The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Head Sage Yue shook his head despondently and inclined his head in a slight bow towards King Jaren and Queen Carolina.

"Thank you," he said gratefully. "I will probably be requesting your help to deal with the matter in the near future."

King Jaren also shook his head and gathered his thoughts. "No need to thank me, Head Sage Yue. At the end of the day, it is for Raven's sake that I offer you my support. I'm happy to help with whatever my children need," he said.

Even if King Jaren didn't say it, Head Sage Yue knew perfectly well that it was only because of Raven that he could now get the support he needed from the Emerald Kingdom as well as the Sapphire Kingdom – without Raven, none of this would even be possible.

It also made him realise the bitter truth and all shadows of niggling doubts that had been plaguing him for several months now seemed to be settled fully and finally all of a sudden. More than anything else, Head Sage Yue wanted to go back in time, back to the past – and give several nice, solid whacks to his past self for failing to see what was right under his nose.

Raven – this dear child – was the star of disaster for the Pearl Kingdom? What utter rubbish! Wasn't it because of this child Raven – his own son – that he was now on speaking (and even friendly) terms with the powerful Emerald Kingdom and the Sapphire Kingdom? Was it not because of this so called star of disaster that King Jaren and Queen Carolina were willing to help the Pearl Kingdom? If it hadn't been for Raven, would King Jaren even spare a glance at the Pearl Kingdom other than buying land as and when the Pearl Kingdom offered them? Who was the real star of disaster here – the young Raven, who had not done anything in his short life that could possibly harm the Pearl Kingdom (quite the contrary, in fact) – or the people of the Moon Temple and the Pearl Kingdom who had conspired to betray their own country for the sake of profit and falsely condemned an innocent little baby by naming him the star of disaster?

Once again, Head Sage Yue remembered how his mother had told him again and again that he should not abandon his new born son, and that he would regret it later, regardless of what fate the boy chose. She had told him repeatedly that the child was born to be great – whether he became a hero loved by all or a villain whose name struck fear in everyone's hearts – that was something which would be decided later based on external factor in the child's life – but in either case, he would definitely become a great, powerful man who would wield great influence on all five kingdoms. Back then, Head Sage Yue had only thought that such a powerful abomination of a child must be exterminated immediately.

And now he regretted it. He regretted it more than anything else in his life. Fortunately for him, Raven was still a young child – and there was still scope for Head Sage Yue to make amends. And seeing how well loved and well regarded Raven was in the other kingdoms, Head Sage Yue could only curse himself for being utterly blind in the past, and try to rectify the situation as he went along. And thankfully, Raven was a kind child and he had not rejected Head Sage Yue's attempts completely. It was understandable that the boy, and those who protected him fiercely, were still rather wary of Head Sage Yue – but he believed that he would be able to build some trust and things would be better in the future. This was why he was all too happy to offer his help to Raven and Queen Carolina right now in dealing with the cursed living ghost corpse that had turned up from heaven knows where.

Cooperation and goodwill could never be one-sided after all.

Head Sage Yue turned to Raven and bowed slightly. "Thank you, Raven. I am very grateful," he said gently.

Raven was stunned for a moment, but then he gathered himself quickly and nodded.

Head Sage Yue felt a wisp of paternal pride float up in his mind. "I promise that I will make amends for the past wrongs that you have suffered at my hands and from the Moon Temple as well as the Pearl Kingdom until now, son. I hope you will be able to forgive me in the future when I have earned it," he said in a quiet but determined voice.

Throat too tight to speak, Raven could only nod. Mana squeezed his hand in support.

"All right, then, that's settled now," King Jaren said. "Head Sage Yue will investigate matters once he is back in the Pearl Kingdom, and we will take things forward accordingly."

"Indeed," Queen Carolina said. "We do want to maintain the peaceful times for as long as possible – but if the Amber Kingdom is taking unwarranted liberties with any of our kingdoms, we can certainly agree to cooperate."

"That would be agreeable to us as well," King Corvus said, stroking his chin. "In fact, for our little Raven's sake, we would be amenable to helping the Pearl Kingdom as well."

Head Sage Yue's head whipped around so fast that he nearly gave himself a whiplash. He stared at King Corvus in utter shock, completely unable to believe his ears.

King Corvus merely had a small smirk on his face, and his dark eyes were glowing with a sharp light.

Head Sage Yue turned to Crown Princess Pica and General Aquila – neither of them seemed too surprised. General Aquila looked rather indifferent, and Crown Princess Pica merely shrugged carelessly. Her entire demeanour seemed to say that she could afford to be generous now that she had her beloved Aqi by her side and that she was getting along well with her eldest son Raven – and that she couldn't even be bothered to dig up her past animosity and enmity with Head Sage Yue.

A complicated and not entirely pleasant feeling ran through Head Sage Yue. But then, at the end of the day, he had to think on a bigger scale – he had to choose the best option for the continued existence and welfare of the people of the Pearl Kingdom – he didn't want his Pearl Kingdom to become the first victim of the avaricious ambitions of the Amber Kingdom! And for that, even he had to shake hands with the people of the Obsidian Kingdom – who were even wiling to lend him a helping hand despite the terrible history between them, all for the sake of his son Raven – he would do so in a heartbeat. After all, Head Sage Yue's final responsibility went beyond the Moon Temple and extended to the Pearl Kingdom as well. And especially in this case, where the breach seemed to have happened because of certain forces within the Moon Temple itself rather than from the side of his cousin, the current puppet king of the Pearl Kingdom, who was barely more than a nominal figurehead.

"Thank you," Head Sage Yue said to King Corvus. "Your offer is highly appreciated."

King Corvus smirked. The adults fell silent for a while.

"Is there anything else we need to discuss right now?" Mana asked. "Raven and I need to check on our own outfits for the evening, and we would also want to help Big Brother Jules and Big Sister Bella with theirs."

"Mommy! Blue and silver dress for today?" Azar asked eagerly. He jumped from King Jaren's shoulder and straight into Mana's arms, nuzzling her face with his small head.

"Yes, little one," Mana said, stroking his smooth, dark scales.

The blue and silver outfit was one of the favourites of Azar – in fact, when the complete outfit had been sent to them – matching, coordinated ones for Mana, Raven and Azar, the little dragon had been so happy that he had danced around in joy. The top three outfits that were really, really loved by Azar were the pearlescent green outfits with rainbow trims that they had already worn in the first banquet of the Emerald Kingdom a few days ago, the blue and silver set that they were supposed to wear today, and the black and gold that was reserved for the first banquet in the Obsidian Kingdom. For Azar, clearly – the shinier and more sparkly an outfit was, the more he liked it. And King Corvus had been very generous in showering the little dragon with lots of sparkling jewellery in an effort to win him over.. While Azar still didn't fully trust or like his dear Daddy's crafty grandfather – at least he had softened up a bit seeing all the treasures he was being given, and as long as King Corvus didn't harbour any malicious intentions towards Raven and Mana or King Jaren or Jules or Bella – Azar wouldn't kick up a fuss about him.