Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

"Ha... I am so nervous," sighed Aadarsh.

It was his first high-level meeting since he became the regent. He was pacing around the room in a huge mansion in Surat. The rebuilding efforts were underway in Surat from the carnage left by the Portuguese ships.

The mansion was near the gate of the port city, which left it almost unscathed from the battle.

He was using that mansion as the meeting place with the Young Emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, Harsha Deva Raya.

Beside him were his trusted aides, Naveen and Vasant. He brought some company to guide him during the meeting. He also brought a translator in case the emperor didn't speak the same language as him.

"Calm down, Your Highness." Naveen assured him. "It will be ok."

"Yes, Your Highness." Vasant also jumped in. "Hold your head high. We are the Marathas."

"You are right." He clenched his fist.

"Isn't the Emperor late?"

"There was an indication they would be late due to the bad roads in the Sultanate."

"I see." Aadarsh sighed and took a deep breath. "I am finally meeting him."

He heard a lot of stories about the Young Emperor from different people. There were countless rumors that surrounded the young man since the coronation ceremony. The defeat of the second and first princes of the Empire sent shockwaves in the noble sphere.

Aadarsh was meeting the mastermind and warrior that managed to defeat the best of the best in the Empire.

'He might be young, but he is more accomplished than me.' He thought. 'Hope I don't blurt out anything offensive.'

'May Lord Shiva give me the power not to mess this up.' He silently prayed.

They were prepared for the alliance. Aadarsh needed the support of the Empire to keep the Mughals at bay. He was ready to offer concessions to the Empire to secure their safety till they rebuilt their power.

At the same time, he wouldn't give away too many concessions, as it would damage their kingdom's stability in the long run by being at the whim of the Empire.

A soldier came running and barged into the room.

"The Emperor has arrived. He will be here soon," said the soldier with ragged breaths.

Everyone went stiff for a moment and began to prepare for the meeting.

Aadarsh straightened his clothes while the servants double-checked the decor and place of meeting. The servants even began preparing some food to offer to the emperor.

Naveen and Vasant also scrambled to straighten their clothes and grab the documents for the meeting.

After a brief moment of pause. Everything was in place for the meeting.

Aadarsh took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

'I will be fine, probably.'

After a while of waiting, a soldier guided the emperor in a wide room to meet with him.

Aadarsh got up quickly and greeted him with a namaste.

"Greetings to the Sun of the Empire,"

"Likewise, Heir of the Marathas."

Harsha also gave him a warm smile and a namaste. He was taken aback that he spoke their language as well.

The Emperor was dressed in a white tunic and a black overcoat. His long black hair was tied back, and his golden earrings shimmered in the sunlight.

He was accompanied by a single assistant that seemed more nervous than him. He was literally shaking violently, standing beside the emperor. The Emperor's demeanor was calm and collected on the other hand. He had a relaxed posture.

Aadarsh shook hands with the emperor before taking a seat at the meeting table. By the looks, he could easily guess that the Emperor was an experienced warrior and quite adept at sword arts.

His calloused hands and his posture were results of his strong foundation in martial arts.

This wasn't the thing that scared Aadarsh the most. It was the strong pressure and cold eyes behind his smile. He almost felt suffocated just keeping his gaze on the Emperor.

Even the recent encounter with the man named Hasan wasn't this suffocating. The Emperor just was way different from everyone else. His dark eyes almost peered into his soul, scanning his every move like a pawn on the chessboard.

"How was the journey?, Lord Harsha?" He asked. "It seems the roads are bad in the New Lands."

"It definitely is. Our roads are definitely better and easier for my guards to move through."

"It seems you have brought only an assistant for the meeting." Aadarsh asked, glancing at the nervous man standing beside the Emperor.

"He is not my assistant. He is just a random soldier that I assigned to take my notes." Harsha chuckled. "My assistant is an exceptional man. He is managing the Empire while I am gone."

Aadarsh was taken aback. He didn't expect the emperor to come alone to discuss the alliance without any assistants.

"I see." He also chuckled alone with an awkward smile.

"I have met you before, right?" Harsha pointed at Naveen.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I was present during the coronation ceremony." Naveen replied calmly.

"And who is he?" He pointed at Vasant.

"He is a commander and my close aide, Lord Harsha." Aadarsh added.

"Before we start the meeting," Harsha's face turned serious. "I send my condolences for your late father, Lord Aadarsh. I heard he was a great man."

"It is truly unfortunate for such a man to meet his demise in battle."

Aadarsh nodded, accepting the condolences.

"On another note, I have to congratulate you on your victory against the Mughals."

"Likewise, I also heard about your annexation of the Sultanate."

Both of them exchanged some words cordially.

"So are you sure about the alliance? Lord Harsha." Aadarsh asked, leaning forward.

"Yes, yes. I have personally travelled to talk to you because I wanted an alliance with the Marathas." Harsha said with a warm smile.

"But you didn't accept our alliance before?"

"What's with the sudden change?"

"Hmmm…The reason I didn't accept before was clear."

"Clear?"

"We just finished a civil war." Harsha stated. "We were in a precarious situation and The Empire isn't connected to your kingdom by land."

"But still…"

Harsha shrugged. "If you mean financial support or giving support using the water."

"The Portuguese would have interfered."

Aadarsh had to concede and nod along with the reasoning. It was a pretty hefty request for the Empire to complete at that time. At least this time, he wanted to make the alliance a reality.

"The reason I am interested now is simple."

"That is?"

"We are connected by land. It is much easier for me to support you." He declared.

"That's true." Aadarsh said. "I have to agree with you on that one."

"So how can you help us?"

"You have a big problem on your hands right now? Am I correct?" Harsha said with a bright grin. "I can solve that."

"Problem? You mean the Portuguese?" Aadarsh asked with a curious look.

"Yes, exactly."

"How?"

"I have my ways!" He said with a grin.

Aadarsh was curious as well since deterring the Portuguese at their full strength would be suicidal for them since they have already exhausted many of their resources. They lacked the manpower and money to fight the Portuguese.

Most importantly, they had no way to counter their superior technology but neither did the Empire. This made it even more intriguing for him to know the ways of the Emperor.

"I do want to know how." He pressed. "If I take you at face value. How will you prove they won't attack us?"

"Your worries are valid." Harsha said. "But I can't reveal the methods without some goodwill offer in return." He grinned.

"Goodwill?"

Aadarsh thought for a while.

'What do I do to get his goodwill?' he thought. 'Hmmm…'

"I will agree to your one extra demand if you manage to convince me that the Portuguese won't attack us." Aadarsh said.

Naveen wanted to interrupt and say something but Aadarsh dismissed him with a wave.

"Are you sure about that wager, Lord Aadarsh?" Harsha smirked.

"Yes, I am." He said. "Unless it doesn't affect my kingdom's citizens."

"AHAHA, you remind me a lot of my father." Harsha laughed. "He too was a fool for his citizens."

"Is that bad, Lord Harsha?"

"No, no. It is a sign of a strong leader, Lord Aadarsh."

Harsha's face went serious as he straightened himself and explained his plan of using the Dutch to stop the Portuguese. He explained that he had everything on standby for triggering a Dutch interference in this matter.

"Dutch? Eh. It is a good idea but are you sure?"

"Yes, the Dutch hate the Portuguese due to the possible union with the Spanish." He chuckled. "We can make them fight each other so the Portuguese won't be able to attack you in the meantime."

"I see…"

Aadarsh was impressed by the genius tactics of the emperor. Although he had his doubts about how the emperor managed to get the information on a union between two European nations, that didn't matter right now to him.

'If this works. We are safe.'

"You just need to say the word, and I can send the message." Harsha said.

It was bait for Aadarsh to bite from Harsha.

Harsha had already sent orders for spreading rumors to the Dutch before he left for Surat.

He could see the confidence of the Emperor so he took a deep breath and decided to take the gamble.

"I shall take your gamble, Lord Harsha."