Chapter 10: Concubine Elrose
Coming back to the capital made Victor a little emotional. Memories of his time back then came flooding back. The capital city is also known as Claes City since most major cities are named after a royal or noble who owns it but for most people, it's just the capital. The city is very large. When they saw it in the distance, they could see the walls that surrounded it, and even Victor could not find the end of it. If Victor was to describe it, it would be almost like a metropolis inside a large box (or circle in this case) except without the skyscrapers. The roads are bricked up, all the buildings and houses look like from medieval times, with hay roofs, wooden window shutters, and stone or brick chimneys, and you can see the bustling streets filled with wagons pulled by beasts or horses and people walking around. It does reflect a medieval fantasy image.
There seems to be a celebration going on as Victor could see a range of colors in red and yellow decorations being hung everywhere on the houses and roofs, and many people are also wearing such colors when they enter the city. Red and yellow is a favorite of the Claes people as it symbolizes power, prosperity, and also loyalty to the emperor since they are also the house colors of the royal family, along with its dragon insignia with a sword in the middle that looks like it is piercing the dragon since the first emperor is said to have slain an evil dragon that threatened the empire.
They passed by the city square where most of the interaction and life of the city is. It was strange to pass by the city square and see people laughing, walking, and celebrating. In his last life, this was the place where they executed him. The sight of his father sighing at him, that b*tch concubine and his half-brothers sneering at his demise, and the absent mother and brother who, even at his death, never even bothered to see or say anything to him. Not to mention the number of people who surrounded him, screaming for his head, calling him a traitor and throwing food and items at his face, and laughing about his demise and his death; it was not a pleasant memory, and Victor had to pull the curtains down so he could not look at the people looking so happy.
The three people inside the carriage looked curiously at the handsome prince. They still could not believe he was able to look so good with short hair. A short haircut like this is very unusual. They can't help to compare themselves to him and look envious of the prince. The prince looked very good despite all the rough life they had gone through in battle. He could be described as princely – something they have never described Victor since the day they met him (except Rufus, who thinks Victor is the best prince there is).
"It seems to be foundation day," Rufus said as he watched the colors outside his window.
"Foundation day?" Victor asked.
"Yes. An anniversary of the foundation of the empire. It's a week-long festival." Rufus answered wholeheartedly as he watched the celebration outside. Despite all the misgivings the empire has given his master, the man still has a positive view of the empire. This is because, compared to other countries, the empire's longevity provides a sense of security for a lot of people. Pietro and Jason Aster, on the other hand, do not seem to be enlightened or in awe at it. They have seen it before, but Victor, who spent most of his life in the palace before being shipped to the military, never saw or experienced the empire's celebrations. He never finds a reason to celebrate such festivities after his return. But the sight of the celebration only made him feel sad. His childhood was so lonely. No child should have been treated that way and unable to enjoy life like these people are doing now.
The Claes empire was founded thousands of years ago. They were among the first nations and were the longest-running empire in their continent. It was a miracle that the Claes royal family was able to sustain their dynasty this long. The novel did not indicate the demise of the Claes empire but that it went through so much conflict and destruction but was able to survive. The foundation day celebration becomes a tradition as a celebration of another year of the empire's existence. It's a long week celebration with the actual day of its historical foundation at the end of the week, and it happens during the spring season on the month of Sathorne (the third month of Spring).
Sounds of the bells are heard in the carriage, indicating that it is the 13th hour. This means they have an hour left for their appointment at the palace. In Claes, the ones who guard the time were the church. You can find the church located exactly at the center of the city itself and its smaller ones in each direction of the city. Every hour they ring the bells, which to Victor, sounds exhausting and loud. The bells rang 26 times a day, even during nighttime, since there are 26 hours in Claes (or Astoria in general). It would have been better if they had a clock, but clocks were not yet invented in Claes.
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When they arrive at the palace grounds, they look in awe at the beauty of the royal palace. The three officers and Jason have never seen the palace up close, so they are the most impressed. While Victor tried not to let his emotions show at the sight of it. For many, it is beautiful; for Victor, it harbored memories of loneliness, resentment, and grudges.
The Claes palace is vast. The palace grounds are even more so as the Claes royal grounds hold multiple palaces that one has to ride a horse or carriage to reach even one of those palaces. There are individual palaces for the prince and princesses (mostly for the favored ones), the empress, the former empress and emperors, and the favored concubines, and there are also the harem grounds where most of the concubines live. Victor doesn't know how many concubines his father has. His grandfather, after all, had over 300 at his time and over 60 children, with only a few surviving in adulthood. Most of those surviving children were married to other families or killed off. Either way, the Claes royal family has a brutal life for those who are weak and unable to defend themselves.
The main palace is the one at the front and center of the palace grounds. This is where most of the activities of the government function, including many royal events and parties, are held. Behind that is the emperor's palace. The main palace is known for its grandeur design with marble flooring, gold linings, white stone, fountains, and statues that can be seen on the pillars and halls, and unlike most of the buildings in the city, the palaces have glass-paned windows. This is a big deal because glass is very expensive in Claes. Red and yellow flowers dominate the grounds of the main palace, and the royal insignia is seen branded in every red and yellow flag and fabric that decorate the entrances, the building, and the hallways of the palace.
To Victor, this place is too big, would require so many people to maintain, and has too many stairs. "I know the purpose is to showcase the empire's glory, but this is too much." He thought as he climbed the long stairs. "This is so time-consuming." He groaned. If this is what it is like to live here, one has to plan ahead of time in everything they do. He missed the ease and convenience of many buildings and homes on Earth, where most are within reach and can be done without the need to call for a servant.
When they arrived at the palace entrance, they were greeted by some butlers, most with pink hair. Rufus recognized them as among his family members, and most of the servants seemed curious about the rumored "tyrant prince." They have not seen him before, and even those who met the prince in the past don't remember what he truly looked like. All they know is he has black hair and golden eyes, and they wonder if the prince has a look that would make him a potential emperor.
Only when they saw the prince they did not see a tyrant. They see a strong and handsome man who stands in front of them, looking almost regal and confident despite the simple and gloomy outfit he is wearing. They never knew that having a haircut short like that would make one look so handsome.
Victor, General Aster, Jason, Rufus, and three of the officers of Blue Rose, Agler, Mark, and Levi, all entered the large foyer of the main palace. The remaining soldiers are to stand waiting outside. They were in awe at the sight of the foyer when they entered the large double doors. The foyer is huge, and you can see two staircases intersect like a circle on the second floor. There is a red carpet in the middle, high ceilings, and sunlight from the glass roof. Statues made of white marble accentuate the halls, red curtains along with the windows, and red carpets on the halls. There is also another beautiful fountain in the center of it. The look shows the wealth of the empire.
But they can't stay long to enjoy the sights. They were escorted immediately by the butlers to the waiting hall – which is the large room before the throne room. In it, many noblemen and women were hanging around. This is a common sight in the royal palace. Most of them are influencers of society or belonging to the ministry, and some are there to gossip. There is no privacy here. Everyone wanted to know everyone's business, and this was the day that the so-called tyrant prince would so many of them visit the palace in hopes of seeing him.
Many of the nobles were eyeing the prince and his entourage curiously. Some women even blushed and hid their faces behind their fans.
"I feel like I am being dissected just by using their eyes." Agler, one of the officers, muttered.
"Welcome to the noble society." General Aster responded lowly. Despite the regal looks of these nobles, this is a harsh life full of schemes, backstabbing, and where rumors spread so fast that they ruin someone's reputation in one day. They don't even care if it's true or not.
"Which one do you think is the prince?" he heard someone whisper.
"The one with the dark hair and gold eyes."
"He looks like the emperor? I don't see it."
"I heard he's a tyrant."
"I heard he eats babies."
"He looks…not what I expected."
"Handsome even," and someone giggled.
Eating babies, are you kidding me? Victor wanted to roll his eyes at them, but he had to act stoically. This will help him when he is in the palace. He learned from his past. Never show any weakness, even if it is just emotions. He does not want to deal with many of the wolves trying to act innocent at him. The colder he is at them, the better, and because of his reputation, Victor does not mind enforcing the title of a tyrant.
The large door at the end of the hall opened, and a woman with her entourage of beautiful maids came out. It was none other than Margaret Elrose. The most loved concubine of the emperor. The mother of the beloved second and tenth princesses and the sixth and eighth princes. To Claes, she is known for her beauty, grace, and charm, and she looks relatively younger than her actual age, but to Victor, she is a vindictive woman who he wants to burn in the middle of the city square. It took quite an effort for him not to strangle her right now. This was the woman who schemed against him, who used him, and has made a living hell of his life and Julian's.
The woman marched towards the prince in a very bright wine-colored gown with a wide skirt that looked heavy and too large to easily walk in. She looks like she is well prepared to receive an important guest. That thing has so many laces on it; it boggled Victor. Most women don't wear such heavy gowns unless it is a celebration, and yet this woman thinks there is. Her long curly brown hair is tied up beautifully, she carries with her what looks like a very beautiful red folding fan, and her bosom is lifted up and almost exposed since the torso of the gown is very tight. Is she still breathing? Victor thought. Rufus has to shush at the officers for looking like a loon at her. It is disrespectful and could lead them into trouble.
The concubine reached the iceberg-looking prince.
"Greetings, Prince Victor." The concubine bowed at him, and her maids followed. "We formally welcome you back to the palace." She smiled brightly. The sight of her smile made many of the nobles look at her with awe. She was a beautiful woman. "The emperor is taking his time, so it would be my pleasure to escort you to a waiting room."
Seriously? One of Victor's eyebrows is raised. Is she trying to make fun of him or something? Why is she formally -? Wait. In his last life, concubine Elrose also formally greeted him and escorted him to a waiting room. That is where she acted very close to him, trying to establish a familial bond because she was aware at that time that the third prince lacked family relationships and is desperately seeking them. But in fact, this was just a ruse from her, and she used a man's need for love from family for her own gain.
All the woman wanted was to be empress and her son to be emperor. She saw all the princes as competitors and would find ways to ruin them to get them off the list of succession, and she saw the third prince as another obstacle that should have been ruined after the accident with her daughter. Instead, the third prince flourished in battle, and she was frustrated about it. Even more, than that, the man is the son of the empress.
Even now, the empress continues to be her biggest obstacle. The woman may not care about her son, but she still holds considerable power. So Margaret made many ways to gain favors from both the noble society and the public and used her favor from the emperor to get what she wanted (within reason). She did this by always looking concerned, hosting charities, and even personally greeting visitors to increase her exposure and popularity. It was her effort to erase the people's view about the empress and put herself on the pedestal without making it obvious that it was all her effort to get into that position. But Victor knows her too well now, and he can't help but internally sneer at the woman because he knows something that most of the nobles here don't.
The men behind Victor were confused as the prince did not respond. He is just looking at the woman blankly. Rufus is familiar with this woman and is glaring at her subtly. He can't risk angering this woman as she is, after all, well-loved by the emperor.
"Who are you?" Victor's clear cool-toned voice penetrated the room, and everyone became quiet. Victor could see concubine Elrose's shoulders became stiff, and so was her entourage of maids behind her. The nobles all gaped at the prince, while some thought his voice was so penetrating it felt like sharp ice was growing around them.
Most people don't know this, but Margaret Elrose hated one thing. And that is that people don't recognize her. She was always the life of the party, the center of attention, and she loved that people knew who she was. She has long prided herself on her popularity, that surely everyone should have heard about her by now. But the prince standing in front of her just asked her who she was.
Margaret thought the prince was playing stupid, but she could not read the stoic man's face. She tried to play it off. "It seems the young prince has forgotten. You were very young when we last met. I am Margaret Elrose, daughter of Duke Elrose."
There was a long pause. "Ah, yes." Prince Victor gave a small smile, and Margaret now looked satisfied. Only the next sentence made everyone even more surprised. "I didn't know Concubine Elrose has become empress."
Some of the nobles (probably those from the opposing factions of Concubine Elrose) looked upset and insulted by the prince's statement while Margaret beamed. "Oh, thank you for the compliment, Prince Victor, but I am not empress (yet). But I was promoted as noble consort years ago." She stated.
"Really? Why are you the one formally greeting important visitors?"
….
"What? I, I don't understand…" Margaret looked confused.
"Oh?" Victor tried to look surprised. "As I am a prince who has been gone for so long, I qualified as a high-level guest. And according to palace protocol, those who receive the visitors formally should be the empress or the empress dowager. In the instance that the empress is not available, it should be the prime minister or any of the other ministers and their aides. It didn't mention anything of a concubine or noble consort to be the one who will formally receive the important visitors to the palace."
The entire hall was silent, but the prince was not yet finished. "By formally greeting visitors first before the empress and the required ministers, visitors would mistake you as the "actual" empress of the empire. And this can create confusion and sometimes potential conflict because some nations might find it insulting if they found out that a noble consort is the one who has been greeting and receiving them instead of the empress of the empire. While I am more forgiving, you haven't been receiving any important visitors aside from me, did you? As the palace noble consort, you should have already been educated about this."
She did. She did, and everyone knew this. But most people often just forgo protocols sometimes that, at some point, they sometimes forget what it is all about. Margaret's face looked like she had been slapped. The empress was always absent, and many found it annoying that the empress was a shut-in and would refuse to attend many formal functions. However, some of the women found it endearing that Margaret Elrose had become the person who stepped up to the role without being selfish to covet the position of the empress, but they didn't realize that such a simple greeting was a very serious affair. As a noble consort, she should have known about this. This only made them realize that she was not a saint as she tried to picture herself to be but a wolf disguised as an innocent sheep.
Most don't know, but this was her intention. Margaret has been setting herself to become an empress and trying to one-up her at every turn. She wanted to make herself look like a goddess in everyone's eyes and wanted to make the officials and the visitors know she was the female in power because the empress and empress dowager was always absent and didn't fight her over any protocols (which is not true. She was just too blind to see the power of the true empress and the empress just let her do her thing because she wanted to let her make a fool of herself eventually). This is why many of the ministers don't like her because she was always there during formal greetings before they could arrive, and they felt like she should have known her place but decided not to argue because they didn't think it was this serious until the third prince pointed it out.
"I can't believe she would do this."
"It's like she is trying to tell the world she is the Empress?"
"How haughty of her."
"I didn't expect her to be a wolf."
"She should know her place,"
"It would explain why some of the foreign nobles refused to trade with us."
"It's a miracle we did not get into another war…"
Most of the whispered comments were an exaggeration, but Margaret Elrose still tried not to look furious. She has an image to maintain and tries to respond to something eloquent to counter the prince's statement, but she can't find anything to say because the prince is right.
In Victor's first life, he wasn't aware of the protocol. He just simply accepted Noble Consort's formal greeting. He never realized that was the straw that made Margaret Elrose be seen as a potential empress and that his actions stated that he was accepting of her as a "mother" or potential mother figure since the empress wasn't there. This is what leads to Noble Consort setting the stage that she was running the third prince's life because "she cared for him as his mother," and this is why even the emperor allowed the noble consort to have the authority to plan for him which also includes his wedding, the concubines or even the servants that assigned to him. His actions were an insult to his mother, the actual empress, at the same time. Victor is not going to make that mistake again. He may not love the empress, but he still needs some backing from her.
One of the ministers arrived and wasn't sure what was going on. He simply glared at the frozen noble consort and pushed her aside. This was when the woman finally got out of her stupor.
"I formally greet Your Highness, Prince Victor." The short man greeted him.
"I formally greet back, Minister Cords," Victor responded.
"The emperor will be a little late, but I have made some arrangements for you and your people to stay securely in one of the waiting rooms."
"Thank you," Victor commented and followed the man.
The general, Jason, Rufus, and the three officers were still stunned at their prince. There was just one thing in their minds when they watched him interact so sharply but also coolly at the same time towards the woman who schemed against him. "When did you become so eloquent?"
Little did Victor know a beautiful, blonde-haired man was looking above him from one of the balconies. It was his brother, Lysander von Claes.
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