The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The arrangements made for the guests in the Sapphire Kingdom did not lose out to the luxury of the Emerald Kingdom. Clearly Crown Prince Jules of the Emerald Kingdom had a huge role to play in this event – the representatives of the other kingdoms realised quickly (and much to their envy). The people of the Sapphire Kingdom were quite smug about it, naturally. They adored their own Crown Princess Bella, and they loved how Crown Prince Jules of the Emerald Kingdom cherished their precious Crown Princess Bella so much. Even Princess Mana of the Emerald Kingdom and Prince Raven of the Obsidian Kingdom had come to help out so many times – it was the perfect collaboration.

King Corvus, Crown Princess Pica and General Aquila were amazed by the goodwill towards the Obsidian Kingdom that had been generated by their little Raven all by himself. It was almost impossible to believe, but they couldn't deny the results that they were seeing with their own eyes. Especially King Corvus and Crown Princess Pica, who could never have imagined how the one prince they had ignored and thought that he wouldn't really amount to anything (and the one King Corvus thought was the child of the prophecy but utterly lacking in the abilities promised by the prophecy) – had become such an influential and popular person. The Emerald Kingdom and its citizens' adoration of Prince Raven of the Obsidian Kingdom was understandable, to an extent – after all, the people of the Emerald Kingdom were rather open-hearted, just like their reigning monarch King Jaren, and plus, Raven had actually saved their beloved Princess Mana from certain death, and then had gone on to become her fiancé. It was natural that there would be a lot of goodwill and affection towards Raven in the Emerald Kingdom.

The Sapphire Kingdom, however, was different. Raven wasn't directly related to their Crown Princess Bella, nor had he come in contact with the people of the Sapphire Kingdom very often. Yes, he was part of the extremely talented group of children at IMARI who had already made such amazing inventions – but that couldn't be the only reason for Raven to be so popular, right? Even if Queen Carolina and Crown Princess Bella were really fond of Raven – his only connection to them was through Jules and Mana.

However, it wasn't long before they found out how much this group of children had contributed to the development of the Sapphire Kingdom – and also why the Sapphire Kingdom suddenly appeared to be almost as prosperous as the Emerald Kingdom.

It wasn't that the Sapphire Kingdom had ever been a poor nation – after the Emerald Kingdom, the Sapphire Kingdom was the second most prosperous one, and Queen Carolina was an excellent monarch. They were also more closed off and more secure than the Emerald Kingdom, and they took great pride in their origins and their country and their traditions. It was a testament to the talents of the young ones that they had become so popular in this country.

It wasn't only the people of the Obsidian Kingdom who were so shocked by how highly regarded Raven and Mana were in the Sapphire Kingdom – Head Sage Yue and the people of the Pearl Kingdom were even more shocked! And as for King Orion, Crown Prince Mars, Princess Astra and the others of the Amber Kingdom, they were so stunned that they could hardly believe their eyes and ears. All of them had expected Crown Prince Jules to be really popular in the conservative and old fashioned Sapphire Kingdom – after all, they had to regard him highly to accept him as the royal son in law – but to admire Mana and Raven to this extent – that was completely unbelievable!

Head Sage Yue was very proud of his son, and by now, he was fully determined to make Raven acknowledge him as his father properly. Such a talented, well regarded child – no matter how stupid Head Sage Yue had been in the past, he couldn't possibly continue to keep his eyes closed in the future! Head Sage Yue was filled with remorse – he should have listened to his mother back then instead of the orders passed down in the Moon Temple – if he had listened to his mother…if only he had listened to his mother – wouldn't he be the one basking in the glory of his son's achievements at this moment, instead of King Jaren? Even General Aquila, who hadn't even been around for ten years, seemed to have more of a claim on Raven's affections than his own biological father!

And Head Sage Yue would never admit it in front of anyone, but he felt a slight sting in his heart when he saw General Aquila, Crown Princess Pica, Raven and Rook chatting happily with each other. If Head Sage Yue had had the sense to listen to his own mother back then, if he had listened to his own heart back then – if only he had protected his wife and child back then instead of giving in to the sanctimonious compunctions of the Moon Temple and his own misplaced self righteousness – wouldn't he be standing next to Pica right now with Raven and perhaps another child of himself and of Pica…? And wouldn't Aqi have continued to remain a good friend of himself and Pica even now, instead of being a couple? Crown Princess Pica's third husband – Minister Naja – had never entered Head Sage Yue's eyes; he had always been aware that Crown Princess Pica had no regard for the lowly snake like man – but General Aquila was a completely different matter. Head Sage Yue could clearly see the deep affection that both Crown Princess Pica and Raven had for the big man, and he could also see that General Aquila genuinely cared for both Crown Princess Pica as well as Raven. It was clear for everyone who saw their interactions that General Aquila loved Raven as much as he loved his own son Rook, despite there being no blood connection between the two. Head Sage Yue remembered how fondly General Aquila had spoken about the infant Raven from his memories and how he had looked after the baby – and from Raven's instinctive reaction to General Aquila, it was clear that even as a baby that was barely two years old, General Aquila's image and impression had been saved in Raven's memory as a loving father. Head Sage Yue could also see that General Aquila had become a close friend of King Jaren and the two of them were often seen together these days, and he had also heard rumours that General Aquila was planning to stay with the royal family of the Emerald Kingdom for some time after all the banquets were over.

It filled Head Sage Yue's heart with envy – and yet he had no one to blame but himself, he had finally realised. If he could turn back time, he would go back to the time of Raven's birth over twelve years ago and kick some sense into his younger self, and make himself listen to his mother's words, and he would use all his efforts to protect Crown Princess Pica and their new born son, no matter what the cost. Even if he lost his position at the Moon Temple – Head Sage Yue would have been able to gain it back later, because his own son Raven – his own flesh and blood – was the acknowledged master of the holy sceptre now!

It was too late for regrets, though, so Head Sage Yue could only console himself and make plans for the future. From now on, he would leave no stones unturned in winning over Raven and Mana's affection and respect, and he would protect the two children and their baby dragon at all costs – be it from external enemies or be it from within the Moon Temple itself. Head Sage Yue was determined to put Raven on the throne of the Pearl Kingdom – after all, Crown Princess Pica had other children who could take the throne after her – but he only had this one son, and it wasn't likely that he would ever have another child. Head Sage Yue had lost his interest in romance and marriage a long time ago, so it was highly unlikely that he would ever have a wife again, and without a wife, how would he have another child? So Raven was all he had, and as far as passing of his genes was concerned – Raven was quite a good seedling. Just look how much he had achieved with a little nurturing.

While Head Sage Yue's thoughts went in a positive direction, King Orion's thoughts were diametrically opposite.. The more he looked at Princess Mana of the Emerald Kingdom and her achievements and how well regarded she was in the Sapphire Kingdom, the more dissatisfied he became with Princess Astra of the Emerald Kingdom that was engaged with his own son. Mars was the Crown Prince of the Amber Kingdom, shouldn't King Jaren have offered the more superior daughter to Mars? If Mars had been engaged to Mana, wouldn't Mars be currently enjoying all the praise and goodwill and admiration being collected by that half blood Raven?! King Orion was reconciled with this – and he was determined to do something about it!