Outside the bedchamber of the Gupta Emperor.

  "How many petitions have been filled, Shambunath?"

  "Your Majesty, the Court has received over ten petitions in less than four weeks. This does not include the memoranda submitted by the Minister of Finace and the Minister of Arms and Ordnaces last month. Moreover, several nobles, governors, local chieftains, sovereigns of autonomous kingdoms, and commoners have arrived at our doorsteps and sought an audience with you."

  The figure, half-dressed and half-asleep, yawned. He spoke through the veil, unwilling to even look at the face of the person he was speaking to.

  "Is there anything else, my child?"

  "Your Highness, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces wishes to apprise you of the dismal state of affairs in which the various wings of the military currently find themselves. Irregularities in funding have drastically reduced their efficacy; as a result, they can neither invest in modern technologies nor pay their recruits their dues. Sire, with several impending rebellions and armed insurgencies, it has become imperative to increase military spending to ensure the safety of the empire's borders."

  "Additionally, did Your Excellency put effect to the Commander's request to buy the flintlock muskets the firangees manufacture?

  No answer was received from the receiving end.

  Shambunath heaved a sigh of disappointment, adjusted the hilt of his sword, and continued.

  "The military encampments throughout the provinces lack basic amenities. Food and clothing is scarce and housing arrangements are reduced to temporary tents that can easily be blown away. Such harsh conditions have aggrieved the recruits, resulting in sporadic incidents of mutiny,"

  "Hm," grumbled the nearly benumbed figure.

  "Rājan, I request you to take cognizance of these grievances and respond to them as soon as possible. It is not wise on your part to antagonist the military and dispalease the nobility, Lord."

  "Hm."

  A faint knock was sounded on the door.

  "I have a visitor whom I must immediately attend to," said the man, scurrying away.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Through the veil, Shambunath saw a door creaking slightly and the invigorating aroma of jasmine wafting through the gap.

  As it shut, Shambunath twisted his nose in disdain. Another courtesan, thought he. Having arranged the heap of documents neatly on a table, he sighed and vacated the room in dignified silence.

  He was confronted by several flagrant nobles a few paces from the door.

  "What did that ayyāsh say?"

  "What can that paramour of courtesans say? He suits a brothel, not a palace!"

  "What do you mean?!"

  "I mean what I say. He's indifferent. All he cares about is the number of visitors he has entertained," hissed he.

  An old noble, whose countenance was a dishevelled mess, thus muttered:

  "'Tis unfortunate that the late Emperor engendered him; he does not suit the epithet of Emperor."

  "Do not grieve, old man. A man who does not belong to his family can never belong to his nation."

  A true statement. Owing to his debauchery and his proclivity for dalliances outside his marriage, he had been shunned by the previous sovereign—the beloved Avaneesh—and this had manifested in his failure to perform the duties expected of him as heir to the Peacock Throne.

  He had also proven his military incompetence by failing to defend Agra during his father's campaigns in Afghanistan in 1750, even though the Bundelkhandi forces were outnumbered and supported only by exiled British merchants. The fort and the city fell to the invading forces, compelling the entourage to retreat to Delhi. It was not until the late monsoon that reinforcements from Oudh arrived and recaptured the city. This blunder, along with the Crown Prince’s repeated failures to suppress separatist rebellions in the East, discredited him in his father's eyes.

  The aging emperor had begun considering altering the original laws of succession and appointing his second child Bhargava as his successor. However, his wife and advisors dissuaded him from doing, for they were afraid that this might lead to rebellion. He relented and abdicated the throne in favour of his eldest child in the summer of 1762.

  However, he forcibly took his youngest granddaughters into his custody, citing "obvious indifference on part of their father".

  ***

  "My lord, you look displeased,"

  "Of course I do. To hell with these royal duties! They are but unnecessary burdens on my personal life. I just cannot enjoy life and its pleasures if I have a noble and a disgusting commoner popping up every second with their petty problems!"

  "Calm down, my love,"

  "How can I? I cannot sustain this burden anymore!"

  "What do they demand?"

  "Money, what else? These people are beggars, I say! They expect that I can majestically materialize gold and start throwing it away madly!"

  The visitor, half-dressed herself, moved closer to the emperor and caressed his chin.

  "If you need money, why don't you raise taxes?"

  "Are you out of your mind? That will antagonize the masses, and you and I will be staring at each other from our severed heads, hoisted at the gates of Agra Fort!" blurted the Emperor.

  ""Okay, okay, I'll suggest something else."

  The woman continued tapping the Emperor's chin as she immersed herself in thought.

  "What about increasing the homage the autonomous provinces pay to you?"

  "What if they don't agree?"

  "My lord," said the visitor, "what's the army for?"

  And she planted a tender kiss and her crafts into his brain.

  "I thought all women could do was seduce men."

  The courtesan smirked.

  "We could have done wonders, my lord,

  had not the hungry eyes of men such as you preyed upon us."

  "Now now; let me entertain you!"