Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 543: The problems of the emperor (3)

Ariadne was born with a golden spoon. She is privileged since the moment she was born

Everything she could ever wanted could easily be fulfilled. If she wanted gold there is as many gold as she wanted could be mien for her. 

If she wanted entertainment, that is also easy to fulfill as Arial could summon any entertainers in the four corners of the world he conquered to entertain his daughter. 

But, she doesn't seem to want anything. After the death of her mother, she changed. 

And Arial did not know how to change it

But, maybe it is because the surrounding is different that Arial could not do what his father had done for him

Ariadne was not the daughter of a farmer. She was the daughter of the Emperor, a daughter of the Great Conqueror. 

Since she was born, she was lavished with luxury but also she was surrounded by loneliness. Arial had always been in the battlefield fighting all kinds of enemies

Arial priority had always been against the Demon King Invasion. And everything was second place to him. Even his wife. 

If not in the battlefield, he would be fighting something or handling some problems. 

He had no time to be a father to his daughter. He loves her, true. But, yet he also had no time to always be beside her.

Maybe, that made all the difference

It was different from Arial father who was always beside him when he was a child and who had supported and believe in him

Arial was with his father for two lifetimes and he still feel it is not enough. Arial sighed

'I am sorry, father. Forgive me for not being there for you' Arial had a tear on his face. Among the news that he heard, it is not only the news about his daughter. 

It is also about the news of his father death

Fortunately, from what he read, his father dies peacefully. 

He also heard about how his mother is now in mourning and had not walk out from the Imperial Palace since the death of his father

That is why after he reads the reports and heard it from his two generals, he felt blank all day. He went to his room and only now, he had the heart to calm himself down.

He was not there when his father die. 

That regret washed over him like a tide.

He wanted to blame himself at first but then he knew that if his father was still here, he would be heartbroken to see him mourn him in that way

Everyone have their own way of processing grief. Arial had lost many people in his life before. Some of them is his comrade in arms. There is also soldiers who he treated like his brothers and sons.

He lost friends, and he saw the death of people he admired and hated. But none, strike so deep as the death of his father

Each time he wanted to blame himself, he would think of his father and he stopped himself.

He thought of the fight ahead and he could not help but wonder, if this is the final battle, then if he dies, would he meet his father again

For once, he wished that there is a pearly gate after his death where he could meet his father again.

But then he thought of the death of so many people under his hand and he wonders whether he even deserve to go to the Light Above. Maybe, he already made his bed in the Hell Below.

When he thinks of his daughter and how to interact with her, he would think of his father

His father supported him in a way that he himself could not support his daughter. What comes easy for his father, did not come as easily for him

And that is something that is very lamentable

There is a bond between his father and him that was forged from love. Love need to be sow. It needs to have time to grow. It needs to be forged.

Only then, love could be strong. The kind of love that suddenly arrive and appear exist, like the kind of love that is of first sight. 

But, it is rare. That kind of love where one glance could change one life forever, that kind of fairytale love does exist

However, it is rare. Very rare indeed. One could even say that it is a miracle. 

As for any other type of love. One had to make an effort

Love is the most important thing in one life. Hence, why would it be easy? To fall in love is easy. To love someone is easy. 

But to get them to love you back and then to maintain and keep that love. now that is the hard part

Aries, his father had always make it seem so easy. 

Arial always wonder how his father, a farmer, a lowborn could ever charm his mother who was the daughter of some noble house to fled with him into the night.

There was just this something about his father that made everyone felt close to him. It is some kind of personal charm that is not about being charming. 

It is not something that Arial could imitate. If he could, then maybe his relationship with his daughter would not be that bad.

The death of his wife changes everything. He took time to grieve and the way he done it change him.

his coping mechanism was more aggressive, as he went into battle with the world and so his relationship between him and his daughter become even more strained.

It seems that he could not yet let go of everything. And he smiles when he thinks of this.

He is still worried about his daughter after all. 

That remains his regret. He takes a deep breath and he wish his father is here to tell him what to do. 

He thought again of Helia. He thought he could have the perfect life with her, following the footsteps of his parent. Lifehowever had another plan for him.

He then wipes away this feeling in his heart as he could not let himself break down in sorrow. He hoped he could win and at least have the chance to clean his father grave.

Thinking about it, he felt sorrow in his heart. His tears did not fall but the feeling he felt inside his heart. It is like his heart is being cut. He thought of another thing to make him forget about the sorrow he is feeling right now.

He thought about Santiago and Giovanni, his thought now spirals toward the matter of the Empire.

These two generals. two among the twelve generals of the Empire. He thought back toward those moments in the past during the Conquest

It was very glorious when he thinks back all of those years ago. 

He created the Twelve General system to help him quickly conquer the whole world. These twelve generals conquer the whole world for him, possessing great military power

It was a warring era. A great number of people die in that war that propped up the current Empire prosperity.

The Twelve Great Generals of the Empire! This was a title of honor and power. There were like kings with almost an unlimited authority toward their army.

But, after the battle ended, when the dust settled, these twelve generals have all become very dangerous. 

The autonomy that he had given them had created twelve factions in the unified military system.

These twelve generals all possess great ability in war, all of them possess loyal subordinate that would die for them and they possess great power.

When the war ended, and Arial decided it was enough, the hardest part that he needed to stabilize was the stance of the Twelve Generals

He did not want to become a tyrant that killed his meritorious subject. 

But he was fully prepared to lift the sword and kill them if they were to challenge his authority and threatened the newly created Empire. 

And it nearly come to that.

Though nobody would know if they learn for the official source. But those who in the know, know enough not to blab about it

Even during that time when he was asking them to return back their Token of Authority, four of the Twelve Generals fears that he would put them away after the deed was done, and they almost rebelled

In truth, they fear that the deeds that they have done during the time of war would be accounted for. 

They fear that he would execute them by finding some reason. All in all, it is not an entirely absurd thought. 

A harmless enemy is a dead enemy. The generals fear that he as the Emperor would find them to be threatening and would find ways to kill them

Some were more intelligent as they voluntarily break up their own faction ahead of time. But some people did not have such a choice. Each army of the Twelve Generals follow the demeanor of their general.