Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Lakshmi Deva Raya was the first child of Krishna Deva and the only princess in the Empire. She had been exceptional throughout her childhood. She learned and adapted to everything very fast. Despite the limitation of being a female. She learned martial arts from a young age.

The bright child that was once hailed as a young genius was nowhere to be found on her 14th birthday. That day everything changed. The daily life felt mundane to her. Her brothers were all considered prospects for the throne.

She was also given a chance to the throne, although she could see the stark difference. They claimed to be giving equal chance to everyone. But the reality hit her hard. The difference in the way her brother was garnering support easily with skills inferior to hers in all departments nauseated her.

The brightness of her smile faded on that day. The vague memories of the chatter still lingered in her head.

'She is a girl! The throne should go to the first prince.'

'She is talented for a girl!'

'She is…'

'She —'

Something snapped in her head. It was like she was never given a fair chance to prove herself. Everyone looked down on her for being a girl. Never did anyone look at her abilities and skills and judge her.

She became a different person that day. Lakshmi never gave up her right to the throne. What she did instead was make people think she had given up the throne. Whether it was big nobles or local nobility.

Lakshmi knew that they wouldn't support her because she was a woman.

The world judged her based on her gender. She wanted to be judged based on her merit. She wanted to be acknowledged for her merit as a person, not as a woman.

Lakshmi traveled to many parts of the Empire at a young age. She was enthusiastic to know more about the world. After some time of traveling, she finally found the answer. If she couldn't get to the throne in a straightforward way.

She would make her own path for the throne. Thus began her journey to expand her influence. Lakshmi began from nothing. No wealth, no support, no person to trust. During her travels, she found her first ever partner.

Nakul was a young, struggling boy at that time. He was poor. Lakshmi thought she was someone she could train to be her pawn. She precisely did that. He made Nakul her representative for her business. The business foundation was planned for years, contrary to the belief that Nakul had made wealth over a brief period.

Wealth alone wasn't enough to get the throne. She needed influence in the Empire. Wealth can be used as a means to gain influence. That's when she decided to take Alfonso under her wing. The perfect candidate to use.

She trained him in secret. Thankfully, Alfonso was a bright child. After the training, she used Alfonso and Nakul to expand her influence in the Empire, creating spy networks and armies.

The first and second princes were expanding their influence during this time. Factions were being formed as the result of the clash between the Empress and concubine Rani Jyothi.

Anticipating the split of the nobles. She began to scout for Big Noble households.

She met Parvathy Nair and Gopala Sastri and took them under her wing. They were working for her, but she kept them in the Cochin faction and Imperial faction to get insider information. Leveraging this information, she began to plot a plan to take the throne.

As time passed.

She was expanding her influence into the royal army as well. That was the main reason Rakhtasura didn't try to kill her on the spot. If she would die, there would be an inevitable split in the royal army, threatening the survival of the empire, especially when the Emperor is in no condition to lead.

More time passed, and she began to contemplate her reason for the throne.

'Did she really want the throne? Or did she want someone to acknowledge her worth?'

'Would taking the throne make the people and nobles acknowledge me?'

Millions of thoughts raced through her mind.

But nonetheless, she followed her path forward. Lakshmi never felt threatened by either of the princes. Chandra was a cocky fool in her eyes, a man who would look down on someone and eventually lose.

Bhairava was the closest one to her. Despite his exceptional prowess and ability. But he had no vision to lead the Empire. He was fighting for the acknowledgement of his mother.

Alfonso had neither the ability nor the influence to lead the Empire.

The last one was Harsha. He was the worst out of the bunch. He was called a talentless freak for many years and was supposed to have the least chance for the throne.

But things changed. The Harsha she knew and observed was no longer there. It was as if another person had taken over his body. He suddenly changed; it was evident in his training, gaze, and observation.

As soon as Harsha's change occurred, she wanted to meet him. After seeing him up close. Lakshmi was sure of it. He had changed. The change was abnormal.

Lakshmi could feel the intense gaze of Harsha. The pressure she felt facing Harsha was crushing her.

His eyes looked at her with coldness. No emotion. Just look at her bare. She shivered under his gaze. For the first time in her life, she felt inferior to someone. Despite knowing Harsha had no achievements and was yet to show his abilities,

Her instincts were screaming. He was dangerous. Even more dangerous than Father.

She wanted to eliminate him at first.

But her mind said otherwise.

She had observed many people through her life. None of them were like Harsha.

Lakshmi had finally found a worthy opponent.

After years of dejection and depression. Finally, her numb heart started pounding at the prospect of defeating someone worthy.

She wanted to win fair and square.

She wanted her victory to be acknowledged.

'Harsha, I will defeat you!'