Chapter 81 Getting Married With That Woman

A clan who had its private estates in the Holy Dragon Empire meant that it not only had a regional jurisdiction of an area, but also was allowed to recruit troops and form its own forces. For example, the Ximen Clan and other large clans of Holy Dragon Empire all had their own estates and armies and held respective influences in the empire. Of course, the prerequisite for anyone to acquire an estate was gaining the absolute trust of the emperor of the Holy Dragon Empire. Without this one thing, one would never be officially offered an estate. The emperor had a deep-seated fear that anyone with a private army would try to stage a revolt. Gradually, by relying on his strong army, he might become domineering and disobey or even try to overthrow the emperor's rule. If that happened, it would be a nightmare for the emperor. It was because of this paranoia that the emperor seldom offered anyone an estate.

So, when the emperor announced that he would bestow an estate upon Prince Basil, it also indicated that he trusted him most among all his sons.

"Your Majesty, I think the matter of offering an estate to Prince Basil still needs to be discussed further. After all, he's still quite young and I'm afraid it will be tedious for him to take on such a heavy responsibility," Priest Dean immediately advised. He was determined to stop the growth of Rocky's power, knowing that Rocky might take revenge for the times that he had been unkind to him. What puzzled him most was why the emperor's attitude towards Rocky had changed dramatically. Was it just because of Rocky's outstanding performance at the Dragon Birth Festival? To an extent, his guess was correct, but there were many other reasons as well.

Other officials also seconded Priest Dean's advice, one after another.

"I also have considered that. I'm thinking of arranging a royal marriage for him. Basil has to get married before he can obtain the estate. Those are the terms of my offer. Once he gets married and settles down, he will naturally shoulder all the responsibility," the emperor said seriously. He was not making a hasty decision to offer his son an estate. As the emperor, he had to be cautious about any of his decisions.

As soon as the officials heard the emperor's words, they breathed a sigh of relief at the realization that the emperor's offer would be very conditional indeed.

"Your Majesty, may I ask whom you are eyeing to become Prince Basil's betrothed?" Priest Dean asked hesitantly. Usually, a royal marriage was a union between the major clans of the Holy Dragon Empire. He had to find out which clan would gain the support of Rocky and would stand behind him in turn.

"The Ximen Clan," the emperor said simply and narrowed his eyes. He was waiting for his officials' comments. He knew they would have a lot to say about his arrangement.

The officials including Priest Dean and other princes were quite started, to say the least.

As the largest clan of the Holy Dragon Empire, the Ximen Clan was quite influential, its grasp extending to nearly all corners of the kingdom. Its power was beyond comparison and other clans typically did not dare challenge it. Among ten of the Holy Dragon Empire's royal spirit manipulators, there was one from the Ximen Clan. Thus, it could be seen that t

as before. I think it's better to put off the arranged marriage."

Upon hearing Lena's explanation, Rocky was a bit disappointed. It turned out that Lena was just worried that the marriage might hinder his improvement in strength.

"The Witch made a good point. Yet, their marriage is still imperative," the emperor said and nodded. He agreed with her reasoning, as it was also one of the many things he had taken into consideration. He had taken many things into account when it came to the marriage of Shirley to Rocky.

Seeing the emperor's expression, Lena seemed to guess what he was thinking and became slightly stunned, while her hand clenched a corner of her robe. If the emperor was really thinking like what she was guessing, she would be more unwilling to see Rocky marry Shirley. Nevertheless, if the emperor persisted in his idea and carried it out arbitrarily, she would be helpless. As a Witch of the Holy Dragon Empire, she was not allowed to disobey the emperor.

"Your majesty, if it is for that consideration, I think Prince Basil was not the only choice. Other princes are also qualified to be the possible candidates," Lena said at once after a moment's hesitation. Although she knew it would be hard to persuade the emperor to give up the arrangement, she still wanted to have a try.

"But, I'm afraid it has to be Basil this time," the emperor said in a firm tone. Meanwhile, he thought that Lena showed excessive concern for Basil. He had to talk to her after the meeting. He had thought that other officials might have a second opinion about his arrangement. But it never once occurred to him that Lena would be the first one to object.

Lena frowned deeply and grew quiet. She had summoned all her courage to protect Rocky in her own way. But obviously, she had failed.

When the several other princes and officials heard the puzzling exchange between the emperor and Lena, they were completely confused. But they were smart enough not to ask further. If the emperor chose not to say why in public, then it was no use probing.

'It's strange. I can sense that he seems to be hiding something from us...' Rocky thought, also feeling in his gut a suspicious sense.