101 Ways To Tame The Emperor

Chapter 28: The Emperor's Past

(Malik)

“IT’S SO cold.” I heard Catherine whisper while sleeping. Matilde had lit the fire in the inglenook inside the cabin where I brought Catherine. It was a few kilometers away from the bridge. I decided not to go back to the Castle for the meantime and to let her rest some more. If we go back now, her condition might worsen since it was a four-hour trip away from the Castle.

Matilde sobbed before surrounding Catherine with another comforter. The old woman had changed her lady’s clothes and made her drink medicine but the latter was still quivering so much.

“Oh, God. My poor child…”

“I will take it from here, Matilde. Leave us for now.”

“My Lady had gone through a lot. I will leave her in your care. Please take care of her, General Malik. She has not been sleeping properly these past few weeks and had been overworking herself lately in preparation for coming to the Imperial Castle.”

When Matilde closed the door, I sat on the bed and held Catherine’s hand. I cussed under my breath when I realized how cold her hand was. My free hand went to touch her trembling lips. I was stunned when she smiled as she grabbed my hand.

“It’s warm. I like it.” She whispered.

Snap out of it. She’s sick, Malik! I reprimanded myself. “Just how many times will you have to put me in this situation, Catherine? Today is the second time. This is becoming your habit.”

I laid beside her and embraced her to offer her more of my warmth. She snuggled closer to my chest and embraced me back. I put the strands of her hair behind her ear so I could look at her better. She looked dead tired but she was still the loveliest woman I have ever seen. She was the one in a dire need of comfort right now but I was the one who feel comforted by her presence.

I never thought that I would get to meet a woman as lovely and as brave as my mother. I did not have the perfect parents but I could brag about the kind of love they had for me. The previous Emperor was deemed as a weakling by most people. Out of his fear of having his family assassinated since the Ministers had countless of Mages on their side back then, he allowed himself to become the Ministers’ toy and had made numerous wrong decisions in his life that led to the sufferings of many and that included the sufferings of the ones close to his heart. He was the Emperor but during his reign, it was the Ministers who had more power than him. He was ridiculed by the public because of it.

But he was a doting husband and a good father.

Lennon was four years older than me. His mother was my father’s first love. They met when my father was still the crown prince. But Lennon’s identity was kept hidden because his mother was from another kingdom. And a relationship between a man and a woman from different kingdoms was prohibited then and now. Two years after she died when my father became the Emperor, he met my mother and fell in love. Afterwards, the four of us lived together in the Castle.

Everyone thought that Lennon was adopted by our parents. There were constant threats, moments of tears, and weaknesses which were common to royalties but we had our fair share of bright and happy moments, too. Our parents made sure of that.

Lennon and I witnessed how the previous Emperor broke down so many times before. His biggest breakdown was when Sir Richard, his Mage best friend who was by his side for the longest time got convicted for the wrong reasons and since the stakes were high, he failed to defend him. We saw how our mother calmly stood by our father’s side, how she reminded him of her love and of his importance and how she became the source of his strength in the midst of all that chaos.

Our mother was a gentle being but she was headstrong at the same time. She was the only one who could pacify our father. I think that was when Lennon began setting his own ideals of love. He wanted what our parents had. Maybe at some point, I did want that kind of love, too, the love that would inspire you to keep going no matter what.

But there was a time when I detested that love. It was when a fire broke out at the West wing of the Castle and my mother happened to be there, too. We were trapped. My father was able to save me. He came back to the chamber and searched for my mother. But it was too late. She was dead. That was among the many assassination attempts to our family. My father could not handle the depression and died eight months after which made me become the youngest emperor in the history at the age of sixteen. Since then, the throne had been like a leash that was tied on me.

I felt wronged at first and of course, I was afraid because I did not only inherit the throne. As the only child of the Emperor recognized by the public, I also inherited my father’s battles, struggles, and his enemies. Lennon and I were trained to fight ever since we turned seven but being an Emperor required the battle of wits, too. Although I grew up watching my father work, it was still too much responsibility for a young boy to carry.

I had to outsmart the people who wanted me dead and there were plenty of them. I had to come up with tricks every now and then to keep up with them. There were times when Lennon, Matthew, and I would not sleep for days just to go over the piles of documents that I was forced to understand. We were required to grow up and become adults faster. Since Matthew’s parents also died from an accident, the three of us who were left behind became even closer.

Lennon was the one who had to adjust the most since he used to be the most playful among us three. He used to travel a lot to the point that he would skip his studies and his sword trainings, believing that it was the most effective way to find his Miss Right. Matthew tried to do the same but he was often easily caught by the guards since he lacked the combat skills unlike Lennon who could escape faster than him.

Lennon and Matthew were that silly before that I wanted to smack their heads many times while we were growing up. They only started becoming serious when our parents died and they had to sit down with me to handle the paper works that they had a hard time understanding, too. No one really asked them to do that. But they voluntarily came to my chambers every day to assist me in sorting things out.

Lennon, Matthew and I would debate over the documents for many hours every night. Every morning, I had to go to the imperial court without getting even an hour of sleep to present myself and to give my opinion about the necessary reports in front of the hawks who were so eager to see me fall or to put another leash on my neck. And then from afternoon onwards, I had to practice my combat skills. Back then, my only break was eating.

I would not have survived without Lennon and Matthew. They were there to remind me not to lose myself in the process of avoiding becoming like the previous Emperor. The next thing I had to do was proving my worth to the hundred employees of the Imperial Castle and to thousands of Morvenian Knights. Most of them were hesitant to give me a chance before because of my father’s track record.

I won my first war when I was seventeen despite of the traps the Ministers had laid before me. That was when I started gaining their trust. Looking back, it was exhausting. But I made it through with the support of the very few people who wanted me to succeed.

I am where I am now not only because I did not give up. But because there were people who never gave up on me, too, even during my worse days. Being the Emperor opened my eyes to variety of people. Many years of experience taught me how crude and shallow a person could be. I have proven that time and time again both with the men and women who only wanted the status and looks of the General Malik Montebello that they thought they knew and the wealth, power, and connection of the Emperor Aldis Salvatierra.

As the emperor, aside from the Castle employees, I have never met anyone who stood up for me. People sing praises for me and shower me with compliments but behind my back, they act the opposite. They laughed and pitied me for my ‘burnt scars’. I’ve seen that while I was acting as the General.

My mother was a Mage. When I was younger, she taught me how to alter some of my physical attributes in the people’s eyes as a safety measure that’s why ever since I was born; only a few people could recognize me. The fire from before made it easier for me to hide my face without having to use magic all the time.

Only Matthew and my family knew I had magic. I rarely use it when going outside the Castle since I know that my enemies monitor my every move outside. I didn’t want my abilities to be exposed yet. I’m sure they have been wondering for ages where the Castle weapons came from. Aside from the employees, the weapons were the second pillar of strengths of the Castle and of the Empire. Many wanted to know our supplier and how they were created. I induced magic in every weapon to make them stronger and more effective. That was among the secrets of how we won several wars.

The Ministers had been cracking their heads and threatening their Mages to find out more about those weapons and to try to get their hands on them as well. But since they are not Knights, they are not allowed to have such weapons.

They believed the magical records in the Castle had something to do with it that’s why their next move was to penetrate the Castle through the potential Empress that they would send in. The fourth spy almost killed Mrs. Rembrant that’s why this time, in order to give my subordinates a break from all those killing spree, I decided to be the one to pick whose house the next potential Empress would come from. The House of Peiris was chosen through drawing lots.

Who would have thought that ‘that’ supposed to be meaningless draw would change my life?