Dragon Monarch System

Chapter 1205: Chapter 1205:- Nostalgia of Home

“So, where do we find the former Prime Minister?” Rin asked while walking beside Aditya.

As they made their way through the Capital, Rin could not help but take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the city around her. True to its status, history, and rich heritage, the Capital of the Celestial Dragon Empire was truly a magnificent place.

One of the first things that caught Rin’s attention was the clean water channel running alongside the main road. The channel was almost 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) wide and was filled with crystal-clear flowing water. Beautiful koi fish of different colours and sizes happily swam through it, completely unbothered by the large number of people constantly passing nearby.

This water channel was not limited to the road they were currently walking on. The Capital had seven enormous main roads because the city itself had seven major entrances. Each entrance was connected to one of these roads, and all seven eventually led toward the Imperial Royal Palace located deeper within the Capital.

The roads themselves were extremely wide and spacious, allowing multiple carriages to travel in both directions without creating unnecessary congestion. On both sides of every main road were equally spacious pedestrian walkways, wide enough to support large numbers of people moving through the Capital at the same time.

Even with merchants, cultivators, residents, and visitors constantly traveling through the city, everything moved smoothly without people getting in each other’s way.

Large trees had also been planted at regular intervals along both sides of the streets, providing shade to the pedestrians below. However, these were not ordinary trees. Their leaves naturally changed colours with each passing season.

During different times of the year, the same streets could be covered beneath shades of green, golden yellow, fiery orange, crimson red, and several other beautiful colours. This meant that the appearance of the Capital naturally changed throughout the year without anyone needing to alter its decorations.

Everything Rin saw appeared exceptionally clean and well maintained. The roads were clean, the water channels were free of waste, and even the smaller streets branching away from the main road appeared properly maintained. There were no beggars sleeping beside the streets or homeless people occupying the sidewalks.

Guards could also be seen stationed at regular intervals and near important intersections. Some remained in fixed positions while others patrolled the streets in small groups. Considering that the Empire was currently entering a civil war, the security presence was naturally much heavier than usual.

Yet despite all of this, there was no chaos. Everything remained orderly and peaceful.

For someone visiting for the first time, it would have been difficult to believe that millions of soldiers were preparing to fight a civil war that could determine the future of this very city.

“I was told that the former Prime Minister would be waiting for us at the reception of the Silver Moon Inn.” Aditya finally replied while continuing to walk forward.

“It should be around 1,000 meters (0.62 miles) away from the teleportation array.” Rin nodded before once again looking around the beautiful streets surrounding them. At their current pace, it would not take them long to reach the Silver Moon Inn.

While slowly walking through the streets, Rin suddenly spotted something interesting in the distance that she wanted to show Aditya. However, just as she turned toward him, the words she was about to say stopped in her throat.

Aditya had a deep and heavy expression on his face. It was an expression filled with nostalgia.

‘This place hasn’t changed at all.’ Looking at these familiar streets brought back memories that Aditya had not thought about in years. He could still remember walking through these very roads as a child.

Sometimes, his father would secretly bring him outside the Imperial Royal Palace in disguise just so the two of them could enjoy the street food sold throughout the Capital. Naturally, these little trips were always kept secret from his mother.

Whenever father and son returned home, they would pretend that absolutely nothing had happened. If Elena discovered that the two had secretly gone outside and filled their stomachs with street food, she would become angry because neither of them would have enough appetite left to properly eat the dinner she had prepared.

Remembering those moments caused a faint smile to appear on Aditya’s face.

There were other memories as well. Under the excuse of taking the young Crown Prince outside for “training,” his father’s old butler, Alfred, would occasionally take Aditya around the Capital to have fun. The two would visit different areas of the city, explore famous locations, try different foods, and go on various sightseeing trips.

One of Aditya’s favorite activities had been watching the singing and dancing performances of the beauties from the Jade Pavilion.

Of course, Alfred had always made sure that the young Crown Prince was kept far away from anything inappropriate. The women performing in the areas where Alfred took Aditya wore elegant dresses rather than provocative clothing, and their performances mostly focused on singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments.

‘Now that I think about it… Alfred was always more excited about those performances than I was.’ The realization made Aditya’s lips twitch slightly. Perhaps the old butler had simply wanted an excuse to visit the Jade Pavilion and had conveniently used the young Crown Prince as that excuse.

After all, what sane butler would regularly bring a little Crown Prince to a place famous for having extremely beautiful women performing for wealthy and powerful customers? Many of the women working there dreamed of attracting the attention of some wealthy noble or powerful cultivator who might eventually marry them or take them as a concubine.

At the time, the young Aditya had naturally never thought deeply about any of this. He simply enjoyed the music, performances, food, and opportunity to escape the Imperial Royal Palace for a few hours.

Alfred, on the other hand, had probably understood exactly what he was doing. Fortunately for both of them, Alfred and Aditya had been very careful to keep their little trips hidden from everyone. Especially Elena.

While walking, Aditya suddenly paused when his eyes landed on a familiar building on the other side of the street.

Jade Pavilion

For a few seconds, he simply stood there and stared at the familiar words. ‘So it’s still here.’

This was the same Jade Pavilion that he and Alfred had frequently visited when Aditya was younger. Back then, Aditya had also been very close to the elderly woman who managed the establishment.

Despite his status as the Crown Prince, he had never bothered addressing her with any formal honorifics. Instead, he had affectionately called her Granny, something the old woman had always seemed to enjoy.

‘I wonder if that old granny is still alive.’ For a moment, Aditya genuinely felt the urge to walk inside.

He wanted to see how much the place had changed. He wanted to know whether the same old woman still managed the Jade Pavilion after all these years. Perhaps she would even recognize the little Crown Prince who used to visit her establishment with his suspiciously enthusiastic old butler.

But Aditya quickly suppressed that urge. Now was not the time to drown himself in nostalgia.

Every minute mattered. They needed to complete their mission as quickly as possible and return. A war involving millions of soldiers was waiting for them, and Aditya had responsibilities that could not be delayed merely because he wanted to revisit pieces of his childhood.

Just as he was about to continue walking, he suddenly felt a warm hand take his palm.

“Aditya.” He turned toward Rin.

She gently held his hand while looking at him with a soft smile. Rin had noticed his expression from the moment they began walking through these streets. Even without knowing every memory going through his mind, she could understand what returning here meant to him.

“This is your home.” Rin softly said. “And soon, you will return to this place with your head held high.”

Her fingers tightened slightly around his hand. “At that time you won’t have to hide anymore.” Aditya silently looked at her.

Years ago, he had left this very Capital in humiliation. He had been stripped of his position as Crown Prince, exiled from his homeland, and forced to leave behind the place where he had spent his childhood.

Now he had returned wearing a false face and carrying a false identity, forced to hide even while walking through the streets that had once been his home. But if everything went according to plan, this would be the last time.

Soon, Aditya would return openly. He would walk through these streets without hiding his face, without suppressing his cultivation, and without pretending to be someone else. He would return as the rightful ruler and Emperor of the Celestial Dragon Empire.

Not because Aditya needed this Empire. He had already built an Empire of his own. He would return because the Celestial Dragon Empire needed him.

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