Three whole months had passed since Bayezid came to Aurelius.
Until now , it was a relatively smooth journey.
Due to Jass and other allies high competency , the nation was holding itself together despite the dangers from many adversaries aiming at its downfall.
Bayezid using this in the meantime became stronger and more knowledgeable about the world.
He now knew the basics of how to rule a country , fighting and so on.
He was currently standing on the royal garden of the capital's palace.
The fragrance and the beautiful insects flying to and fro carrying out pollination in the process was a sight to behold.
The butterflies were colourful and chic , being a refresher to the eyes.
Every time he felt he needed a break , he would come to this garden and see its marvels.
It was a little ecosystem on its own.
The plant were the overlords , giving pollen rewards to the insects to carry out pollination.
While the insects were workers receiving these rewards and doing the work...
He picked a flower in his hands and smelled the fragrance.
"Nice weather , isn't it, your majesty?" someone said.
Even though Bayezid didnt sense this stranger's movement , but still he was not afraid.
"Yeah , it is Kane."
Kane just laughed while maintaining a strict posture.
Kane Williamson was the head butler of the lawn low palace and the personal butler of Jass . He was regarded as a highly talented arcane arts practitioner.
He came from the house Williamson and its house's history was even more complex than steward's one as it was evident from the fact that no matter how competent steward and older he was , he was still under the wing of Kane.
"What is the matter Kane?" Bayezid didnt beat around the bush. To think Kane would come and address the matter instead of some other worker meant it was something important.
"Mr. Jass wishes to see you."
Nodding his head , he put the flower back to the ground where it would be decomposed and converted to nutrients ensuring the lifecycle of many organisms.
Soon Kane and Bayezid came to his personal room where he signed documents and stuffs.
Jass was seated with a document in his hand as well.
"Your majesty..." Jass said in a serious tone while standing up sensing Bayezid's arrival "I think this is something important , that I alone cannot take the decision."
Bayezid just chuckled. All the matters of the state laid in Jass's hand.What did he needed his help for?
He soon took his palace , while Kane Stood besides Jass.
The table was large , its length almost 3 meters. It was so to accommodate many people sitting while discussing important matters with the king. It was not always one man or woman who briefed the king.
"Take a look at this document" Jass said while handing over a document in brown envelope.
Bayezid received it and took the document out of the envelope.
It was a bio data sheet about someone.
Bayezid analysed it for 5 minutes. It puzzled him to be honest.
Why did Jass give him the profile of this person?
"This is Ellis right? the daughter of Duke Sophia"
"It is your majesty..."
"Well , to see you have given the information of this person , have you confirmed her involvement in the Kalakazar information chamber?"
Information chambers were organisations that ran in the shadows away from the public eyes. They collected all kinds of data and information not even readily available to the crown and sell it at profitable prices.
Even though each district in Erlands had many information chambers , in all the districts only one information chamber stood out from others.
"No sir , we have not... at least yet."
Even though the crown sometimes got crucial information especially about the happenings in golden rock from the organisation , still it wanted to keep them in check and maybe persuade them to their side , especially the leader of the organisation who was highly intelligible.
Until now all they managed to do was narrow down the list of possible leaders and Ellis was one of them.
"Actually , we have got a marriage proposal from Duke Sophia."
Although it disgusted him to the core to mention the name of that old hag , Jass still clenched his teeth and said in a neutral tone.
Bayezid was shocked for a moment. What was Sophia planning to plot now?
Was she sending her daughter to seduce him? to poison him? to persuade him?
But then she would be sent to the wrong place...
"You know why?"
"Frankly to say , no. We got this proposal so sudden." Jass then took out a letter from his pocket.
"Actually Duke Sophia addressed this letter to the majesty but as it may contain danger in the form of talisman or curses , I didnt dare to send it to you."
Bayezid read the letter as well.
"To think Sophia would address you , putting on the disguise of a good duke while causing many problems to the state baffles me"
"So... what do you suggest we do?" Bayezid genuinely asked for Jass's opinion.
Bayezid was now a ruler. He definitely had to assign a heir , his own child or some other.But it definitely had to be the former as it would give him many points and benefits.
Not to mention , the idea of just having your own child as the heir seemed right.
He really pitied king Argonian.He was a great warrior when it came to the battlefield. He was over 70 years old and ruled the nation for 20 years but still he had no children.
It was because he was infertile. But no matter how much Lilith was heartbroken to learn the fact that they would never have the children they desired...no matter how Argonian was still in a coma...she still loved him and never left his side.
Was this love really possible? or was it just a facade to maintain image on the outside?
"I think you should go with it your lord. From the letter , we can see it was most probably Ellis who convinced her mother for this marriage and write the letter as it is implied that she had been infatuated with you ever since the ceremony. I highly doubt the Duke herself was the one who planned it as, she won't send her daughter who she loves so much to the lion's den.
Even though the plot at hand may be venomous still , with with the possibility of Ellis being the leader of the chamber , it is possible that this an act she is putting on to get on to our side as you know the information chamber is clearly biased against the duke faction."
Bayezid nodded his head. If really they could get Ellis to their side...
"Even though Sophia might be despicable , still she loves her daughter... immensely. No matter what , she wouldn't use her as a political tool. If we agree to this marriage , it might bolster our political ties and maybe the duke faction ,no matter how far fetched, might disband."
Duke Sophia held the most power in the faction. If she willed it to disband , it would disband , no questions asked.
"Even if she does , Ellis is only a first tier high level fire mage at 23 years old. While her wit is never seen , in the art of fighting she could be considered at best slightly above average."
As long as someone was averagely talented and worked hard , they could reach the end of the first tier before they turned 30.
But still the fact that people took almost 20 years from their childhood to reach the level on average baffled Bayezid.
He had almost stabilised the middle level in first tier of both arts in just three months... without any prior knowledge.
In just 2 more months he would reach the high level and in one more month he would stabilise the level.
This was because of the fact while Bayezid could just visualise the process required for breakthrough and apply it in mere seconds , other people had to deeply study the intricacies of the processes and had to think twice before attempting it.
They could even die if the process didn't go correct , which it usually didnt...
Bayezid contemplated for a good 5 minutes.
"Alright then , lets go with the proposal, lets see what they might have in hand." Bayezid replied.
"Then as you wish , I would send a letter under your name to Duke Sophia to proceed with the marriage." Jass replied in a polite tone and soon went to his own personal office after bowing.
----
"Duke Sophia and her daughter Ellis have arrived!!" a guard under scorching sun bellowed.
A carriage with elaborate decorations followed by many carriages modest in comparison to it came into the scene.
The horses were majestic and the metal in the body of the carriage and the armours of the horses gleamed in the sun.
The crest of the duke house made sure that the owner of the carriage couldn't be mistaken.
Soon all the carriage came to a stop and 2 guards in the high level of the first tier opened the door to the carriage.
From it came down the two women in question, in dresses that accentuated their beauty for everyone to see.
A red carpet was laid down so they could walk on it.
Before the gates of lawn low was Bayezid and jass and other officials.
Bayezid soon got off his white horse and stood to the side of it.
Both Sophia and Ellis bowed down to show their respect to the king after they walked to him.
"We greet your majesty." they greeted in unison.
Bayezid went near Ellis and got a good look at her.
Ellis was not ground breaking beautiful or anything but still she held her own charms.
She had a cute face , had blue hair just like her mother and her eyes were green in colour adding a unique look. Almost every physical features of her was a ditto of her mother but was magnified further.
Seeing Bayezid so close to her , Ellis was baffled for a second and took a step back.
"So is this the beauty Im supposed to take care for the rest of my life?" Bayezid said while smiling.
"..." Ellis didn't know what to say. Was this guy flirting with her with all the people around , not to mention with her mother still around?
She knew that this wouldn't be a genuine marriage as both sides suspected a scheme at hand , but this guy just ignored it and went straight into it. Or was this a scheme to seduce her?
Bayezid again let out a smile and before Ellis knew , they were inside the palace taking shelter from the sun.
---
"I hope , you take good care of my daughter." Duke Sophia , although the master of a sinister plan said with a genuine concern in her tone.
Of course from now she would intensify the work of her spies inside the palace and ensure the safety of her daughter.
Daughter's safety first, political schemes later.
"Of course , esteemed lady , a beauty like your daughter will definitely be protected from all the evil eyes. Even though not official , she is the new queen of Erlands." Bayezid said.
That day and the day after was busy as Bayezid and all the courtiers were indulged in feasts , games and so on.
On the third day Duke Sophia and her company soon departed for the city of Manjura leaving Ellis in the capital.
The marriage would not be until another 2 months and the time in between was for Bayezid and Ellis get to know each other.
But the important questions soon be asked right away.
Ellis stood seeing the stars on the clear night on the wide balcony.
Here the stars couldn't be seen properly as the industrial dust clouded its view.
As the district controlled by her mother had no industries and was majorly a agricultural one , producing almost 60 percent of the entire state's agricultural produce , there the stars were clear in view.
"Sorry if you cant see the stars clearly , this is the capital after all." a voice resounded.
Ellis turned around to see two men standing on the entrance of the balcony.
"Your majesty." Ellis replied in a polite manner.
But bayezid wasn't here to check her manners.
"Lady Ellis , let's just get this straight. The nation is at peril. More mind games and Im sure the state couldn't handle it." Bayezid said while Jass stood besides him.
Ellis couldn't see clearly in the night sky but she could see two other men knocked out on the floor tied up.
They were the spies that were supposed to protect her wherever she went in the palace...
"Well , as you say then" Ellis said with a sigh "Ask away what you want."
Bayezid and Jass took a seat on the chairs.
Ellis kept standing.
"Are you the leader of the Kalakazar information chamber?"
"Yes" Ellis said in a heartbeat.
Both the man were taken away. They didnt think she would say it so quickly.
"As I said , ask away all your questions. Im not an adversary" she said
"...alright then. Why the marriage?"
"Of course to get near the king and lend my help."
"That is plausible but still why... the opposite faction is headed by your mother , you know, to support it would be understandable."
"Due to the fact that the organisation is header by my mother , that Im taking this decision. I aim to disband her faction while remaining in the shadows. While I could directly ask her to disband the faction and she would disband it but..."
"But?"
"This is her dream. As the sister of King Argonian , it had always been her dream to rule the country. To just ask her to end her lifelong dream... no matter how bad it is , it would be cruel."
To this both Bayezid and Jass remained silent.
"So as I take it , you intend to poke holes at your mother's faction while remaining at the shadows..."
"Correct.."
"But this doesn't make sense. How do we know that what you are saying is true? while your organisation is clearly biased in favour towards us , but still what if this is a huge plot at the end?With you running a big scale organisation like this , doesn't your mother have any knowledge about it?"
Bayezid could ask the question without any hesitation. With Jass around , even if Ellis attacked him , he wouldn't have a problem.
"The organisation is something I only run on the background. While Im the head of it , and provide the major ideas of running it , I mostly rely it through faithful servants who carry out most of the works.
Even though mother loves me deeply and mostly assigns practitioners to protect me in the shadows , when we are at home, she leaves me to my own bounds, thus allowing me to carry out this work privately without assigning anyone to monitor on me...
Even is someone suspects me and informs her about this , she would probably end that person's life and not even question me.
She just loves me too much.
Although it pains my heart to do this , I must do this for the sake of the country."
Not all questions were answered though...
There was a good silence for 10 minutes. Everyone were recollecting their thoughts.
"For me, as a member of the royal family , Erlands is something I hold dear to my heart. There is no way I would aim at its downfall. You could only test my loyalty as the time passes... in any regards , I don't see how this marriage would be not be fair to you. You definitely have your own plans as well... right?"
"..." Bayezid just sat there while watching Ellis.
"You know, you look really beautiful while standing under the moonlight."
"Wh..what?" Ellis didn't comprehend what Bayezid , but soon after she did , a faint blush formed on her face.
Bayezid just smiled.
"I was just joking with you. No its not that I'm Joking with you...
But anyways no matter what plans you and your mother have at your hands, Im not bothered with it , you know?
With Jass around , Im pretty sure he would take care of all the shenanigans. Am I wrong?"
Jass just glanced at Bayezid.
Maybe this guy was not the right man for the job after all... no matter how new he was to these stuffs, still wasn't he too carefree? With thousand plots at hand , he was supposed to be vigilant...
He knew that Bayezid was just a normal human before coming to this place and that he knew nothing about running a country and stuffs....
For god's sake , this whole thing was something imposed on him without his consent...
Randomly assigned to be the head of a state headed to its ruin for the past 10 years or so, with many intrigues like murder, robbery, civil unrest, usurping plots running deep and supposedly no way back to normal...
But maybe again , the ordeal of summoning a hero from another dimension made him have massive expectations...
But It was still four months though since Bayezid arrived... in terms of fighting prowess he was a talent never seen before.
So yeah what if he was carefree about the affairs of the state and was dense? if given enough time, this monster would be turned into a one many army.
Administration was something quite a lot of people were talented in. In fact , it was a skill mostly gained through the test of time.
Even if entire mortal's valley came together Jass was sure this guy could take care of it...
"So how about a date tomorrow?" Baeyzid asked.
"Date?"
"Yeah , with your mother gone , we can finally have some fun right?"
"Fun?" As a duke daughter , Ellis never had fun...
"What you never had..." before bayezid said anything he shut his mouth.
While he had loads of fun with his orphan friends on earth , here he was supposed to be a "slave", there was no way he had fun as well.
"You know , this would be an opportunity to get to know each other. I have many things I would like to ask you. I would like to adore your inner beauty as much as I adore your outer beauty."
While what Bayezid said could be considered as utter cringe, but still having a man whose handsomeness Ellis had never seen in her life say it , her feminine heart skipped a beat.
Jass just stood up from his spot and went to his room.While Bayezid had time to spend time with a young lady , he wasnt so lucky. Even at this night , he had to meet an official to discuss about the procurement of ammunition.
At his room before he was supposed to close the door and get to ride his car, a slight disturbance could be seen from the shadows.
"Sophia didn't do a good job at paying the spies again , did she?" Jass let out a chuckle.
All the spies in the castle , old or new , affiliated to duke Sophia from the beginning were in turn loyal to the crown.
No voice came from the shadows...
"This young girl Ellis still needs to be studied , so we can understand the dangers and benefits she carries. But I suppose the new information we got would help us reaching the conclusion faster..."
Although it looked like Jass was talking to air , still there was a feeling someone was listening in to the conversation...
"Any way , his majesty , Bayezid is still too carefree and naive , always make sure to protect him from the shadows and never let any harm reach him. He might be the only saviour we have in our hands..." Jass said in a stoic tone but still tinge of emotions were lashed onto it.
"Understood" this time though , a voice of a woman resounded from the shadows.
"Nothing more else of interest , get back to your work."
Without any other words, the shadows flickered again and soon the room went back to its original state with Jass as its only habitant.
"Well then as for meeting the old general..."
Soon Jass went out of the room and started his journey to an estate located on the outskirts of the district two.
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