"Wife, I have never interfered in the household matters, giving you complete monetary and social freedom. Moreover, knowing your fondness for your maternal clan, I have always tried to be as accommodating as possible towards them," he started on a serious note.
Madam Kuntala nodded her head vigorously. She knew that her husband had really treated her sincerely during all these years, much better than most of her known female friends and relations.
Barring that one incident, she really had the best marriage which a woman could ask for.
"I am well aware and so is my family, especially Elder Brother. He is always…" she responded quickly only to be cut short by General Chandraveer.
"Then, tell the Kola clan to keep their ambitions under check. I won't tolerate them fulfilling their long-standing dream by using one of my sons. Your nephew wants to breathe the same air as the royal family and he is welcome to do so, as long as it doesn't implicate us," Chandraveer's brows furrowed tightly.
He was yet to figure out a solution to the royal mess which the empress had laid at his door. He had gotten to know about it during his conversation with Raja Indraneel a few days ago, taking him off guard completely.
The emperor had summoned him all the way to the capital under the guise of taking stock of the border situation, only to tell General Chandraveer apologetically that he had missed seeing the move made by his wife, Maharani Vaijayanti, until it was too late!
That mess was enough to add a few more greys to his hair. He didn't want to deal with greedy relatives to add to his headache.
"Hu… husband, you are… my family isn't…" Madam Kuntala didn't know how to respond to him.
She was well aware of her brother's aspirations to become a part of the Imperial Merchants' Association. She was also vaguely suspicious of her narrow-minded sister-in-law's over-enthusiasm when it came to the Sirsa clan boys.
But Madam Kuntala had always remained detached and never given them any leeway to affect her husband or her sons.
She knew that the Sirsa clan paid a lot of attention to their singular loyalty towards the throne of Mandhaar and had always towed the same line, keeping away from the political families and power factions in Sarvaan.
She drew in a deep breath and said, "Husband, I am your wife, the daughter-in-law of the Sirsa clan. This is my family. I won't allow anyone to jeopardise my family's name, no matter who it is. Nephew Avanish's friendship with the Fourth Prince is restricted to the Kola family. I have never encouraged nor vied for the prince to visit our house. As for my niece, Avantika, I have already summoned the best matchmaker to arrange a marriage for her. Please be rest assured, I won't let them turn into ungrateful relatives. This is my sincere promise to you."
General Chandraveer calmed down when he heard the subtle subtext in his wife's words. "Thank you! I can be at ease then."
With that, he put down the plate and got up from his chair. "I have to leave now. The matters in the camp should not take longer than a few days to sort. Once I am back, let's go and visit our parents."
General Chandraveer's parents had taken Vanprastha* some time ago and were now living at the foothills of Mandh mountain. Being so caught up with the state affairs, General Chandraveer hadn't been able to visit them in a long time and felt extremely guilty about it.
Madam Kuntala nodded obediently. "I will start making the preparations. Even though they have given up on the material things, some food and other basic things can still be accepted, as long as their eldest son coaxes them."
General Chandraveer smiled when he thought about the love and warmth which his parents had always shown towards him.
"Thank you," he whispered and dropped a small kiss on her smooth, still unlined forehead.
Madam Kuntala blushed like a young girl and lowered her eyes as her husband's husky laugh reached her ears.
Nildiri Hills
Agastya was waiting outside the main office when General Chandraveer arrived. "Greetings, Father. How was your trip to the royal palace?"
He bent down to touch his father's feet and received a warm hand on his head as a blessing.
General Chandraveer hummed in response, which didn't surprise his son. Everyone around was used to the military commander who treated his spoken words as gold!
If three were needed to be said, he would usually bark out only one!
"These are the urgent correspondence which require your attention! I have responded to everything else," Agastya had followed the general in the room and was holding a thin pile in his hand.
He knew that his father hated wasting any time in pleasantries and preferred getting down to the task at hand immediately.
"Where is your third brother? Is he not in the camp?" General Chandraveer asked with a frown as he took the bundle of scrolls from his eldest son's hand.
Agastya's mouth froze for a moment before he smiled and replied. "Third Brother went to the forest located behind the village earlier this morning to inspect the security arrangements there. He should be back soon."
The general gave a small nod and said, "You can carry on with your work, Agastya. I will call you if needed. Oh… your mother has sent some food."
Agastya's eyes showed some joy but he still maintained a serious demeanour. "It's Mother's way of showing her love. Would you like to eat together in the food hall, Father?"
General Chandraveer was already immersed in the letters in front of him but he suddenly looked up and asked. "How long did your cousin stay at the camp for?"
Agastya was taken aback at the sudden change of topic but was calm enough to respond in a neutral tone. "Cousin Avantika was kind enough to bring a few things from home. I have sent those to your quarters already. She didn't stay the night and went back the same evening. In fact…"
Agastya stopped abruptly, making General Chandraveer raise an eyebrow inquiringly at him.
*Vanprastha - literally meaning 'retiring to the forest'. It is the third stage in the varnashrama system of Hinduism. It represents the third of the four ashramas of human life, the other three being Brahmacharya, Grihastha and Sannyasa.