1853 Future of the Empire

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"The future of the Empire?" he asked. "What exactly do you mean?"

"We are deciding on who should be the next ruler of the empire, of the continent," Yan Yating said. "And we are not sure who to choose for it."

"And what do you need me for?" Alex asked. "I'm a foreign kingdom. I should have no say in these matters."

Some people Alex did not recognize nodded greatly at his words, but the ones that were closer to Alex did not. That made Alex quite curious.

Hannah gestured him to a seat that was open close to them, and Alex went and sat. "Can I learn what the exact situation is?" he asked.

Seeing Alex join the conversation made many of the people uncomfortable. Someone who could kill an Immortal had a lot of leverage in any conversation and everyone knew it immediately.

"Of course," Long Huan said. "The situation is this. We are trying to choose the next emperor, and we cannot decide who exactly it should be. I say it should be my younger brother, but there are many that suggest that I should be the one since I'm older."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You don't want to be the Emperor?" he asked.

"No," Long Huan said. "I… never had such a desire."

Alex thought for a moment and nodded. From everything he had heard about Long Huan, he never seemed interested in matters regarding the empire or ruling, so it made sense why he didn't want to do it now.

"But you must do it anyway," Yan Yating said. "You are the older of the two brothers. I admit that it would be okay for Prince Hanjue to become the Emperor too, but he's too young for it. He isn't even 40 years old. There is so much more for him to learn before he becomes one."

"What about the Empress?" Alex asked. "She can rule while the young prince learns to become an Emperor."

"She made her intention to leave the royal family known after her father's funeral. She is not even an empress anymore," Long Huan said.

"I see," Alex said, thoughtful about the situation.

"Prince Huan, you must take the throne," Yan Yating said, a few other people nodding in agreement.

"No, we must follow the ruling of the family. In the event that an Emperor passes away, the throne is given to the crown prince," one of the people said, someone that Alex did not recognize. He didn't even wear a soldier's uniform.

'Someone from the Royal blood?' Alex wondered. The man was old, so the chance that he was trying to take the throne for himself was impossible.

But seeing how close he was to the third prince, there was a chance that he was trying to put the third prince on the throne and control him from the shadows either through suggestions or by force.

It would be hard to prove what it was that he wanted without forcing him to eat a pill. Would that be going too far? Alex did not want to actively interfere in their matters.

Yan Yating sighed. "But the Crown Prince is dead, that is why we are choosing one of the other two princes to become the Emperor," he said.

"That is not true," the other man replied quickly. "While it is true that the first prince is dead, he was not the Crown Prince at the time of his death. The Emperor had revoked the first prince's right as the crown prince, and given it to prince Hanjue."

"Because of that, after his passing, legally, the throne should be passed to Prince Hanjue," he said.

That brought up more arguments about what was legal, and what was not. Whether they should stick to the Emperor's words or not was also questioned.

Yan Yating was clearly against everything that the Dragon Emperor himself said, but more than that, he did not want to hand the country over to a prince he knew little about.

The argument went on for a while as Alex watched and heard everyone's arguments. Some put up good arguments, while some did not.

Alex looked at Long Hanjue, who felt very much out of place in such matters of importance as he had always been left behind from such stuff.

"Alright, everyone stop!" Long Huan shouted, causing everyone to pause their argument and look at him.

Long Huan sighed and turned toward Alex. "What do you suggest should be done?" he asked. "Please tell me you can help make us the decision."

Alex bit his lower lip in thought. Then he looked at the third prince. "Everyone keeps saying how they either want the third prince to become the Emperor or how they don't want him to, but I don't see anyone asking what the third prince wants."

"Prince Hanjue, what is your thought on this matter? Do you wish to become the next emperor?" Alex asked.

Long Hanjue looked at Alex with a hint of shock on his face, unable to form any words immediately. "I… I will do what is best for the Empire," he said. "I will let the others make the decision."

"If you were to take the throne right now, do you think you will become a good emperor?" Alex asked. "Just yourself, without any aid from anyone beside you, do you think you'll make the correct decisions for the Empire?"

The third prince paused, unable to answer. "I…"

"Please do not tell the prince what to say," Alex spoke, looking toward the man who was slowly moving his spiritual sense toward the prince. Alex could not hear what he was saying, but he could sense what the man was intending to do.

The man turned toward Alex in surprise and then immediately started fearing for his life as Alex stared directly into his eyes.

He did not want to die.

The prince looked around for a while and said, "My father never gave me a single moment to spend with him. What time I had, I mostly spent it with my mother, who taught me how to read, write, fight."

"And none of those lessons included anything more than a cursory glance into how one ruled a kingdom, and nothing more. As such, I will say that I have zero understanding of what it means to be an Emperor and what is required of an Emperor. I would say if I end up becoming an emperor, without outside assistance, I will not make a very good Emperor."

Alex nodded and turned toward Long Huan. "Looks like you have your answer, Prince Huan," he said. "Either give the throne to someone who knows not how to rule or let this be the end of your empire and let the kingdoms rule on their own. What do you say?"

Long Huan was taken aback. "I can't let the Empire be destroyed just like that," he said. "It must continue."

"Then continue it," Alex said. "You are a much better candidate for that than your brother. You have much more experience than him in every instance."

"As for not wanting it, you have no choice. Rarely does anyone get to do something they love," Alex said. "You'll just have to suck it all up and do what is correct."