The Emperor's Dreams and Shadows

"Here you are, your majesty." Ernest Avington gave a pile of documents to the emperor. They are not in the throne room but in the emperor's office. Most official businesses, such as approving laws, announcing important information, meeting delegates and formal visitors, or even debating with each other are usually done in the throne room but other administrative duties don't require to be done in the throne room. Each minister of Claes also has their own offices in the palace to do their administrative work.

Secretaries are working and walking around the emperor's office filing papers and sending messages. They all have pink hair since most of them are from the Helman clan. This is unusual in the noble household where secretaries were often held by people of nobility but because of the influential positions of secretaries, the idea of only one noble being able to hold such a prestigious position is often the center of fights over nobles. So, the emperor is an exemption from this social rule. These secretaries are the retainers of the Helmans who are already vetted, trusted, and most of all, belong to the main branches of their family.

Ernest is younger than the emperor but is much closer to the archduke, Andrew von Claes, the emperor's brother, and even he admitted personally that he feels his friend would be a better emperor than the current one (but he will never admit this out loud). It is not that Levucian was a bad emperor, it's just for the past few years the man has been favoring the Elrose faction, the faction of the sixth prince more and it has been chaos in the throne room ever since.

Ernest has never liked the Elrose duchy. They were known to use underhanded means to achieve their goals. The current war was the result of their scheme to get Aztos which resulted in the death of a noble. That noble may be a baron and one that is not active in politics nor holds considerable power and wealth but he was still a noble. This was a sad reality for many of these nobles. Some nobles, especially the ones who are independent or not part of any faction would not escape their fate being used in politics. Those who lack political power are often the common victims.

Ernest was the youngest ever to become prime minister which was not easy as some undermined him due to his age. While the Avingtons name is high, it still didn't help that when he entered into politics, he was younger than the average prime minister who entered the court in their thirties. But because his father – the former prime minister - died from an illness, he has to take the position fast before anyone could take it. This is because positions in governments are often inherited unless the emperor is willing to appoint someone else. He went through many cases of abuse, gossip, and schemes from many of these people. It's people like these that are often hard to remain neutral among the factions.

When he found out what happened to the third prince, he became angrier and angrier at the emperor's neglect of his sons. The third prince was not the only one who was schemed at and even he knows the empress also share that blame. Schemes are common in the royal family, especially in the royal harem where the women fought for the attention of the emperor and their family pride. They often use their children as either tools or victims to achieve it. Sadly, many of those children died as a result.

What Ernest didn't expect is after his trip from Agan, the emperor has been behaving differently. Before it would take ages for Ernest to even granted an audience to the emperor but lately, he has been giving him more attention than usual. At first, he was afraid that the emperor was planning something ominous for him. But for the past few weeks, he seemed to be more genuine. The one main difference is that the aura of the emperor which has become dimmer since the last time he saw him is starting to shine brighter and brighter. Ernest has asked around whether something happened but according to the servants, the emperor was ill a few weeks ago and is now feeling better.

He did notice that the emperor has not been accommodating to Duke Elrose and his faction. The emperor seems to be avoiding or shutting him down. He heard that he has not spent any time with the noble consort and her children which explains the woman's frustration as she gallops around the harem screeching and making more trouble for the other concubines. Normally, the emperor would let it slide as whatever happens in the harem is not within his control as long as it doesn't go too far. But the emperor warned the noble consort to behave.

This made Ernest curious about what awful thing Margaret Elrose or Duke Elrose did to get this treatment from the emperor. The servants did confide in him that the emperor has gotten sick a few months before but after that, he was acting a little different. He has not been spending his bed with any of the concubines at all. Although he has spent some time with his children, he never stayed overnight like he used to.

But there was another thing that worried the prime minister. Ever since the emperor publicly hugged the third prince, all the factions panicked including the faction that Ernest (secretly) supported. This raises some questions for many about whether or not the emperor is considering giving the title of crown prince to Prince Victor especially considering that the emperor himself got his crown mostly because he was the most favored prince among the royal siblings – whether he was qualified or not. The competing factions were pissed and the other nobles are now confused about which side they should support. Especially since the third prince is not known to have a strong faction – any faction for that matter. Some of the commoners who even heard the rumor were more afraid of the prince's reputation of being a tyrant.

Though Ernest doubts he is, he still does not think the third prince is suitable as the next emperor. He always has this nagging feeling that the third prince is hiding something especially since Ernest still could not detect any aura from him so it is difficult to assess the prince's capabilities and competencies making him a very unpredictable variable in the political game. His recent performance in the throne room did show a man who is prepared and eloquent but kept everyone on their toes. He was a fresh piece in the royal and noble society.

"Your majesty, might I ask, I did not realize that your relationship with the third prince was very good," Ernest commented a little cautiously.

"Yes." The emperor just continued to write.

Ernest was worried about asking his question. His relationship with the emperor is improving and thanks to that they were able to push very important reforms that were long been backlogged.

"Are you planning to make him the crown prince?"

The emperor stopped writing and looked at him emotionlessly. Ernest almost stopped breathing at that point.

"Why are you asking?"

"I wanted to be prepared," Ernest answered honestly. Whoever is named crown prince has to make the necessary preparation to either fight, flee or support. If it was the second prince, he would support him. If it was the sixth prince probably either fight or flee. The third prince is still an anomaly.

The emperor does not seem to be angry but he turned to look outside the glass windows. "I'll think about it. But for now, I have not decided yet. Do you have more questions?"

"No, your majesty."

"Are these all the complete documents?" The emperor asked.

"Yes, your majesty," Ernest answered knowing that the emperor has been busy working more and more lately.

"Then you are dismissed, Ernest. You should spend some time with your family." He said and Ernest nodded but paused. Since when did the emperor care about family? It made him feel conflicted because for some reason he has an inkling that the emperor is lonely but he could not find any indication from his magical aura about it. It is still shining brilliantly, as expected of the father of the nation.

The emperor watched as the prime minister left. He watched as the white glow roamed around the prime minister and gave a long sigh. The secretaries know too well never to talk to the emperor unless asked even if they brave the "Are you all right, your majesty?" question will still not fare well based on etiquette. Although the emperor was not harsh to them, the head of the servants and secretaries is. Their job was not just to help the emperor but also to deal with everything the emperor needs including his household.

Levucian von Claes fought his whole life to become the emperor because it was an expectation of every prince born in the royal household. Daughters were often used as tools for marriage and bio sons were practically unrecognized or nonexistent to the point they were never really treated as royal in the palace. Royal bios are so rare. Levucian was born from the empress alongside his older brother, Andrew. Except his mother favored his older brother over him. Both he and his brother have golden eyes except, Levucian has black hair while his brother has his mother's blonde hair.

He spilled the blood of his own family just to get to the throne and the recognition he has for his father and the empire. He got lucky that the emperor seems to favor him over his brother. Some say it was because of his hair and eye color but he knows he also earned it. But his father was murdered by one of his half-brothers. After that brother of his was punished, his father left all the resources to him which pushes him to become emperor and because of this his mother and brother became estranged from him. He was smug about it from the beginning but didn't realize the extent and the drama he has to go through as emperor. From the schemes, the backstabbing, the constant looking at his back because sooner or later some of these people will betray him, or even the constant loneliness he has to live through. As the emperor he has to always be strong but it is hard to stay in that image when you have no one to talk to.

He was even in love with his empress before his marriage but only to experience heartbreak when he found out that the empress dowager (his mother and who has the authority to validate his position as emperor by assigning a woman to be empress) had chosen her because she thought his brother was going to be the emperor. He even found out that his brother and his empress were in love with each other (still are) which only pissed him off. When his second prince was born, he questioned whether or not he was even his son since he looked more like his brother than him (blonde hair and golden eyes but the empress also has blonde hair). When he opted for another child, his empress refused access to his other son after he was born. All he knows is he has black hair and golden eyes like him and he believed as the empress she will raise him to be a proper prince regardless. He did name him Victor as it is customary for fathers to name their children in the empire.

In Claes's royal household, the women have the power to raise the children until their debut. He can occasionally spend time with them but only if the women allowed it. He isn't even allowed to enter the harem as this was the empress and the empress dowager's domain and only the women, he chose to spend his time with will visit the emperor's palace if need be. His empress has been ignoring him since the day Victor was born and the emperor has to spread his seed to build more potential heirs to the throne as this was among his responsibilities. Admittedly, he does play favorites especially his sixth son and his third daughter. He occasionally hears about fights and slapping from the harem but he ignores what became of his concubines most of the time as this was common and something he should not be worried about as emperor.

When he found out that his third son, the one he has expecting to have some hope for the throne had committed considerable harm towards one of his siblings, he was disappointed about his upbringing and thought his mother has not raised him well. To spite her, he decided to send him away expecting the empress to grovel and beg him to get the third prince back, only she never did. To the point that the emperor forgot about it. The boy never did go through a debut, academic studies, or grew up in the palace the whole time.

However, months before, the emperor has been having terrifying dreams. He saw the empire burning. It was burning. Screams can be heard in the background, shadows running around but he really could not see anything. And that terrified him.

But the most prominent one was about his favorite son, the sixth prince, Belrick, and his most doted daughter, Annabeth. "We never love you. We never saw you as our father anyway." Those were words they said before they stabbed him in the heart. That woke him out of his nightmare. He was so shaken up that he has been avoiding those two children ever since.

He has begun to stay away from people and avoided sleep for fear he would keep dreaming. This continued until his servants were worried and the ministry have not consulted with the emperor in a few months due to his absence. Ever since then, he refused to spend time with the sixth prince and the third princess which was odd as he was known to dote on them almost every week. The prince was too busy with his own so he did not notice this. Only the noble consort and the third prince complained about his absence.

After consulting with the church and the healers, the servants thought someone might have put a curse on the emperor and did a cleansing but noticed nothing and that he was healthy. That did not stop the nightmares but he started having other nightmares. Nightmares about his other children but mostly it was about the son he has forgotten, the third prince, and the one he used to count on the most for the throne.

He saw his head being cut off and his disappointed look and voices keep showing up in his nightmares about all he wanted is a family. Soon he started having nightmares of his other children mostly about their deaths, suffering, and torture. For some of them, he wasn't sure if it was his children, but he became terrified for many months. The third prince's death was the one he keeps seeing in his memories because he could not get that sentence out of his mind, "All I wanted was a family."

Soon, the emperor gradually started seeing things. Only he pretended not to. He can't show people that there was something wrong with him and use it against him. The things he is seeing are weird shadows. Like the Avingtons, the emperor can read auras but not at their level. Mostly when he tries to focus can he do so but it took too much mana for him as he is not a naturally gifted aura reader. But this doesn't seem to be an aura. He keeps seeing dark, gray, and white shadows coming around people, some even looked very demonic. Many of those people who had those are people he was closest to that it terrified him. It felt like a betrayal and he felt used. He has this inkling that those who had those demonic-looking aura harbor the wrong kind of thoughts. He was the emperor, why does he feel like he does not have power but these people? So, he has been avoiding them. And the people noticed that.

But the new prime minister, Ernest Avington came to have a serious talk with him. Normally, he can't easily talk to the emperor because his advisors do not like him (they were also among the people he saw with those demonic shadows) but because he has been staying away from them, the other ministers who were pushed aside were now able to reach the emperor much easier. This is when Emperor Levucian von Claes almost broke down. Investigations have shown that his son, Victor, has done nothing wrong against the princess who was pushed on the pond and she suffered a cold illness after that. Although the blame was placed on the servants, investigations already showed it was his beloved noble concubine (now consort) who did this. He truly did love that woman but after seeing those dreams and seeing pattern after pattern of schemes that can be traced to the Elrose duchy and the many factions that support it, the emperor now is seeing a bigger picture.

The Elrose duchy is ambitious. Like many before them, they wanted more power and it is common for nobles to marry their daughters and use that as a means to back the power of the emperor and the future of the empire through their bloodline. Ernest was very thorough about his investigations but because of the Elrose family's backing, they can't be easily removed or even attacked against. Scheming in the palace walls was also considered acceptable and even Levucian himself understood the mentality of 'if you cannot protect yourself, then you are too weak'. This was also the case with the third prince who has no backing in the household. Victor was also unloved by his mother who favored his brother. But unlike him, has no father to back him up.

And the investigations showed more and more information about how the Elrose duchy and the many other factions seemed to be attacking the third prince the most. This is because even though he lacked power, the man is still a prince who has a much stronger legitimacy compared to the other princes (with the exemption of the second prince). Not to mention, that the man also possesses the physical traits that most emperors had. He has also proven his prowess in battle and some have thought they overlooked putting him on the battlefield where he flourished. Because the man might fight back at them for their actions so they have made those rumors to subdue the prince's image and terrify the public about his tyrannical tendencies. This way the commoners can rally against the third prince if he does something wrong.

It didn't help that he was neglected. The empress dowager and the empress didn't want to deal with the commotion in the royal palace and left Margaret Elrose to have a run of the harem creating a lot of damage from the fourth prince being poisoned as a child which is why the young man is permanently disabled, concubines were fighting with each other and scheming to the point that even his children were hurt or dead, and Margaret Elrose was at the center of everything. And the emperor cannot do anything because he cannot enter the harem and the ones who were supposed to manage it weren't there. Levucian already speculated that his empress is cheating on his brother – his brother who is also married and had a son and daughter of his own.

The emperor felt so overwhelmed and had no one to vent or even talk this out that in the end, he felt even more alone. All he wanted was a family too and he thought he can achieve that when he reaches the throne only for his mother to leave him, his father died, and he has to deal with all the mess. Once he became an emperor, there were so many things to do that he forgot why he was in that position in the first place. He envies the commoners with happy families and felt so guilty about what became of his children. He has always felt that his dreams were retribution from the gods warning him of what will become of the kingdom and what kind of people his children are or will become. He only saw death and feared that this was the end of his line the Claes legacy.

So, when the third prince came back, he couldn't stop himself. All this young man wanted was a family, and this young man was even neglected by his mother and he was never present in his life so he decided that he was going to give him what he wanted. While he knows Victor is still a little wary of him, he was more welcoming than most of his children. As for now, he has been using his newfound skill to view people's intentions based on demonic shadows or lights. He admits that he also sees no lights or shadows when he met his son which raised even more questions for him.