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(3rd Person POV)
A carriage was moving towards the royal palace in the capital. It was coated in blue decorations and a sign that signified that the carriage belonged to The Blue Pedelians.
Roussel Pedelian, the head of the Pedelians and his daughter, Sylvia Pedelian were sitting inside the carriage. Roussel had a grave expression on his face whereas Sylvia was feeling slightly nervous.
Roussel looked at his daughter's scared expression and asked her, "Do you regret agreeing to this plan, Sylvia?"
Sylvia replied hastily, waving her hands, trying to deny what her father just said, "N-No, father. I just feel slightly uneasy and it's pricking my consciousness. Is the crown prince like that? Is he really so cruel and ruthless, as you explained? Can't we just talk with him and m-maybe find a d-different way out-"
Roussel grabbed his daughter's shoulders and shook her to prevent her from panicking. He said in a calming voice, "Sylvia, you have to come down."
Sylvia realized her folly and took deep breaths to calm herself down. Seeing his daughter calmed down, Roussel replied, " Well to answer your question, I wish we could settle this matter through some talks. And I am not exaggerating or making up the crown prince's personality at all. I am telling you only a milder part of his personality. You would be scared if you knew how cruel his actions are. Do you understand?"
"Y-Yes, father. I understand." Her voice turned pleading as she said, "What about brother then? How will we bring him out of the Agriches' house? The evil forces of the Agriches are present there and the crown prince is also present there. If I take into consideration what you said about the crown prince one of the strongest is true, then what should we do?"
"Patience, Sylvia. Patience. We can't rush things like this. I am sure that Cassis must be still alive. He is just like his mother, he has inherited her strong will. We are visiting the Emperor because of this reason and several others."
And the carriage stopped. Both of them deboarded the carriage and walked inside the palace.
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In a secret room of the royal palace,
All the heads of the houses except the Agriche Family were present along with the current emperor of the Phoenix Empire, William Phoenix.
Roussel Pedelian was sitting at the place of the head of the table as they had called for this meeting. Other attendees included Sylvia Pedelian, Luzak Gastor, the heir of the Gastor family, and Markus Gastor, the head of the Gastro family. Orka Huipelion, the head of the Huipelion family and Noel Bertium, the head of the Bertium family along with his trusted attendant Roel were also present there.
They had been called for the meeting to talk about the concerning matter, the rise of Aston Phoenix.
Roussel Pedelian started the talk as he said, "Shall we discuss the matter of Aston Phoenix and how to deal with his increasing matter, gentlemen?"
Markus Gastor replied gruffly and eyed Roussel threateningly, "You called us here to discuss how to deal with a 17-year-old brat? Are you taking too light of our power or did you get exaggerated reports of him?"
Roussel Pedelian said, "Not at all, nothing like that. I can guarantee the reports that I have got from him and his majesty, the emperor can also testify."
All members of the meeting looked at the pale, sickly emperor who didn't give off any aura of royal bearing. It looked like he was a beggar who had been adorned with royal clothes.
William Phoenix said with a nervous tone, "Thank you for the heads to come out and meet me for this important matter. As you know about the crown prince, Aston Phoenix, you would have heard of his tales of cruelty and actions, wouldn't you? Destroying villages overnight, killing maids and servants, and wreaking havoc in the lives of normal, innocent commoners. He is a tyrant even when he is a crown prince."
Markus Gastor said in an impatient tone, "Yeah, Yeah. We know. Get to the main point. You have already told us of those things through the letters you sent. Didn't we already decide to kill him before his crowning ceremony? And make you adopt another child. We can portray that child as an illegitimate kid of yours. Problem Solved. What was the reason for you to bring us for this secretive meeting?"
William's face turned pale as his body started shaking, "I think he is going to kill me soon and take over the empire. My gut feeling is saying so. I am sure he will kill me as brutally as possible. "
Markus asked with a tone teeming with curiosity, "And why so? Why do you think that?"
"You don't know how he is. I couldn't tell everything that I wanted to earlier because he was still present in this palace. Now, he is gone to the Agriches. I am sure he must have gone there to make them allies. His personality is the same as that of those Agriches. I am sure that even now, he hasn't shown me all the cards he possesses."
All the members of the meeting turned quiet and went into the realm of thinking.
Roussel interrupted their thinking after a few minutes as he said, "As his majesty said, Aston Phoenix has turned into a bigger problem than we would have thought of. We can't give him any more time to prepare himself, I am sure even now, he must be increasing his forces in the Agriches. I want this to be done so I can get my son, Cassis Pedelian back from the clutches of the Agriches and keep my territory safe from all the harm that may be done. Do all of you want to join me in taking care of the crown prince as well as the Agriches?"
Orka spoke in the meeting for the first time, "The White Huipelions also agree to participate in this matter. The crown prince's personality does not bode well for the welfare of the beasts. And the Agriches have been using animals for their use instead of protecting them, for a long time."
Noel replied lazily, " I don't have any personal grievances with the both of them but I am sure that the crown prince will be a pain in the ass when he becomes the emperor. So, the Yellow Bertiums also agree to participate."
Markus had a crazed smile on his face, "The Red Gastors will also agree. We have been missing war for a long time. It's time to show what the Gastors are made of. Luzak will be my commander!"
Roussel had a satisfied smile on his face as he said, "Perfect. Please put your troops on full alert. I hope we can also get aid from the Huipelion's beasts, Bertium's puppets and the brave knights of the Gastors."
"We will aid in this matter with every force we possess."
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In a private training room of the Agriche house,
*Clang*
*Clank*
*Shink*
Jeremy was using his sword to beat the steel mannequins in front of him. He was pouring all of his frustration on the inanimate object in front of him. For the past few days, he has stopped meeting even Roxana and has been spending all of his time practising his combat. He was only focused on becoming stronger.
When they used to pass in the hallway, she would talk with him. But for the past few days, she doesn't even greet him when they pass each other in the hallway. She seems preoccupied with something and he knows the reason - Aston fucking Phoenix, that son of a bitch. This has motivated him further to train himself so he can kill that bastard.
He has been practising continuously for the past few hours and his ability has improved several times from his previous capabilities.
Regret had taken over his mind, that he didn't train much more before. He had turned complacent after he was one of the strongest among the Agriches. He didn't expect someone to be so overwhelmingly strong in the outside world.
When he heard about the crown prince's feats, he expected him to be either on the level of Dion Agriche or slightly below him. Even against Dion, Jeremy could hold himself for some time but it still feels like an impossible task against someone like Aston.
Jeremy put his personal spies to some use and sent them to find weaknesses in the crown prince. Nothing... He found nothing on him.
No scandals, no mistakes, no dirt on him. He had a fully clean slate. The only option that Jeremy has now is that he can only increase his power and kill Aston.
'I JUST HAVE TO KILL THAT SON OF B*TCH, THEN EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE. I WILL RESCUE MY SISTER FROM HIS CLUTCHES. I AM SURE ANA WOULD LOVE ME WHEN I SAVE HER FROM HIM. I NEED MORE POWER!"
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(End of the chapter)
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