A look of relief flickered past the Emperor's eyes. He adjusted in his throne, posing a majestic posture. His precious son was born around 10:40. "Excellent plan," his voice thundered in the hall.
"Guards!"
The thundering sound of soldiers running into the palace echoed through the air. When they arrived in the middle of the throne hall, they immediately fell on their knees. The sound of their armour clanking against the ground echoed.
"Your Majesty! Your Grace, Patriarch!" they all greeted in unison.
Though the Emperor's eyes sparkled with authority, a flicker of irritation sparked as he glanced sideways at his father. "I have a task for you. Find every child born between the hour of 10:15 to 10:30. Kill them immediately, without sparing any of them," he ordered.
The head of the guard looked at him in confusion. "Your Majesty… why must we do this?" he asked, as he felt uneasiness in his soul.
"How dare you question me?" the Emperor roared, his eyes narrowing at the guard.
The head of the guard gritted his teeth as he lowered his head. "Forgive me, my lord," he bowed his head lower. "But we have to know why we must carry out this mission. This concerns the safety and happiness of the people," he added, raising his head up.
His words made the Emperor boil more, but before he could open his mouth and say anything, the Patriarch's calm voice echoed through the hall.
"Gabriel, this is for the country's security. The star of doom has been born, so we must make the necessary sacrifice."
The guards immediately bowed lower in respect. "We will depart now, my lord." With a nod from the Patriarch, the guards departed. The sounds of their retreating boots lingered in the silent air.
Noticing the silent tension, the student of the astronomer bowed slightly. "I will take my leave now."
The Emperor waved his hand at him. Taking that as a cue to leave, he turned around and departed.
Now in the hall, it remained just the father and the son, but none of them uttered a word. The silence grew so thick that a knife could slice through it.
"Do you have to interfere in the way I handle the affairs of my court?" the Emperor's voice broke through the silence, his hand trembling before clenching the throne's armrest.
The Patriarch turned around, his eyes lingered on his son. "Your court?" he asked, a little bemused by his son's choice of words.
The Emperor blinked his eyes before shutting them close. "I didn't mean to say that," he muttered under his breath.
The Patriarch stared coldly at him, the intensity of his eyes boring through his son. "You don't act as a wise Emperor, son. Now you make me wonder if I had done the wrong thing passing the throne five years ago."
"Father!" the Emperor roared, jumping to his feet.
"What? Do you want to shut me up now that you are on the throne?"
The Emperor's eyes held a crazy glint, and the Patriarch's gaze was dripping with malicious intent. "I earned it, Father—the throne…" the Emperor said, climbing down the stairs. "This power, I EARNED IT." He stood face to face with his father, looking straight into his eyes.
The Patriarch chuckled, as if he had just heard a funny joke. "And yet, you couldn't help but feel small in my presence. You can never amount to me! I am known as the demon slayer. This throne, this power you are bragging about—I created it from nothing." His brown eyes blazed with seething fury. "Without me, YOU ARE NOTHING!"
The two men locked in a fierce eye battle. Suddenly, a voice broke the tension. "Your Majesty," a maid with a small frame stood by the door entrance.
"What?" the Emperor asked with an irritated look.
"The Empress has given birth to a son…"
"A son?" he cut off her words abruptly, his brows creasing into a frown.
"Yes, my lord."
"Wonderful! I can't believe I'm blessed with two sons," the Patriarch's eyes lit up. "Lead the way. I need to see the Empress's child," the Patriarch laughed happily, ignoring his son who stood mindlessly in the throne room.
"Impossible." His hands clenched into fists, his nails dug into his palms.
…..
(Villain POV)
After the baby had eaten to his fill, he fell asleep. His grey eyes snapped open when he felt a familiar aura coming from the direction of the door. His blood quickened, his face turned red and flushed with deep-seated vengeance.
"My lady, everything has been set in motion. The Patriarch is on his way here. We have made sure to mask the remaining scent of death. He won't be able to perceive anything… And a student came from the Astronomer Academy, bringing news of the star of doom. The Emperor has ordered the death of every child born within the hour of 10:15 to 10:30…" Plum paused as she glanced at the baby who was looking slightly flushed.
She swallowed before returning her gaze to the Empress, whose gaze was fixated on the baby. "My lady, the time the astronomers have given is the same time His Highness was born. Do you think this is a good idea to keep the baby? I fear it will cause us trouble. And besides, your powers have drastically drained. The baby will be difficult to hide and keep… Why don't we end him? I can easily find a replacement…"
"Enough!" the Empress raised her hand, silencing her.
The villain glared at the maid—a definition of "if only looks could kill." "They are all going to try to kill me. It is so infuriating that I am trapped in the body of a baby. I would have snapped her head off her body," the villain thought inwardly.
"No, this won't do. I have to do something. I can't be killed immediately after I just got my life back." He wiggled slightly in his crib. He only stopped moving when he heard his mother speak again.
"I won't abandon or kill him, Plum. He is a blessing to me. If he was just a normal child, I wouldn't have lost him after getting poisoned by the Emperor. But because of how special he is, he was able to cling to life." The Empress stood, walking towards him.
He cooed as his mother's gaze came into view. She gently picked him up before cradling him in her arms. She playfully tapped his nose. "This child will have all my love, as I know I won't be able to give birth again." Her gaze turned cold. "He will be my weapon, my armour, and my source of love in this cold empire." Her peaceful eyes glinted with a green hue before returning to their normal shade.
Plum fell on her knees. She held her hand across her chest. "I, Plum Constantine, swear on this day to protect and guard the prince as I would to you. I pledge my life, my magic, and loyalty to the future heir of the Eldenria Empire." She took a knife out, cutting her palm. The metallic smell of blood filled the air as it dropped on the ground.
Seeing her act, his mother walked towards Plum. "Rise. You shall be his godmother from today," she said, signalling her to rise up.
"My lady, I'm sorry about what I said earlier," she bowed her head with a remorseful look etched on her face.
"I know you were only looking out for me, and it is good that you realize that this is my child," she said, before weakly taking her seat.
Her head turned to the door. "He is here," she turned to her baby. "As long as we can get the Patriarch's blessing, we will be safe for a while," she smiled at him.