Chapter 49: A Second Council Meeting and the Southern Plans 1

I closed my eyes, surrendering to the deep sense of peace that washed over every single cell and molecule of my body, as I felt myself seamlessly melt into the nature around me, while the golden rays of the rising sun softly fell upon me, slowly cleansing away all of the worries and agitation of my forsaken soul.

Sadly such a wonderous feeling was short lived, as I was suddenly disrupted by the loud clacking of a pair of shoes on the stone paths of the garden, before hearing Isaac's aged voice professionally say "The ministers have all arrived, sire."

"A bit early, aren't they?" I jokingly asked, without opening my eyes or even turning around.

"They feared to incur your displeasure if they arrived late, so they all came ahead of time." Isaac calmly replied, as undisguised hope bloomed in his eyes, believing his emperor has returned back to his previous self. A hope that was quickly crushed as I opened my eyes!

A raging torrent of tyrannical pressure, that even eclipsed the one that encased me in the past week, spewed out of every pore in my adolescent body, corrupting the pleasant spring breeze that used to serenade the soothing songs of nature into a raging typhoon of shrieking arctic winds, as the beautifully blooming flowers began to wither and wilt, simulating the sorrowful scene of a once proud and prosperous people bowing before their conqueror!

A look of unimaginable disappointment emerged on Isaac's face upon seeing this desolate conceptualization of tyranny, believing that his young emperor's state of mind has greatly worsened, before I turned to him causing his expression to change into a look of utter shock, as the previously oppressive aura and vision vanished like a mirage in the shifting sands of the treacherous deserts.

'No. Not vanished, but hidden. Like a predator's claws before it pounces!' Thought Isaac 'And at first glance, the prior rampant insanity in his eyes also seems to have disappeared as well, but that can not be further from the truth! It's still there, only more subdued.

More patient. It's..'

Before Isaac could travel further down the road of his rapidly changing thoughts, I interrupted him by saying as I passed him "Then we shouldn't keep them waiting."

Isaac took a moment to recollect himself before quickly turning to follow me, as I suddenly stopped "Oh, right.

Isaac make sure to order the gardeners to replant an entire section of the Imperial Gardens with this." I said as I showed him the lavender flower I picked earlier, before continuing back toward the Council meeting, leaving behind a confused Isaac who quickly shook his head as he stopped trying to understand the thoughts of his young monarch anymore, deciding to be simply content with the fact that he seemed to be mostly back to his old self.

Within a few minutes I was once again before my office, where my guards, Abraham and Horus, were waiting for me along with Kira.

I flash them a small smile, much to their shock and joy, as I order "Kira bring the closed folders in my desk I told you about a few days ago, and you grab the large map on my wall Horus."

"Understood, sire." They simultaneously answered extatically, believing me returned to my past self, while the more experienced Abraham knew better as he glanced at Isaac, looking for answers, to which the latter replied by simply shrugging his shoulders.

I swiftly continued down the hall way, until I reached the newly designated Council Room, since we couldn't keep using my office for such important weekly conferences that could quite laterally change the course of history!

Pushing open the doors, I entered to see the faces of all my ministers along with my uncle Haytham's, staring at me in bewilderment and relief, except for Darius who seemed to immediately understand everything by simply looking at my eyes, as he thought incredulously 'Controlled madness?!'

Not bothering with this, I elegantly sat on the head of the table as I calmly greeted "Good morning gentlemen."

Finally breaking out of their own thoughts, they all stood up and bowed, while quickly replying "Good morning, sire."

Nodding, I say "Be seated gentlemen, we have much to discuss today."

"How did no one addressed this issue yet? And why are you just now telling us this information?!" The minister of justice, Ashtad asked in disbelief at the sheer scale of this corruption scandal, especially if it were ever to become public.

Rhett quickly defended himself "The previous administration under the late emperor seemed to have turned a blind eye to this, and never properly looked into the matter.

And it's not like I didn't want to bring this information to your attention, I simply didn't have enough proof to do so, and every time I attempted to gather said evidence, those bastards in Appethus would find a million different excuses to delay my men's investigation for as long as possible."

"Previous administration? Does that mean you were aware of this Lord Darrius?!" Ashtad accusatorily questioned, much to the shock of everyone present, not believing that someone alive still had the gall to take up such a tone before Darius Khan!

Ultimately though it made sense, given his character as a man who treated the word of law like a religious text.

Luckily for him though, Darius was not a petty person, and knew that his outrage stemmed from a place of good instead of evil, so he calmly answered "I was indeed aware of such a case, and I even at one point urged his late majesty to pursue the issue, which he did, but the reports I read back then were nothing even close to the numbers I see before me today, and so I didn't bother with it anymore believing it too insignificant compared to the endless other issues we faced at the time.

Though in hindsight, I now realize that those reports were most likely tempered with by his late majesty to protect his younger brother from me, as he often did."

A silence descended upon the room, as everyone drowned in their own thoughts, especially my uncle who wondered what might have been, if instead of shielding and spoiling him, they allowed him to face the consequences of his actions.

Would they've been able to stop him from going down his traitorous road? A question that would haunt him for many years to come.

"Isaac, how strong is our spy network in Appethus?" I asked, breaking everyone out of their thoughts.

"We currently have thirty four Shade Corps members in the city, and an additional two hundred and thirty nine informants of all walks of life and professions as well." Isaac replied instantly.

I slouch back in my seat as I sink into my thoughts of the future, before decisively ordering "Increase the number of Shade Corps members to one hundred and informants to five hundred, I want to be aware of everything that happens in that city.

If so much as a bird changes it's nesting place, I want to know about it, understand?"

"Understood, sire." Isaac replied as he respectfully bowed.

But I wasn't done, as I continued "Secondly, order the Shade Corps to assassinate important supporters and officials of the Archduke, but a few at a time to not raise any suspicion, and then replace them with our own people."

"You wish to isolate him, while slowly eroding his power without him even noticing." Darius cleverly deduced.

"Indeed, but that's not all we're going to do. We shall also order both the eastern fleet and the eastern army to head south to garrison the city of Thalab, thus by removing his city's status as the military heart of the east." I said coldly, with a calculating glint in my eyes.

A frown emerged upon everyone's face as they heard this, prompting Darius to caution "But sire, such a massive and senseless rotation of troops, will immediately alarm the Archduke of our intentions." To which all the others nodded to in agreement.

I smile upon hearing this, as I turn toward Kira and order her to distribute the files she grabbed for me this morning. Quickly looking at the papers in their hands, they all simultaneously read The Southern Plans.