Chapter 13: Emperor Romulus of Alexandria (1)
At the far east of the sea of sands was were the capital of Alexandria was found. The beautiful city of Atenisia. The beautiful city was brimming with life. Unlike the hot sea of sands in the dessert, the city was filled with green trees and water. Many people lived in Atenisia and are making a living there. Being the capital, it was the center of business and culture thus it was the heart of Alexandria.
Atenisia was divided into two parts, the lower part where normal citizens lived and the upper part where the aristocratic families of Alexandria's mansions stood. In the past, only the upper part of Atenisia thrived. The water system of the city was focused on that area alone and the lower part was not given importance. In Alexandria where water is scarce, it is more valuable than gold. That shows that the upper part is where the powerful and wealthy people in the city lived. But once the young emperor sat on the throne, he made many changes and improvements and one was improving the capital and all the people living there. People of all social classes lived a bountiful life when Emperor Romulus sat on the throne.
Emperor Romulus sat on the throne when he was only fifteen years old. What the people knew was that he had bested all of his siblings that were fighting for the seat of emperor but he emerged victorious with underhanded means. The fight for the throne was never a good one. Half siblings often fight for that one seat by all means with blood and death as a norm to win. They knew how the previous emperors won the battles for the throne and they think the same for the current emperor. But the current emperor did not became famous on how he bested his half siblings for the throne. What the citizens of Alexandria thought of when they hear the emperor's name was how he had made the empire more prosperous in his few years of reign compared to the other emperors before him.
What they did not know is what made Emperor Romulus want to win the seat of emperor in the first place. It was a secret that only the emperor and a number of his trusted aides knew.
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(Romulus POV)
I was seating at my office looking outside the window beside me. The view was the vast ocean that was beside the huge palace. I can see seagulls flying in the sky and the waves crashing at the rocks by the cliff.
My office was situated at the top floor of a building just beside the cliff overlooking the ocean. It was so picturesque that you would think my window was a painting made by a master painter. I stood up to stretch my legs after having to work on many documents that are piled up on my desk. Scroll upon scroll were rolled up waiting for me to get a look at them and make the necessary decisions on the topics written.
One scroll in particular was laid open in front of me. It was the scroll stating the first princess of the Constantine Empire is to be bound to me as one of my concubines.
"Hah…" I sighed and walked towards the balcony to get some fresh air.
I felt the ocean's breeze on my face and I smelled the scent of the sea. It was one of the things I enjoy in life.
I enjoyed the sea breeze and the scenery before me when the contents of the document slipped into my mind again.
"The first princess of the Constantine Empire as one of my concubines." I sighed.
The decision of making the first princess of the Constantine Empire enter my harem was the decision of my close advisers of the Small Council. The Small Council consists of my very close advisors and are also the ones that I trust the most. It consists of my four closest aides, Malik the captain of the imperial guards and also the head general of the Alexandria's Golden Army, Ashta my personal aide and the master of the Golden Bank, Grand Duke Pestos the father of the late Concubine Shaniya, the one that adopted me as her own son, and Ascott who is a well know merchant and the owner of the Two Headed Eagle merchant group.
Ascott was the one that suggested that I take the first princess of the Constantine Empire as a concubine. The reason was not because she is the princess of our enemy and take her in as a hostage, but because she is the daughter of the previous saintess with healing abilities.
The other three opposed the suggestion Ascott not just because of the fact that she is a princess, but because Ascott himself was not a born Alexandrian and the others had animosity towards him for it. Ascott came to the empire while I was newly seated to the throne and he had made huge contributions that earned him his seat in the Small Council and made him earn my trust.
When Ascott gave the reason to his suggestion, the other three members of the small council cannot help but agree as well. The reason was, that her family line holds the key to the problem I am facing, and that is the decline of my health. My life is deteriorating slowly due to a poison that I ingested when I was young. It was a poison that killed my mother. Me and my half sister Cecilia also ingested some of this poison but only in small amounts and thus we evaded death but our life slowly dying out like a candle that has a limited time span.
"Even if not my own life." I muttered. "But Cecilia's… she does not deserve this faith."
Cecilia was the daughter of the late Concubine Shaniya and my half sister. Concubine Shaniya took me under her wing when my mother died. A child that does not have a mother and of lowly background would die inside the harem, especially for me who is a son. My mother who was only a beautiful servant girl that my father took a fancy because of her unparalleled beauty. My father the emperor fancied my mother very much that she had gotten his favor. It earned her the jealousy of many of the concubines and led to her untimely death by the poison she ingested and what is tormenting me now. Concubine Shaniya took me in as her own son and for that I am forever grateful. And that is why I will do everything in my power to save Cecilia's life. She is the most precious to me now.
"Almera is her name if I remember correctly." I remembered. "I will see if you are really of use to me or will you be just one of the many flowers that are displayed in my harem."
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