The Evil Emperor's Fragile Heart

The next day, King Jaren took Mana and Raven out for lunch at the Phoenix Restaurant – to meet Head Sage Yue. Azar was in Mana and Raven's secret space, practising his swordplay. The little dragon had no inclination to meet Head Sage Yue, much to the relief of his family. They fed him an early lunch with his favourite dishes, and Mana and Raven even baked him a special cake in the morning and put it in the secret space, so that if Azar felt a little peckish, he'd have something to eat while they were meeting Head Sage Yue. It was important to keep the baby dragon well fed – he was a growing child, after all!

Head Sage Yue had arrived early and was waiting for them. He greeted King Jaren politely and then smiled at Mana and Raven.

"The pastries were lovely, thank you," he said. "It would be lovely to have some more."

How shameless, Mana thought. Did this man think he was doing them a favour by eating their pastries?!

When Head Sage Yue didn't receive the expected offer of more pastries from the two children, his face twisted into a moue of disapproval.

Mana ignored him completely and turned to Raven. "What should we order today?" she asked him with a big grin.

Before Raven could answer, Head Sage Yue said sharply, "I have already placed an order for us. There is no need to order more."

King Jaren frowned at him. "My children are free to choose whatever they wish to eat," he said casually. "Mana, Raven, what do you want?"

"Raven is my son," Head Sage Yue said. "He will eat whatever I permit him to."

King Jaren laughed coldly. "As a purely biological fact, Raven might be your son, but you are not, and will never be, his father in any way that matters," he said flatly. "Thus, Raven is under no obligation to listen to you or to do anything you say."

An angry flush crept up Head Sage Yue's face. "Filial piety is an important custom in our Pearl Kingdom," he snapped.

King Jaren raised an eyebrow. "Head Sage Yue, we are not in the Pearl Kingdom, in case you have forgotten, and Raven has never belonged to the Pearl Kingdom. He calls the Emerald Kingdom his home now, and he was brought up in the Obsidian Kingdom," he pointed out. He steepled his fingertips together and leaned forward. "Do tell me, though, how on earth did you develop the misconception that you have any right to interfere in Raven's life? Were Mana and Raven too polite the other day to get the message across?"

Head Sage Yue spluttered angrily, while King Jaren calmly raised his hand and beckoned a waiter to take their orders.

"Go on, my children," he said cheerfully.

Mana and Raven placed their orders, followed by King Jaren. Each of them had their favourite dishes in the Phoenix Restaurant, and Head Sage Yue grew visibly angrier as they made their choice.

"King Jaren, it is not good to indulge the children too much," he said sagely.

King Jaren laughed. "I'm afraid I shall have to turn down the unsolicited advice, Head Sage Yue," he said.

"Avarice is the easiest vice to acquire and the hardest to dispel," Head Sage Yue argued.

"Ah, yes, you'd know all about it, won't you?" King Jaren mocked. "After all, it brought you all the way to the Emerald Kingdom to seek the son you heartlessly abandoned."

Head Sage Yue glared fiercely at King Jaren, preparing to scold him.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the food arrived at that moment, preventing him from speaking as the waiters served the dishes according to the orders placed. It turned out that Head Sage Yue had only ordered a light soup and bread rolls for everyone.

King Jaren raised an eyebrow. "Are you unwell, Head Sage Yue? If so, the Phoenix Restaurant has some excellent medicinal meals which will help you feel better," he said.

"I believe in regulating my meals," Head Sage Yue replied coldly. He glared at Raven, who was happily digging into a large plate of roast meat.

Raven pretended not to see the glare at all. He had purposely ordered a large plate to support Papa's side of the argument.

Mana, who had guessed boy's intention, smiled at him and served him an egg from her own plate. "This is especially delicious today – try some," she said, her eyes glowing mischievously.

King Jaren watched over the two children with his eyes full of indulgence, glad they were lively and happy despite the sour faced Head Sage of the Moon Temple sitting across them, seemingly trying very hard to ruin their appetite.

"Stop eating like a pig!" Head Sage Yue finally couldn't take it anymore and shouted at Raven.

Raven froze.

"I daresay Raven's table manners are better than yours, Head Sage Yue," King Jaren retorted. "Did you request us to meet you to fling invective at us? If so, I will take my children and return to the imperial palace right now. I have no intention of exposing my children to the ugly side of human nature unnecessarily."

He stood up, and Mana and Raven followed.

"Pity we have to waste such lovely food," Mana said with a sigh.

"Don't worry, little Mana," King Jaren said, patting her hair. "Papa will leave a big tip to make up for the trouble. Besides, all leftover food is used to make compost, so it's not really wasted."

Head Sage Yue stared at them incredulously. "Compost?! How is that not wasteful?!" he cried. "Why don't you give it to some starving beggars instead and earn some virtue?!"

King Jaren narrowed his eyes contemptuously. "I have no need to earn virtue by feeding starving beggars," he retorted. "And I do not believe in charity."

"You money-minded…" Head Sage Yue began to curse at King Jaren.

Raven stepped forward protectively. "Enough," he said, his voice cold enough to freeze the water on the table. "Papa has no need for such cheap virtue unlike you. In case you haven't noticed, there are no starving beggars in the Emerald Kingdom. Papa has already earned more virtue than you can ever imagine by empowering his citizens and making sure that they have a good life they build with their own hands. The reason why the Emerald Kingdom is the richest kingdom in this world is not because its royal family has pots of gold in their backyard, but because its citizens are prosperous. There is no charity here – there is empowerment. In simple terms, you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, and you teach a man to fish, he feeds himself for life. It should be clear which is the superior, more virtuous choice."

King Jaren patted Raven's hair. "Well said, son, well said," he praised. "I'm amazed you can already understand such difficult concepts of governance. I'm very proud of you."

Raven's fair face flushed with pride and happiness.

Head Sage Yue's face was an ugly shade of purple at the moment. However, he couldn't think of anything to counter Raven's words. So, instead, he said, "You – pack your bags. You're coming with me to the Pearl Kingdom to learn at the Moon Temple!"

"Absolutely not," King Jaren replied with a dangerous smile.

"You are not his father, you have no right over Raven," Head Sage Yue snapped. "I am his father and I have decided to take him back!"

King Jaren's emerald eyes glowed menacingly. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "King Corvus handed me the magical guardianship of Raven months ago, and Raven has already accepted and acknowledged me as a parent." He sneered. "I allowed you to come and see him simply because I was curious to see the idiot who abandoned such a precious child, not because you have any semblance of a claim over our Raven."

Head Sage Yue's eyes widened in shock. "Impossible!" he cried.

Mana, too, was surprised. Magical guardianship, really? From that casual letter sent by Raven's grandfather…? No wonder King Jaren was so angry at the time. But all's well that ends well – and it was great that Raven couldn't be controlled anymore by other people.

King Jaren simply smiled smugly.

Head Sage Yue seemed to be in a daze. "But…what about the Pearl Kingdom…?" he murmured.

"That's your business, not ours," King Jaren replied promptly.

"I can make Raven the king of the Pearl Kingdom!" Head Sage Yue cried urgently. "Raven, you must come back with me! Don't you want to be a king? Don't you want to be powerful?"

King Jaren rolled his eyes. "If he really wants to be a king or have real power, he has both the Emerald Kingdom and the Obsidian Kingdom to choose from, both of which function like a proper monarchy. Why would he want to go off to the Pearl Kingdom where the monarch is simply a figurehead and a puppet of the Moon Temple?"

"But…I want to get to know my son!" Head Sage Yue exclaimed.

"Then you have to be sincere," King Jaren told him. "Raven is a kind-hearted child, and if you are truly remorseful of your past sins and willing to make amends, he will tolerate you, and if he does, so will we. However, if you try to manipulate him or deceive him – do remember that Raven is backed by three kingdoms already, and the Moon Temple is not a match for even one of them, let alone all three."

And with that parting shot, King Jaren dropped a pile of gold on the table, took Mana and Raven by the hand and led them out of the restaurant.