"I hope you do not misunderstand my Liege," said Kaljar. "My request of you to marry my daughter Mirya is in no way a route to benefit myself politically. I just want my daughter to lead the happiest life possible. And to prove it if you agree to the marriage proposal I will never request a single favor from you unless it is for another person's benefit."

I wish I had a father like you Kaljar, though I cannot utter such words for it will undermine the whole kingdom. But marriage huh? I am very sorry Kaljar, but marriage will do nothing but distract me from my duties as a king. A time spent on wife or family is much better spent instead on the countless poor and needy. That said, how can I decline Kaljar's proposal without inflaming his feelings?

"I would like to thank you Kaljar," I said. "For not only bringing me this precious offer but also for being a thoughtful father to your daughter. I am sure she is more than happy to have someone like you as her parent. But, at the present time, my mind is too preoccupied with managing the kingdom. So I would not be able to give her the attention a wife deserves from her husband."

"Your Majesty..." said Kaljar, while blowing out a series of short breaths to gain control. “My daughter is made of milk and honey... She rivals gold and diamonds that innumerable greedy men have tried to steal her away from me. Your reason for rejecting the proposal is most logical, but there is not much time left until one of these thieves steals her away from me... forever. Also, my wife is unable to differentiate between gentle and sore men in the presence of lavish presents. So could Your Majesty please reconsider your decision? I dare say that may spit at me in public if you do not find her appealing in both soul and body."

I thought, as always, of keeping my thoughts to myself. But this time I could not help but leak it out through laughter. I never thought that Vizier Kaljar of War, a man known of strict order, would have this tender side to him.

"Kaljar," I said. "Ever since you earned this post five years ago you have been a very bright and dutiful man for the kingdom. And for that, I would most gladly make an exception for you and agree to meet your daughter. I will also grant you the privilege to choose a time and date for the meeting, which should help you against the thieves you spoke about."

The best way to gain a person is to do something so dear to him as a favor. Kaljar would never forget this gratitude.

Kaljar replied with a smile that his muscles could not contain, "Then how about meeting her once you come back from the Lorope Empire? She will heal your soul from the degradation we all experience after coming back from the Lorope Empire."

I hope so, in fact, she would be an excellent wife if that is the case. My father always came back from the Lorope Empire with dead, cold, and flat eyes. This is probably why he never allowed me to travel to the Empire while he was alive. No matter how dark a person is, there are always little holes of light in him.

"Of course Kaljar," I replied. "The timing is suitable for me. But tell me honestly, why did you pick me out of all the men in the kingdom to marry your daughter? If it is for my status, then that is not an indicator of a happy life, for I could cheat or hit her whenever I want to. And if you are doing it for my manners, then you are a liar."

Let us see how Kaljar will respond to this question.

"Actually it is for both of these two reasons Your Majesty," replied Kaljar. And a third more important one that I am surprised you have not mentioned. To start off you have, not best, but very dignified manners along with the best status in the kingdom. And this is quite the coincidence, for money and pride are the best fertilizers for the growth of evil. If anything, this reveals your inner qualities that can resist such temptations, and this is why I am certain that you will not cheat nor hit her like what you have stated. The third reason relates to your history with Mirya, or have forgotten about it, Your Majesty?"

History? I do not remember a single thing. I was not even aware that Kaljar's daughter name is Mirya until he stated it earlier...

"I will be honest here," I replied. "But I cannot recall a single thing about your daughter. I was not even aware that her name was Mirya until you mentioned it."

"Well," said Kaljar. "Mirya will be heart-struck if she heard that but I do not blame you. It is one of these minor incidents that ladies carve deep into their hearts. But you will have to know the story; otherwise, life will trouble me with a depressed daughter till I die. You do not know how long she has been dreaming of her Prince."

I am starting to have my doubts about Mirya.

"Very well," I said. "Tell me the story."

"You gave her a flower about ten years ago Your Majesty," Kaljar said. A red one at a banquet held by your late father while she was crying."

"Go on," I said.

"That is the whole story Your Majesty," Kaljar replied. "I understand what is going through your mind, for it has been going through mine for ten long years until this very moment."

Poor man, he had to suffer through a lot.

"Well, we can still view it differently," I said. "That Mirya remembers the tiniest generous deeds done to her, which is a sign of a fine personality."

And it means that she may remember the tiniest evil deeds done to her.

"Viewing it in this way proves that you are all the more fit for her Your Majesty," said Kaljar with a beaming face. "I will be taking my leave on this good note. I am quite glad to have you as my King."

Kaljar left the main hall with firm steps, leaving me as the only person in it.

I have not been to the Lorope Empire. But I had read enough to visualize the Empire's past, and to a certain extent, predict its future.

Historians have surrounded the beginnings of the Lorope Empire with nothing but legends. But according to the most reliable and the great historian Herodomus, an ambitious man named Lorope sought out one of the three mythical beasts, Salamander.

Oral story-tellers have always utilized these beasts in numberless stories for the public. All these stories surprisingly agree that any one of these beasts can eradicate a well-equipped army in no more than an hour.

There is no any clear proof whether anyone had come across a mythical beast that is until Lorope had discovered one. He heard from a sage that the location of one of the three beasts is at the peak of a black mountain called Ebonite.

The mountain was very active; the flowing lava covered its surface like veins and gave it unbearable temperature. Lorope still managed to climb the whole mountain through unknown means, and once he reached the peak, Lorope was startled at the sight of the sleeping beast, Salamander.

Salamander's size was equal to a hundred humans. It emitted boiling heat and covered itself in garnet scales that no sword can pierce through.

Behind Salamander Lorope saw a cylindrical platform and on top of it was a red ring.

While Salamander was sleeping, Lorope walked to the platform with the mysterious ring. And by the time he was beside the platform, Lorope noticed engravings written on it that read as follows:

[Search for the other two beasts Azrath and Xeldar for the three exist for a more significant reason than what you might assume]

After reading the engravings, Lorope felt that Salamander started to move. So in impulse Lorope took the red ring, wore it, and once he did so the whole mountain disappeared. It was miraculously replaced by a giant lake that still exists today at the very heart of the Lorope Empire.

The ring that came to be known as Crimson allowed its user to exercise full control over Salamander. This permitted Lorope to conquer a thousand surrounding villages in six months, forming the base of Lorope Empire. All of this had happened 500 years ago.

Now moving to when the Three-Year-War occurred 15 years ago, Father and everyone else believed that Salamander no longer existed. There was not a single trace of Salamander aside from Lorope's ancient story. Thus, the public concluded that Salamander is a myth, or that it died many hundred years ago. The Djinn Kingdom's army back in the war was 20 times larger than the Loropian, our victory was inevitable. But when our army saw Salamander, they then realized that myth is more dangerous than reality.