Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

On the outskirts of the capital city of the Yadava kingdom. It was a bright day with a cool breeze.

A carriage was moving with a large contingent of the soldiers. It was the delegation returning from the Vijayanagara Empire.

Akhil Holkar and Naiki sat in the carriage dressed very luxuriously. They sat in silence as Naiki rarely talked to anyone. Akhil looked awkward the whole journey due to this problem. He was talkative, and Naiki was reserved. He was beyond bored.

"OH! Finally, we are close to the capital." He exclaimed, looking out of the carriage at the capital in the distance.

Naiki also joined him, looking out of the carriage window.

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Akhil was pretty exhausted from the round of talks in the Empire. He had met the new Emperor, despite his initial reaction to his age. His demeanor was different. The man had the air of authority of an emperor. He was a mature man, skilled in talking and keeping his emotions in check.

He remembered the talk with the Emperor.

"So this is a letter from Gauri?" Harsha asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The Queen sends her regards for ascending to your rightful position." Akhil replied in a polite manner.

"Oh!! Does your kingdom need some help from the Empire?"

"Umm… We really hope to go through with the trade deal."

"That's doable. What about any other issues?"

Naiki, who was sitting quietly beside Akhil, spoke up.

"Your Majesty, the deal is enough."

Harsha sighed and leaned back into his chair. "I owe your Queen a gift." He smirked.

Naiki stared at him, observing him closely. Harsha's face lit up quickly as an idea flashed through his mind.

"Yes, I got an idea. This will make a good gift for Gauri."

Akhil and Naiki tilted their heads in confusion.

"We will make roads for the Yadava kingdom. This is my personal gift for Gauri's help in the past." Harsha declared.

"Bu—"

"The labor will be sourced from Yadavas, and we will offer a discount. We will just supervise and give the method of road construction as a token of friendship. Moreover, we will construct a major road to the Yadava border cities connecting to the Empire at our own expense for the trade deal."

Akhil and Naiki's jaws dropped at the sweet deal. They knew the quality of the roads in the Empire. They were made very well and planned properly. It lowered the transport cost of the goods for the merchants.

"Send my regards to Gauri as well."

He was tasked with a trade deal negotiation with the Empire by Gauri. He spoke to the butler; there were rumors about the butler being from a lower caste, but the butler was sharp and intelligent. It was hard to negotiate with him; he managed barely to get the deal done by giving some leverage to the Empire.

The Emperor also sent a handwritten letter to Gauri to extend his thanks. Akhil didn't know the details of why the Emperor was indebted to the Queen, but he figured it had something to do with her past.

They reached the Royal Palace, and they were told that the Queen was doing her daily training in the personal room.

Naiki glanced back at him. "Let's go."

"Should we wait till the queen finishes?"

"No," Naiki said sternly.

They walked through the halls into the training arena of the Royal Family. Gauri was dressed in practice garments she got made for training purposes. Her muscles were glistening under the sweat.

He and Naiki felt weak under the queen's presence. She finished training and was wiping herself down with a cloth.

"Your Majesty, we have returned." Naiki approached her.

Gauri's attention turned to them. "Oh!! How was the visit?"

"It was good. We got the deal done." Naiki handed her the agreements.

"Oh, great." Gauri skimmed through the trade deal agreement and exclaimed, "This is good; we can trade freely with the Empire and don't need to rely on the Sultanates much."

Gauri's realized there were two agreements. "What is this?"

She began reading the second agreement.

"A road building contract from the Empire?"

Akhil and Naiki nodded at Gauri's surprised expression.

"The Emperor extended his thanks to the queen for help in the past." Akhil explained the situation. "There are some clauses in the agreement that prevent us from sharing the road building methods. Other than that, it is a great agreement."

"The roads of the Empire are much better than the Qutbs and Kasim roads. Especially the major roads connecting large cities were planned very well. I think this deal will benefit us more than it will benefit the Empire." Naiki added. "I see. You did well. How was Harsha? Did he have any injuries from the war?" Gauri asked with a concern expression to Naiki.

Naiki looked expressionless as usual as the Queen gripped her hand asked for details enthusiastically.

"The Emperor seemed fine and didn't have any injuries, at least on the outside." She replied with a sigh.

Akhil didn't understand why the Queen was curious about the Emperor at the start.

"We also have a handwritten letter from the Emperor to extend his thanks." Akhil said as he handed Gauri the letter.

Gauri snatched the letter quickly from his hands and began reading it. She smiled and giggled as he read the letter. She even began muttering something.

Akhil looked at the Queen with his mouth open in surprise.

He glanced at the Naiki and back to the Queen like a looping recorder.

"Is this real?" He muttered aloud as she saw the Queen engrossed in reading the letter, blushing and smiling like a maiden in love.

Naiki pinches his ear. "Yes, it's real."

The queen, who was known for her cold-hearted personality and brutal battles in the kingdom. She was feared among nobles since she didn't hesitate to kill nobles that went against her and started a ruckus in the Empire.

The soldiers of the kingdom revered her like the goddess of war.

'Is this the same person?'