the Capital. This was a prison where no voice could reach, and not even his Family knew where he was being held.
He suppressed the nobles. He slowly started bringing policy and making laws that suppressed and reduced the power and influence of the the old loyal Noble families.
He started promoting his n to high-ranking military positions. He even forcefully retired a few old Generals to make room for his n to assu those positions.
He began taking steps to eliminate the political influence of the Previous Emperor. Even though it was unnecessary since no one in the Empire had any intentions of going against the New King.
Over ti, it did not take long to realise that sothing was seriously wrong.
The Previous Emperor, whom they have known for centuries, would never do sothing like that. Even if he wanted to step down, he would at least let the nobles know in advance, but he didn't. Over the last decade, the Emperor almost stopped eting any outsiders. He was way too cruel to his own son.
When Aditya was exiled, many were left puzzled as to why this was even happening. Even if Aditya wasn't a talented cultivator and hadn't awakened his Dragon Bloodline, it did not an he had done anything wrong. Those factors were sothing that poor Prince couldn't control. Instead of supporting him, he was stripped of his rightful position and was exiled from the Main Continent itself.
And from that, all the things that happened till now, only further strengthened the belief of the Loyals of the Throne that sothing was seriously wrong. There was sothing that they couldn't see but could feel was wrong.
Back when Aditya was exiled or the decision of his exile was spread, so old nobles knew that the political structure of the whole empire was gonna change. But they did not expect this change to co this soon.
Now, for their own survival and the future of the Empire, a decision must be made. Clearly, the Current King wasn't the right person to be the Emperor. He is too poisonous, and who knows what his ultimate goal was? But from what it looked like, letting him be the Emperor for too long would just harm the Empire and might even result in the permanent weakening of the Great Celestial Dragon Empire. This was sothing that no Noble wanted to see.
The Duke had sent his son here, hoping that the old butler could offer so kind of solution. As this situation was too suffocating, so, like the Old Butler, many began to feel that there was sothing behind the scenes controlling and changing everything.
The reason they searched for the old Butler is that he wasn't just a Butler. He also had the power to see glimpses of future events. He was a Seer. Many tis in the past, his insight and advice had saved the Empire from catastrophic events.
"It's simple, actually!"
"We have to bring the exiled Prince Back."
"Only his return could change everything back to normal."
Hearing this, both Bree and Mateo exchanged a glance.
Bree thought her Grandpa would give advice to flee from the Empire, as it was not possible to survive under this regi. Day by day, the regi was becoming too strict.
As for Mateo, he wasn't too surprised. Before coming here, he and his father had secret discussions about this possibility, but they had no leads. The Six Continents were vast, and finding the Exiled Prince within such a short ti was impossible.
"But even if we did manage to search the whole Six Continent and find the Exiled Prince. Bringing him back wouldn't really change anything."
"According to the Royal Decree, if the Prince even returned to the Main Continent, then he must be captured and put to prison. So bringing him back would be the sa as digging everyone's grave, including the Prince's. Since he would be a criminal." Mateo and the Duke had the sa discussion. But then the Duke abruptly ended the conversation so they never reached any conclusion.
"That's true!" Even Bree couldn't see how bringing the Prince would change the situation.
At the sa ti, they ca out of the Dungeon. Looking at the blue sky, green forest, and the sun, Alfred closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
How many years has it been since he last saw the sun and took such a long, deep breath? The Air was much fresher here.
"You two don't understand!" The Butler said with a smile.
"First, let's get out of here. I will explain as we travel." With Bree and Mateo's help, they broke the collar around his neck.
His cultivation was no longer suppressed.
First, he killed the second guard as well and then took their storage rings. The items inside the storage rings would help in their journey.
"Where are we going?" Bree and Mateo asked as they started following Alfred.
"We are leaving the Empire."
"We are heading to the Tunnel World....!"
"Then to the Six Continents?" Bree excitedly asked as she had never gone to the Six Continents.
Alfred smiled but then shook his head.
"A few months back, I had a vision." Even if his cultivation was restricted, Seers can still see glimpses of the future. This is why the cousin sent Alfred to a remote location with no one knowing where he was being held. He was afraid that the vision of the Seer might change everything.
"In it, I saw the Crown Prince in the Tunnel World." When talking about the Crown Prince, a smile appeared on his face.
In reality, he saw a man who looked 90% like the Prince that he rembered. And there was no way he wouldn't recognise the man whom he had raised. This was the Crown Prince. There was no mistaking those deep blue eyes and Blue Hair.
Both Bree and Mateo beca really curious.
They thought the Crown Prince would be in the Six Continent, yet he managed to arrive in the Tunnel World. This ans the Crown Prince not only survived but also had so fortunate circumstances that contributed to his growth.
"He saw him fighting with a powerful woman. He was using the legendary Crimson Fla."
"And behind him, there was a woman who appeared to be his travelling companion or maybe his lover."
"Judging from the background, I am certain that this place was the Pine Zone, located in the middle of the Tunnel World." My V!ir-t*u!a^l L!i@bra-ry% E$m$p@i*re (&M|V@|L E1MP^YR#)@ than ks you for readi#ng at the s#o@urc#e!.
"That's great! But do we know when the Prince is supposed to co there? Like when this event takes place?" Mateo asked.
Alfred shook his head. But his smile appeared to be relaxed.
"I have this gut feeling that if we hurry, we might see that event with our own eyes." In that vision, in the far distance, he had seen himself with two other people. So this journey will definitely lead them to the Crown Prince.
"Alright! Let's focus on leaving this Empire as soon as possible."
"The guards worked on a 12-hour shift. After that, another pair would take their place. So we have around nine and a half hours to leave this Empire before the other pair of guards cos and realises that sothing is wrong." Bree and Mateo didn't just rescue Alfred. They first gathered information about the guards and ça here with an escape plan.
"And lucky for us, this place is close to the western border, and we should leave this empire within 5 hours." Bree and Mateo explained their escape plan. Once the old butler was freed and the news reached the Emperor, staying in this empire wouldn't be an option anymore. So anticipating a scenario like that, they had prepared an escape route.
"Why can't we use any teleportation Array?" Aflred asked.
"First of all, The Security of each city and town is very tight. And even if we do go in, there is another checkpoint for people who want to use the Teleportation Array."
"As for Private Teleportation Arrays, we couldn't really find one." Mateo was on the run as a wanted criminal. And Bree stayed most of her adult life outside of the Empire, so she had very little connection here.
"So it's far safer to just fly and cross the Border."
"Alright! Take the Lead."
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