[Vol. 8] Chapter 285: The Prince’s Troubles
Xiluo Frederick had been feeling a headache lately.
Ever since the international meeting in Sainz ended and he returned to the capital with the delegation, his father, the Emperor, had been acting like a different person. The Emperor started calling him and his younger sister to private meetings, giving them many instructions.
More surprisingly, he began handing over power, real power, that he had always held tightly, letting his most capable children start learning to take part in and handle major affairs of the Austre Empire.
For Carinvega, since she hadn’t graduated from the academy yet and wasn’t that interested in politics, this didn’t affect her much. But for Xiluo, he had truly stepped into the Austre Empire’s core circle of power, starting to take control of important matters.
At first, Xiluo thought this was some kind of trap. After all, that old man had once been cruel enough to push them into the dangerous mess of the Academy City, just to create a proper excuse for war. There was no direct evidence, but he and Carinvega both knew in their hearts that it was true.
After such an open conflict between them, the cold-blooded Emperor should have increased his control over them, weakening their influence to prevent trouble. But to Xiluo’s surprise, Leonis did the opposite, he willingly gave away power.
How could that not puzzle him?
Xiluo knew he wasn’t as much of a genius as his sister, but he was no fool. He had always acted lazy and harmless on purpose, to hide his abilities from his father, whose suspicion and cold nature were frightening.
Leonis Frederick was a man with an extreme need for control. He would never normally allow anything to escape his grasp. This sudden behavior was completely unlike him.
But after many tests and investigations, Xiluo was shocked to discover that the power he had been given was real. There was nothing suspicious in the details.
With the Emperor appearing less and less at court, many important matters of state were now under Xiluo’s control. Although he hadn’t yet taken command of the military, at the current pace, it was only a matter of time.
This was no trick.
Xiluo still didn’t understand what his father was planning, but as a young lion full of ambition, he longed to build his own great legacy. If such an opportunity was placed right in front of him and he was sure it was safe, he would never refuse.
Because of this, the prince who had once been known for his arrogance and troublemaking was now showing impressive talent and ability, and he was getting busier and busier.
The war between the Austre Empire and the Holy Empire had only lasted a few months, but it had already put great pressure on the Austre Empire’s finances. With a million soldiers stationed at the border, the number looked impressive, but the daily cost of food and supplies was terrifying.
Even though Austre Empire had prepared for this war for over a hundred years, unexpected changes still caused many problems.
One of the most troublesome changes came from the overseas tribes along the eastern coast.
Ever since the Austre Empire had united the eastern lands and expanded to the sea, those coastal tribes had been in constant conflict with Austre Empire for more than a hundred years. They had fought so long that the hatred between them was deep.
Because of the sea, the Austre Empire had never been able to fully conquer them. Still, those tribes had always been scattered and fought separately. They were annoying, but they couldn’t pose a real threat to the Austre Empire’s main navy. Even if they attacked, it was just small raids.
But in recent years, this had quietly begun to change.
A powerful race had migrated from the far seas. Using some special method, they gathered the many tribes of the Eastern Sea islands together and formed something like an alliance.
They acted secretly and quickly, and by the time the Austre Empire noticed, the Sea Tribe Alliance was already taking shape. Even worse, it kept growing at an amazing speed, bringing more and more tribes into its ranks.
At that time, the Imperial Council’s attention was completely focused on preparing for war against the Holy Empire in the west. They thought that no matter how much these sea tribes developed, they wouldn’t dare invade Imperial territory or face the powerful magic-powered navy. So, the Austre Empire didn’t pay much attention to them.
That neglect soon caused trouble.
When the full-scale war with the Holy Empire broke out, two elite Imperial army groups that guarded the eastern coast were moved to the western battlefield.
This greatly weakened the Austre Empire’s military power in the east. It was as if the Sea Tribe Alliance had been waiting for this moment. They quickly sent out a large army to attack several coastal islands rich in valuable resources.
By now, they had already fought several big battles with the Imperial fleet and the local garrisons. Strangely, although the sea tribes’ mixed forces were far weaker than the Imperial navy, it was as if they could avoid danger and predict the future.
They always found the most important weak spots to attack, using strange and unpredictable tactics that made them hard to guard against, causing serious trouble for the Austre Empire.
Because the war with the Holy Empire was stuck in a stalemate, the Austre Empire had no spare forces to send east. The limited navy there could not defend everything, and after several back-and-forth fights, the Austre Empire had already lost a few fertile islands rich in minerals. The Imperial forces were pushed back to the coastline, relying on steel warships to hold the defensive line.
For certain reasons, the Eastern Sea navy was one of the few military forces Xiluo had gained control over after taking power.
So he couldn’t just sit back and watch them take heavy losses. To solve the problem, the prince even swallowed his pride and went several times to ask his extremely intelligent younger sister for advice.
Today was the same, except there seemed to be a small problem.
“My sister isn’t here?”
In the reception room of the Princess’s palace, the Imperial prince, dressed in fine clothes, sat in the guest seat, looking in surprise at the young catfolk girl in front of him.
Known as the [Empire’s Two-Colored Lotus], his sister had once been Xiluo’s biggest rival. He had secretly investigated many times, and he knew exactly which people his sister valued and trusted the most.
This girl might not have a powerful background, but she was very talented, and in the future, she might even become one of the Princess’s favored consorts. So the prince didn’t act too proud in front of her, he only nodded and said,
“Then when will she be back? If it’s not too long, I can wait here.”
Noelle paused for a moment and looked helplessly at the red-haired young man.
To be honest, Prince Xiluo had never had a good relationship with her lady before. He was arrogant and overbearing, and Rosie and the others had even secretly caused trouble for him more than once. In fact, he had been one of the most disliked people in the Princess’s close circle.
But after the trip to Sainz, for some reason, the two of them suddenly grew much closer. Prince Xiluo also changed, he was no longer the spoiled playboy. He had become calm, measured, and respectful in his actions.
Recently, he had even taken over many important military and political matters of the Austre Empire, handling them in an orderly way. This had indeed changed Noelle’s opinion of him.