Chapter 15 - Crafty Prince

Ryuusei pov:

"I am truly humbled to be in your presence, Princesses. I may be lacking in many ways but I will work hard to learn from all of you and become a pillar of support to His Highness." Izumi bowed to my other consorts. My lips twitched, wanting to break out into an amused smile behind the mask I wore.

"Of course, Empress Izumi. We will do our best to teach you all there is to know." Kiyori, one of my politically wedded consorts said with a smile. However, I could see the obvious displeasure in her eyes.

Most of my consorts were not happy with this sudden development. They had never seen Izumi before and being aware of the fact that Izumi was a commoner and not royalty like them only added to the anger and objection to her becoming Empress. Of course, they couldn't refuse my decision so they merely settled with emotionless stares at Izumi while in my presence. I knew quite well that they would openly express their displeasure later on when they got a chance to meet Izumi alone. Mockery, ridicule and disrespect – she was sure to be put through all of this from my consorts and governors. But knowing her straightforward and unyielding personality, she would definitely leave them at a loss of words instead.

I was quite looking forward to how this would progress.

"W-we are very humbled to get the chance to teach the Empress the ways of the palace! We w-will do our best." My youngest and most innocent consort said with a flushed smile.

My wedding with Himiko came as a surprise. The governor of the Southern Province requested me to take his barely fifteen year old daughter as my wife so he could gain a higher standing than the other governors I had posted there. I suppose his plan was to increase his money extortion business but with coming into the limelight after my wedding with his daughter, he could no longer maintain the secrecy. He was caught red handed by my assassin samurai and stripped of his title as governor. I would have preferred to have him hanged but solely for the sake of Himiko, I settled with banishing him. He now spent his days in the wilderness, unseen and unheard of by anyone in any town of my Empire.

Himiko was the striking opposite of her father. She was innocent and pure hearted because she had been kept sheltered from the world by her father and mother. She had no interaction with the outside world like what most other women would have and so was unaware, too trusting and easily lured into traps. Of course, all my other consorts too were just as weak and helpless in any situation and that was another reason besides possible political warfare that prevented me from choosing one from my harem as an Empress.

"Oh, you're the young consort I saw the other day....during the reb-wah!" Izumi spoke but I cut her short by me wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her to my chest while facing me.

Quite contrary to her usually combative behavior, Izumi was relaxed now and unsuspecting of any such gesture from me so she stumbled on her feet and fell on me with her hands on my chest and met my gaze with wide surprised eyes. She didn't looked flustered though, even though I was hoping for her to, and rewarded me with a slight glare before getting back to acting. She smiled, accentuating the coloring she had applied onto her cheeks and averted her eyes to the side as if she was shy.

"Y-Your Highness, what are you doing? There are many watching us!" She said while trying her best to maintain a soft ring to her voice.

"Haven't I told you to address me as Ryuu sama, Love?" I cooed and pressed my lips against her forehead in a kiss.

I could feel baffled stares of my other consorts and I had to resist a laugh as Izumi tensed in my arms, clenching her fists and jaw so tightly to maintain composure. I let her go and watched as she took a deep breath to keep her cool and continue smiling.

"Of course, Ryuu sama...but please, you must restrain yourself from causing me such fluster."

"You are so adorable, my Empress." I said and decided that it was enough acting for now. I turned to my consorts who did their best to smile and appear affectionate towards me before I spoke. "We shall take our leave for now. I will have my Empress escorted here by Soutarou for her lessons and I presume that she will be treated with utmost respect."

My consorts cringed at the authoritative order I gave and bowed deeply in acceptance. I gave them a stiff nod before walking out with Izumi with a hand on the small of her back. I glanced down at her as she walked beside me, still mildly curious and impressed that such a delicate looking girl could be so good at fighting. She was definitely the perfect bait for Taheji to lure him to the palace and put a permanent end to his little farce.

When we were close to the inner palace – where our Royal Chambers was located – Izumi came to a stop. I stopped as well, curious as to why she had done so and watched as she turned to face me with pure anger etched onto her features. I smirked behind my mask amused and eager to know what she was going to say and do now.

"I apologize beforehand for sounding rude, Your Highness, but have you forgotten that I said I detest casual physical contact? I can understand that holding hands would be necessary once in a while but what was with that kiss?! I don't care if you're the Great Blood Emperor – if you do something like that again, I won't hesitate to retaliate. I can assure you that it won't be pleasant because not only will I be quite violent, but it will also give away our acting."

"Is that a threat, Love?" I challenged through my amusement.

She noticeably tensed but looked to the side with a scoff. I finally chuckled and took a step to the side to gaze over the lush courtyard garden.

"I apologize for being so forward, Love, but it had to be done. I couldn't let you complete what you were saying." I said and looked at her without turning my head as she came to stand next to me.

"About me saving her and two others from the rebels? Was I not supposed to say anything about that?" She questioned.

"Did you realize that she did not recognize you?" I questioned in return and she narrowed her eyes, seeing truth in my question.

"Now that you mention it, she did seem to not know me. She had seen my face that day and she even thanked me for saving her life. I expected that she would have recognized me immediately and given a more....excited reaction perhaps. Is there something that I'm missing here?"

"You caught on just as quickly as always." I complimented and looked forward seriously. "As you are aware, I maintain a high level of secrecy in many matters – including my very appearance. Things that happen in the palace are kept in the dark so further trouble can be avoided. Many at times, when the rebels or any other enemy manages to capture one of my true allies, there is a high possibility that they would be tortured to reveal information about me."

"True." Izumi stated while nodding her head slowly. "But how does that have anything to do with asking your consort about our previous meeting?"

"Soldiers and guards are strong enough to hold out during torture and those who have no way to escape self administer a special drug that kills them immediately – the enemy is left with no information about me or anything that happens in the palace. However, my consorts are weak and will obviously be unable to either endure torture or uphold loyalty by causing their own demise. As such, the lesser they know about the happenings in the palace, the better it is – it will keep them safe." I explained and noticed Izumi narrow her eyes. "They don't remember anything of that day."

"Are you telling me that....their memories were altered?"

"Yes. They were given a special medicine in their tea the following morning to forget everything that happened the previous day. They do not remember the infiltration or you saving them from the rebels." I clarified.

"Well, it seems to me that you don't really have any genuine feelings of affection towards your wives." She stated flatly. I couldn't help but chuckle at her words.

"All of them are my wives through political marriages – all for the sake of their family gaining something from me. Not even one are out of 'genuine affection', as you put it. I merely take care of them as if I am their custodian and nothing more. I am not interested in courting them or having them bear me an heir and considering any one of them as a possible Empress is the last thing from my mind." I said while narrowing my eyes at the distance. "Besides, depending on how they carry themselves and work with those in the palace who happen to be enemies behind my back, they become sacrifices for my rise to ultimate power."

"You....you would actually do something like that? Sacrifice helpless women from your harem just to ensure your place on the throne?" She asked disbelievingly.

"It is more so to ensure that I am alive, Love. But yes, I would alter my consorts' memories and do anything else required to keep my throne. And you will remember that well too. Don't give me a reason or need to put you down."

I finally faced her and noticed mild uneasiness swirling in her eyes. It wasn't unusual to see anyone afraid of me but for some odd reason, the hesitance I saw in Izumi annoyed me. I didn't want her to be afraid of me. I had only considered her as entertainment and as a pawn in my plans to subduing my enemy but oddly enough, it didn't seem to be that simple. At least not after the multiple times I had met her, spoken to her and even let my guard down in front of her.

In all these years I lived as a prince and rose to power through the darkest possible means, I never trusted anyone in the palace. When I rose to the throne, many flocked to my side in hopes of getting into my good books, receiving favors and authority by pledging their allegiance with me and, of course, obtaining expensive assets. Many marriage proposals came in hopes of gaining more than what they deserved. The consorts were initially uncomfortable being with me but always did their best to impress me so their family could be pampered by luxury.

It worked well in the beginning but when I noticed the families getting out of hand, I had them stripped of their titles and either imprisoned, banished or put to death depending on the severity of their crimes. Some who were found to be allies with rebels or spies or anything that could threaten my position, authority and order were executed in public along with every last member of their family regardless of their age and gender. People began to fear me but still insisted on trying to impress me to satisfy their greed while slithering cunningly through crevices they assumed I would overlook.

There was one time when one of my consorts father, Shuujin – a distant relative of the Royal Family – joined up with his brother and began taking control of the Eastern Provinces. I had let it pass because despite being greedy for power, the province flourished in trade and handicraft while under his governance. I had warned him to restrain himself when he began to grow even greedier and tried gaining control on the Northern Provinces as well. He didn't heed my advice and slowly began to raise a coup against my rule along with his brother and several other officials governing the two provinces. They began gathering men to fight in the coup war against me. When I got information that he had grown ties with rebels, I lost the last bit of self control.

I sent out spies to gather information on their discussions and movements so I could effectively retaliate. I waited for the day all the members of the coup gathered in the Northern Provinces' resort and went there myself to slaughter every last member there. I killed the governors, their families who had also come there, the small rebel army involved directly in the coup planning as well as the attendants of the resort. I spared no one who had broken their loyalty to me.

Shuujin beseeched me to spare his life so he could repent and serve me loyally from then on but I was no longer patient to his antics. I sliced his head clean off his shoulders and let his blood splatter on my clothes and on the ground where he had been begging me while on his knees.

I still remember that day like it was yesterday even though more than nine years have passed since then. I, the Emperor, a fifteen year old boy, stood amongst more than three dozen men and women who lay dead with their blood staining much of my clothes, my blade as well as the ground. Officials and civilians who had witnessed that day said that I was a demon in human form for I had not even the slightest expression of hesitance or remorse for slaughtering all those people. I remember hearing them also say that I looked terrifying with blood splattered and smeared across my face and staining my clothed a sickly red. The scent of all that blood I had spilt didn't wash off me for several days and everyone in the palace and in my Empire became thoroughly fearful of me even though I was a mere child.

That incident was what gave me the title 'Blood Emperor'.

Even then, I was a child in just appearance. The impeding darkness of my childhood had matured my mind far more than my body so even as a fifteen year old boy, I felt completely unaffected by the sight of blood, the thought of killing anyone who stood in my way and felt no intimidation when dealing with any member of the Royal Family or any high ranking official. I took control of everything in the palace and in my Empire with ease. I was cunning, calculating, absolutely ruthless and merciless to my enemies and took care of some of them on my own as well. But it wasn't always the best thing to do for it left me recognizable and vulnerable to infiltrations and assassination attempts. I was nearly killed by a rebel who infiltrated the palace several years ago.

That is why I began to train assassin samurai – loyal mercenaries under my direct command with not even the slightest emotion – to take care of information gathering as well as assassinations. They were mindless killing machines who would do whatever they were told to do without questioning and without feeling anything positive or negative. They were like me – they felt no remorse no matter how many people they killed.

All said and done, I didn't trust my consorts or even Soutarou and Ichirou despite them being my right hand men. They were loyal – I didn't doubt that – but I still kept them at a distance and refused to trust them a hundred percent. I trusted no one, not my siblings, not my subordinates, not my consorts – no one. And it wouldn't change in the future.

However, oddly enough, the same could not be said about Izumi. In the time that I watched her, had my men report her routine, her conversations, her behavior and met her myself, I had come to see that she was very different from my other subordinates. She was hiding something about herself, probably that of her past that I hadn't had anyone question her about yet, since records of her life before settling in Sei'an were missing and couldn't be tracked. But her straightforwardness was clearly astonishing. She didn't hold back from expressing her honest thoughts even with me, completely disregarding the fact that she could get in serious trouble. But she was confident of her skills in fighting, which actually even impressed me, and stood her ground on whatever decision she made. She didn't back down for anyone or anything.

It was for these reasons as well as for the fact that I felt unnaturally at ease around her that I chose her as my Empress. Of course, I still wanted her to be subservient to me so I made sure I gave her serious warnings every now and then. I wanted her to be cautious and loyal but not afraid of me like every other person in this poignant world was.

"Um, Your Highness? Are you going to stop staring at me anytime soon? Because it's really starting to get uncomfortable." She spoke, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I noticed that she had put some distance between us and was now watching me warily. I closed my eyes for a moment to dissipate the brief feeling of tranquillity I had settled into while being lost in thought. I couldn't allow myself to feel calm around Izumi. She was not someone I could trust despite being thoroughly straighforward– she was unexpectedly strong for a wanderer and a woman and there was no way she was entirely truthful or honest or trustworthy. She was acting as my Empress for now, only to serve as bait for Taheji and nothing else.

I knew I would have to act mildly intimate with her in the presence of others to convince them that we were truly together. But like this, while alone in the inner palace, I had no reason to show her the slightest kindness. And I had to be careful to not let my guard down around her as I had done last night – almost falling asleep while lying on her lap.

But...why couldn't I bring myself to be as guarded as I always have been now?

I narrowed my eyes as I suppressed the deep desire to reach out and cup her face, feel her soft supple skin and run my fingers through her hair, not to tease her like I always did but to feel somewhat closer to her existence.

"Your duties for today are done. You are free to do as you please for the rest of the day while remembering to keep the necessary level of secrecy." I said and turned around swiftly so I could get back to matters of my Empire.

"Wait...you mean, that's it??" She asked, making me stall in the hallway. "The life of an Empress sure is boring...thank goodness you've given me permission to secretly train. If I had to spend all day reading and doing anything in the least girly, I'm sure I would explode out of boredom. Well then, see you around, Your Royalness."

I glanced behind me as Izumi walked away while stretching her arms above her head with a hum. That was not very ladylike but she didn't seem bothered with behaving delicately. She even lifted the dress she wore almost till her mid calf so she could take longer, more powerful strides and walk faster. I watched her until she disappeared around the corner and then looked at the garden on the side.

After a moment, I closed my eyes and chuckled. It was so silly of me to be worrying about this matter so seriously. It's true I felt comfortable around Izumi but it was only because of her unexpected bluntness. She was nothing more than a pawn in my hands that I would use to attain my goal. I'm sure it was alright to enjoy her company while it lasted – after all, there was no saying how long she would survive when standing up against Taheji. Sacrifices had to be made for progress and this would just be one more of many. Hopefully though, this sacrifice would bring in success.

I was quite looking forward to how things would play out. Choosing an Empress was a big step for the Blood Emperor and was sure to receive mixed views. With Izumi being a common peasant girl, there was sure to be unrest, questioning and protests on this matter, especially from the Royal Family. I was curious to know how she would put up with all the challenges thrown her way – would she continue to be confident or would her confidence crumble under the pressure?

"Good luck, Love, and I hope you are ready for the tough trials that lay ahead of you." I said more to myself and walked out of the inner palace with another chuckle.

Izumi pov:

Blocking a punch sent at my face by Haji san, I turned three sixty degrees while lifting my leg so I could kick him across the face. As expected, he blocked and retaliated with another punch and several kicks. I cursed as one of his kicks landed painfully on the side of my torso. I kicked up my fighting grade by a notch and jumped, summersaulted and landed my heel painfully on his shoulder. He grunted and stumbled back giving me the chance to knock him off his feet. I came to hover over him and held my fist barely an inch away from his nose.

After a moment, I got off him and released my hair from the hair tie. I ran my fingers through my hair once before tying it all up once again. I sighed and reached for some water to replenish what I had lost as sweat from our intense training session.

"You're on fire today, Sweetheart." Haji san commented and came to stand next to me so he could drink some water too. "Are you still so angry at me that you want to beat me black and blue and even break my nose?"

"I am still angry at you." I hissed. "But I'm more annoyed by the fact that I've been cooped up in the inner palace with absolutely nothing to do. Even when I do leave the inner palace, I have to act like a snobbish spoilt Empress! I'm this close to going crazy here!"

Two weeks had passed dreadfully slowly since I was announced as the Blood Emperor's Empress. I rarely did anything beside walk through the hallways wearing fancy clothes and jewelry and spend time with the masked Blood Emperor during his free time. We acted like a happy couple while taking walks though the palace gardens in front of the attendants, officials and guards although it was actually very awkward for me. Much against my wishes, Ryuusei sama would hug me every now and then, caress my face and lean down to whisper words into my ear. Of course, they weren't romantic words but no one could hear what he said. They would only assume we were being romantic because I would smile and act shy – like a high school girl hopelessly in love.

My 'appointment' as Empress had got a lot of scorning from those in the palace and from governors who visited the palace to talk to Ryuusei sama about matters of the towns and provinces they governed. Some of them were fathers of the consorts in Ryuusei sama's harem and they were particularly hostile towards me when he wasn't around. They badmouthed me when I passed by and even indirectly insulted me when we exchanged greetings. Having had enough after several such meetings, I had shut them up with a bit of my smart talk.

Of course, they still went on grumbling about the matter behind my back but at least they kept their mouths zipped when I was around.

There was barely any time for me to relax and be myself because I was always followed by attendants who insisted on having me order them around for even the simplest tasks – they were treating me like I didn't know how to take care of myself. It was really annoying but I managed to put up with it by kindly refusing their help in personal matters – bathing and getting dressed. Despite the constant 'supervision' I did take the liberty to go to the Royal Library to do some reading. I often read through all types of genres so I wouldn't be suspected of being interested in one particular detail. In the afternoons, I would excuse myself and lock myself in my room and use the time away from the attendants to train – just like today.

Thankfully, I was also able to meet a few of the others from the Elite Division – Koharu included – and I was so glad that I had finally had a normal conversation with a normal person after several days since I began as the acting Empress.

There was also what I titled 'Empress-training'. Soutarou san escorted me to Ryuusei sama's harm thrice a week to practice royal etiquette – how I'm supposed to sit, talk, walk and even treat Ryuusei sama. The eldest attendant and caretaker of the harem guided me though most of these things but it didn't spare me from having to hear whines and complains from the consorts about how they should have been the ones in my place.

"You know, you're holding out pretty well though." Haji san commented with a laugh, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"That's not the point though, is it?" I muttered and turned to face him. "When am I going to meet this Taheji guy anyway? He's the reason I'm going though this torture so when am I going to get to see him?"

"Slow down there, Sweetheart. I'm still hoping that you never have to meet him. He's a dangerous guy and the farther away you are from him, the better it will be for you. Trust me." He said while holding his hands up in defense.

"Well sorry to disappoint you but I'm not going to wait for long for something to happen. That guy better turn up soon or I'm going to tell Ryuusei sama that I'm going to quit being his acting Empress." I stated curtly and walked out of the training hall and to my room so I could get changed into, unfortunately, Empress attire.

When I had dolled myself up as much as I possibly could stand, I walked out of my room to be greeted by my attendants. I closed my eyes momentarily with an exasperated sigh and headed down the hallway to find something to do to pass the time. I decided to walk through the cherry blossom gardens of the Royal palace – the place where I had been forced into becoming the Empress several days ago. However, just before I could step out of the palace hallways, I was stopped by another attendant calling out to me.

"Empress Izumi." He said and got down on one knee while bowing his head in deep respect. "Prince Taheji has arrived at the Royal Palace and he had requested an audience with you along with His Highness the Blood Emperor."

"Oh? Prince Taheji is finally here to greet me, huh? Now we're talking." My lips twitched and I narrowed my eyes just a bit while turning to face him completely. "Lead me to him."

My personal attendants excused themselves as I was escorted to one of the meeting rooms beside the throne room. My arrival was announced and the doors were slid open so I could step in. As I walked in, my head held high, I saw Ryuusei sama sitting at the head of the low height meeting table and a man who seemed to be in his early thirties sitting on his left two seats away. Unlike Ryuusei sama, this guy had long brown hair and sinister hazel eyes. His gaze was sharp as he watched me walk around the table and take my seat on Ryuusei sama's right.

"Empress Izumi....the one I've heard so much about." He spoke when I was seated, his voice low, authoritative and as sinister as his gaze. "It is such an honor to finally meet you and I am glad that my little brother finally decided to settle down."

"It is an honor to meet you as well, Prince Taheji." I said, particularly stressing on the word 'prince'. I neither bowed nor broke eye contact with him. He twitched at that and smirked slightly, not seeming to be annoyed in the least.

"I see being a commoner has failed to teach you proper etiquette." He mused. "Though it is odd that you carry yourself with so much pride despite being of such lowly birth."

I merely laughed at his comment and it caused him to frown slightly. He looked a little intimidating at the moment but it wasn't enough to ruffle my confidence. I did, however, glance at Ryuusei sama to make sure he wasn't bothered by me being so straightforward and brash. I could see the amused glint in his eyes and it was more than enough encouragement for me to keep going.

"Your words are rather farfetched, Prince Taheji. I believe it does not matter whether one is of common birth or of royal birth to be proud of oneself and be worthy enough to stand over those who think they deserve the royal treatment. If it was merely my birth that Ryuu sama was concerned of, he wouldn't have chosen me to be his Empress, now would he?"

"Perhaps. But it is impossible for a simple country woman to understand the complexities of an Empire's governance. You are clearly lacking and won't be useful in any way to Little Brother." He commented, the building irritation apparent in his tone.

"My my, you're quite a crude person, aren't you, Prince Taheji?" I mused with an amused smile. "But no matter what you say, I am his Empress now and I will take full responsibility."

"You should learn to hold your tongue, you insolent...!"

"I think that's enough of this lively conversation." Ryuusei sama interrupted. Prince Taheji tensed for a moment but settled back comfortably in his seat, but not without sparing me a sharp glare.

"I am so glad to see that I have you as an ally, Taheji. In these dark times when I have no one I can trust, I feel at ease to see you so concerned for not just me but for my Empire." Ryuusei sama continued and I did my best to hold back a smile. "And to ease your worries, Taheji, Izumi is a capable woman. She is quick to understand matters and has always taken a good decision that better my Empire. I'm sure she will be a worthy Empress and will lead us to great success."

"You put too much faith in commoners, Little Brother. But it is your decision so you cannot blame me for not warning you when your Empire falls to the ground." Prince Taheji said with a shrug and took a sip of his tea.

"Are you saying that problems will arise soon? What is it that will bring my Empire to the ground?" Ryuusei sama asked with narrow eyes, a challenging hint in his voice.

"A-ah, I didn't mean something bad will happen, Ryuusei. I seem to have conveyed my thoughts in the wrong way – I merely wished to say that she could cause problems in the near future." Prince Taheji corrected with a nervous laugh.

I noticed that he said 'Ryuusei' instead of 'Little Brother' – he had tried to belittle Ryuusei sama by calling him 'Little Brother' all this time but used his name respectfully when challenged. Of course, despite being a blood relative, he was supposed to be calling Ryuusei sama as 'Your Highness' and nothing else. I suppose Ryuusei sama was leaving him be for now – after all, I was made Empress to help him put down Prince Taheji. It wouldn't be long now that his plans were most definitely in progress.

"You should watch your words, Prince Taheji. Ryuu sama isn't one to allow anyone around him to mock him so easily." I commented earning another glare from him.

"Izumi, Love, I believe my brother has had the privilege of talking to you for more than enough time. You may retire to the Inner Palace and relax." Ryuusei sama said and reached out to caress my cheek with the back of his fingers. "Besides, I feel much too unsettled having you seen for longer than necessary by a man that's not me. Please cease this fire of possessiveness in my heart from growing beyond my control."

I resisted from raising a brow at the rather poetic way he expressed his affection to me. Why was he acting so romantic all of a sudden? It was even more than what we acted while going on relaxing walks together. It was probably extra drama in front of Prince Taheji but I found it both irksome and unsettling because my heart seemed to pick up speed just a bit in embarrassment and fluster.

That was so unlike me.

Ignoring the momentary effect his words had on me, I smiled to accentuate the rosy coloring of my cheeks and looked to the side acting shy. "You tease, Your Highness. But I will take up your suggestion and turn in for the evening."

I stood up and then looked down at Prince Taheji with a friendly yet mocking smile. "Please enjoy your stay, Prince Taheji. Although I hope you will be a little kinder to those you speak to and not judge them for what they appear to be. It's not gentlemanly to hurt people's feelings with crude words."

Holding back a snicker at the absolutely furious expression Prince Taheki had on his face, I walked out of the meeting room confidently.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aww! It looks like Ryuusei's stone heart is getting soft around Izumi >:3 Is the Blood Emperor falling in loooovvee??? XD

Wasn't the meeting with Prince Taheji interesting? He's definitely not a very nice person, is he? He was so mean to Izumi and made no effort in hiding his ego or arrogance or whatever. But, of course, our Izumi isn't one to sit back and just listen to his rude comments. She's given him a piece of her mind and left him utterly bewildered! XD You go girl!

And what was that moment of fluster, Izumi? >w> Are you going soft too??

Lol, enough of me ranting here! Tell me YOUR thoughts, my awesome readers! How was the chapter? Did you enjoy it? WHat do you think of the progress??

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:D