The Princess of Wrath

Chapter 5 - Part II: The Mourning Star

The carriage that was taking Asura, Royce, and Councillor Walker towards Gustav Belmont's pharmaceutical industry passed unnoticed among the traffic in the streets of the Factorial Ward.

The great colossi of black stone sang with the sound of metals bending and changing shape, machines moving incessantly, and the yelling of thousands of workers; they also breathed incessantly, emanating great plumes of smoke that vanished violently in the heights and far away in direction of the southern plains.

If not for the proximity to the sea and the strong and purifying wind currents, it would be practically impossible to inhabit the area due to the smoke and the constant amalgam of disgusting odors from food processing, hundreds of different chemical treatments and the converge of the sewers from both modern and old city structures.

Asura closed her eyes tight, resisting the lingering headache and nausea caused by the smells. She considered herself lucky that the curse did not decide to contribute with its grain of sand at that moment and force her to expel her breakfast and a small amount of blood through her mouth.

"Did you ever argue at the Council about how much longer the industry would need to start making improvements with their processes?" she asked to Octavius, who was sitting in front of her in a curved position because he was too tall for the height of the carriage.

"I am always the first one to bring up the matter, lady Asura. Lauren knows very well my concerns about lingering effect of industrial waste on people's health, but she still argues that the whole system cannot change so abruptly, mostly after the long process of changing the use of coal as the main energy source to high-performance electricity," the old man answered, referring to the Councillor of Energy and Industry, Lauren vas Breen.

"Well, at least we made the environment and Councillor Benedict happy."

"You look sick, my lady. Would you like a mint candy?" Royce offered her.

"Oh, yes please!" In no time, the candy began to ease her migraine and her stomach. "Thanks, Royce. This part of town is always rough on me."

"It is truly necessary for you to make such a trip only for a couple of signed documents?" Octavius asked her. "Couriers exist, for now."

"I prefer to do it myself. It's my duty, after all. Also, I cannot overlook the opportunity to meet acquaintances and friends."

"Speaking about duty, your mother is always complaining that you don't do any effort in finding a proper candidate to be your spouse," the old man smirked as Asura's face was covered by weariness.

Since her discussion with her mother in the Hall of the Throne, the Princess accepted with deep sadness that she had to fulfill the will of her ancestors in regards of marriage.

Her dreams of taking Diana's hand in marriage were doomed to be just that: dreams. That ceremony was going to be performed to give her hand to a man that she could never love and conceive children with the probability of condemning them to a nightmare from which they would never be able to wake up.

"Look, I haven't found someone I can trust enough with the capacity of ruling," she explained, and in consequence, rising inquiring gazes from both the knight and the Councillor. "After all, I'm planning to bring my father here and give the responsibility of governing the Black Garden to my...dear, future spouse."

With no way to escape her fate, Asura had begun to think of the Empire's future as a top priority. The written experiences of her ancestors that she had read for years were going to aid her greatly, with her mother being the most tangible and modern leadership model that she had. What she told Octavius was an idea inspired by her.