Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Chapter 27: Subordinate

A few hours had passed since the incident in the town centre. Harsha sat on the outskirts of the town, sipping tea while waiting for the young boy to wake up after treatment. The boy had passed out after the commotion died down, and Harsha had instructed the soldiers to leave the town and wait for the boy to regain consciousness before continuing their journey.

"Your Highness, why must we wait for the boy to wake? We can leave him in the nearby clinic after paying the necessary fee for his food and treatment," inquired Guard Captain Rahul Shetty, glancing at the sleeping boy.

Harsha looked up from his tea, his expression cold and unyielding. "Are you questioning my decision?" he asked, his voice carrying a subtle edge.

The captain's face turned a shade paler. "No, no, not at all, Your Highness," he stammered, looking awkward and flustered under Harsha's icy gaze.

"Good," Harsha replied, taking another sip of tea. "Then don't bring it up again."

Rahul Shetty nodded quickly, bowing his head. "As you wish, Your Highness."

Just then, the young boy jolted awake and looked at Harsha sipping tea from his cup nonchalantly. He then stood and pointed his finger at Harsha, asking, "Who are you? And where am I right now?"

Rahul Shetty looked at him in anger. "Hey! How dare you address the Royal Prince in that disrespectful tone of yours?"

Before Rahul could say more, Harsha interjected, "Come on, no need to get angry. And you, sit down there! I waited to talk to you." He added, "Don't worry, I won't harm you, and we are just on the outskirts of the town."

The boy looked around nervously and saw other soldiers around the area guarding the prince and glaring at him, so he reluctantly agreed to the order and sat down, looking at the Prince with a fearful expression.

"Wh- What does the Prince of the Empire want from me?" asked the boy, unable to meet Harsha's gaze.

"Nothing much! Just tell me about yourself," replied Harsha, putting down the empty teacup.

"Um... I am Viswa, and I live alone in a house on the outskirts of the town," timidly replied the boy.

Standing beside Harsha were, Varun and Narayana. Varun, with his stern expression, kept a close eye on the surroundings, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Narayana, standing beside the Prince with his hands folded.

Varun spoke up, his voice deep and commanding, "Viswa, you should know that His Highness has taken an interest in you. It's not every day someone gets such an opportunity."

"Oh! What about your parents?" inquired Harsha with a curious expression.

"They abandoned me four years ago here, so I don't know anything about them," said Viswa, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Hmm... Interesting! My last question: Do you want to continue living like this or want to get out of this situation" Harsha smiled as he presented a choice to the boy that would determine the path of his life.

Viswa looked visibly confused by the Prince's question and pondered about what he meant by getting out of this situation. He didn't want to live this hellish life where he was being discriminated against daily for his birth and wanted to live his life with a purpose. He wanted to be recognized for something.

"I don't want to live in this hellish situation anymore! But I can't do anything about this," tears welled up in his eyes as Viswa mumbled in a trembling voice filled with sadness.

"Of course, you can do something about this," Harsha said as he stood up and extended a hand to Viswa, who was sitting with tears streaming down his face. He continued, "Become my subordinate,"

All the soldiers present including Varun and Narayana were all shocked by the statement as the Prince intended to bring a lower caste boy along with them to the Royal capital. Rahul, the Guard Captain, interfered in the situation. "Your Highness, The Emperor won't allow this boy of lower caste to accompany you. It tarnishes the honor of the Royal Family!"

Harsha, upon hearing this statement, glared at Rahul Shetty, his sharp gaze shut up the guard captain in an instant. No one dared to utter another word as the prince looked around the field. The soldiers froze in place and heaved a sigh of relief as Harsha's gaze softened. Harsha although didn't really care about the discrimination.

He didn't like people questioning his decisions with just blatant biased opinions.

"Guard Captain, I am pretty sure I told you to shut your trap up," Harsha spoke, his voice sending chills down the spine of the Guard captain who hung his head in shame.

Rahul Shetty, Considered the youngest prince was the pushover in the beginning, But not anymore after hearing the stories of his fight against Narayana and the rumors about the prince killing more than 20 Bahmani soldiers alone.

"If someone has an objection, Raise your hand. Make sure if you raise your hand you should have the skill to back it up," Harsha announced, his gaze shifting from the escort soldiers and Guard captain.

Unsurprisingly none of them stepped forward after the rumors spread of the Prince's martial prowess.

Harsha looked at Viswa and asked, "Do you have anything precious in your house that you wish to take with you?"

Viswa, who was visibly scared about the situation that unfolded in front of him due to his being lower caste, said in a low trembling voice, "No, Your Highness."

"Let's move then after Viswa takes a bath and changes! Viswa will travel in the carriage with me and Varun give him some good clothes to wear," Harsha ordered.

Varun complied with the orders without voicing hesitation as his respect for the prince had grown in the past few weeks. The prince's work was unmatched in his eyes, someone who was talented but also worked hard to keep himself at his best.

An hour later, Harsha found himself traveling to the Thanjavur in the carriage, now accompanied by Viswa, who had changed into a new set of clothes provided by the royal entourage. Viswa's nervous fidgeting did not go unnoticed by Harsha, who sat silently observing him. The boy was clearly not used to such an experience.

As they traveled, the only sounds were the rhythmic clatter of the carriage wheels and the occasional chirping of birds.

Viswa, now clean and dressed in fine clothes, looked entirely different from the boy who had been lying bloodied in the mud just hours before. Though still thin from malnutrition, his shoulder-length hair and bronze skin gave him a striking appearance.

To break the silence that had settled between them, Harsha inquired, "What is your age?"

"Seventeen, Your Highness," Viswa quickly replied, his voice tinged with nervousness.

"You seem like you have a lot of questions to ask. Go ahead; we will be traveling for the next three days anyway," Harsha said, turning his gaze from the window to Viswa, who was sitting stiffly across from him.

Viswa, clearly flustered and still shaken by the recent turn of events, gathered his courage and timidly asked, "What use am I to you, Your Highness?"

"You are going to be my subordinate," Harsha replied, clicking his tongue as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Subordinate? But why me, Your Highness?" Viswa asked, his expression with a tinge of confusion.

"Just because I felt like it. I'm giving you a chance to show me your worth. I chose you because you had an interesting look, not because of my big heart to help the needy," Harsha stated nonchalantly, waving a hand dismissively.

"What if I fail to meet your expectations?" Viswa inquired anxiously, his voice trembling with fear.

"I will cast you away. I don't need incompetent people in my midst," Harsha replied coldly. "If you prove to be useless, it will just show that was your worth all along."

Viswa, after hearing this blunt statement, began to understand that the prince valued merit above all else.

"Um... Your Highness, people might start defaming you if you take someone of lower caste like me as your subordinate," Viswa mentioned hesitantly, looking down at his hands.

"HAHAHA!, You think measly comments would affect me? Discrimination against you won't end just because I endorse you. It might continue until you prove your worth to the masses," Harsha said, letting out a hearty laugh. His eyes bore into Viswa's, filled with amusement. "I plan to end this caste system once and for all.

To achieve that, I need someone to prove that one can stand at the top despite the hurdles. That someone is going to be you."

'Giving purposes to people can make them work harder and create a drive to push past their limits, What is a better purpose of a person who has suffered discrimination than to end it by their own hands,' Harsha thought, his face plastered with a smirk.

Ending the caste system was never part of his plan, He just wanted to give a purpose to the boy so he could make use of him at his best. Since he gave him a purpose like this, he planned to follow through.

' The caste system is a redundant practice; it's not efficient for an empire to stick to this,' Harsha thought, his face reflecting his cold determination.

His main motive for ending the caste system wasn't driven by idealism but by a desire to maximize efficiency and avoid future conflict within the empire.

"Take rest. It's going to be a long journey till we reach our destination," Harsha advised, settling back into his seat.

Viswa, realizing the weight of the opportunity and the burden of expectations placed upon him, nodded silently. He knew that his life had taken an unexpected turn and that the road ahead would be filled with challenges.