Chapter 694:- Soraya's Life
'If I could, I would have taken my own life a long time ago.' Soraya thought to herself. She did not glance at her father or her brother. She put her head down and tried to eat as fast as possible, even though she hated what was on her plate, so that she could be out of their sight as soon as possible. "I got the news that Today is the Day of the Istarin Empire's Prime Minister's Marriage?" Charles broke the silence. His words slightly surprised Garrick. The Istarin Empire was their biggest rival. It was normal that the Dune Sovereignty had many spies inside the Istarin Empire. Hearing his father's words, Garrick suddenly had an idea that could benefit the Empire. "How about we hire some people to blow up some parts of the Empire? We could hire some mercenaries to do some damage and ruin the Emperor's special day. As soon as we keep ourselves anonymous, even the Emperor won't know who was behind this attack." This way, not only would the Empire benefit, but he would also feel some satisfaction.
After being humiliated by Aditya, Garrick's mind was now filled with the thought of revenge.
Garrick was very eager to return the humiliation. Garrick convinced himself that this idea would benefit the Empire since his mind was filled with the thought of revenge.
He failed to see the flaws in his plan.
He failed to see the consequences that his idea was going to bring. Hearing this, Charles paused. Charles was slightly disappointed in their son. This suggestion just showed that his son was still holding a grudge for what happened, and this was affecting his son's brain. Otherwise, knowing his son, Garrick would have never suggested something like this. Although Charles was disappointed in his son, he did not show it on his face. His expression never changed.
After a few seconds, he resumed eating.
Garrick stared at the Emperor with expectation. He was waiting for the Emperor to speak. Since the Emperor was silent, Garrick felt that this indicated the Emperor was seriously considering his idea.
This made him have even more expectations.
Meanwhile, hearing what her brother suggested, Soraya instantly knew that this was a bad idea. She was against the idea of provoking the Istarin Empire and going to war with them. Soraya did not like unnecessary conflicts. Her way of thinking was different from her father and brother. Even after being raised in the same house, Soraya's ideologies weren't influenced by Emperor Charles or her Brother. Instead, the more she grew up and learned about the world, the more she knew that the twisted ideologies that her father and Brother believed in were wrong. "Our right. Our biggest advantage against the Istarin Empire is the fact that the Dragon Monarch will not attack us...!!" Charles paused and then seriously looked at his son, hoping he would understand his words and stop holding onto this stupid idea of having revenge. He wanted his son to know that, eventually, he would get his chance to return the humiliation. But he had to be patient. If he loses his patience and does something irrational, he could endanger the entire Dune Sovereignty Empire. "He will not attack us until we take the first step." Garrick, Charles, and the whole World knew this very well. It was well known that the Dragon Monarch would not attack or invade any Empire unless the other party attacked the Istarin Empire and any of its allies or provoked the Dragon Monarch first. King Charles considered this to be The Dune Sovereignty's advantage against the Istarin Empire. Although Garrick did not like what the Emperor said, he still nodded his head and agreed. To Garrick, nothing came before the interest of The Dune Sovereignty.
Not even his desires. "Currently, if we do anything against them, we will be at war." Charles looked directly at his son. "It's important for you to understand that right now, the Istarin Empire is way stronger than us because of the Dragon Monarch." Although Garrick was unwilling to admit it, he nodded. Even if he couldn't accept this fact, it was still true. "Specially The Dragon Monarch....!!!" Charles himself had watched the fight between Aditya and the 9-Headed Hydra. That day, Charles sent a man from his empire. The main aim of that was for Charles to observe the competition that the Imperial troops would have among themselves and learn more about the Istarin Empire's military. But who would have thought that this would turn into Aditya's fight against the Hydra? Charles considers himself very lucky that he was able to watch that fight. Watching this fight and the fight he had with the Vampire King gave him a better understanding of the Dragon Monarch's abilities. Hearing this, Garrick nodded his head. Although he was prideful and arrogant, he wasn't blind. 'I will eventually get my chance. I just need to be patient.' Garrick to thought to himself.
Charles was satisfied to see Garrick taking his words to heart. This is why he had chosen his son as his successor. Garrick was willing to put aside his desires and give priority to the interests of the Empire. Not everyone could be like Garrick. 'Why can't Father and Brother just put aside their desire for Empire expansion and peacefully live with the Istarin Empire?' Soraya wondered. She has always questioned the Empire's decision to fight with small Kingdoms just so that the Empire's troops could be trained. 'If Father and Brother give up this toxic dream of expanding the Empire, then everything will be restored.' This dream had changed both of them forever. "Father, if I may speak. Why can't we live peacefully with the Istarin Empire?" Although Soraya had no intention of involving herself in politics or advising her father and brother, sometimes, it's just impossible for her to stay silent and watch everything.
"Soraya....!!" Charles sternly called out his daughter's name. Garrick also looked displeased and even somewhat angry as she questioned the Emperor's intention and desire. 'How dare she?'
Charles coldly looked at his daughter. He was very displeased at this moment. "This isn't your place to speak. Be silent and have your breakfast." Soraya was shunned like always. Soraya did not even feel hurt. She had gotten so used to this that, in her heart, she simply did not even care. Even if Charles and Garrick died one day, she doubted she would even shed a tear for them. "Garrick, I need you to lead our troops and end the war in the Northern Beast Continent as soon as possible." Charles wanted this war to be over as soon as possible so that the whole Empire could focus and begin their preparation to face the Istarin Empire in a war. 'I will need to think of a way of weakening Aditya.' Without doing this, Charles could not win against the Istarin Empire. "As you wish, Your Majesty.....!!" Garrick nodded his head with a small smile. Around 50,000 of their Empire's troops are currently stationed at the Northern Beast Continent. They were fighting a very small Kingdom. Facing such a weak Kingdom, even 50,000 troops were too much. This war has been continuing for a long time because the 50,000 troops were rookies—newly recruited troops—and they weren't experienced like the other troops. Even their cultivation ranged between Mid-1st-order and Beginner 2nd-order; only a handful of troops, including the inexperienced commander, were Beginner 2nd-order cultivators. While Garrick and Charles continued to talk to each other about various things, Soraya finished eating. She barely touched her food because she did not like what was given to her. This was nothing new to her. Usually, after returning to her bedroom, she would order her maid to make her something else. Fortunately, she was given that much freedom.
"I am done...!! Thank you for the food....!!" Then Soraya stood up and left the dining table. Charles and Garrick briefly glanced at her and then continued their conversation. To them, this was nothing new. Both of them had gotten used to this. Charles was a bit displeased with Soraya's attitude. With each passing day, he felt that she was becoming more and more rude towards the Emperor. "Your Majesty, we should seriously start thinking about Soraya's marriage. She is over 500+ years of age. It's about time that she gets married." Garrick was very serious about this matter. Besides, these days, he even hated seeing her face in the Royal Castle. Rather than eating and wasting her time, it would be better if the Empire used her for their interest. For the interest of the Empire, he wouldn't even hesitate to trade his biological sister away. If Soraya were to hear what Garrick just suggested, then she would have broken down. Now, she was even begin forced to marry against her will. "I have been looking for potential candidates." As Soraya was the princess of this Empire, she couldn't just get married to someone of the lower class. At least Charles won't allow that to happen, as he feels that this would ruin the reputation of the Flameheart Family. -
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Scene change______
Soraya returned to her bedroom. It was very large yet looked lifeless—like a new room. There was no sign of a person living in it; nothing in it made others feel like it belonged to the Princess. Soraya was not allowed to decorate her room, change any furniture, or change the color of the walls. Even the curtains of her bedroom were picked by her father. This was a glimpse of the life that she was living right now. "Your Royal Highness, what would you like me to make for you?" Knowing that Her Royal Highness wasn't full, Soraya's personal maid asked her. She has been serving Soraya since her birth. Soraya was closer to her maid than her biological family. She cared more about her maid than anyone else in this Royal Castle. "Forget it. I am not hungry right now." Soraya did not look at when she responded. ?She had buried her face in her pillow and was lying on her bed. Sleeping is the only way that she can escape this reality and find some happiness. She could dream and think of whatever she wanted. This might be the only freedom that she had in her life. But sometimes, Soraya felt that if her father could, he would also have controlled these two things. He would have made her think and dream only about the Good of the Empire. The maid hesitated for a few seconds before speaking what she had in her mind.
"Your Royal Highness, why don't we take refuge in the Istarin Empire?" The Istarin Empire might be the only place to protect Soraya, and Emperor Charles won't be able to do anything about it. Hearing this, Soraya instantly became interested. She sat up and looked at her maid to further discuss this. "This is a great idea. Since Father and Brother hate Emperor Aditya, they won't ask Aditya to hand me back. Besides, I strongly feel that if I seek refuge from Emperor Aditya, then he won't turn me down." "But except, We will need a very good reason if we want to step outside of the Royal Castle." Without Charles's permission, Soraya could not step out of the Royal Castle. She must give him a good reason to head outside. Charles strictly controlled Soraya's life. Charles even went as far as to home-school her so that she would not interact with males of her age and fell in love. As the Princess, she was forbidden from falling in love with anyone. All of her servants were females. Even the servants who cleaned her room and washed her clothes were females. No eunuchs were allowed, even unintentionally, to show their faces to the Princess. If the princesses saw their faces, they would be fired. And if they did it intentionally, then the punishment was even worse. They would be executed. "There is another problem." Soraya's excited smile faded a bit. "Even if Father allowed me to step outside, His loyal subordinates would follow me." His subordinates wore masks, which controlled the amount of interaction Soraya had. Talking to males wasn't even possible because of them. "Your Royal Highness, then we will need to make a plan to distract them somehow. As long as you can teleport to the Azure City without them following you...!!" Then, not even Her Father's subordinates would be able to do anything. "But the question is how...!!" The Princess and Her maids began to think. But soon, they realized that it was impossible. There were just too many chances that their plan would fail. Everyone around her was her father's puppet. Even the option of sneaking out of the Royal Castle wasn't available to them. Even if they managed to sneak out of the Castle, what would happen next? Everyone in the Capital would be looking for her.
They would get caught when they tried to use a public teleportation array. ----------------
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