"Your majesty...!"
The beautiful maiden who was frustrated by the sudden appearance of the emperor hurriedly bowed to show him respect.
Although she tried not to show it, she was very clumsy, but it rather looked cute to the observers instead.
"I didn't know our palace housed such a beautiful maiden, Justin"
Emperor Bindusara asked his closest aid and his Guardian knight, Justin Maurya, who also happens to be the former 9th prince.
Although it is very common that the prime minister would be the closest aid of the Emperor, Bindusara and Sage Chanakya were rarely seen together.
Except for official matters, they were never seen chatting with one another, which lead to the rise of a rumor that the King despises the prime minister.
But that will be a story for another time.
Justin who was just as mesmerized as the others, came back to his senses when the emperor called him out.
"The lady is the daughter of Sage Vyasa, your majesty"
The duty of the Emperor's guard was to look after the Emperor's safety and it was a basic need for them to know everything that was happening around the Emperor, so he received regular updates on what was happening in the Royal palace.
Considering that he knew everyone working in the Royal palace, it was not that hard to guess the identity of a new face.
"Sage Vyasa? He had a daughter?"
The Emperor was visibly shocked, mostly because, there were very few similarities between the beautiful maiden and the old man.
Not that he cared.
"I didn't know he had a daughter this beautiful! I am glad that I invited his family to the royal palace"
Although the Emperor was already married to the only daughter of the Duke household of Gangas, it was only due to political matters and he never had any interest in her.
More than that, it was common for the Rulers to have more than one wife and even concubines, and the Emperor being the womanizer he was, was always on the lookout for beautiful maidens.
It wasn't wrong to say that the Emperor was even happier to meet Sage Vyasa's daughter than himself.
The beautiful maiden who was agitated by the sudden appearance of the Emperor finally realized that she hasn't yet greeted him.
She hurriedly kneeled down and jabbered out the greetings.
"Gl...ory to...the grea...t Maury..an, long iev the emp..."
But a pair of firm hands gripped her shoulders before she could finish.
"There is no need for formalities, my lady"
It was the Emperor himself, and his appearance seemed different from the time he was sitting on the throne.
He looked rather kind and easygoing right now than when compared to the demeanor he displayed at the royal court.
"May I know your name, beautiful lady?"
The Emperor asked the maiden while helping her up to stand.
"Chan...Chandralekha"
She was too agitated by the Emperor that the lady was stammering and finding it hard to converse with him.
"Chandra...lekha...You truly are as beautiful as the moon, my lady"
Surprisingly the Emperor was a very smooth talker.
Although, it was expected of him.
In the situation where he was suppressed by his brothers and sisters, Bindusara managed to take over the throne even though he wasn't even the crown prince.
It could only be imagined, how many people he had to win over to achieve such feet.
But what surprised Chandra was the fact he was talking to her all smiling even though she was a commoner.
It was a well-known fact that most of the Nobels looked down on common people, some even despised them openly.
Even in the Emperor's army, the commoners were only given basic ranks like foot soldiers, artillerymen, and the like, most of the high positions were filled by the Nobels and it was very hard to find someone from a common origin in high positions.
And that was partly the reason why Sage Chanakya was despised among the nobles.
His existence alone was like a face-slap for the Nobels who suppressed the common people.
But seeing as the emperor was talking to her so friendly, Chandra thought the Emperor must be a magnanimous and rightful man who loved his citizen without discrimination.
"I am not worthy to receive such high praise, My lord"
Chandra calmed down seeing how friendly the Emperor was and replied to him respectfully, this time without any mistakes.
"As Expected of Sage Vyasa's daughter, like father like daughter, you are too humble, my lady"
The Emperor smiled as he said that and turned around.
"Forgive me, My lady, I have a prior schedule to attend. I hope we can continue our conversation some other time"
No matter if he was a womanizer or not, he was the Emperor of the great Empire, and as such he had too many responsibilities to be spending his time idly, it was right to say that his time was worth more than gold.
With him turning back, the Royal guards along with Justin followed him, escorting him to his next scheduled area.
"Glory to the Great Mauryan, Long live the Emperor"
The servants bowed down noticing their exit, Chandra also followed them as she had little knowledge about the royal greetings.
***
In the hallway toward his scheduled meeting.
Justin noticed that the Emperor who just talked with Chandra seemed happier than normal.
"You seem happier than usual, is this due to lady Chandra, Brother?"
Justin addressed him as 'Brother' rather than calling him your majesty, it was a privilege that was only given to him, because the Emperor trusted his brother that much.
"Hahaha, you can tell, Justin?"
"It would be hard not to notice"
Justin answered non-chantilly.
"It was nothing, I was just wondering how would I control the new 7th magic Tower master, since he is from a common origin just like that 'Oldman', there will be no saying what they will cook together but..."
"You just got the solution."
Justin interrupted him even before he could finish.
"Hahaha, that's why I like you, you realize my intentions even before I could tell you, hahaha"
The Emperor was a womanizer.
Everyone in the royal palace was aware of this fact, but what they didn't know was that the Emperor was the one who manipulated them to think that way.
'He really is scary!'
Justine thought as he saw the laughing emperor, but made sure not to show it on his face.
'I pity that beautiful lady'
Justine thought seeing the mad laugh of the emperor, it will only be a matter of time before she would become the Emperor's plaything.
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