Chapter 557:- Manipulation
Once the decision of the Empress was heard by the people around the Empire, there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the people. There were many people who were unhappy with the decision of their Empress. Some people were so unhappy with Amelia's decision that they started protesting.
Elves already did not like the foreigner that came to live in their land. Most Elves's attitudes towards the foreigners weren't that good in the first place. And after yesterday's event, all the Elves now wanted them out of their land. They wanted their Empress to take severe actions against them.
Most of the elves instantly believed that it was the protestors who had killed the 31 Elves. No one stood up to defend the protestors.
Cassian was one of those people who were very dissatisfied and very unhappy with the decision. Cassian was already dissatisfied with many decisions that Empress Amelia had taken in the past.
And this was the last breaking point for him.
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Scene change______
"Cassian!!!! You still look the same as ever. The stern look never changes; does it?" Amelia calmly spoke as she took a sip of tea.
Cassian was standing in front of Amelia. He was sharply looking at Amelia's eyes. No one in the whole Celestial Terrain Empire would dare to look at the Empress like this other than Cassian.
Cassian had a sword on his waist. He had put his arms on his back and was coldly looking at Amelia.
This was the first time they were meeting each other in years if not decades. The last time Amelia met Cassian was when he wanted to Train Riya personally which Amelia immediately rejected as she knew how harsh Cassian's training was. Being over-protective of her daughter, Amelia felt that her baby girl wouldn't be able to survive his brutal training. In the end, both of them ended up having a massive argument over this topic. Riya only stayed in Cassian's training camp for a week and that was enough to kind of traumatize her.
"Cassian, is there a reason why you're here?" Amelia asked. Even though both of them had many arguments in the past, Amelia cared about Cassian and viewed him as someone extremely important to The Celestial Terrain Empire.
Celestial Terrain Empire's greatest General.
After all, the contributions that he has made to The Celestial Terrain Empire cannot be ignored or forgotten. Cassian was their hero and will be their hero. He is The Celestial Terrain Empire's greatest General.
Cassian was one of those remaining people who had been serving The Celestial Terrain Empire since the very formation of this Empire. There was no questioning his loyalty.
If the First Empress was the light that guided the Elven people in their dark times then Cassian was the sword that the Empress used to fight the evils in the darkness.
"Your Majesty, today I am here for only one reason." Cassian said in a stern tone.
"And, what that would be? You can sit down and we can calmly talk about this." Cassian agreed and sat opposite her, facing her.
"Would you like to drink a cup of tea?" The Empress offered. Amelia treated Cassian as an elder.
"No, Thank you. Your Majesty, why did you not take any action against the protestors?" Cassian asked Amelia in a serious tone.
"What do you mean?" Hearing his question, Amelia frowned and asked him. Although Amelia respected Cassian a lot, she felt that Cassian was overstepping his authority.
Who was he to question her?
She was the Empress of this Empire and who was Cassian. He was nothing but an instructor. He used to be the commander of this Empire's military but that title and the authority that came with that title had long been taken away from him (ever since he willingly gave up his position).
Seeing the frown on Amelia's face, Cassian wasn't afraid of her. He did not back down. "31 Elves had been killed the very same night when the protestors took over the streets of the Capital. Do you think this is a coincidence? I certainly don't think so. This was done by the protestors."
"Instead of launching an investigation, you should have used military force to massacre all of these protestors so that in the future no one else would have the balls to protest against the Empress again." Cassian's words made Amelia's frown deepen.
"Cassian, do you have any idea what are you talking about?" Asked Amelia in a slightly raised tone.
"This isn't just a few thousand people. There are more than 10,000 people that you're suggesting to massacre. Have you completely lost your mind?" Amelia asked in a loud tone.
However, Cassian was completely calm and composed even though Amelia was so angry right now. "I haven't lost my mind yet. But I will if I keep seeing these protestors get out of hand."
"Your kindness has allowed these protestors to have the courage to take over the streets of the capital. For a second let's forget about all the 31 elves that died last night. The fact that these protestors took over the streets of the capital is itself a big crime. These protestors deserved to be thrown to jail if not killed for their actions."
"Ever since you took over the throne, this Empire has been becoming weaker and weaker. You have made this empire weak. The Empire that I and many others like me fought, bled and even sacrificed their lives to build is in danger of becoming invaded by a foreign power because you have been slowly turning this Empire weak." Hearing Cassian's words Amelia was stunned. She didn't know how to respond to his words.
"You are not suited to become the Empress of this empire. The policies that you made have done nothing but make this empire even weaker. Maybe instead of you, Seraphine is more suited to become the Empress." Saying those words Cassian stood up and left leaving Amelia conflicted.
His words definitely had hit on her insecure spot. Amelia always doubted if she was even suited to lead this Empire. And today Cassian has made her question if she should just step down from the throne.
It was just as Cassian said, it was because she was too kind that the protestors had the guts to take over the streets of the Capital. If she had been more strict, then this wouldn't have happened and maybe the 31 elves that were killed would have been alive today.
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<nulli>Scene change
Meanwhile,
As Cassian was leaving, he stopped seeing Seraphine leaning against a tree and waiting for him.
"Hello, Sir Cassian!!!" At first, Cassian completely ignored her and kept on walking. Cassian wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone. Talking with Amelia only has made him more pissed and more angry. At the same time, he started to feel hatred towards Amelia.
In his eyes, Amelia was completely incompetent. She wasn't allowed to lead this empire. If she was allowed to lead this Empire, then she would ultimately bring the end of this empire. That's what he thought about her.
"I hope your meeting with Big sister went well. Or did it not?" Seraphine asked with a small smile on her face. Her fingers were playing with her hair.
Hearing this Cassian stopped and finally looked at Seraphine. "What do you want?" He asked her in a not-so-friendly tone.
Hearing this Seraphine giggled. She wasn't offended at all. This was how Cassian was. And this was how Cassian talked when he was pissed or angry.
"You know I am very sad hearing what happened. Those elves didn't deserve to die at the hands of the Protestors. If only my big sister had been a little bit more decisive this wouldn't have happened. When I and the elders tried to convince Big sister to change her mind, she only screamed at us and told us to piss off."
<nulli>Sigh!!!
Seraphine sighed as she looked at the night sky. "it's really unfortunate. We the elders wanted to give justice to the families of the 31 elves. But it seems it's no longer possible. Sister wasn't used to being like this. I suspect that the arrival of Aditya who is an outsider to our society has changed her mind. She is now leaning towards the outsider's side rather than making sure that justice was served to our people." Seraphine's eyes really seem to have opened Cassian's eyes.
Cassian just stood there for a few minutes. He was thinking things all over again. It was just as Seraphine had said. It seems Aditya's arrival has changed Amelia's mind.
"Then I will take matters into my own hands." Cassian left before saying these words. Hearing this Seraphine smiled as she had successfully manipulated Cassian with her words again.
Manipulating people like Cassian always has been easy. Seraphine has been doing it for centuries now. Cassian who was already very dissatisfied and unhappy with Amelia and her ways failed to see the importance of this investigation and thought that Amelia was siding with the protestors.
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