"Now let's talk about you. You have obviously changed a lot. You have grown up to become a fine man. And also maybe a playboy as well." Amelia ended her sentence in a slightly cold tone. She was unhappy about the fact that Aditya already had 3 fiances before Riya. From what she had heard, aside from his 3 beautiful fiances, he also had numerous other beauties who could potentially become his wife one day.
Still, Aditya was much better than the Emperors who openly slept with every woman in his court. Aside from having multiple wives, some of these Kings had a huge harem. For example, the current Half-Incubus King had 21 wives and the number of concubines he had was nearly 1000.
And the number of women he slept with is simply too many to count. They say that husbands would hide their wives if the Half-Incubus King was in the city or town. Every night the King would sleep with at least 25 women. Since these women were mortals, he was easily about to battle them and would still have stamina left inside him.
In his Empire, if a woman of another man is caught sleeping with the Half-incubus King, then this isn't a crime. Due to this cheating has become really common in this Empire. There were even some rumors that some of the wives were sleeping with other incubus slaves. In short, things were really messed up.
Aditya wasn't that kind of man. But it didn't mean he was bad either. Amelia didn't like the fact that he had so many beautiful women around him. But this wasn't her place to comment anything about his harem life.
Hearing her words, Aditya just smiled and replied. "What can I say? My charm is simply irresistible." Aditya jokingly said.
Hearing this Amelia rolled her eyes.
"You know, I am proud of what you have managed to achieve." Amelia wasn't just sugarcoating her words and trying to please Aditya with her words. She was really happy for all that he had achieved, maybe except for his growing harem.
"If your mom and dad knew about all the amazing things you've done in such a short time, they'd probably want you back," Amelia spoke these words with a specific purpose. She was keen on gauging how Aditya felt about his biological parents. She wouldn't have been shocked if he harbored some anger or bitterness toward them, given their history. Still, she wanted to uncover his current emotions and thoughts about them.
Upon hearing her words, Aditya simply lifted his left eyebrow and looked at Amelia intently. He understood the underlying reason behind her comment. "Aunty, it doesn't matter to me what they think about me," he responded, his voice tinged with calm assurance. What caught Amelia off guard was the total absence of anger or hate in his tone when he spoke about his parents.
"Have you never felt like going back to where you were born, to see your mom and dad?" Amelia pressed, trying to dig deeper.
"No," Aditya gave a simple shake of his head as he responded. At this point, Amelia found herself at a crossroads in her understanding of him. She couldn't tell if Aditya was skillfully concealing his true emotions, masking any bitterness or anger he might feel, or if he was genuinely indifferent about reconnecting with his biological parents.
"Why?" Amelia was still curious and couldn't help but ask for more clarification.
"Because I've moved on," Aditya answered plainly. In his mind, it was simple. His parents had left him when he was younger, so why should he hold onto any feelings for them? He had come to terms with their absence a long time ago and had gotten on with his life.
What would be the point in going back to see them? He really had no reason to do that. He wasn't searching for their approval or validation. He was more focused on living a happy life with the new family he had made for himself.
"I don't even think about them anymore. What's important to me now is taking care of the people I have in my life. I'm happy with the family I've got now," Aditya elaborated. He had been lucky enough to find a wonderful, loving family. He had an adopted brother and an adopted sister whom he cared deeply for. He was also very much in love with his fiancées. All these relationships meant the world to him, and he was not willing to jeopardize them for anything.
Amelia didn't feel the need to dig any deeper into Aditya's feelings about his parents. She felt she had gotten the answer she was looking for. She was pleased to see that Aditya had managed to move on from his past, showing a level of maturity that impressed her.
As she thought about how much Aditya had changed, it struck her how fast time seemed to have flown by. She felt like he had grown up right before her eyes.
"Aditya, there are some things we need to clear up," Amelia said, taking on a more serious tone. "A long time ago, when you and my daughter Riya were just kids, you two were engaged to be married. At that time, you hadn't been kicked out by your parents yet. But once that happened, the engagement was called off. I want you to know that I'm aware of how much Riya cares for you. And the idea of you two being together really warms my heart. I'm not against it in any way. But I do have to tell you, the council of ten elders might make things tough for us." Aditya listened carefully and nodded, signaling that he understood what she was saying.
"Since the time Riya moved to your empire, the Istarin Empire, I've been under a lot of pressure from the elders to bring her back home," Amelia started to explain. "You see, Riya is not just any elf; she's a Royal Elf, the Princess of our land, Celestial Terrain. We don't have many Royal Elves left. You, Aditya, are a special kind of Dragon, the Divine Crimson Storm Dragon to be exact, and you rule over the Istarin Empire. If Riya marries you, she will become your empress, but that would put our own royal family line at risk. We'd be left without someone to take over the throne here."
Aditya listened carefully and nodded, showing he was following along with what Amelia was saying.
"And there's more to consider," Amelia continued. "Riya isn't just royal; she's also the Goddess of Nature. You probably know how important nature is to us elves. We practically worship the goddess of nature, and Riya is the goddess of what we hold dear. So, marrying her off to someone from a different empire is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, especially the elders. What I need from you, as Riya's mom, is some kind of answer or plan. How can we solve these problems so that you two can be together without risking a big uproar from our people, or even worse, causing a civil war?"
Aditya took a moment to absorb everything Amelia had said. He nodded his head once more, signaling that he understood the weight of the situation.
Amelia knew how much her daughter Riya was cherished by the people of their empire. The thought of Riya marrying the ruler of another empire would not sit well with them. In fact, it could even lead to large protests or, even worse, a full-blown civil war. Amelia realized that if it came down to it, she would find herself pitted against the council of 10 elders. Given that she and the elders had roughly the same amount of influence and power, this disagreement had the potential to blow up into a major conflict within their land.
Amelia was a person who truly valued peace and harmony. The last thing she wanted was to see her own people fighting each other, tearing the empire apart in a civil war. This was why she was asking for a solution from Aditya. She understood that she couldn't just push the Elders aside or overrule them. Their combined authority was just as strong as hers, even though she was the Empress.
The stress of this complicated issue had been weighing on her for months, ever since Riya moved to live with Aditya in his empire. Amelia felt stuck, unable to come up with a solution that would satisfy everyone involved.
"Can I ask you a question, Aunty? And please, don't think that I'm being rude or trying to offend you," Aditya started cautiously.
"Of course, what's on your mind?" Amelia replied, her eyes meeting his as she waited for his question.
"Would you ever think about getting the 10 Elders killed? You know, just remove them from power altogether?" Aditya asked, laying out what he thought could be a quick fix to the problem with the Elders. Killing them would be extremely easy and the quickest way to fix this problem. If Amelia said yes, then by tonight the 10 elders are going to die mysteriously.
"I couldn't do that. I've known each one of them for hundreds of years. Sure, we don't always agree on everything, but I couldn't just kill them off to make my life easier," Amelia responded, shaking her head firmly at the thought.
Aditya took a few moments to gather his thoughts before speaking again. "Aunty, I can offer you an answer right now, on the spot. But, if you give me about two weeks, I can come back to you with a well-thought-out plan. What would you prefer?"
Amelia hesitated for a second before responding. "Then you can take two weeks time to give me your answer." She would much prefer to know the longer and much more detailed version of his plan.
Aditya simply couldn't give her a plan. He lacked enough information to make a perfect plan. For information, he asked for two weeks of time. And Aditya was planning on staying here for a few weeks anyway.
Really Thank you very much to all those who send support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
For those who are bored with these chapters please have patience and give time for the build-up.
