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Chapter 145 - As You Wish, Your Highness

Kade didn\'t have enough time to mourn over his deceased wife and future child. An hour after his arrival to the estate, the Emperor caught wind of the news. Unsurprisingly, a messenger from Teran had rushed full-speed across the country and land, unstopping to deliver a startling piece of information. A request. But it was a threat.

Sebastian found it incredibly difficult to even drag the Commander out of the room. It was even harder to convince the Commander to show up to court. Eventually, the Commander was annoyed enough to storm to the throne room.

Bloodshot eyes. Disheveled appearance. Haggard features.

The Seventh Prince of Ritan looked like he had been through hell and back. He appeared to have experienced the worst war this world had ever seen. He suddenly aged by a few more years.

"Son, you\'ve disappointed me."

The Emperor of Ritan was babbling about something again.

Kade could barely care or hear straight. All he could think about was Lina. Lina. Lina. Their unborn child. Miscarriage. Their future.

What would\'ve happened if he had listened to her? What would\'ve happened if he had called off this war? It was far too late to ask himself these questions.

"I heard you brought back the corpse of the Fourth Princess of Teran and kept her in your room. Her body will begin to decompose without proper care," the Emperor stated.

Lina.

Where was she right now? Was she looking down at him from Heaven? Was she with the spirit of their unborn child?

Kade couldn\'t concentrate on his father\'s words. He could only think of his wife and child. Would it have been a boy as stubborn as him or a girl as precious as his wife?

The thought stabbed him straight in the chest.

"But we can make things right. We can fix this problem, Kade," the Emperor of Ritan announced.

Despite his somber tone, his eyes were still filled with pride. They had captured one of Teran\'s best fighters, tortured him, and left him in Ritan\'s prison barely alive. Teran was scrambling.

"Teran has offered us fifty chests of gold, twenty-five chests of gems, forty rolls of silk, a small piece of their land, twenty five thousand soldiers, a peace treaty in our favor, and—"

"For what?" Kade interrupted in a listless voice.

The Emperor narrowed his eyes. Why did his son resemble a man who had completely given up on life?

"For their General Atlan and Fourth Princess of Teran\'s corpses," the Emperor announced like it was a simple fact everyone should\'ve known.

"So she could be properly buried at home," he added.

Kade gritted his teeth. Teran murdered their favored Princess by sending Atlan. They forced her to raise the sword. Had Atlan not waged a war, Lina would\'ve been alive. He comforted himself with this fact.

And now, they wanted her back?

Audacious!

"You tell Teran," Kade harshly began. His voice was low and barely controlled. "Their cities would burn to the ground before they get my wife back."

"Kade!" The Emperor snarled, banging his hand upon his throne.

Today, the Emperor realized something. He had severely underestimated how many soldiers Teran was training. When his reports came back that they were nearly outnumbered on the battlefield, and that the army was only half a fraction of what Teran possessed, he was frightened.

Ritan wasn\'t training soldiers fast enough. Kade\'s training regime disqualified one out of five men, in comparison to Teran\'s one out of two. It was no wonder Teran\'s army was so massive.

Ritan was at Teran\'s mercy. Giving land, wealth, and soldiers were their good gestures. Should Ritan and Teran engage in another war, the victor would be foreseeable.

"You are to obey this command and hand over your dead wife! What good is she to you dead?!" the Emperor cried out, his words sending murmurs of agreement amongst the table of ministers.

Kade coldy raised his head in defiance.

"I understand you\'re hurt by her death, but to fix the emptiness you feel, I\'ve already made preparations in one of the concubine bedrooms. There, you will find your release," the Emperor explained.

"So give the Fourth Princess back to her home country. Let her soul rest in peace alongside her family," he concluded.

"A wife is to be buried by her husband," Kade snarled.

"A wife who did not bore you a child does not get such rights!" the Emperor roared, the almighty lion he was. "She is to be sent back to Teran and that is a command you will not disobey! Shall you disobey me, we\'ll send her back by force."

Kade let out a slow breath. He realized it now. He was powerless. Was that why he lost Lina? Because he didn\'t have the influence to keep her safe by his side? Was that why he lost his child? Because he wasn\'t strong enough to protect them.

Power was what he lacked. Power was what he shall get.

Kade\'s expression grew murderous. If being the Seventh Prince didn\'t give him the ability to do as he pleased, then he would become the Emperor. It would be done.

"You are far too young and foolish to disobey me, the Emperor of Ritan," the Emperor snarled. "Perhaps when I roll in my grave and seven of your brothers drop dead then you shall have the ability to cross me. But now, you\'re nothing but a foolish soldier."

So this was it.

Kade softly laughed under his breath.

The sound was chilly. Every person in the room shivered. They felt goosebumps crawling up their arms. Somewhere in the distance, the wind howled ominously. An insidious presence took up the room.

"Is that so, father?" Kade murmured.

Four simple words.

That was all it took to set his plan into motion.

It was also four simple words that could\'ve prevented his ruin.

Call off the war.

It was unfortunate, really. Kade had just returned home from war on the battlefield, and now, another would be waged in the palace.

- - - - -

Sebastian was worried. The Seventh Prince had been in his private study the rest of the day. No one was allowed inside. No one was allowed outside.

Sebastian was concerned of what the Seventh Prince could do inside. The young Commander had lost everything. His wife. His future child. When a man who had everything in his world lost it all in a blink, what could he resort to? What could he do?

Sebastian anxiously chewed on his nails.

"He wouldn\'t…" Sebastian whispered to himself, thinking of the sword that was always on the Commander.

Would the Commander truly take his own life? Would he do it to be reunited with Lina?

Fear grappled over Sebastian like monsters sinking their claws into his chest. Sebastian jolted forward, finally deciding between breaking down the doors and storming inside.

"The worst that could happen is my death," Sebastian concluded. "But better my death than his."

Sebastian made up his mind. He jutted his chin into the air and raised his hand to knock on the large doors. Suddenly, he heard a soft and sweet voice.

"Advisor!"

Sebastian turned his head. To his surprise, he caught sight of Priscilla. In the darkness of the palace, she was a golden ray of sunshine. Her hair was lit up by the lantern, her emerald eyes sparkling like the sunlight glistening on the surface of a pond.

Immediately, Sebastian remembered the fable? of the "Golden Rose." It was why the Seventh Prince took interest in Priscilla, who hailed from the West.

The legend of the Golden Rose spoke of a magical woman with strange abilities. Whoever embraced the Golden Rose would gain a sudden burst of strength, those who consume her blood would become the strongest in the world, and whoever deflowered her would be granted immortality. Some even said her grounded bones could fertilize the most barren of land.

The Golden Rose was something that everyone searched for, Crown Princes and foreign Kings alike. If killing one woman brought so much benefit, no one would hesitate.

"Impossible. Is it really her…?" Sebastian wondered under his breath.

Many Kings, Princes, and Emperors had sought for such a thing, but none could find it. Thus, the fairytale slowly died down, until it was forgotten by everyone. Everyone but the Seventh Prince, who heard about it from a traveling storyteller.

The Seventh Prince was merely intrigued by the rumor. When he saw Priscilla, he instantly thought of the Golden Rose.

"Advisor, is the Seventh Prince still inside?" Priscilla innocently asked.

Sebastian noted her makeup. Her lips were a different shade than last time. Her hair was styled prettily and her gown was revealing. The bottom was wrinkled, as if she had been sitting and waiting for a while. He narrowed his eyes onto the tray in her hands.

"What is that?" Sebastian asked, jutting his chin to the wooden tray.

"A letter written by the Princess before her death… as well as a soothing tea for the Commander. I heard he hadn\'t slept properly for days," Priscilla innocently said.

"A letter by the Princess?" Sebastian sharply repeated, his eyes growing wide with disbelief. Then, he gazed at the tea. He\'d need to spectate it before letting the Seventh Prince drink it.

Priscilla held back an arrogant smile. Now, she had their attention. Finally.? When cleaning up the mess in the Seventh Prince\'s estate, she had found this small folded piece of paper under the broken vanity. Shortly later, she was summoned into the concubine\'s room, where her peers dressed and bathed her.

But the Seventh Prince never showed up. Thus, Priscilla decided to go directly to him. A man mourning his wife would do anything to feel a woman\'s warmth again.

This letter was the perfect opportunity for her to get into Kade\'s good grace.

"Yes, I believe the Princess wrote it—"

BAM!

Everyone jumped. The doors were suddenly thrown open. A wide-eyed Kade strolled out, his face venomous. He had heard the entire conversation.

"Come in," Kade finally said. His voice was cruel and cunning. He would not hesitate to murder Priscilla if this was a lie.

"As you wish, Your Highness," Priscilla coyly said, lowering her gaze and sauntering into the private study.