Chapter 12: Potential

Damien smiled when he saw how Luca brightened up when they saw the Meeting Room. He asked Luca to come with him to their strategic meeting because all princes were obligated to be present and to learn military tactics and strategies.

Since there were only the two of them yet, he allowed Luca to look around so that he could familiarize himself with the place.

The young boy roamed around the room, looking and inspecting the things that were displayed near the walls. Then he turned to his father and saw that the emperor was looking at something.

"Wow! Is that something like a chessboard, Father?" Luca's eyes lit up in excitement as he walked towards the table where the map and the symbols for the discussion were placed.

"That's like chess but you can freely move your pieces without any rules," Damien explained.

Luca examined the objects in amazement. "I wish I could play with this too."

"That's not a toy, your highness," Alexis said before he kneeled. "Greetings to the sun and the fourth star of the empire. May the blessings be upon you."

“Why are you so formal when it’s just the three of us here?” the Emperor complained which made his younger brother laugh.

“Uncle, you’re here too?” Luca looked surprised to see that his uncle would also be a part of the meeting.

“Of course, your highness.” Alexis smiled. “I, Archduke Alexis Frontier, is the empire's sharpest sword. How could they exclude the Commander of the Imperial Knights in this type of discussion?”

Luca looked at him in awe as if he just learned something amazing. Then the young boy walked towards his uncle and tugged at his uniform.

"Then, can you teach me how to play this?" Luca pointed at the discussion table as his eyes once again twinkled at the sight of the map.

"Sure." The Archduke taught Luca how to interpret the symbols on the map and how it was used to make war tactics.

While they were busy, the generals started to arrive one by one and the other princes also arrived. They walked towards where Luca was to greet the emperor and their uncle

"Are you interested in the war, Luca?" George asked as he watched his brother look intently at the map being arranged by a general to portray their current situation.

"I think I'm more interested in reducing casualties during a war, brother. I don't want the people to sacrifice their lives if there is a way for them not to," Luca answered innocently.

"Wow! I think you'll make a fine knight when you grow up, Luca! You can even be a commander!" Philip praised. "Do you want to be like Uncle Alexis?" He added as he looked at their uncle who was seriously talking to their father.

"I want to be like my mother." Luca giggled shyly.

"Like your mother?" George asked with a confused frown. Why would he want to be like the third queen? Did he like to bake pastries too?

"Yes. She creates medicine to cure people and to save their lives." Luca smiled as he pictured his mother smiling while grinding herbs. "It's more admirable than fighting other countries."

When George heard what his brother said, he nodded and smiled. Even when Luca was still young, he already had compassion for the people. It was on their ninth birthday that their father told them that they needed to develop compassion for their people even if they were not interested in ascending the throne.

Serving and leading the people toward prosperity was the job of the imperial family as a whole. Even if they were not interested in being their father’s successors, they would still need to serve the people as archdukes and members of the imperial family.

"We're not fighting other countries, Prince Alistair. We are protecting our empire from nations who want to take it from us." Their attention was shifted to the owner of the stern voice behind them.

For George, if there was someone admirable among their father’s children, then it would be that guy. Their eldest brother, Anthony, took upon himself the burden of being the first in line for the throne.

Even when the emperor was yet to announce the crown prince, they already acknowledged their older brother as one. There was no one more suited for that position except for him.

"Sorry, Prince Anthony." Luca immediately bowed down to his eldest brother.

"Luca is too young to even know that," Philip said with an annoyed tone. He did not like how their eldest brother was trying to intimidate a young child.

"That's why I told him the facts." Anthony glared at Philip before he went to the seat beside their father.

"Let the meeting commence." The Emperor said.

"Your majesty, we found Freesian Soldiers spying on our borders," Alexis reported.

"They already killed some of our soldiers who were patrolling the borders. One of our watchmen reported that they were preparing for an attack." The captain of the border patrol added.

"Marquis Loam, have you found a strategy for this?" The Emperor asked as he looked at the situation and thought about possible solutions.

"Yes, your majesty. However…" The marquis paused for a while before taking a deep breath. "If we're going to sacrifice a unit here," he said as he moved one of the pieces on the map. "We could create an opportunity for an all-out attack from the east."

"Sacrifice a unit," Damien whispered as his jaw clenched.

The room was filled with silence. They knew that their emperor would not want any casualties but that was the best option they could give. If a unit were to act as bait, it would bring them victory. Otherwise, they would be the ones suffering from major casualties.

"Are there no other options?" Damien asked as he looked at each of the officers in the room.

"That's the best option we could give, your majesty."

No one dared to say anything when the Emperor fell silent and focused on the map. They knew how their emperor valued every single life, but that was the only way for them to win. Their only choice was between how many deaths would there be after that war.

Luca who seemed to be the only one who could not read the room sat on his father’s lap and stared at the map.

“Was this the piece that the Marquis moved, Father?” Luca asked innocently.

Damien who could not ignore the innocent question of the child nodded his head. The other nobles scoffed because they only saw the child’s actions as a nuisance in the midst of a serious discussion.

“This is a wrong move,” Luca said out of the blue.

Everyone in the room stared at him. Some were almost glaring but they tried to contain themselves because they were in the presence of the Emperor. How could he dare comment on something that he could not even understand?

"What do you mean, Luca?" It was Archduke Frontier who asked. Unlike the other nobles, he wanted to believe that an innocent child could give them a fresh insight because children like that tend to still think outside the box.

"They placed the unit in the wrong location." Luca moved the piece that was put as bait and moved it behind the enemy unit. "This land still belonged to the Breische empire so the soldiers would know the terrain better. They can prepare for an ambush and open an opportunity to perform an all-out attack from both sides.”

Marquis Loam laughed. " You are still young, your highness. But unlike chess, we would not be able to move the soldiers to that location because the enemy unit would be camping and guarding the only way to go there.”

Luca smiled. Though it might have looked like an innocent one, Marquis Loam saw mockery in his eyes.

"Please correct me if I’m wrong." Luca pointed at the symbol beside the piece that he moved earlier. “Archduke Frontier told me that this was a symbol of a mine.”

Alexis’ eyes grew wide as he looked at the map once more. Luca was pointing at a closed mine. Though that mine was already closed, they could still use it as a passage towards the direction where Luca wanted to bring the soldiers.

With his own finger, he traced the path of the mine and laughed when he realized where the other end of the mine was located. It was a mine, but Luca wanted to use it as an underground tunnel.

“The other end of this mine would be found right behind the palace. If the soldiers use this mine as a way to get there, there won’t be needless sacrifice. Right, father?” Luca sounded genuinely happy.

Alexis, George, and Philip laughed after hearing what Luca had to say. He who only wanted to save his people could see ways that others would not be able to.

Once again, the other officers fell silent. They could not believe that such words could come out of a five-year-old's mouth. A child who grew up outside the palace was the one giving them plausible advice. The officers did not like it since it hurt their pride that a commoner's son outshined a noble's opinion.

However, Archduke Frontier thought otherwise. He knew that growing up outside the palace would be more of an advantage rather than a disadvantage for his youngest nephew.

"Then let's go with that. Quickly inform the imperial knights about the plan and proceed as is. Make sure to follow Archduke Frontier's orders."

"Yes, your majesty."

After everyone was gone, Damien asked his knights to bring the princes to their respective palaces. The only ones left in the room were him and his brother— Archduke Frontier.

"What do you think about the meeting today?" He asked.

"At first, I thought that Prince Anthony would be the only one suitable for the throne since Prince Adriel and Prince Adonis didn't show interest in leading. I know how those two dreamed of being the empire's heroes." Alexis smiled.

"However, Prince Alistair is also a rising star. Even at his age, he showed a great deal of potential that might rival Prince Anthony's capabilities."

"I could see that too. Prince Anthony took pride in all his achievements and his position. He believes that he has what it takes to be my heir." Damien sighed. "But Luca is a natural-born leader. He has genuine compassion for the people and he does not discriminate against the hierarchy."

"It's going to be hard in the future," Alexis chuckled.