"Cactus is alive!" the girl shrieked, her body becoming blazing hot all over again. She shivered in the knowledge that she herself didn't know if it was true. She didn't go near that horrific place where he convalesced. She kept every news of him out of her ears. He was just not like how he was before.

"Oh well," the old man mused, mocking her uncertainty which once again was way too obvious. "I hope you are right…for your father's sake."

The princess was too choked with anger to reply, but she was also surprised when an earnest look came over the Rajguru. He somehow once again resembled the stately and dignified man he once was, before he betrayed her father to support the grand prince. The young princess was shocked by the changes.

She was still in a daze as she walked away from the Sunset Palace, the words he said still reverberating in her ears.

"Princess Agni, you are the only one in generations of the Aditya clan who awakened the divine fire, so I will not be coy with you. No matter who rules it in the end, the reign of the Martanda will not be a peaceful one. The kingdom will suffer terribly. The good people of our Aditya nation will be subjected to wars, hunger and poverty for over three generations before there is any chance for stability. This cannot be avoided. When the gods test Martanda, the common people must suffer. For a mortal to become a god, the world must enter a period of turmoil…But in this turmoil, my divine princess, there is a chance that the Rtadhara kingdom will be entirely wiped out. There is a chance that the bloodline of Adityas will end! This is what I hope to never see…

"This is the reason I supported the grand prince, who was a bit more politically astute and understood that we only stand a chance if we stand together with others. But Indra Nihapriya turned the dryland nations into his enemies by refusing to enter the trade coalition twelve years ago. He relied on his individual pride too much and as sons who follow their father, Vajradhaara and Vajradandaka were no different.

"My princess, I may appear to be a sly and slippery old man to you now, but if I may say a word in my defense, it is knowing Rtadhara's future that has turned me into this. It is the curse of being able to read the stars. The world's first Martanda will come from the royal bloodline of Rtadhara. But if he fails the test, it's not just him who will be wiped out, it is the bloodline itself and possibly the entire nation! I have lived half my life bearing the heavy burden of this knowledge…However…

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"However Princess, if the little prince really lives…After going through all that, if he still survives and is sound in mind and body, I believe he would've already passed the first of heaven's tests. He would be fit to be the first Martanda! As Rajguru, I will dedicate my entire life to such a liege. I believe the entire world would!'

"Princess, I hope you will forgive this old man's folly. It was not my intention to mock you when I said those things earlier. I just wished to know the truth…however, it seems my hopes were in vain. The little prince's condition is still uncertain…Alas, if only the courtiers were able to see him just once…No matter his state, if only they could see he's alive…"

Just as she was about to leave the Sunset Palace grounds, Agnipriya was hit by a sharp stone on her bare shoulder, rousing her from her dazed state.

"You don't believe all his nonsense, do you?" a child's mocking tone came from above.

"Ssss!" Agnipriya hissed sharply and threw a sharp look upward. A girl with a chubby round face and small stature was standing on the eaves of the building, staring defiantly at her, her pointy chin turned up haughtily. "So what if I do coward?" Agnipriya cursed in turn.

"I'm not a coward!" the fourth princess who sneaked to the Sunset Palace stamped her feet on the lotus shaped eaves. "I told you not to call me that!"

"If you're not a coward, then what else are you, coward?!" Agnipriya mocked relentlessly.

Enraged, the little girl who was no more than four feet in height directly jumped from above, falling on her knees and ankles from a height of ten or so feet. "I said I'm not a coward!" she hissed in pain, her red eyes staring defiantly at her elder sister.

Agnipriya relented in tone, but her words were still as harsh. "If you're not a coward, you would've come to see Little Cactus. He was closest to you, yet you don't even care when he is in that condition!"

"Shut up! I said I'm not going to talk about it."

"Then what do you want to talk about?" The thirteen year old pointed her nose up at the eleven year old. "I don't have much time to idle around with eavesdroppers."

The small round faced Varuna gritted her teeth and said with a strained voice, "He's trying to confuse you! He wants you to bring Cactus out for the courtiers to see so that it will be easier to assassinate him."

Agnipriya automatically wanted to refute. She was still under the spell of the divine old man. But the possibility of truth in Varuna's statement made her heart shudder. Still, she wouldn't agree to her opinion that easily.

"You're over-imagining it. It is common for courtiers to want to know if the heir is alive in a situation like this."