The two, who were previously enthusiastically studying and discussing core concepts of imperial rule, faced up from their books and scrolls and aligned their vision to the incoming intruder.

It was a man.

Alex had difficulty recognizing this man, but Aadityapal frowned and whispered, "Ayush..."

'Ayush? The prince that relies on connections?' Alex recalled a scene from a dinner at the banquet hall, where this prince's every movement and word swayed the rest of the royalty.

He seemed to have fearsome charisma, and his physical strength was unknown.

Alex cleared his throat and stated, "We are in the midst of a lesson, could you please take your leave?"

Prince Ayush always had a smiling face, yet, when Alex's words flowed into his ears, his expression turned unpleasant for a split second.

However, it immediately went back to an unusually wide smile.

Nonetheless, his fidgety fingers exhibited the fury he felt at having his power threatened.

Then, he coughed and replied, "Sir Alex, I believe? We have not exchanged introductions yet."

As he said that, the prince proceeded to reluctantly bow down in greeting. Then, he turned to Aadityapal.

Suddenly, his smile faded away and revealed tearful eyes.

He said with an incredible level of emotion, "Aadityapal, I have received the tragic news that in the residence of the Brahmins of Dwarka, Lady Avni has fallen extremely sick to an unknown illness."

There were no imperfections in the prince's voice and his perfect pitch seemed to be a result of vocal training.

Alex didn't understand any of his words, but Aadityapal stood up and his eyes became so wide they were about to pop out of his skull.

"Mother is sick?!" Aadityapal exclaimed, and then collapsed on his knees.

Ayush maintained his saddened face and nodded, "It would seem that the illness is quickly chipping away at her longevity, and she might not live very long."

At that very moment, Aadityapal started sobbing and his tears made the ground wet. His fists punched the cold and hard ground repeatedly.

They slowly became more bloody and mangled

Alex could not have expected this, and it was a tragic situation that required the prince's immediate departure to his mother's residence.

He was about to help him stand up, but he perceived a very strange pattern in the earlier conversation.

He couldn't prove any of it, but he got goosebumps and the impression of a puppetmaster controlling the strings of a puppet.

There were no strings, but Ayush also intensely swayed the viewpoints of the other members of the imperial family the other night through a simple greeting.

Alex felt disgusted, as it reminded him of the way Aphrodite manipulated mortal men to do her every bidding.

'This is clearly not her doing and much more subtle,' In any sense, Alex could afford to be more overbearing.

He immediately stood up and wielded the round Prometheus in his right hand.

The ball then transformed into a strange heavy spear and charged at the prince.

Alex's speed was a strength of his, and the prince couldn't even feel his arrival. After he blinked a single time, the speartip of Prometheus was already only a millimeter away from the arteries at his neck and threatened to end his life in an instant.

"Go away now, he can handle the mourning on his own."

A bead of cold sweat fell down Ayush's forehead, and he stepped back slowly and slightly bowed before sprinting away.

Aadityapal's burst of emotion waned at an unusually quick pace, and he dried his tears.

"Aadit."

"Y-yes." The prince's voice was still muffled by mucus from his teary outburst, but it was intelligible.

"I think he was lying."

Aadityapal seemed stunned at this conclusion, and Alex didn't have much to back up his rationale, so he tried to convince the latter.

"It seemed to me that he was trying to get you as far away from the competition as possible."

"Why would Ayush do that? I'm known to be one of the least plausible contenders for the throne."

"Perhaps, he knows of your rapidly improving performance." Alex thought that it was possible for the prince to institute a spy to observe threats to his ascent to the Empire's throne.

Alex frowned and asked the prince a question, "Did you interact with any members of the royal family these past few days?"

Aadityapal fell into deep thought.

Then, he just shrugged and replied, "Yesterday, I went to the marketplace of the city and a lion was attacking the vendors and a princess that was a previous acquaintance of mine, so I saved her and eliminated the lion."

Alex nodded and now understood.

The prince waved his hand and shook his head, "But there's no way-

He halted his words and a frown formed at his glabella.

"Do you see where I'm getting at, disciple?" Alex chuckled and placed a finger on the side of his eyes, pretending to be a very famous detective from Earth.

Aaditayapal exclaimed, "That f*cker!"

He then stormed out of the library and went in the direction of the largest courtyard of the palace.

Alex understood his intent and swiftly followed behind him.

There were guards at the entrance to the idyllic garden, and they stopped Aadityapal's passage and stated, "Lord Ashoka is in the midst of meditation, please make your leave."

Aadityapal tried to fight off the guards and exclaimed, "But I NEED to ask Father a question."

He was about to incapacitate the guards when Alex placed a hand on his shoulder.

He then told the guards, "Could the two of us pass?"

"Lord has instructed us to allow you passage, Lord Alex." The guards bowed down and let the two of them enter now.

Ashoka was, in fact, meditating with his eyes closed.

He sensed their presence and opened his eyes, which flashed with a perplexed glint.

Aadityapal ran up to him and bowed, "Father, have you received any news of Mother, umm, l-Lady Avni falling sick?"

Ashoka seemed confused and replied, "I believe not, if anything, an advisor has informed me of a few letters sent by her way on their way to the palace."

"Bingo," Alex gloated.