He sat before Fiona's father, looked at him with steadiness, then said:
"Sir... I came to you today not as an emperor, but as the man in whom your daughter saw something worth being loved. We have traveled a long road together; I saw in her her courage, her wisdom, and her pure heart.
I am here today to ask for the hand of your daughter Fiona, not as a ruler in the court, but as a companion on the road... as the empress of my heart, before she is an empress of the throne."
A moment of silence prevailed, then he added:
"I promise you that she will be in the protection of my heart as she always was in the protection of my sword. And I will never place her in a position below what she deserves."
Fiona's father—Lord Andre—looked at Kayden for a long time; his eyes carried a mixture of astonishment, contemplation, and perhaps anxiety. Then he placed his hand on the table before him, leaned forward a little, and said:
"Kayden... I knew you as an ambitious young man, and here I see you today as an emperor who carries in his eyes a truth that cannot be bought. But... my daughter is not a prize granted at the end of wars, nor a position that follows the crown."
Then a light silence prevailed before he continued with a light smile:
"If you see in her what exceeds beauty and lineage, if you see her as a soul standing beside you, not behind you... then take her, but take her with your heart before your throne."
Then he looked at one of the guards and said:
"Call for Fiona."
Fiona came with light steps and a sky-blue dress flowing like water, and she looked confused when she saw her father looking at her and saying:
"My daughter, His Majesty the Emperor has something to say to you."
She looked at Kayden, a look in which confusion mixed with shyness, so Kayden said as he stood up:
"Fiona... I may not be a perfect man, and I may lose the way sometimes, but if you choose to walk with me... I promise you that we will turn these roads into kingdoms of light and justice... so do you accept?"
Fiona smiled after a moment of silence, then moved toward him with confident steps, and instead of responding directly, she placed her hands behind her back and said lightly:
"Empress of my heart, just like that?! It seems you spent a long time thinking about this sentence, didn't you?"
Kayden smiled shyly as he looked at her:
"Perhaps... I wanted to appear as a poet."
Fiona approached more and looked at him with a deep look, then said with joking mixed with emotion:
"If you are looking for a poetess, then you have mistaken the door... but if you are looking for a woman who fights beside you, makes you laugh when you forget how to smile, and reminds you of yourself when you forget who you are... then I am here."
Then she extended her hand to him:
"Yes, I accept... and I promise you to be an empress who scares the corrupt more than your sword scares them."
"I walked beside you when you were nothing... so how do I not walk now, when you are everything I wished for?"
Her father laughed quietly, then said as he looked at them:
"I think the Empire is in safe hands now."
Amid Kayden's conversations with Fiona and her father, many families came asking Kayden for closeness through marriage, which led to tension for Kayden.
"Eugene came saying: Kayden, it is time to deliver your speech."
Kayden gripped Fiona's hand tightly and ascended with her to his balcony.
The Balcony of the Imperial Palace
The curtains of the large balcony open amid the imperial music, and Kayden comes out wearing his royal cloak for the first time, and beside him Fionaria in her elegant dress. Crowds fill the square, applause rises, and cheers spread. Kayden raises his hand quietly, so the voices fall silent.
Kayden:
noble people...
Since I opened my eyes to this world, I saw your pain, I felt your silence, and I heard your cries that found no one to listen to them. And today, I stand among you not as an emperor above you... but as one of you.
I carried a sword for the sake of justice, and I will carry the crown for its sake as well. This new era will not be built at the expense of the weak, but by them... and for them.
Rule will not be closed off to palaces, but open to every house, to every heart. We will not restore glories based on the exploitation of people, but we will make a future based on their dignity.
Then he turns his gaze to Fionaria beside him, smiles at her, then directs his speech to the people again:
And because this journey needs a companion who believes in what I believe in, carries the same concern, and shares the vision with me...
I declare before you all that Lady Fiona
, she who stood beside me when my voice grew faint, will be my wife, my companion on the road, and the ruler of your hearts with mercy as she ruled my heart with love.
He grips her hand and pulls her gently before the crowds; Fionaria smiles shyly, and the people begin to clap warmly, while the soldiers blow the trumpets of victory in celebration.
Kayden:
From here... from this day, we begin a new dawn. And let it be an empire ruled not by fear, but by hope.
Kayden's marriage was not an ordinary event in the Empire. For whispers echoed in the corridors of palaces and the halls of nobles, and councils were filled with sighs and moans.
"Why didn't he choose my daughter?" Duchess Lordina would say while gripping her handkerchief bitterly.
"I would have made him see in her purity and mind; she would have been an ideal wife!"
But the truth that no one could deny was that Kayden was not a man who followed the whims of nobles or submitted to their bargains. Many tried to tempt him with a second marriage, or a third; rather, it reached the point with some of them to offer their daughters as concubines, in the hope that their families would be linked to his name, and that their lineage would be attached to his.
But Kayden refused, a categorical refusal. He looked at them with eyes not devoid of pity and said in his calm, decisive voice:
"I am grateful for your offer, but my heart has already chosen, and I cannot offer anyone more than what I have offered to her."
His words were calm, and they showed his respect for everyone around him, while sticking to his decision.
The hopes of many vanished in a moment, and sadness hung over faces that were dreaming of glory and influence. His name came to be mentioned not only as the prominent noble, but as the dream that escaped, and the door that was closed before them forever.
After the ceremony ended, Kayden descended from the platform and approached the foreign delegations himself, ignoring the whispers of some imperial nobles who were accustomed to being received, not to initiate the greeting.
The strange noble, that man with the golden turban, stepped toward him and bowed slightly.
The Foreign Noble:
"I am Prince Ourok Daja, heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Kalahar. I came to congratulate you, O Emperor, and to witness the beginning of an era we have long awaited from afar."
Kayden with a neutral smile:
"Welcome, Prince Ourok. Your visit is a great honor for me... I did not think that our news had reached the depths of the Great Desert."
Ourok with a smile carrying a light cunning:
"The news of kingdoms knows no boundaries of sands or mountains. Rather, I read about you in old letters from a year ago, written by one of the merchants who were expelled from the Empire twenty years ago. He said that you are different."
Kayden fell silent for a moment, contemplating the looks of the man which were not the looks of mere congratulation.
Kayden:
"And have you seen what confirms what was written about me? Or are you still testing me?"
Ourok looking into his eyes:
"He who sits on the throne can be easily deceived... but he who descends to his guests with his feet is not just a ruler. Rather, he is a man who knows the value of every extended hand."
Kayden:
"And what do you hope for from this meeting, really?"
Ourok with frankness:
"Alliance. Trade. And perhaps... a common future. We are not enemies, but we were not friends. Your era is an opportunity to rewrite relations."
Kayden:
"Alliances of the outside begin with reforming the inside... but I do not deny that the hand of friendship is appreciated. We will talk later, away from the eyes of those lying in wait."
Ourok with a light wink:
"We will be waiting for your invitation... Emperor of wisdom, not titles."
On a balcony facing the balcony of the imperial palace, Freeze stood clapping with the crowds, until he was interrupted by the entry of Harry, saying:
Harry:
The idea of holding the celebration in full view of the people, and receiving nobles from various empires, was a truly wonderful idea.
Our revenues have increased thanks to those coming from the outside, just as Kayden's relations with nobles who wanted to cooperate with an emperor who enjoys patience and wisdom have been strengthened.
Although their disappointment was clear after Kayden's marriage to Fionaria, and not to one of their daughters.
Freeze:
People coming from the outside refreshes the Empire's coffers.
This celebration may strengthen the status of the new Emperor.
Politically, perhaps it would have been better if things ended with his engagement to one of their daughters, but... that is no business of ours.
I am not doing this for the Empire only, but for myself.
However...
Then he looks at the square with slightly different eyes.
I admit... I have begun to see in it what deserves to be protected.
Harry smiling:
It seems you truly care about the Empire, more than you say.
Freeze in a serious tone:
Perhaps... but my interest in it will never conflict with my interest.
Harry:
And I will always be your right hand, and your shield that does not break.
Freeze with a sincere smile:
Thank you, Eye of the... Harry.