Supreme Ruler: Reincarnated as the Emperor's Bastard Son

A tense mood filled the air.

Sweat could be seen dripping down people's necks.

Having dealt with the impostors, the secret knights of Sage Chanakya led by Jaimini ended up becoming Ashoka's new escorts.

Sudhatta was safe with the Sena knights who were now escorting him to the royal palace.

The matter was dealt with and the princes were safe.

However, the escorts couldn't help but hold their breath around their client.

Now that the Sena Knights had gone ahead with Sudhatta, they were the only ones left to take care of the terrifying kid.

'What kind of a 10-year-old boy acts like this?'

Reyna, the mage leading the secret knights asked herself—a question that all the secret knights were also thinking about.

The secret knights of Sage Chanakya! They are veteran warriors who can turn the tables on the battlefield and are even comparable to the royal guards in certain aspects.

Bloodshed, broken bones, burnt skin! Nothing can stop these battle-scarred soldiers.

The sight of prisoners being mercilessly tortured and murdered is a daily occurrence to these men. Watching Ashoka order Hema to kill the fake Karan and Ram in a bloody manner was nothing new to them.

Nevertheless, these veteran knights were wary of Ashoka due to his age.

Where else would they ever find a 10-year-old behaving this way toward their assassin? Even though he was a Royal, he was merely a kid who had just left the tempest manor and entered the world.

In fact, their senses were warning them to be extremely careful with Ashoka when they saw him give Hema orders. His speech and behavior weren't those of a child, not to mention his method of disposal of the surviving assassin.

The mages and the knights could only see Ashoka as an overlord—who just happened to be somewhat short in height.

"We mustn't make the slightest mistake until we successfully escort the prince to the transfer gate. Any frivolous or superficial behavior is absolutely prohibited, do you understand?"

"Yes, Vice-captain Reyna."

The secret soldiers—known for their unbound behavior—were acting like dignified gentlemen. They were all standing stiff and nervous as if they were wearing tight, uncomfortable clothes.

It was due to the things they witnessed during that day.

Ashoka Maurya, the image of a young prince enjoys the scene of blood gushing from the assassin's severed head and his cruel order to dispose of his assassins was imprinted on their minds.

However, they weren't acting like this solely due to their fear of the child known as Ashoka Maurya. There was also a hint of admiration and fascination in their eyes toward this dangerous boy.

[Look, your nanny is here]

Draco who has been silent throughout the assassination attempt spoke seeing Hema's approach.

"My prince."

While Ashoka was kicking the snow away as he walked annoyed at the dragon that was commenting on others, Hema called out to him.

She was wearing a calm expression and tone, but the boy caught the slight melancholic look that lasted for an instant.

"We'll reach the village in about two hours. Once we arrive, it would be best to wait for the snowfall to die down before continuing our journey."

"Let's do that."

Ashoka brushed off the snow piling on his shoulder.

"Oh, Hema?"

"Yes, My prince?"

"Don't worry about what happened. It wasn't your fault."

Ashoka truly believed so in his heart. Even Cain, the experienced knight of the tempest manor hadn't noticed that Ram and Karan were impostors back at the tempest manor, so there was no way Hema would've.

Yet, she was still dwelling on this incident.

"I apologize."

Once he heard her reply, Ashoka wore a bitter smile.

Hema never makes excuses.

She never brings up justifications such as 'I've lost my touch from spending ten peaceful years at the tempest manor' or 'I was feeling under the weather, which dulled my senses'.

'I apologize'.

She even said in her heart.

"Once we return to the main house, I shall accept any punishment for…"

Despite him saying not to worry about it, she was still dwelling on that matter.

"Enough. I told you not to worry about it, didn't I? It's an order."

Hema lowered her head.

"I understand."

"You may be my nanny, but you're also my lone guardian knight right now. If you continue brooding over a minor mistake that doesn't bother me, you won't be able to protect me to the fullest extent. I hope I won't have to repeat myself."

[Aren't you too hard on your nanny?]

Ashoka didn't want to talk to Hema in such an overbearing manner either, but it was the only way to get her to listen.

In his past life, Ashoka had lost a very important person to him, he didn't want it to repeat itself.

In this life, He had decided not to lose anyone close to him.

Even if Ashoka had to act cold-blooded at times, he had to make sure the harsh reality wouldn't crush her kind and warm heart. It was the boy's turn to lead his nanny to a better life.

"Your wish is my command, my prince."

Hema answered as she bit her lower lip. She was aware that Ashoka's indifferent tone was due to his goodwill towards her.'

'Why did such a bright and intelligent prince have to get stuck with a dull and slow nanny like me? I should come to my senses and make sure no other troublesome matters bother the young master today.'

Becoming a person worthy of prince Ashoka!

As she made a pledge to herself, Hema tightened her fist and raised her head.

[Seems like your nanny is finally hearing up!]

Draco commented.

Feeling relieved by her resolute face, Ashoka began to think about the assassins.

The fake Ram and Karan.

There was a high chance that the one who sent them was the Emperor, but Ashoka couldn't deny other possibilities too.

There were many who didn't want a bastard son to compete for the throne for him to clearly say it was the Emperor's act.

Besides, both the fake knights were disguised so perfectly that even 7-star knights weren't able to discover them.

If it wasn't for their mindless actions, Ashoka might have faced a serious situation there.

'The disguise...It was too perfect"

It was impossible to create such a perfect disguise with low-level magic.

There were only two ways to cleat such a perfect disguise.

One was that the person who cast the spell on them had to be an 8th circle mage or above and the other possibility was 'Transformation'.

But 'Transformation' was a special privilege granted only to dragons, and even with that power, it was impossible to perfectly replicate and imitate another individual.

That were the only two possibilities by which the assassins could recreate the knights' appearance without any imperfections.

But there was no way they were using transformation since they were way too weak to be dragons, which left him with a single option.

'Who was it?'

There were not many 8th-circle mages in the Mauryan empire in the first place.

Ashoka could easily name all those who were 8th circle and above in the Mauryan empire.

Which made him very puzzled about the matter.

He simply couldn't point out anyone as a culprit.

More than that by now the elders would have been searching for the culprits.

Once they verified the deaths of the real Ram and Karan, the elders immediately dispatched the Sena knights who were on standby in the royal capital, and began to investigate the identities of the impostors.

However, Ashoka didn't expect them to discover anything.

The Mauryan continent was huge and finding an unknown culprit is akin to finding grains in the desert.

It was very doubtful that the real culprits would be found.

And Ashoka was pretty sure that whoever attempted the assassination wouldn't be caught that easily, not to mention the emperor who wanted him dead wouldn't even take the matter seriously, even if it wasn't him who sent the assassins.

It was likely that a scrape goat would be sacrificed to display the royal's image to the public.

Ashoka was starting to get a headache thinking about all those matters.

"We will arrive soon. If there is anything you need, please don't hesitate to tell my subordinates."

As soon as one of Ashoka's escorts spoke to him, the morning sun began to rise and the sun rays illuminated light on the world.

The ice that was covering the path began to melt making it easier for the knights who were clearing the ice.

Ashoka had a simple meal composed of soup and eggs at the inn, before taking a rest in his room. Despite having trained his magic, spiritual arts, and martial arts at the Storm Castle, walking under heavy snowfall for several hours was still an exhausting task for a child's body.

'I really want to grow up fast.'

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~daily chapter