Princess Fighter: Search for the Throne

XLVII

Although Chandragarh is smaller than Sapsindhu in terms of population, the vast area under the regime is similar in size to its neighbors and hence more of a sore point stuck in King Amrendra's throat. Even natural resources are far more abundant in Chandragarh, making it an almost independent country, if necessary.

Himprayag, also known as the military state, is a much smaller country in population size and economy when compared to Chandragarh and Sapsindhu. Located in the highest mountains in the region, it is a country with harsh weather conditions and relies on its neighbors even for food and daily necessities.

The country is located close to Sapsindhu but enjoys favorable trade relations with all the countries in the neighboring region.

The only thing that is very rich in Himprayag is iron ore. They extract this mineral and use it to make the best weapons and many items such as nails, horse hooves, axles, and more.

In addition to selling these items, the state sells its military training programs and modules in exchange for the essential items they acquire from those countries.

Himprayag had the strongest army, made up of men and women who were trained because they could barely walk. Almost all families have at least one registered member per generation.

They are also known to have the best research and development teams when it comes to weapons manufacturing and development. There are rumors about them having developed a kind of powder that can cause havoc if packaged and burned well.

Since Himprayag relies heavily on the import-export business, their political stance is completely neutral. They are not friends or enemies of anyone. As long as the trading relationship is going well, they are satisfied and have no further ambitions.

The current king, King Indraditya had a daughter, Ahilya from his official queen and a son, Mithilesh from his favorite concubine.

Ahilya is currently an army commander and is constantly fighting with her siblings in the race for the throne. Mithilesh was not a good soldier but a great strategist.

According to him, the battle was not won on the battlefield but in the palace. The king did not care about this power struggle between his sons.

According to him, it was the strongest survival. He will give the crown to whoever eventually emerges victorious.

King Indraditya was very shrewd and business-minded. The king believed that there were many ways to have dominance in a region.

Politics is just one of them. Since the entire region was already dependent on the Himprayag for their weapons supply, this small country had enough power to flex, if needed.

But the current king was not satisfied with just complacency. He has a vision to reduce dependence on his military and expand into the financial sector as well.

Because, they were basically military countries, financial knowledge was not their expertise from the start. On the advice of Rudradev, his strategy and foreign minister, he decided to go down this path.

Recently, a, they started to set up lending institutions in different countries with very attractive lending rates for medium and large businesses and now want to enter the retail sector by offering many profitable new services such as currency exchange services to high income individuals.

Rudradev, though a bona fide citizen of Himprayag, was originally a descendant of Abhaidev, the longtime minister in the council of King Chandranarayan who had been expelled.

Later, he established a highly successful foreign diplomatic channel for the first queen, Rani Damyanti after the coup.

Under Devyani's direction, Abhaidev has placed his son in the small, almost barren country of Himprayag while he serves at the side of his young, inexperienced queen until his last breath.

Rudradev is the most outstanding man today in this family of highly intelligent men. Although he has never been to Chandragarh in his entire life, he has heard all about his remarkable ancestors and his success stories through his family.

In the corner of his heart, he had the desire to seize the position and confirm his name as the smartest and smartest man in their family history. If everything went according to plan, he should be able to do it without a hitch.

Vayuprastha is another neighboring country that completes the country quadrant in this region. Geographically, the distance is the same as Chandragarh and Sapsindhu. Although a small country, the tropical conditions of Vayuprastha make it a hot tourist destination all year round.

The state monarchy has been smart enough to realize that from the start and has made all possible efforts to turn it into the most desirable holiday destination for all economic classes across the country.

The economic policy of the country has also been established with the motto of hospitality. They are a peaceful country and love to have fun.

King Shaligram had many wives and children through them. Monarchy is just for show. Vayuprastha is like a hotel franchise owner, aiming to get maximum profit.

Towards the end of the lesson on the first day itself, Mriga's head was ready to slip off his neck. This was even though Shaurya nudged him many times.

Political science was not his forte even in Gurukul and now his mother is trying to get him to learn not only the genealogy of families from different kingdoms but also their geography, science, and culture.

He wanted to get up in the middle of the road and tell his mother that he would rather go through danger on the training hill or practice archery for hours in the sun without even squeaking.

...----------------...

But he did not dare to interrupt his mother while she was in this avatar.

In his eyes, Bela was louder and more terrifying than Guruji Prithvi, who was the scariest among them all and hence had been following the lesson in silence these past few hours.

"Just get up and drink a glass of water. You've been asleep for the last five minutes" Shaurya whispered urgently in his ear.

But Mriga was too tired and brushed off his face with his palm as if he was an annoying fly that flew near his ear. He looked at her eyes that were almost back in their sockets from sleeping and pinching her forearms.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you?" he jumped in pain and shouted, forgetting his surroundings.

Shaurya did not bother to look at it and stared firmly at the scroll he had recorded all along while Bela was talking.

"Go and swim in the river and come back in ten minutes" Bela said in an unreasonable voice.

Mriga swallowed his protest down his throat and got up. The river bank was at least fifteen minutes away, one side. To leave and return within the allotted time, it was almost impossible for anyone. But he said nothing and ran out of the yard.

"I thought you were too loud to her" a soft voice came from inside the house.

Bela twisted her neck to see her husband standing on the steps connecting the yard with the inside of the house.

"I'm just trying to train him. He needs to ignore his laziness and satisfaction. He is not a child anymore" Bela replied, a touch of self-defense.

Shaurya feels that he must leave the place before he finds himself in the middle of a marital dispute. Muttering her desire to go to the restroom, she excused herself without making eye contact with any of them.

Not that one of them recorded it in the middle of their conversation.

"Don't compare him to that guy. He seems to have been trained before. My daughter is not inferior to anyone but she needs to be evaluated with the same parameters. Rather unfairly," a light rebuke sounded in Raghu's normally quiet voice.

"Adyl? Are you really naive to think that the world is fair? Just by being happy and unaware of this cocoon life we live, do you think it is heaven out there? Our daughter needs to be tough and taught survival skills for her to be ready to face the jungle called life. We do not know what kind of future awaits him, "he said, his chest heaving with unnamed emotions.

Bela is not easily angered or expresses her emotions with concrete words, but over the past few days, there has been unusual aggression and a touch of fear in her personality that plagues Raghu.

He had no idea why he had arrived late or left so early in the morning, but he was sure it had something to do with his past, which seemed to have caught up with him.

She was fine with the choice she made for herself because it was her life, but she would not stand up and watch her daughter bear any burden that bothered or affected her.

Bela sat down crouching and pressed the heels of her hands into her tired eyes. He wanted to stop Raghu and try to explain the situation without giving the details but he knew he could not. Better he know as little as possible.

The same goes for Mriga. In his head, he was ready to bear the burden of their gloom and aggravation, but had forgotten that it was not an easy thing to do.

Bela has not been able to sleep well since Prithvi's first visit and has deteriorated in recent days. The more he needed to keep a rational mind, the more agitated he seemed.

Initially, when Prithvi comes to him with a proposal to train Shaurya, his heart soars thinking of feeling a bit of his past. But as the stakes continue to rise, everything changes.

He had forgotten that along with the adrenaline, there appeared many other things that had always been the companion of spies.

He may be able to project a confident personality in front of everyone, but doubts come ambushing him once he lets self-control slip.

He questioned his abilities, his thought process, his decision-making skills and they had not even started the task yet!

...****************...

Mriga quietly moved away from the outer wall and started walking back to the river. In a hurry to follow his mother's instructions, he ran barefoot and only realized it when a sharp stone pierced the soles of his feet.

Trickering back, he sees Shaurya walking out of the house and about to enter when he hears his parents arguing. The intensity in their voices surprised him more than the conversation itself.

"I'll do better next to avoid a disappointing mama and a worried father," he swore to himself calmly as he turned around and returned.

The stone and thorns did not catch his attention this time.

...----------------...

Prithvi entered the room where Rani Samyukta had waited patiently and immediately apologized.

"Greetings to the Queen! I'm really sorry for keeping you waiting. I just came back this morning and it turned out that time was going faster than me today" he said.

Prithvi takes a detour to find the sketch artist he used to hire to do his work. By the time he finished giving the description to the person, he was late for the appointment with the queen.

He waved his hand indicating that he was unhappy and gestured for him to sit down.

Thankfully for her, Rani Samyukta was never a good person to stand on ceremony. Without waiting, he immediately dove into all the happenings of the past few days. He held nothing back but conjectures and theories swirling around in his mind but he had no proof yet.

"So, how much do you trust these former spies and new trainees?" the queen asked him to refer to Bela and Shaurya.

He smiled back stiffly and said, "I will entrust one of them with my most precious item. You don't have to worry about their abilities."

He did not say anything to refute his words and stared pensively at the room that resembled a bunker. This room technically should not exist according to the design of the structure.

One of the most frequented places in the capital, this five-story building has a lot of customers going in and out, no one is aware of the fact that the most important person in the country is currently in a meeting right under their feet.

"I .. I wonder if under the current circumstances, we should delay the Queen's election contest," Prithvi spoke with an uncharacteristic hesitancy.

But even before she finished asking, the queen shook her head in a negative manner.

"Everything will go on as usual. It's very important for us to continue to do things as planned and I want you to be at the forefront of the selection as we've discussed before" he said.

Prithvi nodded stiffly and lowered his head.

Saying goodbye to her, she exited the door that opened into the rundown hallway which further opened into the street behind the brothel.

Rani Samyukta waited for a while after she came out before pressing a lever that opened a gap in one of the walls. The dark and damp tunnel echoed his hasty footsteps as he quickly traveled a long distance to his private room from there.

Indrani was waiting for him as he stepped out of his room. Finding the queen sweating, he looked at her, asking. Despite the cold weather, his muslin saree looked shabby and damp, as if he had just run a marathon.

"Are you secretly practicing in your room?" he asked Rani Samyukta.

Knowing his best friend, Indrani did not forget him. The queen gave him a dazed nod while her gaze focused on the response from the king of Sapsindhu that Indrani had handed to him the moment he came out.

King Amrendra expressed his disappointment at the rejection of his son's proposal. She further wrote that it would be in Chandragarh's best interest if the queen would reconsider the proposal at a later date. He hopes the people of Chandragarh do not regret the rejection of such a lucrative alliance.

"Favorable alliance, I a**!" How dare he send me a letter like that? Maybe I was too polite to her in the past. After the last defense meeting, was vigilance raised at the border and the port?" Rani Samyukta asked him.

Indrani grinned at her reaction. Only at the most troublesome moments will Samyukta let his old upbringing show up for a while before pushing him back under a layer of calm that is suitable for a queen.

Holding his personal thoughts, he confirmed that the queen's orders had been carried out with top priority.

"Good! Now gather the chamber of commerce. I'll make them all happy today" he ordered.

"Why does that sound unpleasant?" ask Indrani back.

"Well, it's time to give the king a little taste of Chandragarh's invisible muscles. Starting at midnight tonight, the price of all goods exported to Saptsindhu will be raised by 20%, half of which will go to producers and the other half to the queen's Kingdom" he said.

Although Indrani thought that it was the best way to retaliate, Rani Samyukta was never the one to take revenge or show such a confrontational attitude. He knew that this would definitely make the king of Saptsindhu even more upset and what the consequences would be!

...****************...

South Zilla

"There is a letter coming for you," the servant came and handed it to Vindhya's servant and withdrew politely.

It was still morning and Vindhya prepared for her sword fighting session with Yash.

"It's from Vidyut's brother," said the old maid excitedly.

Vindhya stopped tying the string of her sideways dress and took the letter from her wrinkled hands.

With a joyful smile, he tore it apart and started reading it. After a few minutes after the letter, he frowned and pursed his lips sadly.

"Didn't I have convinced her of Yash's suitability the last time they met? Then why would he ask me not to get too attached to the idea of this alliance?" he muttered to himself.