Chapter 998 Real Growth
Max had never enjoyed silence as much as he did when Kremeth returned from his scouting mission and sat beside him at the Taverns cheap dinner table.
The silence this time around was not because he was feeling awkward about talking to his father like at the start of their trip, but because he could not find the right words to converse his emotions with Max.
He could not explain what he had experienced, and as a father this was the sort of growth that Max was hoping that Kremeth experienced.
Max never wanted Kremeth to suffer as much as he did to get where he was, however, he also did not want his son to think that this universe was a kind and noble place where as long as one worked hard they could achieve anything.
The universe was a cruel place, it had good, bad and ugly people inside it and while one could strive to make the universe a better place, they could not be delusional and see only the good while ignoring the rest.
What Kremeth had experienced today would stay with him for a life-time and it would help him with character growth.
" Father, the Aurelius clan are plotting a rebellion, not now, but many years down the line.
They don't have the best intentions at heart" Kremeth said as Max smiled at his child's words and ate another bite of his hot bread.
" That's how long it takes to make any plan successful. You must commend the Aurelius boy to have such long vision" Max complemented as he saw nothing wrong with what Felix was doing.
" You must crack down on him father, he doesn't have any good intentions at heart and he's smart. He can't be allowed to grow" Kremeth said as Max chuckled at his words but said nothing for a while.
" How long do you think Regus Aurelius knew that I was aiming for this throne?
I clashed horns with him since I was nothing but a small try, Felix Aurelius is still a god" Max said as he gave Kremeth yet another point to ponder upon as he had never thought about his father's rise to the throne from the perspective of the Aurelius clan.
If Regus already knew that Max was aiming for his throne, then he could have killed Max long back, however he never did.
Kremeth could not help but wonder as to why Regus did not kill him as he asked " Then why did the previous king not kill you?"
" Because Regus Aurelius knew that I'm an asset to the Vampire Society, just as I know that Felix Aurelius is an asset to vampire society.
If I kill him for no reason, while the other clans won't rebel, they won't ever be loyal or feel easy around me.
Although I'm the king, I can't just go about killing lord's for no reason and as long as he tows the line and keeps his plotting below the table, I can't touch him.
He can try to raise the Aurelius clan back to number one and challenge me officially.
He can try to destabilise the Bloodfall clan and organise a rebellion, but if there will ever be an attack on vampire society from outside forces, he will stand beside me and fight the outsiders, that much is for sure.
I'm not boasting, I'm not saying that I single handedly saved Vampire Society, but I did play a very big role in the Dimensional War and saved the vampires from certain defeat.
That's how I gained the title of Vampire Hero and the Rising Star and that's how Regus could not kill me even though he wanted to.
This world is all about one's worth and the current Felix Aurelius has the public sentiment in his favour.
His father died the death of a hero and I can't crack down on Felix even if I know that he harbours ill feelings towards me.
All that I can do is be strong enough that all his plotting becomes pointless and that's what you must learn from me Kremeth.
Your personal strength comes first.
Without the strength to back your beliefs they are nothing but pipe dreams, so you must become strong first" Max said as he finally poured his heart out to his child who felt every word that Max said.
Before this trip, Kremeth never understood where Max and his advise to become strong came from, however, after witnessing how the world would pounce on his family if Max was not as strong as he is, Kremeth finally realised just how important personal strength was.
He was a sensitive kid, but he wasn't dumb, this one experience was enough for him to realise his shortcomings and start to work on them.
" I understand….." Kremeth said meekly as Max smiled and ruffled his hair.
" Eat up, today's our last day of this trip, tomorrow we return to the palace.
When we go back, meet jathi and learn from him about the art of suppressing an opponent without using force.
Since the Aurelius clan is facing an economic problem, we pressure them even more and create problems in their revenue stream.
We suppress their financial system legally and force them to rely on their help.
The scouting that you have done, we must not let it go to waste….. you did well" Max said as he laughed an evil laughter and told Kremeth how to utilise his information the best way.
Not every fight needed to be fought using force and some battles were fought off the battlefield too!
An empire's power was not only decided by the strength of its soldiers, but it was also decided by their financial strength and their information network.
As the future vampire king, Kremeth needed to learn about all three of these pillars and learn how to utilise them well.
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