"I have visited the great buildings of Riel, Faran, Italia, and Ancient Byzantine. Among them, St. Mintovburg Cathedral had the most beautiful interior, a myriad of resplendent jewels and a marvelous stained glass," the most popular poet in the contemporary era, Marquis Alpré, had written in "The Mark of Homeland".
The poet's commentary naturally favored his homeland, but St. Mintovburg Cathedral was indeed charming. The church was built at the end of the fourth century of Church Calendar. It was completed in the mid-fifth century and the completed church was what people now saw.
Mintovburg, a small town that stood on a hill did not have much worth mentioning. The image of this church often appeared in paintings and literary works. After the birth of Marquis Alpré in Mintovburg, the cathedral's Romanesque spires, stained-glass windows and the arches that had a perfectly integrated mechanics theory became universally appreciated.
His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette arrived at the small town on the hills in the morning. His cavalry units were positioned beside the canal below the hills and they built a military camp near the good storage at the dock. Looking over the canal from the little town, the white-tipped tents and the large group of warhorses drinking water were a distinct color as if they were a mysterious group of visiting nomadic people.
After arriving in the little town, the thing that Oscar heard most was naturally the poet's name, followed by the cathedral's and lastly "Nevanzem Corner". Nevanzem was the name of the largest primitive forest in the central south region of Titan. "Nevanzem Corner", as the name implied, was a breach formed by the forest close to Mintovburg. Just like the Black Forest in front of Saijo Mountain, Nevanzem was a road that one must take to enter and leave the primitive forest.
Perhaps it was because he could not stand Sandy's nagging, Oscar finally agreed with the little devil who was still trying to pass his time on the carriage couch. They decided to go hunting in the primitive forest together. If Oscar did not do so, Sandy said he was going to urinate on the carriage.
Originally, Oscar wanted to visit the cathedral depicted in the poet's work but was badgered by mad Sandy and the excited Red Tiger officers until His Highness the Prince did not even have the interest to go for religious service. About noon, after hurriedly downing lunch at the chef's camp, His Highness the Prince put on his hunting clothes and led a huge group of guards and local sheriffs to the intense sea of green to the west of the horizon.
The sheriff of Mintovburg was a talkative person. In his eyes, Marquis Alpré was an all-rounder, "Marquis taught the locals to make waterwheels to irrigate the fields. Marquis opened a forest logging area. Marquis liberated the serfs and servants of his house…"
Oscar asked, "Is Marques Alpré a poet or something else?"
The aged sheriff pointed towards the huge forest that was in sight, "The Marquis has been living in seclusion in his jungle manor for many years. You can visit that paradise on earth and you will know Marquis Alpré's personal conduct then."
Hunting was not considered new to the men who marched into battle. Some soldiers think that it was beneath them, but it is rare for the head of the family and General Murat to be in high spirits. Everyone put on a show reluctantly. The hounds were borrowed from one of the local woodland proprietors. The proprietor was not a good person, but the hound was a good hound – a pure breed Titan fine-haired dog. This hound was the top grade on the hunting ground, just that it was too noisy, barking incessantly at every horse hoof.
Oscar was surrounded by his escort team which included Paul and the Black Devil. Since they left Dulin, they had stuck close to His Highness the Prince. However, while hunting for a fox, the cunningness of the prey and the sudden stench that wafted out enraged Raytheon. The big built Oslu that had just recovered from its injury did not expect to encounter such an unfortunate incident while taking a stroll.
The angry, gigantic horse zipped in and out and shook off the companions behind it. When Oscar realized that the prey had disappeared, there was no one by his side. He was lost in the vast, majestic and primitive forest.
The forest obscured the sky and provided shelter from the sun. The air was dense. The birds and all kinds of unknown beasts suddenly flicked in and out and all kinds of cries filled the air. In the dense shade all around the oddly shaped tree roots, moss and wormwood grew wildly. Enormous vined plants hung down from the tall canopy and were encased in lavender-colored parasites as terrifying as that in the devil kingdom of legends.
A clear stream spilled out lightly and quickly from a pond that had a white fog drifting over it. The pond was very shallow. Lying in it were carcasses of beasts. The carcasses had just rotted, and flies and various carrion insects were racing all over the skeletal remains of the animals, competing against one another. They were unorganized and undisciplined, devouring the flesh of the victims in a frenzy.
The stench that drove one crazy was simply indescribable. The person who walked into it must cover his nose. If he could accept the final scene of life, then he must endure the nibbling bites of the insects. Although it was not on his own body, his heart felt that it was as difficult to bear as if he were bearing a heavy burden.
Oscar did not cover his nose, his eyes were scarlet, his sweat had already soaked his hunting wear and even the saddle under the seat was dripping wet. Being faced with a cruel scene which robbed life, he felt unendurably thirsty, but his water pouch was empty. Sighing at his misfortune, the Titan prince jumped off the horse and walked to the pond as far as possible from the shallow pond of carcasses.
The pond water held in his hands was still lush green and Oscar deliberated over this fresh and bright color. He hesitated a little, but the burn down his throat eventually overcame his cautiousness. He lowered his head and tasted it! Oh God of Light, have pity! The water was bitter and there was an acidic reek to it.
As he stood up from the side of the pond, Oscar felt dizzy and his pupils suddenly dilated! Oh God of Light! What did he see? The corpse that the worms and ants were competitively biting was actually O'Neil Andrew Morisette!
O'Neil Andrew Morisette was soaked in the wretched pool. He wore his favorite blue commissioned officer uniform. The corpse of the Imperial Prince reeked. One of his arms floated on the surface of the water and worms continued to wiggle in and out of his skin. His eyes were looking up at the canopy of trees, his complexion was deathly pale and his muscles were swollen. A giant centipede crawled out of his nostril and disappeared into the other side. With a few flaps of its wings, a carrion bird landed in the pond. With a peck, it tore away a side of the face. The flesh still had blood in it and with a plop, it fell into the water. The Titan prince's facial bones were exposed. His eyes were still gazing at the sky but at the next instant, his eyeballs suddenly started moving gradually and he looked towards the man who was standing by the pool, stunned.
Oscar stumbled backward, and the huge Raytheon stopped him. He took firm hold of the reins and flipped himself onto his horse violently. His head was dizzy again, but he was already seated on the saddle. Raytheon turned its head around in astonishment. Oscar ignored his old companion. He heard the sound of water and saw the human body that had lost its face stood up. He remembered that it was an unknown animal but now it had become O'Neil Andrew Morisette! "O'Neil Andrew Morisette" was still within his line of vision and was approaching him…
The shadow of the trees was rapidly falling behind. The spurs had rolled too deep which resulted in bloody gashes on Raytheon's abdomen. The giant horse was huffing air out from its nose. The man on the horse was taking huge gulps of air!
***************
Oscar did not know how he had left the pool of stagnant water. He only knew to flee immediately. Flee from the imaginary chase and from the advancement of death. Or perhaps, O'Neil Andrew Morisette was already dead and now the person riding on the horse was only an empty shell made up of flesh.
A large tree trunk suddenly appeared before him. The knight on the horse did not have enough time to avoid it and O'Neil Andrew Morisette crashed heavily into it. A burst of ripping pain radiated from his wounds from many days ago. Raytheon was still galloping on, but he was already hanging on the tree trunk. After swaying for a moment, the entire world started to spin. The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground frightened the birds and beasts nearby. Oscar opened his eyes wide. Above the canopy of the trees, only tiny specks of haze were visible. There was no sunlight, no wind and no sound.
He struggled to turn around. The violent crash earlier seemed to have crushed his gastrointestinal tract. When he first regained consciousness, the Prince of Titan vomited violently. He vomited out green mucus, his lunch and the cherry pie that morning. When the things he vomited out was only faint yellow liquid, a laughter of girls suddenly rang out from the forest.
The Prince of Titan tried his best to open his eyes and a group of young and beautiful girls walked towards him from the depths of the forest. The girls clustered around a woman clothed in resplendent clothes. All that he could do was to squeeze his eyes. He knew that he had no tears, but he could clearly feel icy-cold droplets of water on his cheeks.
"Mother...Mommy..."
The beautiful young woman used a gentle gesture to stop the teenage girls making a racket. Her appearance was still as that in Oscar's memory. Noble…beautiful…carrying the sadness of her morbid state and a compassionate, kindly smile.
"Mommy...Mommy," Oscar called out to his mother feebly. The young woman did not speak. She never spoke. She was still her usual self and merely took the man's head and held him in her gentle embrace.
"Save me...save me..." Oscar found himself unable to move. He couldn't touch his mother's face. He also could not feel his mother's warmth. He could only call for help ceaselessly. He knew he must have encountered something terrible.
The young woman nodded lightly, but she did not answer her frail son but instead used a thin white finger to release the tightly bound corset. The surrounding girls blushed and averted their heads. The young woman exposed one side of her breasts. She lifted her breast and brought it to the child's lip. That smile, that look, that rich milky smell…Oscar did not know if this was the scene in his memory. He just wanted to latch onto that bright red bud and draw milk from his mother's breast.
The moment the man's lips touched the nipple, the forest moved, followed by the piercing screams of the girls! Oscar's mother pushed him out of her embrace! The flash of fire and swords moved and floated throughout the world. An unknown horn reverberated through the skies above the canopy of the trees. The fierce sound of horse hooves and the miserable cries caused by slaughter filled every corner of the woodland. The girls accompanying his mother turned into fleeting white shadows. They ran at flying speed around the men. Despite their bodies being only faintly visible, their faces were still real. Their faces had expressed horror. They were screaming out for help and praying loudly.
The faceless knights rushed over. The person leading was wielding a great sword and his whole body was clad in a bronze armor. Oscar stared at the other's horse hooves. He wanted to get up. He wanted to draw the machete at his waist. The mural of his mother church obstructed his field of vision as before. Hence, he shouted, "Go away! Danger! Go away!"
All the mothers in the world were difficult, stubborn and unreasonable! They will not take the feelings of their children into consideration, even when weapons pierced their bodies. Oscar's shouts became weeps and anguished howls!
His mother was knocked to the ground by the knight's great sword. A huge tattered gash appeared on her pure white chest! Maybe his mother's greatness, selflessness and fearlessness eventually touched the gods far away in the heavens. Oscar was lifted from his bondage! O'Neil Andrew Morisette who was washed over by fury leaped up from the muddy ground. His grief and cries became the things that coalesced all his drive into one strike down the middle!
The knight was split into two halves. The tall dark horse carried the knight's lower limbs and disappeared into the jungle. The lonely upper limb fell to the ground with lumps of brilliant red intestines.
Oscar hurried over. He raised the machete in his hands up high. He would pummel this man who had robbed him of his everything into mush. However, when he saw the face of the knight clearly, he was again taken aback!
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette! How can it be you again?"
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette" fell to the ground. He used his arms to support the half of his body and crawled slowly. He drew out a string of intestines, flesh and deathly white spinal columns stained with filthy soil. He crawled towards his mother who was blood-soaked with the cries of "ola, ola" from his lips!
Oscar could not make any sense of this. He was like a bystander, sizing up the remains of his body. To date, it had already been twice…
***************
With the blink of an eye, Oscar woke up, awakened from his nightmare! His machete unexpectedly unsheathed. The light of the sword brought on a brilliant ripple. The candle flame in the room and the light in the mirror flickered gently as if a gentle breeze had brushed over it.
The Prince of Empire trained his machete in front of him. He struggled to sit up. What was this freaking about? O'Neil Andrew Morisette assessed everything before his eyes in astonishment! He was lying on a massive bed that had countless precious fur clothing on it. At the head of the bed were two tall golden candle holders. On each of the candle holders were twelve crystal flaps. The thick candles were burning with a flame, lighting up the entire bedroom in a glorious splendor.
That's right, a glorious splendor! The thick woolen carpet was unusually soft and the irregular pigskin wallpaper and valuable oil paintings were displayed. There was also a picture of a bleak oriental landscape. The spacious house had only a few pieces of exquisite Phoebe furniture, especially the dressing table. That was one of the few ancient roman-styled pieces remaining in the world. The dressing mirror was as bright as silver ingots. The handmade jewelry box beneath the mirror had its lid opened. The lights within it caused the pearls and agates to reflect bright and colorful rays of light. Oscar, with his mind filled with questions, climbed out of the bed with difficulty. He saw himself in the mirror.
The dignified and trim commissioned officer uniform was a style that he had never seen before. It had golden linings and silver thread that lined the openings. The open collar had his family crest and medals pinned on it. On one side of the sleeves above the elbows, the uniform depicted the Narcissus Fierce Tiger totem.
"You're awake?" a voice asked.
Oscar turned towards the door in alarm. A row of stone steps led toward the huge gates of the palace. However, His Highness the Prince noticed that this could not be considered a palace because there were stalactites of a peculiar shape hanging down from the roof.
"Who are you? Where is this place?" Oscar sized up the middle-aged man descending the steps. The smiling middle-aged man wore an ancient nobleman's burqa and kept a charming little beard.
The middle-aged man stood still at two meters away from His Highness the Prince. He saluted O'Neil Andrew Morisette with the traditional etiquette.
"Your Imperial Highness, Marquis Glenn Alpré welcomes you to his grotto!"
"Not a devil castle?" Oscar frowned. He tightened his hold on the machete.
"No, Your Highness! I must admire your imagination, but haven't you already seen it? I'm the Marquis Glenn Alpré. This is not some devil castle but my grotto in the forest, a place to hide away from the mundane world!"
Oscar once again assessed his surroundings. The court-style tasseled draperies, gold-clad hall furnishings, those oil painted sculptures, and the precious stone ornaments that were carelessly scattered on the ground. This did not seem like a Marquis' shelter from the world, but more like a thief's lair where pirates of legends buried their treasure.
"You're Glenn Alpré..." having not completed his sentence, the young prince was startled by the sound of a meow. A soft lump fell onto his shoulder. He was so startled that his hairs stood on end. He brandished his machete fiercely and almost chopped off his own head.
"Oh, Your Highness, relax, relax!" Marquis Alpré came forward in exasperation. He carried the fat Persian cat that loved stirring trouble down from the prince's shoulder. Then, he calmly measured up the tense O'Neil Andrew Morisette who had a queer expression.
"Your Highness, you've been wandering in the jungle for a day and a night. It seems that you have eaten something bad. When my servant discovered you, you were feverish, so you'd better put your blade away and lie down on the bed for a while more. You need to rest!"
"Wait!" Oscar scratched his head with the machete's handle, "You said I've been wandering in the jungle for a day and night?"
"Yes, that's right!" Marquis's expressed his amusement. He nodded his head firmly.
The Oscar looked at the other person. The middle-aged man had beautiful blue eyes and a neatly trimmed wig. Marquis kept sideburns like a typical person from Titan's central region and the thick sideburns extended all the way to his thin lips. At first glance, they looked like two mustaches.
"Your Highness, if you think it is not safe here, you can bring along your blade, but you have to listen to me…at least lie on the bed; it's much more comfortable than the ground!"
Oscar still looked dubious, but he returned to the huge beast skin mattress. He did not lie down but positioned himself into a comfortable sitting position, settling against the long Persian pillow to one side.
"The Duke Cara Siva had corresponded with you in prison!" Oscar said suddenly.
"Yes, that's right!" the middle-aged man nodded lightly, "At that time, I was still young and like all ambitious noble youths with passion and sincerity of dedicating one's service to the country. I took up a post in the public office and then during my spare time, used poetry to express my feelings and thus gained recognition from the former Secretary of State, Duke Cara Siva.
Oscar shook his head, "I don't want to know about this! Tell me, what is Duke Cara Siva's comments on your book of poetry "Time Hunters"?"
"You are testing me..." Marquis Alpré laughed. The paranoia of the prince in front of him was not of an ordinary scale, "In Duke Cara Siva's letter, he mentioned that poetry was invigorating yet sophisticated. I still feel a little embarrassed talking about it!"
"You're already blushing!" Oscar finally relaxed. When he was in Damorga, his teacher, Duke Cara Siva had given him an evaluation of that deep poetry anthology. This at least indicated that the noble gentleman before him that appeared a little young very likely be the most famous poet in the contemporary era of Titan literature.
"You've already slept for half the day. It's already early in the morning. You need to have some..."
Without waiting for Marquis Alpré to finish, O'Neil Andrew Morisette's stomach, unwilling to be left out, growled. His Highness the Prince waved innocently, and the great poet immediately gave him an understanding nod.
Marquis Alpré rang the silver bell on the dresser and a pleasant laugh was heard immediately from the doorway. A group of maids dragged a huge dish and filed in. The fruits and vegetables on the plate were a feast for the eyes. O'Neil Andrew Morisette sized up these young women that had bold gazes and smiles at the corner of their eyes, one by one. They wore muslin dresses of the same style and even the scent which drifted out when they walked was the same.
The sumptuous meal was spread out on the long table before the giant bed. Smelling the savory aroma of the various culinary delicacies and watching the young girls that exposed their curves as they bustled about, Prince O'Neil relaxed unconsciously. He was a little amazed by his good luck, especially after being tormented by nightmares for half the day.
"This is…really a place like a paradise!" Oscar exclaimed softly in awe. His finger circled a few times in front of his eyes.
Marquis Alpré intuitively understood. He looked at his grotto up and down. This grotto could be compared to the richest Imperial household in the world. There was no doubt about this.
"I've been building this grotto since I resigned from my public office, but this is just one of the rooms. There are dozen or so rooms with different functions! If you are interested, you can follow me on a tour after the meal!"
"Of course!" Oscar nodded firmly. "Ola...a dozen or so rooms!" the young prince exclaimed again in awe.
"Yes!" Marquis grunted, "The Alpré Family's wealth accumulated over generations are all here. A paradise on earth built of gold…the last pure land in the world!"
Oscar looked at the girls who had their heads buried and were giggling foolishly. "What about them? I have reason to suspect that you are a trafficker, otherwise, these beautiful maids can't be gathered within a day!"
The poet chuckled straight out. He took a maid into his arms and used both his hands to reach for the girl's breasts. The girl's face immediately glowed crimson but she did not push away the palms that had violated her. Instead, with her intoxicating gaze, she gazed at O'Neil Andrew Morisette whose Adam's apple kept rolling up and down.
"Yes! They are all great works of art. Just like the everlasting poems, the portraits that will forever remain in the world, and the sculptures that will never perish! So, collecting is not enough! You have to know how to protect them and maintain them. The key point is that you need to know how to make them happy!"
Oscar nodded, "This is too deep!"
Marquis Alpré laughed again. He clapped his hands at the girls around him, "There are a lot of ways to obtain happiness. You have to know how to make a choice and to accept or reject! Just like now, on one side is the young, respected prince of the Empire, a hero of the nation. On the other side is a well-off peculiar uncle, hiding in a grotto. You may choose!"
A dozen teenage girls discussed among themselves in whispers. A clear majority of them gathered by O'Neil Andrew Morisette's side and only three girls knelt around the Marquis.
"Ohh..." Alpré spread his hands in disappointment, "You see, even the angels in heaven have hierarchies."
Oscar laughed with contentment. The beautiful maids had climbed into his massive bed. A dozen of well-rounded, solid thighs tangled before him. Numerous bodies were pressed against his. Some were massaging him and some were picking food out from the plate.
Oscar ate a sparkling grape and took a sip of musk cocktail from the arms of a girl. Finally, he lifted his head and gazed at the roof of the grotto, using one of the girl's soft tissues on her chest as a pillow.
"Now I feel...like I am a..."
"An emperor?" Marquis Alpré voiced his guess boldly.
"That's right, an emperor!" Oscar withdrew his faraway gaze. He looked at the middle-aged nobleman whose expression remained the same, "Don't tell me it isn't so? The splendid palace, the impressive assortment of food and..."
His Imperial Highness the Prince said as he spread his arms open and two young girls immediately slipped into his arms. The body perfume that penetrated his nose roused O'Neil Andrew Morisette. After kissing the two red lips on his left and right, only then did he exclaimed, "There is still another angel who is serving in heaven! All these are treatments that only the Emperor would have. This makes me immeasurably satisfied!"
Alpré nodded, but in the end, he shook his head again, "You are the initial me! Do you know what is outside the grotto? It's a jungle that drives you insane! That is a world where the weak are prey to the strong, a filthy and vile world."
"It's not suitable for life there, but only fit to bury bones! So, I locked myself in the grotto, accompany my girls, pile up gold coins in my palace and use unrealistic writings to outline the dreams that once surfaced in my past life!"
"I am the initial you?" Oscar looked dubiously at the great poet who was speaking with assurance.
"I was talking about the state of mind!" Alpré surveyed his surroundings, "This place can indeed cause one to lose himself! You must still remember that the initial you wielded a blade and watched everything with vigilant eyes. But now?"
Oscar looked to his side. The curious girls were passing around his machete. Then he looked at himself. The buttons of his military uniform were completely undone since who knew when. A few pairs of good-looking palms were pressed up against his chest, and...the feeling was pretty good!
"What do you mean? You must mean something..."
Marquis Alpré spread his hands, "What I want to say is that when life loses its purpose and holistic significance, all that remains is only meaningless pleasures of life and the fear of reality and past experiences. Like all great men with great ambitions, you innocently thirst for success, longing for survival and longing for a firm foothold in the world! And you have successfully did it! But please note that you are the Prince of the Empire, the Marshal of the Guards, the Head of the Andrews, the national hero of Titan, but when all is said and done, you haven't achieved complete success. You have truly survived the world and faced the trials of blood and fire determinedly, endured suffering with your body and sword, and rose above the common people, but in the end, you are yet to have the symbol of life and yet to fight for it and offer your lifelong ideals. Your life in the world is just a symbol! A symbol that commands the Narcissus knights, a symbol that asks for others to follow you in pursuing success, but the significance of this success is not clear because you do not know why you must succeed!"
"Is this the language of a poet?" O'Neil Andrew Morisette stroked his nose awkwardly. Marquis Alpré's appearance made him thought of his own psychiatrist. He did not want to admit that his personal analysis of the Marquis was completely amateur.
"Every person who has achieved success in any field has suddenly begun to perceive an experience of a new world at a certain time!" the poet did not answer the questions of His Highness the Prince. He circled his finger around the glorious splendor of the grotto, "The 'Desire for Success' is where all accomplishments begin. You did a great job! It can be said that you did a more outstanding job than all other great men in history. The former juvenile delinquent became the Prince O'Neil of the present. Your success is beyond the imagination of outsiders. However, your desire for success is too dark and obscure, even violating the rules of success. You only use a series of techniques and methods to change reality without changing the principle of success!"
"What is the principle of success?"
"The principle of success is the truth!" Marquis Alpré took a religious classic that depicted a religious symbol from the luxurious dressing table. "The water of wisdom, filled with a vitality that gushes out from the fountain of the Creator will never dry up. It bestows those who possess a goal and a plan to have the right to give orders to others. This person who has goals and plans will create happiness and will use the strategy and true knowledge given by the God of Light to guide the Emperor on the throne and lead the monarchs to set fairness and just."
"Wait!" Oscar called for him to stop immediately. He had already noticed the religious scriptures, "This is the old book of theology, 'The Covenant'. In this chapter, it states that…"
"Yes!" the poet nodded, "The greatest success in the world that the God of Light conceives to be is to – establish a country, become the ruler and bless the people using wisdom and true knowledge!"
"Oh...what does that have to do with me? Can't every successful person establish a country and become a ruler?"
"No! As O'Neil Andrew Morisette, the greatest success is just that! If you do not set goals and establish a plan for this accomplishment and become the person who gives orders, someone else will order you around instead! Because you have violated the principle of success, only those who have goals and plans can give orders to others. This is the highest authority that the God of Light has given to the world! And O'Neil Andrew Morisette, if you wish to be that person who gives orders, the goals and plans that you set and establish must be to set up a nation and become an Emperor because this is the first accomplishment of the world! If you settle for the second-best thing, then the Prince of Titan will still have to be ordered by others. You do not wish to see such a scene in your subconscious, so you are resisting. Perhaps you do not want to admit it, then please tell me, why did you leave Dulin and that we meet here?"
Oscar sized up the situation in the grotto. The feeling of surreal crept up. The gloriously splendid rooms, the ladies who hovered on his left and right and every perception was magnifying his senses, but the information received by the mind was too limited and lacking to the point that he could not even get the basic grasp of things.
"Tell me! The grotto, the women and you! It's all an illusion, right?" the young prince tried to force his mind to make sense of it. He practically ignored the misconception towards success. He only cared about his situation and the things that were happening before his eyes.
"No!" Marquis Alpré, shook his head again and again, "You feel like an Emperor here, this perception is true and also very accurate! You are the Emperor here but once you leave the grotto, you won't be anymore!"
"Then very well!" Oscar struggled to free himself from the intertwining female body, "I'll leave now!"
"Don't be so impatient!" Marquis Alpré pointed towards the passageway of the grotto, "This place is in the deepest part of the forest, it is pitch black outside. Your guards are still circling around at the edge of the forest. They are so anxious until they are close to tears, but you are the Emperor here, you have the choice!"
"Choice?" Oscar was even more confused.
"Yes, choice!" Marquis Alpré nodded, "Look at everything here. You already know what an Emperor can possess, but…the Emperor has a most special right you have yet to exercise!"
"What rights?" Oscar was a little tempted, but in the depths of his heart, he said to himself...
Just a little tempted, nothing more.
"The girls in the room! You can choose one or more of them to accompany you by your side. The night is still young, is it not?"
Oscar laughed involuntarily, "This the most special right of the Emperor?"
Marquis Alpré did not answer directly. He merely fixed his gaze at the Titan Prince, "Tell me your answer, which one?"
Oscar shrugged indifferently. He pointed to the great poet opposite him, "If I were to choose... I want you to have those three by your side!"
"Why?" Alpré smiled slightly, "They are not the most beautiful."
Oscar settled back into his enormous bed. He had not realized that the women on the bed had all vanished without a trace.
"Ola...I just wish to know why they chose you and not me when they were making their choices or accepting and rejecting!"
The Marquis applauded softly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! I'm probably the first person to call you Your Majesty, right? Congratulations! You've already exercised the most special right that the Emperor possesses!"
"What is it?" Oscar frowned.
Alpré pointed to the girls around him and the girls were weeping over their loyalty and the reality that could not be altered, "The most special right that the Emperor possesses is – to deprive a single individual or even a group of their options and choices. It is an authority similar to that of the willpower of the God of Light."
Oscar did not have the opportunity to further explore this matter in depth. Marquis Alpré already took his leave from the grotto with a bow. The three young girls, with tears streaming down their cheeks, had already loosened their muslin skirts and were walking towards the monarch who had deprived them of their options and choices. Just when the warm bodies nestled against O'Neil Andrew Morisette's chest, he stuck his head out from among the voluptuous peaks with difficulty.
"Alpré! Alpré! You haven't told me what an Emperor will lose!"
Alpré stopped as he was raising the curtains at the entrance of the grotto. He turned his head around slightly. "Your Majesty, when you leave the grotto…you will know!"
Touching! Downright touching! O'Neil Andrew Morisette had changed the options and choices of three beautiful women. He was trembling with excitement and was going through hell and water due to this understanding! He used different means to toy with the female bodies beneath his, or one could say, torment! He appreciated the moving tears and liked them crying loudly "Don't" while simultaneously sought for some sweet-talk. He vented the ruthlessness and desire buried in the deepest part of his heart. This made him laugh to his heart's content and forget himself! At the very last moment when he was mentally and physically drained and when he his consciousness was about to sink into the abyss, he was startled awake by that question!
"What would an Emperor...lose?"
O'Neil Andrew Morisette's eyes opened and his machete once again emitted a clear, sweet-sounding swipe!
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Paul cried out in alarm and took several steps back, "Young man, have you lost it? Do you want to kill me?"
Oscar straightened himself abruptly and got up from the ground. This was indeed a grotto, that's right! But the luxurious draperies were gone! The giant bedspread with animal skin was gone! The tearful, fawning women and the magnificent room were all gone!
The Prince of Titan burst out of the grotto. It was still bright outside! The knights outside the cave were either sitting or lying down. When they saw the Commander, they straightened up like machine springs. Behind him came a complaint from Paul, "You agreed to just take a break and you, young man, just fell asleep for two hours like it's no one's business…"
Oscar shot a look at the King of Assassins. He turned around to look at that deep cave. He wanted to ask himself whether he had found the answer. What will an Emperor lose?
Suddenly, there was a dense horse hoof sound which came from the forest. Colonel Lukas Diyabaker dressed in a commissioned officer uniform hurried over. He jumped off the horse steadily. His hands were grasping a document tightly.
"By orders from Her Majesty Empress Alanis I, the local Judiciary Department has detained Madam Vijdeline Van Sukhoi. After the Secret Service Special Task Force arrived, she was brought to Dulin to further investigate the series of major corruption cases in the Sukhoi family!"
O'Neil Andrew Morisette who was feeling uneasy took the order document approved by his wife.
He just knew that Alanis would not be willing to let Vijdeline off the hook. He simply said that there were indeed many unreasonable things between women!
"Your Highness, we don't have a choice anymore!" Diyabaker wiped the sweat on his forehead, "Four days ago, the Northern Army Groups Commander already stepped in to arrest Duke Sukhoi. Three days ago, the Commander of the First Artillery Soldier Division, General Tove Van Sukhoi also began receiving inspections from the military court! If you wish to protect Madam Vijdeline, you have to let her disappear for a while!"
Oscar laughed coldly. He tore his wife's order documents into shreds. When the pieces had slid off his palms, he had the answer! When an Emperor deprived individuals or even a group of their options and choices, the Emperor had already lost everything!
"Is there anything else?" Oscar asked absent-mindedly.
Lukas nodded regretfully, "According to your orders, I arranged to meet that Marquis Alpré. However, the butler said that Marquis had departed the day before yesterday to Vielonna to attend the House of Lords' regular meeting held by the United Government of the Five Southern Provinces." Oscar felt that it was a little absurd. Without bothering about anything else, he leaped onto his Raytheon. The young Military Intelligence officer followed. Lukas seemed to be brooding over not meeting with Marquis Alpré. He kept going on about it. "Marquis Alpré is proficient in government affairs. He used to be the Empire's youngest Secretary of Governor Affairs. There is also a local legend that says this great poet is a mysterious psychic messenger. Whether it is true or not, no one knows."
O'Neil Andrew Morisette could only give a faint smile. He strolled through the jungle. Everything around him was still the same, but...he will meet Marquis Alpré.
So, the next stop, Vielonna! The distance to success is still very far and the greatest success is built on the art of the right to continuously self-question and a bloody rage. This art is a collection that coalesced all human desires and had nothing to do with social categories such as politics and humanistic spirit and other societal categories. O'Neil Andrew Morisette was still not the person who can understand this art! This is because O'Neil Andrew Morisette still possessed a lot. When he found himself with nothing, even if he was not an Emperor, the God of Light will make him so!
"I have visited the great buildings of Riel, Faran, Italia, and Ancient Byzantine. Among them, St. Mintovburg Cathedral had the most beautiful interior, a myriad of resplendent jewels and a marvelous stained glass," the most popular poet in the contemporary era, Marquis Alpré, had written in "The Mark of Homeland".
The poet's commentary naturally favored his homeland, but St. Mintovburg Cathedral was indeed charming. The church was built at the end of the fourth century of Church Calendar. It was completed in the mid-fifth century and the completed church was what people now saw.
Mintovburg, a small town that stood on a hill did not have much worth mentioning. The image of this church often appeared in paintings and literary works. After the birth of Marquis Alpré in Mintovburg, the cathedral's Romanesque spires, stained-glass windows and the arches that had a perfectly integrated mechanics theory became universally appreciated.
His Imperial Highness Prince O'Neil Andrew Morisette arrived at the small town on the hills in the morning. His cavalry units were positioned beside the canal below the hills and they built a military camp near the good storage at the dock. Looking over the canal from the little town, the white-tipped tents and the large group of warhorses drinking water were a distinct color as if they were a mysterious group of visiting nomadic people.
After arriving in the little town, the thing that Oscar heard most was naturally the poet's name, followed by the cathedral's and lastly "Nevanzem Corner". Nevanzem was the name of the largest primitive forest in the central south region of Titan. "Nevanzem Corner", as the name implied, was a breach formed by the forest close to Mintovburg. Just like the Black Forest in front of Saijo Mountain, Nevanzem was a road that one must take to enter and leave the primitive forest.
Perhaps it was because he could not stand Sandy's nagging, Oscar finally agreed with the little devil who was still trying to pass his time on the carriage couch. They decided to go hunting in the primitive forest together. If Oscar did not do so, Sandy said he was going to urinate on the carriage.
Originally, Oscar wanted to visit the cathedral depicted in the poet's work but was badgered by mad Sandy and the excited Red Tiger officers until His Highness the Prince did not even have the interest to go for religious service. About noon, after hurriedly downing lunch at the chef's camp, His Highness the Prince put on his hunting clothes and led a huge group of guards and local sheriffs to the intense sea of green to the west of the horizon.
The sheriff of Mintovburg was a talkative person. In his eyes, Marquis Alpré was an all-rounder, "Marquis taught the locals to make waterwheels to irrigate the fields. Marquis opened a forest logging area. Marquis liberated the serfs and servants of his house…"
Oscar asked, "Is Marques Alpré a poet or something else?"
The aged sheriff pointed towards the huge forest that was in sight, "The Marquis has been living in seclusion in his jungle manor for many years. You can visit that paradise on earth and you will know Marquis Alpré's personal conduct then."
Hunting was not considered new to the men who marched into battle. Some soldiers think that it was beneath them, but it is rare for the head of the family and General Murat to be in high spirits. Everyone put on a show reluctantly. The hounds were borrowed from one of the local woodland proprietors. The proprietor was not a good person, but the hound was a good hound – a pure breed Titan fine-haired dog. This hound was the top grade on the hunting ground, just that it was too noisy, barking incessantly at every horse hoof.
Oscar was surrounded by his escort team which included Paul and the Black Devil. Since they left Dulin, they had stuck close to His Highness the Prince. However, while hunting for a fox, the cunningness of the prey and the sudden stench that wafted out enraged Raytheon. The big built Oslu that had just recovered from its injury did not expect to encounter such an unfortunate incident while taking a stroll.
The angry, gigantic horse zipped in and out and shook off the companions behind it. When Oscar realized that the prey had disappeared, there was no one by his side. He was lost in the vast, majestic and primitive forest.
The forest obscured the sky and provided shelter from the sun. The air was dense. The birds and all kinds of unknown beasts suddenly flicked in and out and all kinds of cries filled the air. In the dense shade all around the oddly shaped tree roots, moss and wormwood grew wildly. Enormous vined plants hung down from the tall canopy and were encased in lavender-colored parasites as terrifying as that in the devil kingdom of legends.
A clear stream spilled out lightly and quickly from a pond that had a white fog drifting over it. The pond was very shallow. Lying in it were carcasses of beasts. The carcasses had just rotted, and flies and various carrion insects were racing all over the skeletal remains of the animals, competing against one another. They were unorganized and undisciplined, devouring the flesh of the victims in a frenzy.
The stench that drove one crazy was simply indescribable. The person who walked into it must cover his nose. If he could accept the final scene of life, then he must endure the nibbling bites of the insects. Although it was not on his own body, his heart felt that it was as difficult to bear as if he were bearing a heavy burden.
Oscar did not cover his nose, his eyes were scarlet, his sweat had already soaked his hunting wear and even the saddle under the seat was dripping wet. Being faced with a cruel scene which robbed life, he felt unendurably thirsty, but his water pouch was empty. Sighing at his misfortune, the Titan prince jumped off the horse and walked to the pond as far as possible from the shallow pond of carcasses.
The pond water held in his hands was still lush green and Oscar deliberated over this fresh and bright color. He hesitated a little, but the burn down his throat eventually overcame his cautiousness. He lowered his head and tasted it! Oh God of Light, have pity! The water was bitter and there was an acidic reek to it.
As he stood up from the side of the pond, Oscar felt dizzy and his pupils suddenly dilated! Oh God of Light! What did he see? The corpse that the worms and ants were competitively biting was actually O'Neil Andrew Morisette!
O'Neil Andrew Morisette was soaked in the wretched pool. He wore his favorite blue commissioned officer uniform. The corpse of the Imperial Prince reeked. One of his arms floated on the surface of the water and worms continued to wiggle in and out of his skin. His eyes were looking up at the canopy of trees, his complexion was deathly pale and his muscles were swollen. A giant centipede crawled out of his nostril and disappeared into the other side. With a few flaps of its wings, a carrion bird landed in the pond. With a peck, it tore away a side of the face. The flesh still had blood in it and with a plop, it fell into the water. The Titan prince's facial bones were exposed. His eyes were still gazing at the sky but at the next instant, his eyeballs suddenly started moving gradually and he looked towards the man who was standing by the pool, stunned.
Oscar stumbled backward, and the huge Raytheon stopped him. He took firm hold of the reins and flipped himself onto his horse violently. His head was dizzy again, but he was already seated on the saddle. Raytheon turned its head around in astonishment. Oscar ignored his old companion. He heard the sound of water and saw the human body that had lost its face stood up. He remembered that it was an unknown animal but now it had become O'Neil Andrew Morisette! "O'Neil Andrew Morisette" was still within his line of vision and was approaching him…
The shadow of the trees was rapidly falling behind. The spurs had rolled too deep which resulted in bloody gashes on Raytheon's abdomen. The giant horse was huffing air out from its nose. The man on the horse was taking huge gulps of air!
***************
Oscar did not know how he had left the pool of stagnant water. He only knew to flee immediately. Flee from the imaginary chase and from the advancement of death. Or perhaps, O'Neil Andrew Morisette was already dead and now the person riding on the horse was only an empty shell made up of flesh.
A large tree trunk suddenly appeared before him. The knight on the horse did not have enough time to avoid it and O'Neil Andrew Morisette crashed heavily into it. A burst of ripping pain radiated from his wounds from many days ago. Raytheon was still galloping on, but he was already hanging on the tree trunk. After swaying for a moment, the entire world started to spin. The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground frightened the birds and beasts nearby. Oscar opened his eyes wide. Above the canopy of the trees, only tiny specks of haze were visible. There was no sunlight, no wind and no sound.
He struggled to turn around. The violent crash earlier seemed to have crushed his gastrointestinal tract. When he first regained consciousness, the Prince of Titan vomited violently. He vomited out green mucus, his lunch and the cherry pie that morning. When the things he vomited out was only faint yellow liquid, a laughter of girls suddenly rang out from the forest.
The Prince of Titan tried his best to open his eyes and a group of young and beautiful girls walked towards him from the depths of the forest. The girls clustered around a woman clothed in resplendent clothes. All that he could do was to squeeze his eyes. He knew that he had no tears, but he could clearly feel icy-cold droplets of water on his cheeks.
"Mother...Mommy..."
The beautiful young woman used a gentle gesture to stop the teenage girls making a racket. Her appearance was still as that in Oscar's memory. Noble…beautiful…carrying the sadness of her morbid state and a compassionate, kindly smile.
"Mommy...Mommy," Oscar called out to his mother feebly. The young woman did not speak. She never spoke. She was still her usual self and merely took the man's head and held him in her gentle embrace.
"Save me...save me..." Oscar found himself unable to move. He couldn't touch his mother's face. He also could not feel his mother's warmth. He could only call for help ceaselessly. He knew he must have encountered something terrible.
The young woman nodded lightly, but she did not answer her frail son but instead used a thin white finger to release the tightly bound corset. The surrounding girls blushed and averted their heads. The young woman exposed one side of her breasts. She lifted her breast and brought it to the child's lip. That smile, that look, that rich milky smell…Oscar did not know if this was the scene in his memory. He just wanted to latch onto that bright red bud and draw milk from his mother's breast.
The moment the man's lips touched the nipple, the forest moved, followed by the piercing screams of the girls! Oscar's mother pushed him out of her embrace! The flash of fire and swords moved and floated throughout the world. An unknown horn reverberated through the skies above the canopy of the trees. The fierce sound of horse hooves and the miserable cries caused by slaughter filled every corner of the woodland. The girls accompanying his mother turned into fleeting white shadows. They ran at flying speed around the men. Despite their bodies being only faintly visible, their faces were still real. Their faces had expressed horror. They were screaming out for help and praying loudly.
The faceless knights rushed over. The person leading was wielding a great sword and his whole body was clad in a bronze armor. Oscar stared at the other's horse hooves. He wanted to get up. He wanted to draw the machete at his waist. The mural of his mother church obstructed his field of vision as before. Hence, he shouted, "Go away! Danger! Go away!"
All the mothers in the world were difficult, stubborn and unreasonable! They will not take the feelings of their children into consideration, even when weapons pierced their bodies. Oscar's shouts became weeps and anguished howls!
His mother was knocked to the ground by the knight's great sword. A huge tattered gash appeared on her pure white chest! Maybe his mother's greatness, selflessness and fearlessness eventually touched the gods far away in the heavens. Oscar was lifted from his bondage! O'Neil Andrew Morisette who was washed over by fury leaped up from the muddy ground. His grief and cries became the things that coalesced all his drive into one strike down the middle!
The knight was split into two halves. The tall dark horse carried the knight's lower limbs and disappeared into the jungle. The lonely upper limb fell to the ground with lumps of brilliant red intestines.
Oscar hurried over. He raised the machete in his hands up high. He would pummel this man who had robbed him of his everything into mush. However, when he saw the face of the knight clearly, he was again taken aback!
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette! How can it be you again?"
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette" fell to the ground. He used his arms to support the half of his body and crawled slowly. He drew out a string of intestines, flesh and deathly white spinal columns stained with filthy soil. He crawled towards his mother who was blood-soaked with the cries of "ola, ola" from his lips!
Oscar could not make any sense of this. He was like a bystander, sizing up the remains of his body. To date, it had already been twice…
***************
With the blink of an eye, Oscar woke up, awakened from his nightmare! His machete unexpectedly unsheathed. The light of the sword brought on a brilliant ripple. The candle flame in the room and the light in the mirror flickered gently as if a gentle breeze had brushed over it.
The Prince of Empire trained his machete in front of him. He struggled to sit up. What was this freaking about? O'Neil Andrew Morisette assessed everything before his eyes in astonishment! He was lying on a massive bed that had countless precious fur clothing on it. At the head of the bed were two tall golden candle holders. On each of the candle holders were twelve crystal flaps. The thick candles were burning with a flame, lighting up the entire bedroom in a glorious splendor.
That's right, a glorious splendor! The thick woolen carpet was unusually soft and the irregular pigskin wallpaper and valuable oil paintings were displayed. There was also a picture of a bleak oriental landscape. The spacious house had only a few pieces of exquisite Phoebe furniture, especially the dressing table. That was one of the few ancient roman-styled pieces remaining in the world. The dressing mirror was as bright as silver ingots. The handmade jewelry box beneath the mirror had its lid opened. The lights within it caused the pearls and agates to reflect bright and colorful rays of light. Oscar, with his mind filled with questions, climbed out of the bed with difficulty. He saw himself in the mirror.
The dignified and trim commissioned officer uniform was a style that he had never seen before. It had golden linings and silver thread that lined the openings. The open collar had his family crest and medals pinned on it. On one side of the sleeves above the elbows, the uniform depicted the Narcissus Fierce Tiger totem.
"You're awake?" a voice asked.
Oscar turned towards the door in alarm. A row of stone steps led toward the huge gates of the palace. However, His Highness the Prince noticed that this could not be considered a palace because there were stalactites of a peculiar shape hanging down from the roof.
"Who are you? Where is this place?" Oscar sized up the middle-aged man descending the steps. The smiling middle-aged man wore an ancient nobleman's burqa and kept a charming little beard.
The middle-aged man stood still at two meters away from His Highness the Prince. He saluted O'Neil Andrew Morisette with the traditional etiquette.
"Your Imperial Highness, Marquis Glenn Alpré welcomes you to his grotto!"
"Not a devil castle?" Oscar frowned. He tightened his hold on the machete.
"No, Your Highness! I must admire your imagination, but haven't you already seen it? I'm the Marquis Glenn Alpré. This is not some devil castle but my grotto in the forest, a place to hide away from the mundane world!"
Oscar once again assessed his surroundings. The court-style tasseled draperies, gold-clad hall furnishings, those oil painted sculptures, and the precious stone ornaments that were carelessly scattered on the ground. This did not seem like a Marquis' shelter from the world, but more like a thief's lair where pirates of legends buried their treasure.
"You're Glenn Alpré..." having not completed his sentence, the young prince was startled by the sound of a meow. A soft lump fell onto his shoulder. He was so startled that his hairs stood on end. He brandished his machete fiercely and almost chopped off his own head.
"Oh, Your Highness, relax, relax!" Marquis Alpré came forward in exasperation. He carried the fat Persian cat that loved stirring trouble down from the prince's shoulder. Then, he calmly measured up the tense O'Neil Andrew Morisette who had a queer expression.
"Your Highness, you've been wandering in the jungle for a day and a night. It seems that you have eaten something bad. When my servant discovered you, you were feverish, so you'd better put your blade away and lie down on the bed for a while more. You need to rest!"
"Wait!" Oscar scratched his head with the machete's handle, "You said I've been wandering in the jungle for a day and night?"
"Yes, that's right!" Marquis's expressed his amusement. He nodded his head firmly.
The Oscar looked at the other person. The middle-aged man had beautiful blue eyes and a neatly trimmed wig. Marquis kept sideburns like a typical person from Titan's central region and the thick sideburns extended all the way to his thin lips. At first glance, they looked like two mustaches.
"Your Highness, if you think it is not safe here, you can bring along your blade, but you have to listen to me…at least lie on the bed; it's much more comfortable than the ground!"
Oscar still looked dubious, but he returned to the huge beast skin mattress. He did not lie down but positioned himself into a comfortable sitting position, settling against the long Persian pillow to one side.
"The Duke Cara Siva had corresponded with you in prison!" Oscar said suddenly.
"Yes, that's right!" the middle-aged man nodded lightly, "At that time, I was still young and like all ambitious noble youths with passion and sincerity of dedicating one's service to the country. I took up a post in the public office and then during my spare time, used poetry to express my feelings and thus gained recognition from the former Secretary of State, Duke Cara Siva.
Oscar shook his head, "I don't want to know about this! Tell me, what is Duke Cara Siva's comments on your book of poetry "Time Hunters"?"
"You are testing me..." Marquis Alpré laughed. The paranoia of the prince in front of him was not of an ordinary scale, "In Duke Cara Siva's letter, he mentioned that poetry was invigorating yet sophisticated. I still feel a little embarrassed talking about it!"
"You're already blushing!" Oscar finally relaxed. When he was in Damorga, his teacher, Duke Cara Siva had given him an evaluation of that deep poetry anthology. This at least indicated that the noble gentleman before him that appeared a little young very likely be the most famous poet in the contemporary era of Titan literature.
"You've already slept for half the day. It's already early in the morning. You need to have some..."
Without waiting for Marquis Alpré to finish, O'Neil Andrew Morisette's stomach, unwilling to be left out, growled. His Highness the Prince waved innocently, and the great poet immediately gave him an understanding nod.
Marquis Alpré rang the silver bell on the dresser and a pleasant laugh was heard immediately from the doorway. A group of maids dragged a huge dish and filed in. The fruits and vegetables on the plate were a feast for the eyes. O'Neil Andrew Morisette sized up these young women that had bold gazes and smiles at the corner of their eyes, one by one. They wore muslin dresses of the same style and even the scent which drifted out when they walked was the same.
The sumptuous meal was spread out on the long table before the giant bed. Smelling the savory aroma of the various culinary delicacies and watching the young girls that exposed their curves as they bustled about, Prince O'Neil relaxed unconsciously. He was a little amazed by his good luck, especially after being tormented by nightmares for half the day.
"This is…really a place like a paradise!" Oscar exclaimed softly in awe. His finger circled a few times in front of his eyes.
Marquis Alpré intuitively understood. He looked at his grotto up and down. This grotto could be compared to the richest Imperial household in the world. There was no doubt about this.
"I've been building this grotto since I resigned from my public office, but this is just one of the rooms. There are dozen or so rooms with different functions! If you are interested, you can follow me on a tour after the meal!"
"Of course!" Oscar nodded firmly. "Ola...a dozen or so rooms!" the young prince exclaimed again in awe.
"Yes!" Marquis grunted, "The Alpré Family's wealth accumulated over generations are all here. A paradise on earth built of gold…the last pure land in the world!"
Oscar looked at the girls who had their heads buried and were giggling foolishly. "What about them? I have reason to suspect that you are a trafficker, otherwise, these beautiful maids can't be gathered within a day!"
The poet chuckled straight out. He took a maid into his arms and used both his hands to reach for the girl's breasts. The girl's face immediately glowed crimson but she did not push away the palms that had violated her. Instead, with her intoxicating gaze, she gazed at O'Neil Andrew Morisette whose Adam's apple kept rolling up and down.
"Yes! They are all great works of art. Just like the everlasting poems, the portraits that will forever remain in the world, and the sculptures that will never perish! So, collecting is not enough! You have to know how to protect them and maintain them. The key point is that you need to know how to make them happy!"
Oscar nodded, "This is too deep!"
Marquis Alpré laughed again. He clapped his hands at the girls around him, "There are a lot of ways to obtain happiness. You have to know how to make a choice and to accept or reject! Just like now, on one side is the young, respected prince of the Empire, a hero of the nation. On the other side is a well-off peculiar uncle, hiding in a grotto. You may choose!"
A dozen teenage girls discussed among themselves in whispers. A clear majority of them gathered by O'Neil Andrew Morisette's side and only three girls knelt around the Marquis.
"Ohh..." Alpré spread his hands in disappointment, "You see, even the angels in heaven have hierarchies."
Oscar laughed with contentment. The beautiful maids had climbed into his massive bed. A dozen of well-rounded, solid thighs tangled before him. Numerous bodies were pressed against his. Some were massaging him and some were picking food out from the plate.
Oscar ate a sparkling grape and took a sip of musk cocktail from the arms of a girl. Finally, he lifted his head and gazed at the roof of the grotto, using one of the girl's soft tissues on her chest as a pillow.
"Now I feel...like I am a..."
"An emperor?" Marquis Alpré voiced his guess boldly.
"That's right, an emperor!" Oscar withdrew his faraway gaze. He looked at the middle-aged nobleman whose expression remained the same, "Don't tell me it isn't so? The splendid palace, the impressive assortment of food and..."
His Imperial Highness the Prince said as he spread his arms open and two young girls immediately slipped into his arms. The body perfume that penetrated his nose roused O'Neil Andrew Morisette. After kissing the two red lips on his left and right, only then did he exclaimed, "There is still another angel who is serving in heaven! All these are treatments that only the Emperor would have. This makes me immeasurably satisfied!"
Alpré nodded, but in the end, he shook his head again, "You are the initial me! Do you know what is outside the grotto? It's a jungle that drives you insane! That is a world where the weak are prey to the strong, a filthy and vile world."
"It's not suitable for life there, but only fit to bury bones! So, I locked myself in the grotto, accompany my girls, pile up gold coins in my palace and use unrealistic writings to outline the dreams that once surfaced in my past life!"
"I am the initial you?" Oscar looked dubiously at the great poet who was speaking with assurance.
"I was talking about the state of mind!" Alpré surveyed his surroundings, "This place can indeed cause one to lose himself! You must still remember that the initial you wielded a blade and watched everything with vigilant eyes. But now?"
Oscar looked to his side. The curious girls were passing around his machete. Then he looked at himself. The buttons of his military uniform were completely undone since who knew when. A few pairs of good-looking palms were pressed up against his chest, and...the feeling was pretty good!
"What do you mean? You must mean something..."
Marquis Alpré spread his hands, "What I want to say is that when life loses its purpose and holistic significance, all that remains is only meaningless pleasures of life and the fear of reality and past experiences. Like all great men with great ambitions, you innocently thirst for success, longing for survival and longing for a firm foothold in the world! And you have successfully did it! But please note that you are the Prince of the Empire, the Marshal of the Guards, the Head of the Andrews, the national hero of Titan, but when all is said and done, you haven't achieved complete success. You have truly survived the world and faced the trials of blood and fire determinedly, endured suffering with your body and sword, and rose above the common people, but in the end, you are yet to have the symbol of life and yet to fight for it and offer your lifelong ideals. Your life in the world is just a symbol! A symbol that commands the Narcissus knights, a symbol that asks for others to follow you in pursuing success, but the significance of this success is not clear because you do not know why you must succeed!"
"Is this the language of a poet?" O'Neil Andrew Morisette stroked his nose awkwardly. Marquis Alpré's appearance made him thought of his own psychiatrist. He did not want to admit that his personal analysis of the Marquis was completely amateur.
"Every person who has achieved success in any field has suddenly begun to perceive an experience of a new world at a certain time!" the poet did not answer the questions of His Highness the Prince. He circled his finger around the glorious splendor of the grotto, "The 'Desire for Success' is where all accomplishments begin. You did a great job! It can be said that you did a more outstanding job than all other great men in history. The former juvenile delinquent became the Prince O'Neil of the present. Your success is beyond the imagination of outsiders. However, your desire for success is too dark and obscure, even violating the rules of success. You only use a series of techniques and methods to change reality without changing the principle of success!"
"What is the principle of success?"
"The principle of success is the truth!" Marquis Alpré took a religious classic that depicted a religious symbol from the luxurious dressing table. "The water of wisdom, filled with a vitality that gushes out from the fountain of the Creator will never dry up. It bestows those who possess a goal and a plan to have the right to give orders to others. This person who has goals and plans will create happiness and will use the strategy and true knowledge given by the God of Light to guide the Emperor on the throne and lead the monarchs to set fairness and just."
"Wait!" Oscar called for him to stop immediately. He had already noticed the religious scriptures, "This is the old book of theology, 'The Covenant'. In this chapter, it states that…"
"Yes!" the poet nodded, "The greatest success in the world that the God of Light conceives to be is to – establish a country, become the ruler and bless the people using wisdom and true knowledge!"
"Oh...what does that have to do with me? Can't every successful person establish a country and become a ruler?"
"No! As O'Neil Andrew Morisette, the greatest success is just that! If you do not set goals and establish a plan for this accomplishment and become the person who gives orders, someone else will order you around instead! Because you have violated the principle of success, only those who have goals and plans can give orders to others. This is the highest authority that the God of Light has given to the world! And O'Neil Andrew Morisette, if you wish to be that person who gives orders, the goals and plans that you set and establish must be to set up a nation and become an Emperor because this is the first accomplishment of the world! If you settle for the second-best thing, then the Prince of Titan will still have to be ordered by others. You do not wish to see such a scene in your subconscious, so you are resisting. Perhaps you do not want to admit it, then please tell me, why did you leave Dulin and that we meet here?"
Oscar sized up the situation in the grotto. The feeling of surreal crept up. The gloriously splendid rooms, the ladies who hovered on his left and right and every perception was magnifying his senses, but the information received by the mind was too limited and lacking to the point that he could not even get the basic grasp of things.
"Tell me! The grotto, the women and you! It's all an illusion, right?" the young prince tried to force his mind to make sense of it. He practically ignored the misconception towards success. He only cared about his situation and the things that were happening before his eyes.
"No!" Marquis Alpré, shook his head again and again, "You feel like an Emperor here, this perception is true and also very accurate! You are the Emperor here but once you leave the grotto, you won't be anymore!"
"Then very well!" Oscar struggled to free himself from the intertwining female body, "I'll leave now!"
"Don't be so impatient!" Marquis Alpré pointed towards the passageway of the grotto, "This place is in the deepest part of the forest, it is pitch black outside. Your guards are still circling around at the edge of the forest. They are so anxious until they are close to tears, but you are the Emperor here, you have the choice!"
"Choice?" Oscar was even more confused.
"Yes, choice!" Marquis Alpré nodded, "Look at everything here. You already know what an Emperor can possess, but…the Emperor has a most special right you have yet to exercise!"
"What rights?" Oscar was a little tempted, but in the depths of his heart, he said to himself...
Just a little tempted, nothing more.
"The girls in the room! You can choose one or more of them to accompany you by your side. The night is still young, is it not?"
Oscar laughed involuntarily, "This the most special right of the Emperor?"
Marquis Alpré did not answer directly. He merely fixed his gaze at the Titan Prince, "Tell me your answer, which one?"
Oscar shrugged indifferently. He pointed to the great poet opposite him, "If I were to choose... I want you to have those three by your side!"
"Why?" Alpré smiled slightly, "They are not the most beautiful."
Oscar settled back into his enormous bed. He had not realized that the women on the bed had all vanished without a trace.
"Ola...I just wish to know why they chose you and not me when they were making their choices or accepting and rejecting!"
The Marquis applauded softly, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! I'm probably the first person to call you Your Majesty, right? Congratulations! You've already exercised the most special right that the Emperor possesses!"
"What is it?" Oscar frowned.
Alpré pointed to the girls around him and the girls were weeping over their loyalty and the reality that could not be altered, "The most special right that the Emperor possesses is – to deprive a single individual or even a group of their options and choices. It is an authority similar to that of the willpower of the God of Light."
Oscar did not have the opportunity to further explore this matter in depth. Marquis Alpré already took his leave from the grotto with a bow. The three young girls, with tears streaming down their cheeks, had already loosened their muslin skirts and were walking towards the monarch who had deprived them of their options and choices. Just when the warm bodies nestled against O'Neil Andrew Morisette's chest, he stuck his head out from among the voluptuous peaks with difficulty.
"Alpré! Alpré! You haven't told me what an Emperor will lose!"
Alpré stopped as he was raising the curtains at the entrance of the grotto. He turned his head around slightly. "Your Majesty, when you leave the grotto…you will know!"
Touching! Downright touching! O'Neil Andrew Morisette had changed the options and choices of three beautiful women. He was trembling with excitement and was going through hell and water due to this understanding! He used different means to toy with the female bodies beneath his, or one could say, torment! He appreciated the moving tears and liked them crying loudly "Don't" while simultaneously sought for some sweet-talk. He vented the ruthlessness and desire buried in the deepest part of his heart. This made him laugh to his heart's content and forget himself! At the very last moment when he was mentally and physically drained and when he his consciousness was about to sink into the abyss, he was startled awake by that question!
"What would an Emperor...lose?"
O'Neil Andrew Morisette's eyes opened and his machete once again emitted a clear, sweet-sounding swipe!
"Hey! Hey! Hey!" Paul cried out in alarm and took several steps back, "Young man, have you lost it? Do you want to kill me?"
Oscar straightened himself abruptly and got up from the ground. This was indeed a grotto, that's right! But the luxurious draperies were gone! The giant bedspread with animal skin was gone! The tearful, fawning women and the magnificent room were all gone!
The Prince of Titan burst out of the grotto. It was still bright outside! The knights outside the cave were either sitting or lying down. When they saw the Commander, they straightened up like machine springs. Behind him came a complaint from Paul, "You agreed to just take a break and you, young man, just fell asleep for two hours like it's no one's business…"
Oscar shot a look at the King of Assassins. He turned around to look at that deep cave. He wanted to ask himself whether he had found the answer. What will an Emperor lose?
Suddenly, there was a dense horse hoof sound which came from the forest. Colonel Lukas Diyabaker dressed in a commissioned officer uniform hurried over. He jumped off the horse steadily. His hands were grasping a document tightly.
"By orders from Her Majesty Empress Alanis I, the local Judiciary Department has detained Madam Vijdeline Van Sukhoi. After the Secret Service Special Task Force arrived, she was brought to Dulin to further investigate the series of major corruption cases in the Sukhoi family!"
O'Neil Andrew Morisette who was feeling uneasy took the order document approved by his wife.
He just knew that Alanis would not be willing to let Vijdeline off the hook. He simply said that there were indeed many unreasonable things between women!
"Your Highness, we don't have a choice anymore!" Diyabaker wiped the sweat on his forehead, "Four days ago, the Northern Army Groups Commander already stepped in to arrest Duke Sukhoi. Three days ago, the Commander of the First Artillery Soldier Division, General Tove Van Sukhoi also began receiving inspections from the military court! If you wish to protect Madam Vijdeline, you have to let her disappear for a while!"
Oscar laughed coldly. He tore his wife's order documents into shreds. When the pieces had slid off his palms, he had the answer! When an Emperor deprived individuals or even a group of their options and choices, the Emperor had already lost everything!
"Is there anything else?" Oscar asked absent-mindedly.
Lukas nodded regretfully, "According to your orders, I arranged to meet that Marquis Alpré. However, the butler said that Marquis had departed the day before yesterday to Vielonna to attend the House of Lords' regular meeting held by the United Government of the Five Southern Provinces." Oscar felt that it was a little absurd. Without bothering about anything else, he leaped onto his Raytheon. The young Military Intelligence officer followed. Lukas seemed to be brooding over not meeting with Marquis Alpré. He kept going on about it. "Marquis Alpré is proficient in government affairs. He used to be the Empire's youngest Secretary of Governor Affairs. There is also a local legend that says this great poet is a mysterious psychic messenger. Whether it is true or not, no one knows."
O'Neil Andrew Morisette could only give a faint smile. He strolled through the jungle. Everything around him was still the same, but...he will meet Marquis Alpré.
So, the next stop, Vielonna! The distance to success is still very far and the greatest success is built on the art of the right to continuously self-question and a bloody rage. This art is a collection that coalesced all human desires and had nothing to do with social categories such as politics and humanistic spirit and other societal categories. O'Neil Andrew Morisette was still not the person who can understand this art! This is because O'Neil Andrew Morisette still possessed a lot. When he found himself with nothing, even if he was not an Emperor, the God of Light will make him so!
