"I'll send a letter to the Emperor, this will raise lesser suspicion of you. But there are holes to be covered, still. I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say."
Grandel remembered the exact words that came out of Selestia's mouth. He gulped, nervous with no view of what awaited him, and he embarked on the journey.
Grandel took a carriage and stopped in The Valley, the capital city of Celeste, the city he governed. Maybe it will be the last day he'd see this city, so he wished to bid farewell at the least.
"My Dear Betrothed Emperor,
I hope this letter finds you well and great. I am gleeful as I learned that I am to walk the aisle with you, a benevolent emperor of the prominent and vast empire, Thuhelda. Firstly, I wanted to thank you for this marriage proposal, I knew that you made your own measures to reach out to me, and I am deeply grateful for that. Secondly, I had sent the Duke of The Valley, the capital city of Celeste to present a gift from me to you. He will arrive within three days. I wish for your hospitality while he stays in your conglomerate. I also wanted my trusted Duke's eyes to witness the splendor of your empire.
Sincerely yours,
Selestia LeCelestine
Princess of Celeste"
After an hour ratified, Grandel started his journey. It was a long journey and it was exhausting. Grandel felt hungry due to intense excursion from outside the kingdom. It was not his first time traveling to a different nation, but it was his first time alone. Grandel used to travel with many maids and servants and with many carriages. But Selestia strongly forbid him to carry anyone else around but a coachman. This order from the princess prevailed a secret and so, he was given numerous prohibitions.
"When the guards of the Thuheldian gate approach you, state my name…" he remembered what Selestia had told him.
Grandel arrived before the Thuheldian gate. An estimated fifty feet tall wall covered the sovereignty of the empire.
"State your name!" a guard shouted.
"Duke Grandel of The Valley, a component of the Celestial Duchy of the kingdom of Celeste. I've embarked on a journey under the command of the Celestial royalty."
"Who sent you here?!"
They were from quite a distance, thus, the need to yell for him to hear. It was forbidden for the knights to stay in contact with strangers or guests, it was to avoid further difficulty with them.
"Princess Selestia LeCelestine, His Majesty's Bride." He responded significantly.
The guards froze. Without any hesitations, he was welcomed at the gates.
"The Imperial Palace is still crowded, Milord. Please allow me to escort you to the capital city." A guard then spoke.
Many nobles from different nations and continents have come to Thuhelda, most likely the reason the Palace was crowded. It's the Emperor's blessing day. This is Uryashan custom to which people from all around will bless the man of the matrimonial, this is to ensure safety and peace will be bestowed upon them during the wedding.
It is a form of a treaty, vowing that a nation will not commence war during the wedding. The grudges for the other nations, the greed, the covetousness should be cast aside during the matrimony of monarchs.
Grandel was brought to a magnificent guesthouse that was owned by the Emperor, it is found in the northwestern wing of the capital city of Thuhelda, Cesarius. Some maids attended to him. He was indeed welcomed with great hospitality, like what Selestia asked for in the letter.
Selestia's letter already arrived half a day before Grandel left Celeste. Their messengers were birds that were tamed by the great mages of every kingdom.
"I will notify the Emperor that you have arrived, sire…" the guard sincerely bowed. "Do as you please as you stay within these gates."
The guard galloped on his horse and headed to the Imperial Palace. The Palace was quite a distance from the capital city, it was said that it will take half a day to get there. Grandel wandered around, he sought news, every news that he could find about Thuhelda.
"Thuhelda's caves have gold in them! They're plenty! But you can't vie to even get close. The Emperor's great mage, Milford, is protecting the riches. You can be killed if you dare step within one of the Thuheldian caves. The miners of the caves are held captive inside, endlessly mining for gold. They have no right to go outside, likewise, they'll be killed. The gold can only be exported with the use of Milford's magic…" one of the maids told him.
"Is this credible? Did someone already die by stepping in any of the caves?" Grandel asked.
"I was never certain of how many had been swallowed by greed and were killed at the entrance of the caves. It appears to me that the Emperor made sure no one would speak a word about it, even the family of the victim. Pretty much, he'd throw them out of the empire or kill them with no hesitation."
"Are all these you told true?"
"Certainly, yes! Well, the Emperor was able to protect the cave and the number of those killed was but one. His brother, Prince Wilson, was incited with greed, and so he went to the cave. The Prince knows what defends it, so I reckon he did some enchanting for himself. He got out but was bruised and was fighting for his life."
The maid then pointed to a cupboard door by the end of the kitchen, she told that was where Prince Wilson hid.
"Prince Wilson was able to tell me. He left the empire after he was fully healed."
"Did the Emperor ever know that who he sought for was inside his guesthouse?"
"Well, everyone who knew killed themselves, saying they'd rather die using their weapons than die at the hands of the Emperor. Only I was left, I vied to keep it a secret, after all, I loved the Prince."
"How did the Emperor handle the number of suicide cases?" Grandel asked.
"He did not. The keeper of His Majesty's guesthouse threw their bodies away. He invented lies, he told His Majesty that they isolated and is on the run."
But that can't possibly be true, can it? It can't be possible that the Emperor had not noticed the holes in the pieces they put to hide the Prince's and the maids' crimes.
'This Emperor is a ruthless man. And yet, the Princess instructed me to stay for two weeks here. I'd be killed before I could gather more.'
Grandel shivered. He was unable to sleep soundly, he was terrified. Hiding such information is an act of treason against the Thuheldian Constitution and the Emperor. It was no wonder why they killed themselves, those who possessed the secret of the Prince can't bear the guilt of their treason. Simply put, they were afraid of the consequences.