I wanted him to take me as an example, to be proud and impressed by me, not by this Konu, a worthless orphan without any past worth telling. After a while, I began to hate Oris, hating my own prodigy. I didn’t sleep, waiting for a messenger from him to apologize or even to ask for advice as he used to do at nighttime. But no, that didn’t happen. Instead of that, I got a message in the early morning from the oligarchs, asking for a meeting to consult with me on a very important matter. That’s odd, as they’ve never done that before. My curiosity was aroused, and I couldn’t wait to meet them.
In the morning they sent me a driver, as the meeting was held outside the capital – very strange, I started panicking as I had suspicions about the protocol. I thought that I may be in danger. I just needed to calm down, as maybe they simply invited me to their clubhouse for consultations, and they only needed my opinion.
We had a meeting about Oris. They expressed their concerns as they now doubted his ability to lead the attacks, and this situation must be addressed as soon as possible. They made a patriotic proposal as they said, Oris and his family must hide for some time in a safe place and delegate the coordination of the attacks to me. This seemed to them to be the only way for the empire to survive this existential challenge. I thought I was dreaming. Is this a coup? Or is this just a test from Oris to verify my loyalty? I didn’t say anything. I left when they finished; I walked away perplexed.
Two nights without sleeping, I’m confused… I took all the sleeping pills prescribed for the week. I woke up the night after with déjà vu – still no messages from Oris, but a message from the oligarchs. Again, this time asking me to step up as Oris is confined with his family and in a complete delirium. They need an insider to take over as soon as possible to coordinate the attacks. It’s urgent. I asked for another meeting that night.
From the, door one shouted, “He doesn’t deserve you!” Another said, “He disrespected you.” I felt their compassion – such a relief. They came to me as if I was their savior, tapping my shoulders. I felt that they really respected me, and that touched me deeply. I asked their side to prove their loyalty to the empire, a big sign, as the task requested is massive. Then I left. I was thinking that finally, they knew what I was worth. They know how wise I am, not like Oris, a delusional emperor that can’t lead us anymore. My hate for him is complete, as after all that I taught him, he disrespected me in front of everybody. I can lead this empire better than him. Even the oligarchs can see that. They discerned how intelligent and wise I am. I am ready to fulfill my destiny, be an emperor, a real one, not a joke like Oris and his family. I will be the Great Emperor Fuvo, The Wise…
A father betraying his son. I realized today that I never loved him; I even hated him. A person like that should never lead an empire. The only reason he is sitting on the throne is that he is from the royal family. The only reason the royal family is the royal family is that we let it be. We like to look up to special people. We love the glamor and the sparks they emit, even if they are not special at all. They are normal or even below that. But, we want to worship a savior, an ideal that the weak and the hopeless pray for. Begging a god in the sky or the royals on Earth is our natural state of mind.
We met three nights in a row. This last meeting was held to make their request official. Now we are all guilty, and there is no way out. I read my monologue claiming I’m doing all this for the empire. I’m taking the heavy responsibility to lead them in these dark times. We must force Oris to take some rest with the royal family for their own good, mainly because he is not sure about the attacks. He thinks he needs to keep the promise he gave to our enemies, Konu and Banume. That is very naïve and childish as obviously, Konu is just looking to buy some time until the machine is giving predictions in real-time. As for Banume, we know that he is playing a double game, as he didn’t leave the League straight after the meeting. He stayed two days more, and god knows what he was doing there conspiring against us.
No one from the oligarchs spoke a word. They knew that this could just be a show to uncover a traitor among them. That’s why I need to show how much I’m serious about this. A sacrifice is needed to be made from my side too. The younger brother of Oris, Raog, needs to die tonight.
They all left silently just like they came. I got a messenger the same night telling me that they will do everything for the glory of the Rotanios Empire, and that they are waiting to see my sign too.
Raog is named the “Crystal of the Empire” by his family. He is a little bit more handsome than the rest of the royals, as they are honestly a quite ugly lineage. He was always thinking about himself as an angel fallen from the heavens to the point that he started to be interested in men. The royals kept that secret as homosexuality is forbidden in the empire and punishable by death. For me,
