The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

Azar was so enamoured with the love soup that he wanted to swim in a tub of it. He flew around making cutesy faces at everyone until they gave in. Mana, Jules and Raven had made a huge vat of the soup, so it wasn't too difficult to find a utensil big enough to fit Azar and fill it up with the love soup for the little dragon to dive into.

Of course, Mana and Raven had thoroughly washed Azar before allowing him to jump into the soup – he was just a baby, after all, and they didn't want him to ingest any dirt.

They put him in the middle of the dining table, and watched Azar happily move around in the soup and drink it at the same time. It was horrendously messy, but also quite amusing, and the little dragon became the source of entertainment for the small group that sat at the table to eat.

Fox, who had come over to the imperial palace (lured by Jules's message that they were preparing love soup), laughed so hard at Azar's antics that tears poured down his face. He had to wipe his face several times before he could eat his own soup.

"Drat, even I want to soak in a vat of this soup like Azar now," Fox remarked.

"We don't have enough for you to soak in!" Mana said immediately.

Fox made a peace sign with his hand – something he'd learnt from Mana – and shook his head. "I won't actually do it," he murmured. "But let a man dream, won't you? Your little baby looks so very comfy…it's tempting!"

"That's true," Grandpa said. "How is it, Azar?"

"Tasty!" came the immediate reply and the little dragon licked his lips to display exactly how tasty it was.

Mana rubbed her temples. "Perhaps we shouldn't have let him have his way…what if he wants to jump into a vat of soup every time…?" she murmured to Raven, clearly worried.

Raven shared her worries. It would be a mess…not to mention impossible once the little dragon started growing bigger. He suddenly had a terrible mental image of him digging a pond in the backyard of the imperial palace and Mana pouring gallons and gallons of soup into it for Azar to swim in. He shuddered.

"Don't worry so much," Jules told them. "He's still a baby, I'm sure he'll grow out of it soon enough."

"Babies have a very short attention span," Grandma agreed with Jules. "But yes, I do agree that we shouldn't encourage this particular activity…"

"Let my little grandson do what he wants," King Jaren declared. "He can have as much soup as required – we're not short of food for him!"

Mana groaned. "Papa, no!"

Raven looked as miserable as his fiancée.

"Grandpapa best!" Azar said loyally, making a cutesy face at King Jaren.

King Jaren visibly melted into a pool of goo.

Jules cleared his throat loudly. "I'm thinking of spending a semester at IMARI," he said, clearly making an attempt to change the topic.

Mana and Raven weren't too surprised; they had expected this.

King Jaren raised an eyebrow. "Sure," he said. "Sounds like a good idea. I'll write you a recommendation letter; I still have several royalty nomination spots left."

"No need," Jules said quickly. "I took the entrance test anonymously, and passed. I'll use a pseudonym to spend a semester there."

"Congratulations, Big Brother!" Raven said, and Mana echoed his words.

"That's quite impressive," King Jaren told Jules with a bright smile. "But why do you want to keep your identity hidden?"

Jules stared at him. "Wouldn't it be awkward if the Crown Prince is studying at IMARI?" he asked. "Especially if I do badly…?"

King Jaren looked at his son quizzically. "Why would it be awkward?" he asked. "You are free to study wherever you want and whatever you want, son."

"But…my governance lessons…" Jules muttered.

"Don't worry about those," King Jaren said carelessly. "There's isn't much to it, despite the imperial tutors droning on and on. I think you've already learnt most of what needs to be learnt, and if there's anything you need to catch up, we'll do it later." He reached out and patted Jules's shoulder affectionately. "If you're interested in studying at IMARI, don't hesitate to enrol yourself for the full two years if you want. Why only spend a semester?"

Jules hesitated. "Can I…can I spend a semester there first, and then decide if I want to continue?" he enquired.

"Of course," King Jaren agreed right away. "Whatever you're comfortable with, my child. Always remember this – your Papa will never stop you from pursuing your dreams!"

Jules hugged King Jaren, feeling emotional. He had been worried about this matter for so long…and he had never imagined that Papa would let him go off so easily!

"Can we visit IMARI, too?" Raven asked shyly. "Not to study, just to see the institute!" he added quickly.

King Jaren laughed. "Of course," he said happily. "Let's all go for a visit tomorrow, and Raven, if you want to study there, too, you're more than welcome. I'm absolutely sure that the Headmistress would be delighted to have you!"

An expression of confused yearning showed on Raven's face. Then he looked at Mana and shook his head.

King Jaren, Jules and Grandpa exchanged a look. It was unusual to find a boy who would cherish his future partner so much!

Mana more or less figured out what Raven was thinking. "I don't mind attending if you're planning to go, Raven," she told him. "We can stick to Big Brother as usual." She stuck out her tongue at Jules.

Jules chuckled. "Sister mine, you're always welcome to hang around. I'm only afraid that you'll get terribly bored while Raven and I are having fun!"

Both Jules and Raven were too excited to sleep that night, and the next morning found them with dark bags under their bright eyes.

"What happened to you two?" Mana asked, frowning. "Are you feeling unwell?" She handed a snoozing Azar to her Papa and put her palms on the foreheads of her brother and her fiancé to check for a fever.

"We're fine," Jules and Raven said quickly.

King Jaren patted her head. "I think they were a little too excited to sleep."

"It happened to me, too," Fox said. He had stayed over and had offered to be their guide at IMARI.

The royal group boarded a large carriage and made their way to the institute. It was located towards the northern part of the city, on a small hill overlooking a lake and was very picturesque. It was not too far from the imperial palace, but was secluded enough for the scholars and researchers not to be disturbed by the humdrum of ordinary lives of the public, and yet close enough for the residents of IMARI to go out for shopping or fun anytime they wanted.

They arrived at the big black gate of the institute soon enough. The gates were at least fifty feet high and very imposing. An elaborate arch over the gate proclaimed in large golden letters 'International Magical Appliance Research Institute'.

The carriage with the imperial coat of arms stopped at the gate. Two guards came over immediately and asked the coachman in a polite voice, "Are you here on behalf of His Majesty?"

The coachman shook his head. King Jaren opened a window and waved at the guards. "Hello!" he said cheerfully. "I'm just taking my kids for a visit."

The guards bowed, smiling brightly at the sight of their king. "Yes, Your Majesty! Welcome to IMARI!" they intoned.

The carriage drove in.

"This place is my pride and joy," King Jaren told the youngsters. "Everyone thought it was a foolish dream of a child to establish such a grand institute and many people, even my mother, told me not to waste so much money building it…but my father, the king at the time, was very supportive. This was my first project in my capacity as the crown prince of the Emerald Kingdom, and seeing it like this now…I can't tell you how happy it makes me."

"And that's why you told us to chase our dreams freely, Papa?" Mana asked.

King Jaren nodded. "No matter what, you will always have your father's support," he told them.

The guards at the gate had relayed the information about the king's visit to the office, and when the royal group arrived at the main building, they found the Headmistress Ana and several teachers waiting for them eagerly.

King Jaren greeted everyone by name, and several people blushed, since they hadn't seen his recent clean-shaven appearance yet.

"So you finally got rid of the scraggly, unnecessary vegetation on your face, eh?" Headmistress Ana teased.

A hint of red appeared on the king's face. "My little ones insisted," he said, introducing Jules, Mana, Raven and Azar (who was still fast asleep in his Grandpapa's arms).

Headmistress Ana frowned at Jules. "You're the Crown Prince? Didn't I see you recently? You scored the second highest in the entrance test, right?" she asked.

Jules flushed and nodded.

King Jaren rounded upon Jules. "You actually scored second highest, my boy?" he asked in disbelief.

Jules turned as red as a tomato. "Yes, Papa," he said meekly.

"Why didn't you tell us? We need to celebrate such an achievement!" King Jaren boomed.