The news of the Emperor's presumed assassination took all the factions by storm, as this might lead to major instability in the Empire. The assassination had failed, but the Emperor was gravely injured in defending the attempt, which led to his coma.
Most of the news of this was spreading in noble circles. The Empress and the Imperial faction were trying to maintain the flow of the aftermath and control the leakage of this information to the neighboring enemy sultanates. This could lead to major instability not only in the Empire but also the potential interference would be high.
The three princes were gathered along with the Empress, Concubine Rani Jyothi Lakshmi, and Concubine Luisa de Castro, the mother of the third prince. They were gathered in the room beside the Emperor's chambers, waiting for the royal doctor to finish the treatment.
Concubine Luisa de Castro, visibly troubled by the news, was waiting impatiently, biting her nails. She spoke, and her heavy accent was evident.
"Will Meu Sehnor be alright?"
Most members of the Royal Family knew bits of Portuguese by conversing with Luisa because she used to add Portuguese terms to the things she couldn't pronounce.
The Empress looked over; her eyes were bloodshot, and dark circles were evident from the sleepless night before.
"We have to wait. Miss Luisa, please calm down."
"How can I calm down when my amor is lying there in that state?"
Alfonso, sitting beside his mother, gripped her hands gently to stop the conversation. Luisa was the only one who had been married to the Emperor purely out of love. She liked the emperor with her life. Luisa, being a simple woman, always wanted attention from her beloved. She hated seeing her precious people get hurt.
Bhairava cleared his throat, his voice hoarse from the morning cold.
"What were the personal guards doing?"
"They were dismissed by the Emperor himself, Bhairava." Chandra answered his question, looking down, exhausted.
On the surface, Bhairava looked upset by the emperor's injuries. He was smirking internally at the situation, as it was the perfect time for him to seize the throne from under Chandra.
'This is perfect.'
Luisa interjected again, her eyes filled with tears and sniffling lightly.
"But why were they dismissed?"
"The emperor was having tea time with Lakshmi, and some assassins had infiltrated into the palace."
"Céus! , What happened to Lakshmi?"
"She also has been injured from the attack and is getting treatment; Father got injured protecting Lakshmi."
Rani Jyothi, shifting her gaze to the Empress. Who was sitting silently.
"Even if the emperor dismissed his guards, Empress, how do you explain the assassins in the middle of the palace?"
It was the Empress's duty to manage the palace staff. If there were assassins in the palace, that meant that they were one of the staff in the palace. The responsibility fell upon the Empress.
"I don't know." She replied, her voice trembling.
Rani Jyothi clicked her tongue and looked away from the Empress. The butler of the emperor entered the room as the doors clicked and closed behind him. Besides the old, hunched-back butler, there were two guards.
"Greetings to all of you; I have come to report something."
"What is it?" asked the Empress in an impatient tone.
"Firstly, we have cut off the information flow to other kingdoms. If nobles and merchants who know about leak this,. It would be considered treason. We also assigned a squad to check for potential leakages of the information."
"That's great, and what's next?"
The butler gulped loudly, looking very nervous. He began
"We found who was behind the assassination attempt."
Chandra, visibly shaken, got up quickly at the news.
"WHO IS IT? Was it the Sultanates??"
"It's none, Your Highness. It was orchestrated by four people in the emperor's personal guard who apparently held grudges against the Emperor for some reason."
"WHAT? THAT'S SERIOUS."
"Indeed, Your Highness. So we have assigned "Rakhtasura." to dive further into the matter."
Rakhtasura was the pseudonym; most people referred to the leader of Yamaduts. The man was known to be vicious as a bloodthirsty demon, hence the name was given to him. Rakhtasura had yet to fail a single mission he was personally involved in.
"Then, we may be getting some news soon," said Bhairava with a light shrug.
"What happened to the guards?"
"They all died by the Emperor's hand."
"A fine end to Vermin like them. Tch"
'But it's quite odd. Father got injured by four mere guards. Maybe I am overthinking.' Bhairava pondered and shrugged the thought off quickly.
After a while of waiting for the royal doctor to exit the Emperor's chamber,. The doctor had finally finished treating the Emperor and walked out of the chamber, all exhausted and sweating from the treatment. Alongside the doctor were his aide and only disciple.
Luisa was the first one to rush over as soon as she saw the doctor exit the chamber.
"Is he alright?" She asked, looking stressed and with a hint of impatience.
"Miss, The Emperor's injuries were pretty grave. We have already done and stitched up some of the wounds and applied medicines to the wounds."
"Did Father wake up?" asked Bhairava.
"No, your highness. Alas, the Emperor is alive, and his condition has stabilized. He has not regained consciousness."
"What?"
"It's most likely the Emperor is in a coma due to the shock of the incident. We will have to wait for a complete recovery."
He finally advised all the present individuals with a slightly frustrated expression.
"We have to take care of the wounds and change the dressing every few hours. I don't recommend anyone going into the chamber, as it can infect the wounds and cause more trouble for recovery."
"We will take our leave. We have to treat the princess too."
The royal doctor, along with his aide, finally left for the close-by royal chamber, in which the sister of the first prince and the only princess of the Empire, Lakshmi Deva Raya, was being treated.