Dushyant started to walk away only to pause after a beat.
He turned back and said, "Now, the only thing left to be decided is when the time comes, who will you choose to stand with?"
The old man felt a tremor go through him. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about this matter already but he didn't have an answer to the problem yet.
One side was his son, the other side… sworn loyalty.
Thankfully the stoic faced young man in front of him didn't seem to expect a reply from him just yet. Still, he felt even more troubled than he had been on his way to this place.
As he saw Dushyant's receding back, he thought back to the conversation between him and Raja Indraneel when he had been called to the capital.
Flashback begins -
After the two friends finished reminiscing on past events, it was time to get down to serious matters.
"I am afraid you have been wronged once again, my friend," Raja Indraneel began in an apologetic tone.
General Chandraveer's hand which was holding the silver cup trembled a bit. The emperor was not prone to offering apologies unless something major had occurred.
Unconsciously, General Chandraveer braced himself and sat straighter.
"It seems that the Southern province is in great hurry to take over the Mandhaar throne. Since their last attempt failed abysmally two decades ago, they are probably a tad nervous and impatient to have their maternal bloodline take over this kingdom this time around," he said with venom in his voice.
Raja Indraneel's disgust and hatred for Maharani Vaijayanti and her entire clan was not hidden from his closest friend.
At the general's questioning look, he went on to tell him about the empress's intention to wed Princess Anara to the general's eldest son, Agastya through the swayamvar.
After listening to the entire episode, the general became pale faced and couldn't help asking him. "What are you intending to do? I am sure you understand the future implications."
Raja Indraneel pressed the space between his brows with his fingers in frustration. "If we move our hidden ace at this moment, it would negate all the sacrifice, effort and heartburn accumulated over the years. In my opinion, there is no other way except for…"
The emperor didn't need to speak any further. General Chandraveer understood that his family was going to be put in the eye of the storm soon.
He wanted to say that he and his family had done enough. He wanted to allude to their long-standing friendship over the years. He wanted to ask for a favour in return of the favour which he had done to him.
But General Chandraveer couldn't say a word. Despite everything, it was obvious - one was the emperor, the other was his subject. The emperor's word was his command.
While the atmosphere became gloomy in the chambers, Vallabh walked in and said cryptically, "The birds are fluttering outside. What should I feed them?"
The emperor's face turned purple for a second in anger but then he exhaled forcefully. "We are extremely disheartened by the Northern army's half-hearted performance during the latest skirmish with the enemy. The battle, which should have not taken more than a few days, lasted for more than a month and a lot of the kingdom's resources were wasted unscrupulously by the army. Moreover, the general's son was sent to the Mandhaar-Adra border to catch the infiltrators but he failed to do so. The Northern Army needs to introspect on their performance and submit a report to the royal court within this month."
General Chandraveer looked at his friend and emperor blatantly weaving a false tale and shook his head.
Undaunted by his look, the emperor continued in an awe-inspiring tone. "Since the general has been Our close friend, We wanted to reprimand him in private, sparing him the humiliation of public condemnation. But this is his one and only warning. We won't tolerate people taking advantage of Our benevolence."
Without missing a beat, his voice became normal as he asked Vallabh nonchalantly. "Is this enough to keep the other side satiated?"
Vallabh grinned and said, "Your ability to spin a tale remains unparalleled since childhood. It's a pity you didn't join a drama troupe and instead became a ruler."
The emperor raised an eyebrow at his uncle's words.
No other elder of a respectable family would wish for their nephew to become a poor performer versus a monarch.
Truly, his uncle was unique!
End of flashback