Chapter 8: First Episode: Chapter 8 (2/2)

”Yes! The most honorable Your Majesty. If it was Feston Palace, I cannot wait to move there.” Oscar flashed a smile as he said this.

At this point, the Emperor felt a little embarrassed. This was supposed to be announced by him. Slightly furious, he stared at this young man who embarrassed him in front of everyone. Just when he was about to decide the fate of O’Neil Andrew Morisette’s whole life, the young man’s following words stopped all the words that already came to his mouth.

The young man said, ”That is truly amazing! Uncle! I have said that you were the most compassionate one. You must remember that my mother was born in Feston Palace. Am I correct? Oh god! I can finally accompany her there! Thank you for your grace! Before you announce this decision, can I request one thing of you? Really! Just one small request!”

Alfa III His Majesty was completely stunned! Feston Palace! That was right! It was Feston Palace. The young man’s words brought back many old memories. His sister, the cute Mica was born right at that place! Oh god! How could he forget? His young self had anticipated the birth of his sister for so long. They were the little devils in the palace. They gave every single person who took care of them a headache. They climbed trees together; they pranked their teachers together; they plucked their father’s beard when he was fast asleep. The Emperor was unable to pull himself out of the turmoil of memories.

When did he forget all these things? Alfa III His Majesty knew that he did not forget. He had never forgotten all of these. He had simply not touched upon these memories after he forced Mica to marry Dortmund. The image of Mica gazing upon him for the last time before she was married off to a faraway place appeared in His Majesty the Emperor’s mind again. The agony! The endless agony made the Most Supreme One twist restlessly in his Imperial chair.

He stopped the romantic relationship between his sister and a paladin. For the benefit of the Imperial family, he married her to the Duke of the Andrew family whom she had only seen twice before. The Duke was older than the princess by more than ten years, and at that time, he already had three wives and two sons.

His Majesty the Emperor was absent-minded for a long time. The seated high officials clearly knew something had changed. There was nothing suspicious of that young man calling Alfa III His Majesty his uncle. The high officials were truly regretful! They had overlooked an extremely important problem. And that was the double identity of this young man. They used to retaliate against this young man, treating him as the young son of the Andrew family. But he was also the blood-related nephew of His Majesty the Emperor in this palace! No one dared to interrupt the conversation between two members of the Imperial family.

A servant by the Emperor’s side finally could not hold out any longer and softly coughed.

Alfa III His Majesty finally came to his senses! ”Ah... You...What did you say?” The Emperor was flustered.

Oscar observed the changes in the facial expression of the Emperor. According to his analysis, Alfa III His Majesty was an emotional person. If this was not the case, he would not have so many lovers. Even if Alfa III His Majesty completely satisfied the conditions of becoming an emperor in many aspects such as wisdom, analytical thinking, the insidious and unscrupulous, his emotional aspect had become his ultimate weakness.

”Uncle! I hope that you could grant me my wish before you announced your will!” Oscar saw his win coming. This ‘uncle’ that he called was definitely not in vain.

Alfa III the Emperor quickly adjusted his facial expression. ”Say it! If it is reasonable, I will definitely grant your wish.”

Oscar’s expression quickly turned down. His eyes were slightly red. ”Uncle, you must know that my mother was most reluctant to be the model for the painters in the palace when she was still alive. And so there was only one painting of her and that is the one in your study. It has been ten years! I almost forgot what my mother looked like! If you still pity me, please give me my mother’s painting! That is my sole request.”

Alfa III His Majesty took a long time to recover from his previous state and was immediately drowned in the heavy emotions of pain and sorrow now. He loved to stay around in those party balls. He had forgotten how long he had not been to that study already. There was Mica in that study. He was afraid to see her. Even more afraid to think about her.

He knew that Mica was not happy after she was married off to a faraway place. After some time, he heard that Mica got pregnant and then she had difficulty in delivering her child. After delivering her child, Mica’s body became truly weak. She passed away on the fourth year after she gave birth to her child. Alfa III His Majesty vividly recalled the situation when he knew of his sister’s death. He had destroyed every single thing he had in his reach to smithereens! As he cried, he cursed Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel. He thought that the Duke was responsible for her death: he did not take good care of his sister! He let her die at such a young age. From that moment afterwards, the Emperor and the Duke had a bad relationship.

The Emperor took a close look at this child in front of him for the first time. His hair was like Mica’s dark brown, curly hair; His nose was like Mica’s small yet tall nose; His lip was like Mica’s as well. The way he opened and closed his mouth was just the way Mica did when she was young. Oh god! This is little Mica’s son.

He did not answer Oscar’s question. He was shocked by his own observation. He had been thinking of a way to hold Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel down from being too powerful. He had ignored this child all this time. All his foul plans had always revolved around Mica’s son.

Alfa III His Majesty suddenly realized that the relationship between him and the Duke should not be this way. In past history, many emperors in the Morisette Dynasty had been close friends with the Duke of the Andrew family in that corresponding time. He could also be friends with the Duke. The Emperor finally honestly faced the problems in which he had been avoiding for a long time now. That was an unforgivable mistake that he had done. He should not have forced Mica into the marriage with the Duke. He should not have blamed all of this on the Duke after Mica’s death. He should not have used the innocent child to strike a blow at the Duke. Oh god! After avoiding these problems for so many years, he had come back full circle.

The Emperor had no idea how he could reply to this child’s request. He truly had no idea! He had an urge to look at Mica now as well. But the Emperor knew that this matter should end here. Now that he could face his own mistakes head-on, he would not make this mistake ever again. The Emperor already knew what he should do! The things he had done in the past were none other than emotionally-driven arguments. He clearly remembered the final words of the old Emperor to him: ”If there is a person who suggests the idea of weakening the Andrew family, use him wisely if his plan is sound; if there is a person who suggests the idea of eliminating the Andrew family, remember this! Do not hesitate! Sentence this person to death!”

It was over! All over! The Emperor mumbled to himself in his heart. For Mica’s son, all of this should come to an end. There would not be any results from the fight against the Andrew Family. Doing that would only make the other Lord in the Empire cold-hearted. Moreover, this would only benefit the people with bad intentions.

The Emperor had made up his mind to change the Secretary of State at an appropriate time. That fellow had sown hatred towards the Andrew family because of little Oscar! Now that the Emperor had thought clearly about his actions, he must not let Ross do whatever he wanted anymore. If this Secretary of State truly wanted to eliminate Andrew, he would make orders based on his father’s last words. Only within a minute, the place of the Secretary of State in the Emperor’s heart changed from the main force to attack the Andrew family to one of the chess pieces to control its power. The Emperor was still wise. There must still be someone to keep the Andrew family at a balance, as long as it didn’t get too out of hand as before. And he could still slowly fix the relationship between the Duke and himself, then the future still held a lot of hope.

Alfa III His Majesty’s mood was finally lifted up from the pain. He felt amazing now! He felt relaxed. All these years of worrying and self-blame were finally resolved completely because of the words of this child! Alfa III His Majesty felt a little fearful about his doings of attacking the Andrew family wholeheartedly before. Luckily, the Duke was an understanding person. Alfa III His Majesty already knew that the person in fault was himself. Mica! Poor Mica! If he wanted to compensate, then he should begin with her child!

”Oscar!” When the Emperor called the nickname of O’Neil Andrew Morisette, he could recall everything now. The cute Mica! Her favorite puppy was named Oscar as well! This Mica! She even jokes on her own son! Upon thinking about this, the Emperor laughed. The people in the whole palace including Oscar found it odd.

”Oscar! I feel your deep grief. Please tell your father that everything was my fault.” Right after His Majesty the Emperor finished his words, all the high officials below him began to clamor in discussion. They knew the power of His Majesty the Emperor’s words. They had no idea as to why His Majesty the Emperor had changed his original intention. Even this afternoon, they were still discussing with His Majesty the Emperor about the handling of this child. But now, everything had changed! The Emperor had given up his political tactics against the Andrew family, that he had adopted for more than ten years.

”Please shut up, would you?” These people had no manners! Alfa III His Majesty’s mood darkened when he faced the high officials who were in a chaotic state.

The high officials shut their mouths immediately. They knew that everything was irreversible now that the Emperor had admitted his mistakes in public. They should reconsider their attitudes towards the Andrew family once again from their own standpoint.

”Oscar! Please forgive these old men that have no manners! You mentioned your mother’s painting just now! Yes! Mica had only one painting of herself. I spent a lot of energy to sit her down in front of the painter back then! But it is really unfortunate! I cannot give you that painting. That is also my memoir of her. But there is one way to make your wish come true. Come forward and accept my order!”

Oscar stepped forwards and kneeled on one knee by the foot of the Emperor.

Alfa III His Majesty took the crown from his servant and wore it on his head. His gaze scanned everyone under his Imperial chair and at last turned to Oscar. The palace was extremely quiet. The people did not even dare to let out a single breath.

”I hereby announce!” His Majesty the Emperor intentionally raised his voice. His dignified voice even resonated to the hallway outside of the palace. ”I hereby renounce all the crimes that O’Neil Andrew Morisette had committed. That is to say, the Morisette Dynasty once again accepts O’Neil Andrew Morisette as a member of Imperialty. Stand up, Oscar! You are now a member of Imperialty. You have no need to receive orders in this manner.”

Oscar stood up with his back straight! He won! He had won a life-worth of glory!

”Very well then, child! Listen to me. As the sole son of Princess Mica Alfa Morisette, you will become the lawful heir to all property and glory that were once possessed by the Princess. Now, I bestow the title of Prince upon you, O’Neil Andrew Morisette!”

The high officials could not sit still anymore after listening to the reward given by the Emperor! One after another, they stood up for objection. The whole palace immediately became chaotic.

Alfa III His Majesty slammed hard on the armrest of his Imperial seat for a few times. The high officials finally quietened, but there were still a few brave ones voicing their objection in a small voice.

”Okay! If all the high officials object to this, then I have one question to all of you: who among you have the ability to decide the title of the sole son of Princess Mica Alfa Morisette?”

Deciding the title of a noble was a right only of the Emperor. Not even the Ministry of Senior Nobility had the authority to interfere with this right. His Majesty the Emperor was basically giving a strict warning to the high officials.

”I do not object to all the officials voicing their opinions. But should you speak one more useless sentence, I must ask you to never step into my palace ever again.” Alfa III His Majesty’s cold voice made these officials terrified. They felt like rabbits hiding in their holes. None of them dared to raise their heads. All of the high officials had no other option. Their leader, the Secretary of State did not attend this event in order to avoid suspicion upon himself. Little did he anticipate this situation would happen at all.

Oscar did not expect Alfa III His Majesty would bestow a title upon him. He even suspected that His Majesty the Emperor had known what he had planned to do. He had just been announced as a Prince! Oscar underestimated the feelings of the Emperor towards the Princess. Just like Sasha and himself, who could truly understand this thing called emotions?

Alfa III His Majesty was furious. He knew that these people down there were mostly useless people. The truly wise men all kept a neutral stance during his fight with the Andrew family. It was all these people! If it was not for their instigating, his relationship with the Duke would not be as bad as it was now. His Majesty the Emperor once again found a suitable excuse for his own mistake. He was always this way.

”No more opinions? Haha! That’s great! You! Yes! That’s you! Give your chair to the Prince.”

The high official that was pointed at by the Emperor got down from his chair in a flustered manner and respectfully placed the chair by Oscar’s side. Then, he bowed and left.

Oscar knew that it was this official whose voice was the loudest during the commotion of objections just now. He bowed slightly to the Emperor and calmly sat down. This was a normal-looking chair that was fairly comfortable. But Oscar did not feel wronged, sitting on this chair. The Emperor just called him Prince. This meant that this matter had finally been decided. No one could threaten him now.

The Emperor smiled as he looked at Oscar. ”Oscar! Haha! Now you are Prince O’Neil. Oh, that’s right! I mentioned that I will grant your wish. You know what, your mother used to have the privilege of entering and leaving my palace at any time when she was still alive. Now, you can inherit this privilege of hers. This way, you can enter my study whenever you think of her.”

Oscar stood up and once again kneeled in front of the Emperor. ”Thank you for all the things that you have done for me, Your Majesty! My mother will not forget your grace towards me in the embrace of the God of Light.”

The Emperor smiled scornfully at himself. ‘Grace’? If only Mica could forgive the mistakes I have done to her, her son and her husband. That would be the biggest grace shown upon him.

”Stand up! My child, I am not finished with my words!” His Majesty the Emperor took off the ring that had a huge sapphire embedded in it from his right index finger. Those who were experienced with jewels would find that this ring matched the ruby ring in which he wore on his left hand.

”Your grandmother, and my mother. That kind Empress. She once bestowed this pair of unique gem rings to your mother and I. When your mother passed away, I took this ring back. Look, I have worn it on myself for all these years and now I give it to you.” The Emperor took Oscar’s hand after he said this. He solemnly put this ring on Oscar’s left index finger.

If His Majesty the Emperor was simply stating the identity of O’Neil Andrew Morisette as a Prince just now, the Emperor had now completed the exchange of heraldry and totem along with the gift of this ring. Even though this was simply a symbolical procedure, but the clerk who was by the Emperor’s side had already recorded this important event in his book.

Light Calendar Year 791, 14th of April, the Titan Emperor Alfa III His Majesty had bestowed the title of Prince to the fourth son of Duke Dortmund Andrew Nedgabel and only son of Princess Mica Alfa Morisette, O’Neil Andrew Morisette and this was hereby effective from this moment.