Alexandros' fists tightened and relaxed while his breathing quickened. Joy, relief, excitement, admiration, respect, and a multitude of other emotions gushed through him. However, the boy emperor quickly calmed his emotions and evenly replied, "Finally. You have returned."

Seeing the young boy holding back his emotions and replying appropriately, a trace of pride and satisfaction filled Wuzhi. He wore a slight smile on his face and spoke in jest. "Oho! It appears that His Majesty is no longer the young boy who comes running up to me in excitement." Faking an expression of heartbreak, Wuzhi teased, "This humble servant feels heartbroken, Your Majesty."

Hearing his mentor joke, Alexandros felt a sense of ease and casualness that he hadn't felt in a long time. The impossible burden that seemed to always be pressing down heavily upon him lightened by a little.

Assuming a joking tone of his own, the boy emperor replied, "Becoming awfully casual with Us, are we?"

"This servant wouldn't dare to dream of such a thing, Your Imperial Greatness," said Wuzhi, lowering his head further and trembling with his body. At this moment, he resembled a lesser servant who was awaiting judgment to be passed by his master.

The two maintained this scene for a few seconds before Alexandros shattered it with his laughter. Wuzhi joined him and the duo of teacher and disciple shared the heartfelt feeling of ease.

After a minute or so, Wuzhi asked, "I trust that my lessons were useful to Your Majesty."

"They were," replied Alexandros, a complicated smile appearing on his face. "Wuzhi, that question that you had asked me to answer, I—"

The scholar raised his palm and interrupted the boy emperor. "For as long as you've gained your own understanding on the matter, Your Majesty, I do not need the answer to be spoken out loud." Wuzhi floated an easy-going smile.

A gentle look surfaced on Alexandros' face. Nodding his head, he said, "Understood."

With the air of initial awkwardness being cleared, the pair then began chatting about their respective exploits during their period of separation. Alexandros spoke at length, detailing the many events that had occurred, the problems that he had faced, his solutions and reasons behind them, the emotions that he had felt during that time, etc…

Wuzhi, on the other hand, spoke at minimum. He allowed his student to take center stage and added only when additions were required. When it came to explaining his own time off, Wuzhi kept it simple and spoke about his explorations of the mountains and countryside. No mentions of confronting Ferdinand and beheading him were mentioned.

"What happened to your arm?" asked Alexandros, noticing the cast hidden underneath Wuzhi's overcoat.

"I fell off a horse and fractured it, Your Majesty," replied the young scholar.

Alexandros faintly nodded his head and did not harp on the matter. He keenly understood that his mentor was hiding a few things from him. However, Alexandros did not prod. He possessed near-boundless trust in Wuzhi and even owed him his life; multiple times in that.

Eventually, their conversation slowed and their recounting arrived at the present day. Alexandros' voice, which had been casual and excited at the beginning, slowly turned painful and solemn. He then spoke of the matters that he had found out after the South Aislan Empire's victory over the Duke of Auberville's forces.

When he spoke about this, Alexandros' voice contained an intractable sense of heartbreak and pain. The edges of his eyes glinted with difficult-to-hide tears and his pupils trembled like the brittle wings of a cicada.

"Wuzhi," he began. "Is it possible for a person to fake everything about themselves? To falsely act the role of a loving, caring father only to be a heartless, ruthless opportunist underneath all of that?"

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Wuzhi patiently listened to his words. He then smiled lightly and said, "Is Your Majesty talking about Lord Regent, Rodriguez Centinni?"

Alexandros' body shook at his mentor's naked words. He lowered his head and did not reply. A few minutes later, he slowly and discreetly nodded his head.

Wuzhi smiled. "This humble servant is glad that Your Majesty has finally seen the truth."

Snapping up with his head, Alexandros asked in disbelief. "You knew!?"

"I knew since the first day, Your Majesty."

"Why didn't you tell me then!?" shouted Alexandros, enraged.

"Would you have believed me, Your Majesty?" Wuzhi replied with a calm smile. "Would you have believed if I had said, 'Your Majesty, your Royal Uncle is a ruthless schemer and is aiming for the throne? Only by ridding him will you be able to maintain peace and protect your life.' Would you have believed me saying that, Your Majesty?"

Alexandros lowered his pale, bloodless face in shame. "No," he slowly said. "I wouldn't have believed you. Frankly, even after learning of the truth myself, I can scarcely believe it."

"Reality is often stranger than fiction, Your Majesty," advised Wuzhi.

"Reality is stranger than fiction," repeated Alexandros. He then sighed heavily and asked, "What should I do, Wuzhi?"

The instant that Alexandros voiced that question, Wuzhi intuitively knew that the most decisive moment in his plan for the South Aislan Continent had come. The future of this continent and the success of his 'Grand Strategy' would depend on this very moment and the choice that the boy emperor made.

Taking a deep breath, Wuzhi began. "Before you, Your Majesty, are two paths."

"The first path will see you backing out from the competition and relinquishing your claim over the throne of the South Aislan Empire. Your Majesty's Royal Uncle, Rodriguez Centinni, will ascend as Emperor and will lead the empire in the war for unification. And with all that has happened thus far, I would say that the South Aislan Empire's chances at succeeding are quite high."

"Meanwhile, in order to protect your life, Your Majesty will have to flee the continent and spend the rest of your life hiding elsewhere in the world. Honour, glory, and wealth will be lost; however, your majesty will at least gain peace."

Wuzhi stopped talking and allowed Alexandros to consider this situation. He reclined back on his seat and quietly watched the citrine-eyed youth.

After an inordinate amount of time, Alexandros asked, "What about the other path?"

"The other path is filled with bloodshed. It is the path of the Tyrant!" emphasized Wuzhi. "Should you choose to walk down this path, Your Majesty will meet with immense pain, loss, heartbreak, and betrayal. Sincere happiness and joy will be few and far in between while the rest will be pure suffering."

"To travel this path, Your Majesty will have to start by fracturing the imperial court. Most of the scholarly ministers support the Regent. However, most of the army generals favour your majesty. The will of the public clearly is in favour of the Regent; he is a proven leader after all."

"With both the ministers and public on his side, the Regent wields immense power. To overthrow him will not be easy. Your Majesty will require an incredibly boisterous power base to even have a chance at doing so."

"Aren't the army generals enough?"

"Far from it, Your Majesty," said Wuzhi. "The army is, after all, made of the public. Additionally, we cannot involve the army in this power struggle. The moment we do so, the other factions who are eying the empire's fall will jump in akin to a pack of hungry wolves. The end result will be our self-destruction."

"Problems within and problems without. My chances seem rather bleak don't they, Wuzhi?" said Alexandros, a depreciative smile hanging off his face.

"Your Majesty's chances are incredibly bleak," agreed Wuzhi. "At the very least, it would be impossible for us to emerge victorious by ourselves."

"You want us to seek outside help?" Alexandros frowned. "I won't do it. We would be inviting a tiger to deal with a wolf."

"Indeed. We cannot ally with any of the other factions. Doing so will not only negatively affect the future of the empire but it will also provide the Regent with a solid reason to revoke Your Majesty's claim over the throne. You will be labelled as a betrayer of your motherland, Your Majesty."

The natives of the South Aislan Continent saw unprecedented unity owing to the fact that foreign powers and forces were attempting to invade their motherland. Should Alexandros ally with those very same foreign powers, then he would instantly lose all of his built-up standing and support amongst the natives. Ultimately, it would result in a zero-sum game.

So, the question remained; how to receive outside help whilst not relying on outsiders?

Alexandros was lost in his thoughts when suddenly a bolt of inspiration struck him. Staring at Wuzhi with disbelief in his eyes, he said, "You don't mean… the Hielanders?"

A brilliant white smile appeared on Wuzhi's shadowy face. He even clapped in appreciation of the boy emperor's answer.

"Indeed, Your Majesty. We are going to go and seek help from the savages of the north."