Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

In the Royal Palace of Vijayanagara, the bird chirped along the colorful garden. Viswa was staring towards the garden from the balcony of the Northern complex. The commotion of the nobles just ended and he was already a bit skeptical about their next move. He needed some information.

The establishment of courts and a justice system meant the centralization of power for the Empire. The nobles power would be limited by a lot. This was the main reason behind the dissatisfaction of the local nobles. The bigger nobles didn't mind the change because they followed the command of the throne. Their influence would still be substantial even with the centralization of power.

There was also the fact that more than half of the big nobles were killed during the civil war. They weren't replaced by Harsha because it would create problems for him in the long run due to the greed of the nobles.

Viswa thought a lot about the current situation. He was figuring out a solution for this problem. The main issue at hand wasn't the solution but controlling the outbreak before it spreads like wildfire.

The last thing he wanted was the flames of the minority igniting the fence sitters. It would cause a lot of trouble for everyone. This was the reason he needed the help of Karna. Sachin, despite being a medium noble, had the potential for being the reason for igniting the flame.

'What should I do?' He thought. 'Hmm…'

Karna emerged suddenly from the shadows. Viswa could detect the man; unlike Rakhtasura and Chyyasura, he fails to detect all the time. It seemed like Karna had learned a few things from Rakhtasura. His job productivity had shot up into the sky and the combat skills of the spies improved a lot under his leadership.

The internal affairs team had eyes in all parts of the Empire, including the noble circles. Karna was an exceptional man.

Karna found the remnant supporters of the first prince. It was hard to find all the supporters of the First Prince. With the deaths of their major nobles that controlled the local nobles. It was hard to pinpoint every supporter.

They had executed the bigwigs from the first prince's faction but some worms still remained. Karna knew they were looking for an opportunity. He wanted some cause to hunt them down. He had his eyes on them already. their so-called "covert" meetings were already infiltrated by Karna. Karna was just letting them dig their own grave. He knew sooner or later they would attempt something dumb.

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'That's why Your Majesty picked him after all.' He sighed and turned to Karna.

"I have an urgent mission for you."

"Is it about that noble?" Karna asked, pulling down his mask to speak properly.

"Yes, it seems that he is going to do something."

"It totally seems like it." Karna shrugged. "You were also partially at fault for provoking him."

"It would hasten the process."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I know it. It was precisely why I did it." Viswa turned to the garden. "It's better to provoke him and allow him to make the dumb decision to take revenge on me."

"So you thought ahead?"

Viswa didn't reply. He just shrugged it off.

Karna tilted his head in confusion. Usually Viswa had plans for these things. It was quite surprising for him to see that man not have any plans for the current situation.

"I just don't know." Viswa said.

He knew it was some sort of a trial by the Emperor to give him a chance to prove himself before all the local nobles. This was why he didn't know what to do. He just made plans according to the specification by the Emperor. He might have added some of his own innovations but he never worked without the Emperor's request.

Viswa's biggest problem was his ingrained inferiority complex. Although it might seem he was confident on the outside. He was quite sensitive to what people would think of his every move. If he failed, it would make the bad things they were saying about him true.

"Are you serious?" Karna pressed again.

"Yes."

'Am I really worthy?' He thought. 'Can I overcome this mountain without his help?'

Karna sighed. "You need to get your mind together."

"I will put some eyes on Sachin; meanwhile, you think of a plan."

Karna turned to leave. Before leaving he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"By the way…"

"Hmm?" Viswa turned to Karna.

"You know…Don't be so hard on yourself." He scratched his neck. "You are the best amongst us."

"Everyone respects you…"

"Including me." He mumbled very faintly.

He turned and left quickly.

Viswa was quite taken aback by the words of encouragement he received. It was from Karna of all people. The man who didn't speak his feelings out. It was some sort of a relief to know how others thought of him. He never knew the real feelings of all the members. He just thought they listened to him out of fear.

He never expected them to respect him, despite his lower caste status. He clenched his fist with a determined look. It was a rare occasion to hear such words. It felt nice to listen to such motivating and soothing compliments rather than looks of prejudice and scorn once in a while.

This small word of encouragement from Karna helped him immensely. For the first time he felt somewhat acknowledged for his work by his own peers and subordinates. It showed him that his small steps were reaping rewards for him and changing the perspectives about him and others like him.

It motivated him further to pursue his goals.

Viswa laughed. "I must have had a bad expression."

He smiled, looking at the sky.

"I didn't know that hard-headed guy of all people would be worried about me."

'I need to work hard not to disappoint them.'

Meanwhile, Sachin was leaving the capital with a shitfaced look. He slammed his fist on the wooden frame of his carriage.

"That fucking vermin." He muttered angrily. "How dare he mock me?"

He clenched his fist till his knuckles were bright red. "I will take care of that lower caste scum."

"He just got the position because of the Emperor's whim." He said to himself.

Sachin never accepted the position of Viswa in the council. He never liked the lower caste people and the man always thought of himself as a higher being due to his birth in a noble household.

He couldn't protest the initiation of Viswa as the emperor's proxy because of overwhelming support from all the big nobles. He knew better than to risk getting beheaded by the Emperor. It was the time when the Empire just got out of the bloody civil war phase.

Sachin was beaten by the new reform all the time; the military reform kicked out many of his family members due to the lack of physical fitness. The feudal reform crippled many of his long-term supporters in the region. The corruption scandal in the shipyard brought many of his supporters to ruin.

The new reform from the Royal Council that centralized the power was the last straw. The Empire established courts and carried out justice, which would mean that he would just be a noble in name without any good influence.

He had no private army, mercantile influence, and now no power to carry out justice in his own region. His position had fallen so low that he was being berated by lower caste scum like Viswa.

The superiority complex of Sachin knew no bounds. The verbal abuse from Viswa hurt his ego a lot. He was already looking for ways to get back at Viswa.

'Hmm. I can't take him head-on. The Nayakas would have his back.'

He needed the support of a big noble that hated that guy. He was really thinking hard to find who to contact. His only options left were the Patwardhans, Nairs, and remnants of Jadhavs and Parvathy Nair.

'Patwardhans won't work. They are staunch imperial supporters.'

The only option would be either to contact the former emperor. He had no hope of getting a reply from Krishna Deva Raya. He was just a small noble in his eyes. Not even worth remembering.

The next choice would be to make an agreement with Asokan Nair.

Sachin had heard rumors about Asokan Nair and his hate for lower castes. If he hated lower castes. He would also be in favor of his revenge and support his cause. Also, it seemed like he was forced to take the council seat unfavorably thanks to the deal between the Emperor and the Second Prince.

He should hate the Emperor as well. It would be a perfect opening for him to exploit to exact his revenge. He also planned to contact the hidden supporters of the Jadhavs for his cause. They went undetected by the current regime. Sachin had connections with them.

He smiled smugly.

'Just you wait. You lower-caste scum.'