CHAPTER 43 **A Friendship**

Matthew had told the truth, even though now he couldn’t use this potion as evidence, having the emperor know, was still just as good.

The Crowned Prince had chosen a very good time to want to use this potion, three years ago. The Crowned Prince had been far away, leaving a few of his physicians knowing about it, that were there to get rid of the disease before it would have gotten out of hand.

Having the perfect alibi, because of his month in seclusion, that he does once a year to cultivate, he would have come back as the new Emperor of Green Haven!

Matthew had destroyed this plan of his, and kept the evidence in good condition…Sadly, he was unable to take this evidence easily and the Crowned Prince had found out then, who had stopped his plans.

Before this plan, they were behind curtains, but after that incident, the Crowned Prince willingly got assassins to wait in corners, to kill this thorn!

Having been so close to becoming the emperor, only to lose it, because of the person that he hated the most!

As they waited for Band Two to return, Matthew gave the emperor more information on why he was unable to bring what he had to become known straight away. The emperor was unhappy to wait, as criminals were loose and still did what they wanted!

But, as he understood the complexity of it, he still gave Matthew his faith and stated that he was feeling better already, that he had come back.

Matthew had told the emperor that if one evidence and one witness was there for a crime, the Crowned Prince may deem it easily false, and secretly kill the witness and destroying the evidence.

Matthew’s plan was to bring everything up in one go. There were at least several circumstances that Matthew had evidence and witnesses for, and if they all came up at the same time…Was the Crowned Prince going to kill and destroy it all? And wouldn’t doing that just state that he was absolutely guilty?

With the Crowned Prince having so many people behind him, Matthew had to make sure that he had no way out!

Even taking in the idea that the Crowned Prince’s followers may want to try something, Matthew also has one or two things on them as well…It really was going to make this huge hole in the government! The next known leader will not be able to rise to the throne and a number of his followers will have to leave, some might even be put in prison. The emperor knew not to dwell on lose for too long and even had a moments thought upon who could rise up to be someone worthy to take a place that may become absent…

When Band Two returned, the process of administering the ‘sickness’ had already been done and the Emperor nodded, breathing out in relief.

Matthew bowed and looked back at the emperor, “Your Majesty, this Prince will return in approximately five days to report to you. This subject will now take his leave.”

Within moments, Matthew jumped out and headed into another direction.

The emperor then went straight towards his desk and promptly wrote his decree.

Unable to wait, he called someone in, before he had even finished writing it and made them wait…

With many people most likely on the lookout for him, Matthew went to a quiet, but large establishment…That was owned by a General, a very sick General...

Matthew had been uneasy if this General would survive this long, but there he was, laying on the bed.

“You…”

Matthew sat on chair, beside the bed, “Mmm, I’ve returned.”

“Not…”

Matthew looked at his friend and sighed, “I have not found anybody to help you. I know why the physicians in the capital will not help…They are the Crowned Prince’s people.”

“Worry…”

Shutting his eyes for a short time, Matthew looked back at the General, “I will look harder. You know my life would be boring without you in it!”

“Idiot!...” The General started to cough uncontrollably. He looked like he was drained of his strength after each and every cough that he did. Anyone could cringe to the sight…

Before Matthew could be seen, he jumped out of the opened window area, before someone ran in and tried to help the General.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Looking through the window, Matthew really couldn’t believe his good friend, Shaun, was still alive. The last time that they had met, the General was very fit and healthy…

He had a very straight forward personality that Matthew liked. He was very proud of his strength, which may be the reason why he was a General at the age of 28. In fact, pride hardly covered his obsession over war and fighting…

Even though there were years between them, they were closer than that of brothers, and they even had married two women who were close friends as well. Having lost one of their people, who had been Isabella, they no longer had dinners together or outings. Instead, Matthew only saw the General, but hardly his wife, making everything unbalanced…

The General had never blamed Matthew once, for becoming so detached. And continued to try and get Matthew to come and see him from time to time, to try and relax and chat about nothing in particular…Of course, most of the time this ‘nothing in particular’ subject, would be about war and fighting…

Having Matthew going into prison, and getting into trouble himself, seeing each other had come to a complete stop. Who would have thought that someone so powerful, would have gotten into a situation that they could hardly move or talk? It had been well over a month now, that the General was unable to leave his bed…

But Matthew didn’t always have to see his old friend, to know that he cared…

Now, this good friend of his, was all but skin and bones, his eyes were sunken in and his arms were practically skeletal, and his skin somewhat see through. It was pretty obvious that he was restricted to the bed, and most likely couldn’t walk. It really pained him to see the General so weak, to not even be able to talk and breath properly…Seeing that, to a certain degree, the body already looked as though it had already died…

Yet, the General was still here, still fighting, doing what he did best!

Not knowing completely of what was wrong with his good friend, Matthew hadn’t been able to save him.

Sitting outside the room, leaning against the side of the courtyard, Matthew looked solemnly at the stars.

He had become stronger, but he still wasn’t strong enough!

Matthew knew that this was only the beginning…There were bigger things out there. How could he take on those, when he couldn’t protect the people that he cared for here, from the Crowned Prince?

Putting both of his problems in the one sentence…Matthew shuddered.

Suddenly, breathing hard, Matthew wondered if there were someone behind the Crowned Prince!

Clenching his hands, so tightly that noises were made, Matthew found that he could not take away this idea. And if this idea was true…Then someone at least as powerful as he, or even more powerful, is here in Green Haven!

…If the Emperor knew of his troubles, he would have gladly told him that he was sure that someone was behind the Crowned Prince. But it had not come up in any of the conversations that they had talked about…

***

The huge loss of life, that happened in the Rolland Estate, had somehow been released to the public and became known quite rapidly throughout the populace, becoming the most talked about subject for days.

Having something like this happen so quickly, changed a few people’s perspectives.

It was indeed a worry, that someone so powerful had come, giving them many shivers. Yet, having a ‘Divine Healer’ become known, made them all quite interested…

Divine healers were one in a million! They were hard to find, and it was even harder to ask them for help, yet the Rolland Estate had a Divine Healer’s help!

The last known Divine Healer had perished about thirty years ago, and having another so quickly, was something the people wanted to cheer about in their hearts.

The problem was…The ‘Divine Healer’ that had healed the Rolland Estate and killed the murderer…Had completely vanished!

No one could find them anywhere…

The Crowned Prince’s thoughts were slightly heavier, as he had obviously lost an ally. He choose to do nothing, as of yet, to help the Eldest Young Master, who was now confined to his own courtyard and guarded by the Right Minister’s own men!

It did worry him, that the only ones who had died, were that of his ally’s men. Someone able to kill so many, in such a short period of time…

Seeing that he had not killed the other golden eyed person yet, was this his punishment? Or, having found his brother having returned to his estate a day or two ago, was it him instead?

If his brother was behind this, what was his goal? Did he want to openly state war? But if it wasn’t his brother, who was not in a good situation to do something like this, then was it really the Supreme Sovereign?

Due to feeling so conflicted on not knowing what really happened the Crowned Prince stayed away, which was something he was good at anyway.

The Right Minister became the master of the Rolland Estate…Once again.

New people were hired, but many spaces weren’t filled, because of what had happened within the estate.

Having lost a ‘madam’, had been covered up. She hadn’t been the first wife of the Right Minister, nor was she the second, so a mourning period did not even take place in any kind of aspect within the estate. Just think about the questions if one were to make it public!

‘How did she die?’

How could you talk about it, even lie about it, without picturing how you’d seen her or how someone else had said that they’d seen her!

Yes, it was ‘hidden’…

With Matthew praising whoever was behind ‘it’, at the Rolland Estate, the Emperor called back the Right Minister, to work for him once again. Of course, by now the emperor was able to return to his normal self and gladly trusted Matthew’s words. He even pondered upon why Matthew had even said it.

Seeing as he got some kind of payback from the Rolland Estate, from bringing in somebody to the palace to kill him, the emperor didn’t investigate further into the huge amount of deaths that had happened. Even though he was strict, he felt like this was some kind of karma that the Rolland Estate deserved, for wanting to kill the emperor! And well, that too was ‘hidden’…About a consort sent in to kill him.

The emperor did not want to let out the reason why he was slightly not himself for about a week, and how he was suddenly back to normal again. People can think what they want but he found it to be too embarrassing!

A strange type of punishment had already been done so why bother do anything further in the matter!

Having known that the Right Minister had been ill in bed, the emperor had not put the blame on him and with Matthew’s words, it seemed only right to bring him back and have order be restored at the Rolland Estate once again.

It didn’t help that the new consort, even though going through extreme agony due to the disease, had not said that she had come to kill the Emperor, the Emperor was unable to do anything else.

Thinking about the Right Minister returning to court, the emperor felt sure that the Rolland Estate will become a lot more obedient!