Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Vijayanagara Empire.

The aftereffects of the civil war were still being felt in the Empire. Harsha was handling it under the guidance of the Butler of the Emperor and the Patriarch of Nayakas.

The Emperor was still recovering from the injuries. Harsha had a faint feeling that the Emperor was looking to step down as soon as possible. He wanted a competent heir to take the throne as quickly as possible so he could retire from being the Emperor.

'Am I being scammed?' He thought as he was going through the documents.

The Butler teaching methods were not beginner-friendly, to say the least. The old man, contrary to his feeble look, was a master in his field of management. His experience was unmatched.

Harsha had his troubles during the first few days but managed to pull through with guidance.

The Butler, Vasudeva, was tasked with teaching him about management of the Empire's affairs. Harsha managed to grasp the details very quickly. It did exhaust his mind a bit.

He liked the challenge of management, but despite this, he found that they were not fully efficient. The Empire system was not a well-oiled machine and needed a lot of reforms.

The old man, Rudra Simha Nayaka, was tasked with guiding him through the political scenario in the Empire and getting acquainted with the etiquette to follow with foreigners and other kingdom delegations.

He had a faint idea of the political scene, but the in-depth information did open up his horizons on the intricacies of the political sphere of a nation. It was complex. He had to admit that managing political relations would be a daunting task in the future.

He was regent currently. He was doing governing tasks in the absence of the Emperor. He was yet to be coronated as the Emperor of Vijayanagara.

He remembered the conversation that he had with the old patriarch of the Nayakas.

"Why did you spare the Emperor?" he asked with a worried expression.

Harsha tilted his head in confusion. "He gave up the throne."

Rudra Simha sighed deeply and glanced at him.

"The Emperor holds a lot of influence with the people. There will be questions about why the Emperor gave up the throne despite being in perfect health."

Rudra continued with a hint of disappointment.

"The Emperor's influence on the military is more massive than you think. He has not lost a battle since his coronation. If the Emperor goes back on his word and begins to want the throne again. What will you do?."

Harsha fell silent. He just realized that he had left a ticking bomb alive. A mistake that he shouldn't have made.

He did account for the Emperor going back on his word, but what he didn't account for was the insane sphere of influence he held in his palms. Harsha knew about the military, but he failed to take the people into account since he was too focused on the military.

The citizens made the Empire. They were a cornerstone of the Empire. There would be riots if he didn't tread carefully.

Harsha cursed. "What should I do?"

Rudra smiled.

"The Emperor wouldn't change his mind so soon. Use this opportunity wisely and solve it. Let this be a remainder for the consequences of your actions. You must figure it out yourself. I will step in to help if you can't do it in the end."

Harsha stayed silent. Gears turned in his mind, looking for solutions to reduce the influence of the Emperor.

Rudra's smiled warmly as he saw Harsha thinking deeply for the solution. He believed that Harsha would find the solution for this problem quickly.

Meanwhile, other things happened in the Empire during this time.

Alfonso had returned to the royal palace.

Alfonso's mother, Luisa de Castro, was found in the guest house in the capital. She was apparently transferred by Lakshmi to keep her out of the fighting in the Royal Palace.

Alfonso thanked Harsha a lot for protecting his mother. He didn't reveal that Lakshmi never intended to harm his mother. He just held on to the information to keep Alfonso in his favor.

Luisa was spending her time mostly taking care of the Emperor.

Despite her dislike, she mourned the death of the Empress and Concubine Rani Jyothi Lakshmi. She also participated in their last rites.

Parvati Nair and Gopala Sastri were executed by Harsha, and their family elders were arrested for assisting Lakshmi. Their family influence took a huge hit from the war, and with the action by Harsha, they were left with nothing in their region.

On Bhairava's orders, Asokan Nair had given his undying support to Harsha. Bhairava proved to be a good investment for Harsha. The man relinquished his right to the throne publicly along with Alfonso, making Harsha the only one with the claim for the throne.

Bhairava's faction merged into Harsha's faction, further improving his sphere of influence. He still wasn't sure about his loyalty. He put surveillance using Karna on the Cochin faction members.

The Reddy family assets sole claimant alive was Mithun Reddy, the illegitimate son of Raghav Reddy.

Raghav Reddy held on to a lot of land and assets that were seized by Nayakas and taken over by Mithun during the debt trap. Mithun gladly took control of the Reddy Family assets but decided to use them for the business endeavors.

Mithun heavily invested the wealth seized to expand his business and the already existing spy network of Harsha. The void left by the merchant unions was quickly filled in by Mithun and the neutral faction nobles taking advantage.

The patwardhans were getting help from Viswa's efficient planning for their expansion. The vacuum left by the deaths of many Imperial faction and Cochin faction nobles allowed the Patwardhans to gain land and influence in the region.

They regained their position as a major player in the region. The sphere of influence flourished greatly under Viswa.

Viswa also took charge to teach the heir of Patwardhans and pass on some knowledge.

There were other major decisions yet to be tackled by Harsha. More than half of the Royal Council members died in the Civil War.

This was just the start of his journey.

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