Chapter 12: Second Episode: Chapter 3 (1/2)
Chapter 12: Second Episode: Chapter 3
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the 15th day of the 4th month of the Light Calendar year 791, His Imperial Highness Prince finally had his first relaxing night in the free world. Nothing could be more blissful than waking up from a good night of sleep and noticing your adorable sister nearby, snoring and sleeping soundly. However, wonderful moments in life never lasts long. The sun itself had barely risen when little Fatty was dragged out of his comfortable bed forcefully by Madame Antonia Horman. Annie was unusually happy and excited today. However, the young man knew that an animated Annie would not accomplish anything exceptional.
This countess that was assigned to take care of the Young Master of family Andrew was never married. She was born into a family of eminent position but called into the palace at a young age to be the companion of Princess Mica Alfa Morisette. Annie was there for her during her childhood and early youth. She accompanied the Princess into Andrew family, and later she escorted the Princess’s son to the Damorga prison. Soon after the Young Master learned about love between man and woman, she then became his lover.
Everyone in the Andrew family had full respect towards this lady that earned the beautiful title of Countess from the emperor. Then again, not everyone would willingly accompany their master to the prison, especially not a prison as terrifying as Damorga.
Hence, when Annie set up and arranged the daily schedule of young Oscar, no one dared to make any objection. On the contrary, everybody thought that the Countess did a fair job with the Young Master’s schedule.
The only person who did not agree with her arrangement was the Young Master’s himself. Oscar wish he was still being locked in Damorga when he saw his fully packed daily schedule.
Only Annie had the ability to make young Oscar listen obediently. The little fatty finished washing himself at seven o’clock sharp and had his breakfast at 7:20am. Ten minutes into breakfast he was dragged by Annie to greet the Duchess before gathering at the main hall with his sister and his bodyguards. At eight o’clock on the dot, the excited Annie, the animated Sasha E, the enthusiastic Paladin-to-be, the thrilled butler Ricky the Liar, alongside the dejected and lack of sleep His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil left the residence. Oscar did not even had enough time to finish his breakfast.
Mornings in Dulin were extremely busy. People rushed past each other on the streets. These people were not like the ones from eminent families. They could not afford the privilege to ride on horse carriages and appreciate the scenery as the cart rode slowly; they were forced to rise before the sun in order to secure their meagre earnings. Despite having to live life the hard way, deep down they knew that it was impossible for them to escape from being at the bottom of the societal hierarchy. The strict Titan hierarchy system and the exploitation from the aristocracy eventually made these labourers give in to the injustices of life.
His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil was aware of the injustice faced by these commoners, but he also believed what the King of Assassins said about how the seemingly small and powerless people could have huge aspirations too. The people of Titans were adorable and each contributed in expanding the empire’s wealth in their own way. They would pray silently for the victory and wellness of the Narcissus Knights and also devote whatever sacrifices they could to the God of Light.
Oscar was curious about the lives of these commoners. He would like to know what kind of things they had to endure each day, although he knew clearly that he would never truly understand or experience their way of life.
Just as arranged in the schedule, the luxurious horse carriage arrived at Sunset Boulevard at 8:40am. The boulevard was situated at the east part of Dulin city, and it was connected to King Street of the aristocrat community.
The prosperity of Dulin could be summed up with all the business happening along Sunset Boulevard. The merchants gathered at both side of the walkways and various stores could be seen everywhere selling all sorts of interesting things. Western businessmen from all over the Westland regarded this particular street of Dulin as a ”Business Heaven”. The moment the carriage came to a halt all his companions dashed off the transportation except for Oscar himself.
Now that the carriage was empty, he chose a most comfortable position and laid down for a short nap. He was the prince for God sake! His Imperial Highness Prince! If he sees anything he like, he only had to shout his demands and the merchants would come running in an instant, presenting anything the Imperial Highness Prince desired.
With the accompany of the strong rickshaw boy, Annie and Sasha managed to shop through most of the clothing and accessories stores in Sunset Boulevard. All of the merchants noticed these two lady descended from the most prestigious carriage of the Andrew family. Madame Antonia and Miss Sasha were thrilled to have the chance to shop like a queen. As a result, there were only little Tis left in their purse at the end of the day.
Ricky the Liar, also known as Baron Erbe, originally intended to purchase some herbs and medicine for the Poison Doctor. However, he completely forgot about that when he met a gorgeous lady standing by the side of the boulevard. Only after three minutes of conversing, Ricky and that lady stepped foot inside a restaurant with extravagant exterior. No one knew what happened after that as no one saw Ricky for the rest of that day.
Kamille Rayen was a handsome young man. His striking colonel uniform attracted attention from a great deal of women. Similarly, his good-looking appearance was cursed by the jealous men. However, certainly no one dared to compare themselves with the Colonel when they saw the Paladin qualification gold medal shining bright at the front of his chest.
This Captain of the Narcissus Knight bought home with him four thin swords, ten flying daggers, and a wide blade sword. With all these weapons hanging around him he looked like a moving armor when he walked. The people nearby were afraid by just looking at him. They were not just frightened by the large amount of weapons, but they were also worried for the Colonel would hurt himself.
The only one who stayed behind with Oscar was Snowstorm. Even though the King of Assassins dutifully fulfilled his role, he had complaints about his Young Master that was snoring inside the carriage. He could not fathom why the lazy fatty would rather snooze in the carriage. Shopping with the ladies would be such a sacred and great task! Paul inattentively took a book entitled ”Prenatal Care for a Sow” out of the shelves underneath the seat and began reading. Fortunately the book was much more entertaining than his sleeping master.
Everyone was busy with their own affairs throughout the morning. They only gathered again when it was time to leave as fixed on the schedule. Annie and Miss Sasha hired an extra carriage and went home pleasantly with their spoils of war. It was not that they did not want to accompany Oscar to his next destination, but the place was really out of their interest. Ricky was still nowhere to be seen, and no one cared about him enough to find out his whereabouts. Paul was still reading; he was planning to put together a pig farm when he retires. The idea itself excited him!
His Imperial Highness Prince arrived right at noon at the Fat Lords Club, where Madame Antonia had set him up with an appointment in advance. Even though Oscar had heard vaguely about the club, he could not suppress his shock when he saw the attendants outside of the door with his own eyes. They bodies were so round they resembled two big balls! The young man had never seen anyone as plump as them.
The current president of the Fat Lords Club was Almodovar Godzilla, who was also the finance minister of Alfa III His Majesty. The minister’s weight and his obsession with Golden Tis had always been the topics of gossip among the upper class society of Dulin. The first time Oscar heard of the minister’s last name he burst out in laughters. ”Godzilla”, just like the strange sea creature of the ancient myth.
Lord Sea Creature had been waiting impatiently for Oscar’s arrival at the front door. The moment the carriage came to a halt, he rushed towards it to welcome the Young Master. Oscar was rather confused to be greeted by the monster’s excitement and enthusiasm.
Of course the monster was thrilled! The finance minister Almodovar Godzilla was on cloud nine the moment he learned that His Majesty the Emperor had bestowed a little fatty as the Imperial Highness Prince! It had been a while since his club had enrolled any new members.
”Your Imperial Highness Price, aren’t the ways of world difficult to comprehend!” The quinquagenarian said earnestly. ”You know, the members of this club are people who have not achieved anything remarkable in their lives. They endured the stereotypical social conventions that society thrusts upon them, and they suffered discriminating stares given by the ladies. So please allow me to express my honour to have you here with us today.”
Oscar was only a little fatty. He was shocked by the enormous body size of the monstrous lord and his attendants.
”The honour is mine, respectable finance minister. If I recall correctly, I should address you as Sir Marquis Godzilla.”
”I could not have been more proud that I have made an impression on Your Imperial Highness Prince. If you would, please follow me, I would like to introduce you to my fellow companions.”
Oscar was interested in finding out more about this Fat Lords Club. He had been to numerous clubhouses before, and none of them had such intriguing interior as this one. The lighting in here was overly dim. Even though its main gate was facing the bustling street, inside the building was drop dead silence. Oscar thought the architecture of the house imitated the ants cave; plain and simple on the outside but the inside hid numerous rooms and sally ports.
The young man exchanged glances with the bodyguard behind him. The young prince had noticed several secret trap mechanisms around.
The finance minister walked slowly and paused in front of the portraits of the club’s founding fathers, explaining with passion their history to the young prince. Oscar nodded at all appropriate times, while thinking to himself, ‘Damn right they were the founders of the Fat Lords Club. They all had the body size of monstrous sea creatures!’
Had they arrived at the third floor now? Oscar was getting a little dizzy strolling in the building of maze.
Finally the finance minister ceased walking when they arrived in front of a door. He tried to wipe away the beads of sweat falling down on the side of his face like a mini waterfall, while fumbling with the doorknob apologetically. He did not look down upon on the young prince just because he was yet an adult.
Oscar silently entered the living room. It was a rather spacious room, if not for the four fat lords and the young chubby prince.
”Alright my friends! I believe everyone is familiar with our respectable guest today. However, I would still like to formally introduce to you, His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette, the youngest son of the Andrew family, the blood-related nephew of His Majesty the Emperor.”
The three other fat lords bowed and saluted Oscar as expected by the social conventions. Nevertheless, he could sensed the fat lord on the furthest left did so unwillingly. He appeared a little hostile.
”Your Imperial Highness Prince, please allow me to introduce you to my friends. This is Marquis Barbara Thea, the Director of the Financial Secretary of the State Council; this is the Imperial’s Minister of Taxation, Marquis Yael Owen, he is my best friend and also my relative by marriage; last but not least this is Levis Sakya from Toules Province, the Sakya family holds account to several gold fields back in their homeland.”
”Good afternoon all lords. I’m glad to be here by the invitation of Marquis Godzilla and it is my honour to be your acquaintance,” Young Prince O’Neil realised that these were all of the members of the Fat Lords Club. They were definitely not ‘people who have not achieved anything remarkable in their lives’. These were the people responsible in contributing and operating the economy of the Titan Empire.
The four lords present here were indeed the masters with ability to manipulate and control the economy of Titan Empire. Maybe the God of Light had granted these four men monstrous body sizes as to show that their weight and authority were equal. In the young man’s opinion, these fat lords gathered here not because they suffer discrimination from the people. Instead, they were here to discuss their plan to obtain something bigger, something more delicious. And what was this sweet dessert that had the lords drooling with desires? The private money vault of His Majesty the Emperor, the national treasury of Titan, the empire’s fiscal tax, and the gold reserves of the Morisette Dynasty.
Madame Antonia had no clue of what she actually signed up for the young prince when she agreed to the finance minister’s invitation to the Fat Lords Club. She simply thought that the weight loss packages offered by the famous dieticians of the club would be beneficial in helping the young prince’s weight loss regime. The sudden situation caught Oscar by surprise. He was unsure how to handle the circumstances.
After the courteous greetings and small talk, the lords seated themselves in the living room. Young Oscar was naturally assigned to the host seat as he was the highest ranked noble out of all.
The overweight finance minister was seated on the right side of Oscar. That sea creature used tremendous effort to finally positioned himself comfortably on the seat. His enormous tummy was folded in multiples. At that distracting sight, Oscar almost demanded the fat lord to lie down.
The taxation minister was on the young prince’s left side. Marquis Yael Owen was full of curiosity towards the Imperial Highness Prince. He had been sizing him from the moment he came into the room.
Marquis Barbara Thea, the director of the Financial Secretary of the State Council, was the one who appeared hostile towards the young prince. He was seated furthest away from Oscar, reluctant to participate in their conversation.
Count Levis of the Sakya family was the most reserved of all. He was a foreigner with no government titles hence he was of the lowest rank and was seated on the sofa near the door. Levis was only 32 years old, making him the youngest among all the lords. Even so, Oscar had an instinct that out of all four lords the young Levis and sea creature would be the most difficult to deal with.
”Please don’t be surprised my prince. These lords present here today are a few of the most important people of our club. As of the other lords and the other members of my club, it would not be necessary to introduce them to you. I think my Imperial Highness Prince would not be interested to be acquainted to people who indulge themselves in strange fantasies and pervert behaviours.”
Oscar understood perfectly what the minister was trying to say. It turned out that this clubhouse in fact did conduct some unusual business for those fat lord members. Pleasure services were given in secret mainly to satisfy those fat lords’ sexual fantasies. The young prince did not want to be involved in that affair. He had seen enough of it during his time in Damorga.
As a matter of fact the young fatty had no knowledge in that domain. The interior structure of the house was completely designed according to the layout of a brothel house. Of course, it was never called a brothel, but a ”high class clubhouse” that was able to fulfil any services that the lords wished for.
It was obvious that Annie had been tricked by the lords. The news that the young prince signed up as a member of the Fat Lords Club would definitely spread around town latest by that night.
”I agree. Even though we don’t have the rights to criticise someone else’s hobby or personal interest, however as person with a normal healthy mindset, I have to admit that some activities our members engage in were indeed quite shameful to be known by others.” Marquis Yael Owen picked up from where the finance minister left off.
”Indeed, my honourable taxation minister. During my times in Damorga I came across several men with some uncommon personal interests, and what they did were really not something worth complimenting,” Oscar said coolly.
”Ha ha, you’re so polite. Only in the palace that we address each other with titles like that. I wish that Your Imperial Highness Prince would just address me by my name and speak to me casually.”
It was at that moment that Oscar knew something was up with this old man. Judging from his ancient appearance, Marquis Yael Owen was old enough to be his grandfather. Besides, with his status and position in the empire, he had no reason to show so much respect towards some young prince who existed only in name nominal.