As Adrian saw his sister Serena, he tried touching her, but he felt that she was so fragile that he refrained from touching her after that.
Talia, seeing this, offered to take the baby in arms to the Prince, but Adrian rejected her offer.
As he sat on the sofa, waiting for his mother to wake up, he wondered:
Are babies really so fragile?
If so, how will I ever gather the courage to eliminate all rivals to the throne?
When the day comes, I won’t be able to eliminate babies like her.
As he was wondering as to what he would do, his mother woke up, and he finally met her.
He had brought some gifts for the baby and his mother, which he gave to Talia to be kept at the the table, and told her mother that everything was well in Valewood.
When his mother asked about Ronald, Adrian replied,
“He’s staying back to oversee the territory for me. I came here in his stead because there is so much work to be done there, Mother.”
He then asked her mother to visit Valewood once he was finished with his work, along with Serena.
Hearing this, she cried out happily at how big her child had grown now, and she was happy for him.
As the reunion was going on, suddenly, a royal guard arrived and announced:
“His Majesty, King Aldric Valcrest, will be arriving soon.”
Hearing this, Adrian immediately told his guards,
“Start packing.”
Seeing this, his mother asked him what he was doing and why he didn’t stay to see his father.
Adrian told her that he had so much work that needed his attention and he didn’t had much time.
He left before the King arrived.
In truth, Adrian didn’t want to see that man ever again because he knew that if they met, he would need to bow down to the King.
And that was unacceptable to him.
So, he rushed away and departed soon enough.
Some time later, the King came to see Elara.
When Elara tried to get up from her bed to greet the King, he said in a heavy voice,
“No need. You need to rest. Greetings can come later.”
As he looked around her room he saw the gifts on the table and asked Talia who had brought the gifts.
She answered,
“It was the 33rd Prince Adrian, your majesty. He brought them from Valewood for his mother and sister.”
The King asked,
“When?”
Talia continued,
He asked her once again,
“So where is he now?”
“He left some time ago, before Your Majesty’s arrival.”
Hearing this, the King was confused.
Why did that boy leave before meeting me?
Is he avoiding me?
But why?
Seeing the King confused, his guard asked,
“Your Majesty, shall I go and order them to come back to greet you?”
To which the King replied,
“No. Let them go.”
After some time, the King also left Elara’s residence and returned to his palace.
He sat there wondering about what had happened.
His secretary asked,
“What happened, Your Majesty?”
To which he replied,
“The 33rd Prince left before meeting me. If I remember correctly, I have seen him only once, and that too when he was an infant. So why is he avoiding me?”
He continued,
“People kill just to get a chance to see me once at the Royal Festival, and he just ran away.”
His secretary answered,
“That must be a coincidence, Your Majesty. He must have received some important news and decided that he needed to act urgently on it.”
The King replied unsatisfactorily,
“Maybe.”
And he left the topic there, getting back to his work.
Adrian reached to Valewood soon after.
Seeing this miraculous speed of Adrian, Ronald was ever so confused as to why the Prince had come back so soon after meeting Lady Elara.
Adrian answered,
Ronald knew that the answer was logically correct, but something was amiss.
Still, he left it alone and focused on the work at hand.
He told Adrian how far they had progressed in completing the education of the thirty people.
“It will take quite some time, Your Highness.”
Ronald then became curious.
“What are you going to do with them?”
Seeing Ronald so curious, Adrian questioned him.
“Do you want to know what we will be doing after teaching them?”
“Yes, Your Highness I am very curious to know.”
Adrian replied,
“We will build a bank, where people will deposit money and we will give that money out as loans to those who need it.”
Ronald became even more curious and confused as to what exactly the Prince was planning.
Adrian stopped him from asking any more questions and said,
“When I teach them about banking, you also sit with them. I will teach you too about the magic behind banking and satisfy your curiosity.”
Ronald nodded and carried on with his work.
Soon enough, time passed, and Adrian turned five years old.
He now personally began the education of the people he had chosen, and Ronald also joined them.
Adrian was teaching them modern mathematics, accounting, and banking.
But all he saw in their eyes was gratitude, not loyalty like that of Ronald’s.
So, he decided to use carrot and stick.
He first threw out the carrot.
“Out of the thirty people here, the top five will get to teach the next batch.”
He continued,
“The next ten will work personally for the Prince.”
“Another ten will work in the market as they see fit.”
“And the last five will not be authorised to do work in Valewood using the knowledge I have given you.”
All of them took a gulp, wondering what would happen to the bottom five.
Adrian did this to invite competition so that he gets the cream of crops he had sown.
But nobody dared question the Prince.
Adrian was now done with the carrot.
It was now time for the stick.