CHAPTER 3 (Class)

After a few minutes of waiting my tutor finally arrives.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, Your Imperial Highness." My tutor said while bowing his head.

"Good morning, Doctor. Don't mind it, it is not like this is our first meeting, is it?" I said while smiling at him as wiped his sweats off, 'he must be running coming here'

Yes, He is José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, commonly known as Doctor José Rizal. Now at the age of 36, he has achieved something far greater than himself in my previous world.

Born and raised in Calamba, Laguna. He is one of the 11 children of his parents, Francisco and Teodora. An affluent family tracing their lineage back to Han Chinese and Spaniards, José Rizal was able to have a strong foundation in the Empire's society. He enrolled at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila. He graduated as one of the nine students in his class declared sobresaliente or outstanding. He continued his education at the Ateneo Municipal de Manila to obtain a land surveyor and assessor's degree and at the same time at the University of Santo Tomas, where he studied a preparatory course in law and finished with a mark of excelente or excellent.

He continues his studies at the Riverbanks Imperial Institution, getting his degree in medicine.

The national hero of the Republic of the Philippines himself, but in this universe, he is not the national hero. Despite this, his contribution to medicine, literature, and arts made him so well known that in the year 1888, he was sent to the United Kingdom to learn more about medicine. His successful return from his trip contributed a lot to the advancement of medicine in the empire. Paving the way for the establishment of a ministry solely dedicated to studying viruses and illness.

Now, he is currently teaching at the Riverbanks Imperial Institution, located in the barangay (Village) of Riverbank (Modern day Barangay Buhangin [Sand] in the City of Butuan) on the other side of the river banks of the Agusan River. The institution itself boasts a high number of enrollees of children of noble families and high-ranking officials, as being the oldest institution in the whole empire. Children of the common folks can still enrol in schools sponsored by the state; these schools are located in all provinces and areas throughout the Empire.

The Institution itself offers the best education throughout the empire, including etiquette, diplomacy, medicine, strategy, stewardship, self-defence, arts, and music, to name a few. Run by the brilliant minds of the empire, the Riverbanks Imperial Institution can stand side-by-side with those institutions in neighbouring Asian countries.

If I was born in a noble house instead of the Imperial Household, I might be attending the Imperial Institution by the age of 8. But as an heir to the imperial throne and a member of the imperial household, I am educated in the imperial palace itself. This is to ensure that all knowledge I will be learning is necessary for ruling and managing the imperial household.

By 21, Imperial male children and all abled noble males are required to join any branch of the military for 3-5 years, depending on their wants, this practice of joining the military was made to ensure that noble children will be prepared to serve the country in times of war. As the Rajahnate turned Empire was founded and was maintained independently through wars and not diplomacy.

Women can enter the Imperial Institute and study but few have done this since the idea of women attending schools are still unpopular in the Empire.

And my tutor is, Doctor José Rizal, dubbed by many as 'the father of the Modern Medicine of the Empire'. Despite being a doctor, he is well-equipped with knowledge worthy to be my tutor.

"No, not at all, Your Imperial Highness. Shall we begin then?" He said as he smiles back at me and take his seat on the opposite end of a circular wooded table at the centre of the room.

I nod in response while maintaining my smile. I can't help it, I am talking and being taught by a hero (in my previous world), despite seeing him almost every day for the past 5 years, my amazement never subsided.

"Okay. Today, I will be teaching you about the empire's history, Your Imperial Highness. Specifically, the most recent one, the Euro-Sean War of 1870-1883…

The Euro-Sean War, this war decided the faith of the two surviving kingdoms in the region. Diplomats from South and East Asia already whisper that the two kingdoms will be annexed by the winning forces after their huge defeat in the battle of Phnom Penh and the naval warfare in the Gulf of Siam and near the Spratly Islands.

The Allied forces wanted to annex the two countries to solidify their ground in the region. But heavy resistance and pressure from its populace and not seeing any benefits in annexing the countries because of the heavy resistance from the locals with big and strong uprisings emerges almost every day in response to the Allies' occupation.

Facing these predicaments, the Allied forces of the French and British decided to not annex the entire two Kingdoms but instead made them constitutional monarchies and only got the entirety of the once-known Kingdom of Cambodia and the Sultanate of Brunei.

The Treaty of Singapore of 1883 put an end to the 13-year war of Euro-Sean. But this treaty was also dubbed by historians as 'The Treaty of Shame and End'."

He paused his lecture and look at me in the eye as I look stared back at him listening intensely. He smiled and nodded as he started to ask some questions.

"Do you know why it is called 'The Treaty of Shame and End', Your Imperial Highness?"

A shocked expression appeared on Radhesh's face upon hearing the doctor's question. Caught off-guard on his question, I wasn't able to answer right away but soon composes myself and answered.

"Yes, Doctor. 'The Treaty of Shame and End' as they called them symbolizes the shame of the last two powerful ancient sovereign nations in the region that was brought to their knees by the colonizers. End, symbolizes the end of the two nations' dominance in the region, despite not being annexed, its standing on the world stage is now forgotten."

I answered in a serious tone, not because I am offended by his question but because of how the Western world mocks our defeat. I clenched my fist to curd the feeling of anger in my heart.

"Oh ho… Good, then tell me, Your Imperial Highness. What causes our empire and the kingdom of Siam's defeat in that war?" unfazed seeing me clenching my fist, he continues to ask me some questions while grinning. Needing to answer him, I calmed myself as fast as possible before answering his question.

After calming myself down, I look back at him seeing his grinning face looking at me, while also feeling a concerned look from Radhesh.

"Our two nations' loss is not the result of our weakness on the battlefield. We lost against the combined forces of Britain and France because of these 3 major reasons; being behind in military doctrines, weapon advancement, and sheer number of troops."

He nods feeling satisfied with my answer.

"But despite our loss in the war, we never stop in development. The government with the approval of the Imperial family, under the reign of my father, invested in weapon industries and promoted Western military doctrines to our troops and imperial guards, despite the short live backlash. We send troops to train in Europe to further advances our military, which resulted in a much more comprehensive and advanced training of our soldiers. The Kingdom of Siam is also doing this, Doctor."

A satisfied look appears on his and Radhesh's face while listening to my answer.

"We might have lost a few years ago from the westerner, because of our lapses and mistakes. But that doesn't mean we can't grow and improve our situation. I am not going to speak against their action in colonizing our neighbouring countries as it would make me a hypocrite, but it was a mistake for them to not abolished the monarchy of the two nations."

~~~ José Rizal ~~~

It is now evening, and it was a tiring day for me, after having a lesson with the crown prince at the imperial palace this morning and then back at the imperial institution to continue my research on medicine. What a day, wish I could have my vacation now.

I opened the door to my house located in the city centre of the capital. A 2,394 sq. ft. private residential home having a design of those suburban houses like in England. As I entered the house, two beautiful little girls run straight towards me giving me a hug. Elizabeth Rizal and Josephine Rizal, my daughters.

"Father!" "Mother! Daddy's here! hehe"

"Ah. My beautiful angles. Give Daddy a hug."

I said as I hug them tightly and kissed both of their cheeks. They both giggle in happiness after being kissed by me. I carry both of them towards the living room of our house continuing our little bonding escapade.

"Welcome home, love."

I raised my head as I saw my beautiful wife coming towards me and kiss me on my lips.

"Eeewww. Mommy is eating Daddy." They both said in unison and run back inside their rooms giggling, not wanting to be caught by me. I was left in the living room with my wife, Leonor Rivera-Rizal, the love of my life.

"So? How was your day?" she inquires while helping me arrange the living room after messing it with the kids.

"Same as before, tiring. But something interesting happened during my class with the Crown Prince."

"What is it?" while continuing her arranging

"The Crown Prince is now showing signs of being a worthy ruler of the empire. Although, still young, he is now showing some progress that his peers cannot. Even in the affluent and noble circle, no one can outpace him."

"Really, dear?" she said in curiosity as she stops what she is doing and started to listen to what I have said.

"Yes, I have been observing him for the past 5 years and his progress just excites me about what future he might bring to the empire."

She smiles at me, giving me an expression of a hopeful citizen.

Although the empire is prosperous and now progressing at a much more speed. Factories were being built, roads, plumbing, and more jobs were being available, but despite this development, the empire is still struggling. Poverty and crime are still common in every major city of the empire, the past government passes some laws and reforms to solve the issue, but nothing happened.

That is why, after witnessing the shown of Crown Prince's emotion this morning, I was filled with excitement and hope. He was known to be composed and serious in all manners and showed little emotion when it comes to class resulting in all imperial tutors thinking that he is uninterested.

Looks like the Lord still favours our empire despite losing that latest war. Euro-Sea War, the war that causes the Empire and the Imperial Family's almost demise, even until now, the majority of the Empire's citizens hated the Europeans, despite the government's effort in promoting friendly relations with Europe. Hating them to the point that, if war broke out once again between the two European countries and Butuan and Siam, a lot of the Empire's abled male citizens are willing to be conscripted for war.

The Crown Prince will do great things for the Empire. I can see it already, an Empire that is not hindered by sea or mountains.

An Empire that is respected and feared.

An Empire of richness and prosperity.

An Empire of Siagu XVI.

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Hi everyone, Author here!

Thank you so much for reading and supporting this novel. I know it is cliché, but I like it. Hahahahahaha

PS: It is indeed, Leonor Rivera-Kipping, Rizal's greatest love.