Capítulo 15: Imperial Crown Prince and King of Bolivia

General POV.

1 Month and four days after the Massacre of Caracas happened.

The massive army of Simon Bolivar finally arrived at Caracas. Felipe is sitting in the office he has used for the past month.

He has not been too tired the past week at the end of each day, making his nightmares constant. He has been trying not to get them, but they were always there. Finally, he exhausted himself to sleep by increasing the exercise during the night.

But, today is when he is either thrown out of Caracas and the empire splits or when the empire unifies. All in all, it is all a big gamble.

Everyone is out in the Plaza, welcoming the town's hero, and he is wondering what destiny will give him, a pointless civil war? Or unity?

He has played his cards to the best of his ability. He has taken control over Venezuela and given it a sense of direction, a cleanse. If Bolivar didn'tdidn't seen that, Felipe would have miscalculated the situation.

Knock Knock.

He says nothing and waits for the person behind to open the door. Eventually, she does. Maria, the housewife he has been living with.

"Yes?" He asks as he gets up slowly. He knows what it is for, but at the same time, he doesn't want to do anything to do with it.

"People are asking for you outside." She said with a worried voice.

"…" Felipe waited for a while and just looked at her. They both looked at each other before Maria was defeated and looked another way.

"I am going."

She left as Felipe followed her. The office is on the first floor, directly on the path to the main door, so there was no effort to see who was inside the house; Simon Bolivar.

'Even though you were a great figure in the past, this is no longer your time.' He thought as he locked sight with the general. He maintained eye contact with the general as he went over 1 small stair.

He got up and extended his hand, and so did Felipe. Both shook hands and nodded to each other, having a slight smirk, though Felipe had never put his guard down. Even though his survival rate in a negative situation is slim, he will not be helpless.

"King Simon."

"Crown prince Felipe."

"Sorry for my delay. I was contemplating life," Felipe said as he looked at the other soldiers. His prominent soldiers that survived the battle of the Meta were there, at least some of them. All of them with their hands on the handle of their swords. The Bolivian soldiers were also doing the same.

"It is of no consequence," Bolivar explained. Bolivar is also tensed, but he reminds himself that the crown prince is not like all other politicians. He means what he says and is not afraid of going against him verbally.

Felipe only nodded and just sighed loudly. "Your majesty, what are your plans after arriving here in Caracas?" He just went straight to the point, not beating around the bush but straight to what Bolivar intends for Caracas.

"I am here to pay respects to you, your majesty. We have taken care of the Spanish in the Chilean coasts; it was hard as they would normally use ships for their offence and retreat." Bolivar explained as he looked at Maria.

"They are fated to go ashore or leave for Spain. The empire is in eternal debt to you, General Bolivar. You got rid of the Spaniards from most of South America." Felipe explained. He is glad he is not antagonizing him straight out. His blood pressure decreased as he saw where the whole conversation was going.

"I am grateful enough with the title that his imperial majesty the Emperor has given up on me as the king of Bolivia." He explained.

"A bit awkward to name a nation the same as your last name, don't you think?" Felipe asked as he smiled. The left eyebrow of Bolivar began to twitch, and Felipe hit a nerve.

"I was not part of the naming process; the locals did so."

"Yeah, sure." Felipe chuckled, and Bolivar made an expression similar to rolling his eyes.

"I am sorry for the death of General Paez. I heard you two were quite close. It is a shame he decided against the empire's union." Felipe said with calm while looking Bolivar in the eyes.

The situation became uncomfortable, it was clear that the soldiers on the side were making things worse, but neither of them was sure of the other. If Felipe had an equal size army outside, he would be as chill as talking to a friend, but the meeting outcome is a matter of kings and successions.

"He was no friend of mine but rather an acquaintance," Bolivar explained as he looked at the ceiling of the house's first floor. "But, the owner… the previous owner of this house was an excellent friend and man."

"…" Felipe felt awkward but didn't show it.

"My condolences then. His death is truly a shame." Felipe finally spoke.

"And so were 10 people in the Venezuelan Junta," Bolivar explained. The air became tenser.

"I am sorry your friends were traitors," Felipe said without backing up or apologizing for his actions. The act of rebellion can go in two ways, live and bash in glory or you die. There is no good, no bad, and only winners or losers. Both understand that, after all, they are rebels with an empire under a decade of age.

"Their families…"

"Their families are okay. Their possessions now belong to the empire, but their families will be able to live a peaceful life to the time expected." Felipe quickly interrupted him as he looked at Maria, who was not so far away, but far enough to not listen to a quiet conversation.

"I see that. I thank you for that."

"There is no thanking me. The sultan that conquered Constantinople let his army ravage my family's jewel city for 3 days, looting, raping, killing, and all the atrocities thought possible. After that, he ruled it as part of his empire." Felipe explained as he stopped a bit and then continued.

"The sultan's people didn't have the same language as my people, they didn't have the same religion, and they were not the same nation, so it was easy to kill them. That is what the Spaniards did in this land, we killed the natives in masses because they were not like us, and we enslaved the blacks from Africa because they were not like us. That is just the cruel reality of life.

"Venezuela, on the other hand, is part of the nation that will see me as Emperor in the Future. Only a few traitors at the top had to be slaughtered. Anything else would only have made me self mad person." Felipe explained.

Bolivar looked at the crown prince and said: "You have matured."

"Everyone does. We have not talked face-to-face for over 2 years. It is normal. You were waging your wars on the South, and I was waging them on the North. My resolve has indeed changed quite a bit. After all, how can the king of an empire outshine the crown prince?" Felipe laughed at the end. He looked back at the soldiers. His light attitude has also reached them, making them lower their guard against each other.

Felipe has understood the fact that Bolivar is not against him. He is supporting him. He is happy about that. At the same time, he is not pleased that the fate of his empire lies in one person's mood.

"Indeed, you have grown physically as well."

"Well, I normally exercise myself to sleep and start my morning by exercising to exhaustion to start the day." Felipe has a large stature with already huge muscles but at the same time, not too much. Every part of his body is exercised daily, from critical muscle groups to generally unused muscles.

Simon nodded and didn't say anything. He now looked up at Felipe to his eyes as he was physically taller than anyone in the room. In comparison, he is a giant and not a skinny giant but one that would knock the fuck out of anyone that even tries to mess with him. He could not help but feel intimidated.

Felipe has a stature of 189 centimetres, while Bolivar has a stature of 175 centimetres, even though it was reportedly 180 cm, which already makes him a giant in a time where the average height is 160. People following them would see them as two giants leading the path.

"His imperial majesty told me you have a new machine to revolutionize the textile industry. I would like to see it myself." Bolivar said as he quickly changed the topic.

"Yes. Please, I am already bothered by the attitudes of our people doing their work on protecting us." Felipe said as he looked at the soldiers, this time more directly smirking.

"Indeed."