At that moment, the other princes cast glances filled with awe at Rocky. Way back, they used to regard
Rocky as nothing but a lousy guy and were even very reluctant to talk with him or be associated with
him. But now, they were in disbelief as they found out that he had become an indispensable existence
in the Holy Dragon Empire. They ate their words, and Rocky had proven them wrong. Today, they
looked up to him. They weren't estranged from the fact that Rocky had broken into the Witch Palace to
rescue Lena, fought with the best hands of the royal family alone, and dealt with Alston with a rope tied
around his neck. Moreover, rumor had it that there were two armies of the empire to back him up. Not
to mention that the Ji Clan, the second largest clan in the empire, also stood by his side. It was clear
that from now on, nobody would dare underestimate him for his power and his influence.
Meanwhile, the princes exchanged hesitant looks at each other. Then they stepped forward and bowed
to Rocky, showing great concerns and respect for him.
Rocky saw the princes' humility and nodded his head with a smile on his face. He kept mum and
passed by them as he headed for the emperor's palace.
After bringing contempt to themselves, the princes stepped aside dejectedly, keeping their eyes fixed
on the ground.
"Your Royal Highness, a great man rarely stoops to pettiness or harbors grievance for past wrongs.
Please, forgive us for being so rude to you before. Our guilt is unpardonable! Please punish us as you
like!" Elder Kerr and the royal members who had fought against Rocky stepped forward and apologized
with deep respect and modesty.
"Please, forget all about what happened. I know that you only did that because Alston pulled the wool
over your eyes. And besides, I had never revealed myself to you before. So let bygones be bygones
and let's all just move on. But all in all, it's nice of you to say that!" Rocky replied leniently.
At that moment, Elder Kerr and the others looked at each other again with their surprised faces. Based
on their previous experience, the emperor had shown his real attitude when he didn't blame Rocky for
all the wrongs he had done in the past. This only proved that the emperor took Rocky's side, and thus,
they believed they would surely have a hard time dealing with any trouble that concerned Rocky.
However, there was no one to blame but themselves, because they chose to believe Alston's version of
the story and set themselves against Rocky, to the point where they even attempted to kill him. Afraid
that Rocky would make things hard for them, they admitted their faults first. But as a response, Rocky
just brought it over with few simple sentences. He seemed to have forgotten the fact that they had tried
several times to kill him with a joint effort. Although they didn't know Rocky's true identity back then,
they still took action against him. And that alone was unforgivable.
Then, without saying anything more, Rocky gave them a nod and a smile, as he went on his way into
the palace under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
As soon as he stepped inside the palace, he saw Bryant, Marcia, and Lena all patiently waiting for him.
"Basil!" Lena smiled from ear to ear after seeing Rocky.
"Isis and Nigel are inside. His Majesty asked you to come and see him inside once you have arrived,"
Marcia instructed with a gentle smile.
Immediately, Rocky nodded and walked inside with Lena after giving Bryant another nod as his
greeting. After having two days' worth of rest, the emperor had finally recuperated, looking much better
than his previous state. He sat on the bed as he held Nigel in his arms. At that moment, his heart
overflowed with joy and tenderness like every grandfather felt when they held their grandchildren. Nigel
was not his first grandson, but everyone could see how much he loved him. Needless to say, his love
was mostly directed towards Rocky.
"Oh, here you are!" Isis, who was standing beside the bed, could not help but tremble in excitement
upon seeing Rocky. In an instant, she ran towards him with pinkish-red eyes welling with tears, ignoring
the presence of other people around her. In fact, she never knew about Rocky's plan to rescue the
emperor until everything was settled down. Seeing him in the flesh made her heart jump for joy.
Moreover, she could not hide the pride in her upon hearing how brave Rocky was. At the same time,
she wished that she would have been beside him at that time.
"Hey, I'm already here, safe and sound. You don't have to worry anymore," Rocky consoled as he
patted her shoulders gently.
"You have no idea how Nigel resembles Basil so much back when he was a little boy!" Lena exclaimed
as she looked at little Nigel in the emperor's arms.
"Ah, yes. I can see the resemblance. Looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree." The emperor
nodded for approval. Soon after, he handed the little boy to Isis and nodded at Rocky, instructing him to
come closer.
"Basil, I have a couple of things to announce, and I prefer that you break the news to the ministers and
royal members outside for my sake. Please, do it for me," requested the emperor slowly, as he looked
deep into Rocky's eyes.
Rocky nodded and leaned his ear closer to the emperor.
"First off, I'm going to make Nigel the heir to the throne." After dropping the bomb, the emperor paused
on purpose to see Rocky's reaction.
Just as he expected, Rocky was confused. At that moment, he cast sidelong glances at Isis and Lena,
who also shared the same feeling as him.
"But, Father, Nigel is just a naive infant. Isn't it improper for him to be the heir?" Isis, panicked, said
before Rocky could reply.
"I made this decision since Basil has no intention of taking over the throne. Moreover, I won't force him
to accept it. However, having an heir to the throne is better decided upon as soon as possible. After all,
I don't know how long my body can hold on, and someone needs to take over the throne of the empire.
This was not decided rashly. Rest assured that I've thought over it," the emperor said with a sigh.
"Father, I am not your only son. There're others who are more than willing to take the throne," Rocky
suggested, his head lowered a little as a sign of respect.
But the emperor stood firm and shook his head in disapproval.
"Father, please rethink this decision," Rocky added after hesitating for a while.
"I believe that there is no need for that. I have thought it over, and I see nothing wrong with it. Of
course, I won't force you to accept it. If you don't agree, then we can talk about it later. But I'm worried
about my health..." The emperor stopped talking abruptly and coughed once more.
Meanwhile, Rocky and Isis looked at each other, as if asking for each other's opinions with eyes.
"Well, it's your call, Basil," Isis said as she left the decision to Rocky.
"Well, Father, I have no more objection." After weighing the situation, Rocky made the decision. He
believed deep in his heart that this must be what the real Basil would have wanted.
"Moving onto the next agenda. The empire will cut off all relations and contacts with the Dragon Master
Clan from now on. I've discussed it with General Marcia and Chief Bryant, and they all agreed," the
emperor continued with a relieved smile.
Rocky frowned upon hearing this, but he didn't object. In fact, it was also a good thing, because judging
from the current situation of the Dragon Master Clan, if the Holy Dragon Empire cut off all their
connection with the Dragon Master Clan, then they would at least have saved themselves from being
involved in the clan's internal strife.
"And last, but not the least, I hope you and Shirley can get married." This final announcement made
Rocky's heart skip a beat. Immediately, he looked at Isis and Lena, who were also in disbelief, and
raised his eyebrows.
"But Father, the engagement between Shirley and me exists in name only. Why do you suddenly want
us to get married?" Rocky knew that the emperor must have his own reason for pushing him to marry
Shirley. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such a decision.
"It's for the empire's sake. Our empire has been in a mess, and I heard numerous complaints among
the people since Alston became the acting emperor. He left this huge mess for us to clean. And now,
there are many doubts in the royal members too. To make things worse, my physical condition is not
getting any better. We can't promise that there will be royal members taking the opportunity to make
trouble and commit adultery. The Ximen Clan is the only force that can restrain the power of the royal
family. Therefore, if you marry Shirley, you can steadily gain control of the royal family's power. Once
the foundation of the royal family is solid, it can also quell the doubts of the royal family," the emperor
explained calmly.
"Your Majesty, even you're telling the truth, but Basil has already married Isis, and Isis just had their
first kid. It's unfair to Isis if Basil marries Shirley!" Lena cut in impatiently. She was not able to control
herself at that moment. Moreover, it was not a proper suggestion for the time being.
"I agree with Lena. She's right, Father. This is just too much. I can't," Rocky replied, with his brows
deeply knitted.
"I know that it's a little too much. But this is the idea made by Chief Bryant, and I think it's reasonable,"
the emperor said, dropping another bomb that shocked everyone.
"What? This is Chief Bryant's idea?" Rocky was completely dumbstruck. He had never expected that
Bryant would agree to marry his dear granddaughter to him. What was more was that Bryant had never
shown such inclination before.
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