Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

Chapter 206: Day Off

Gauri had asked him to spend some time together after they had signed the deal. He didn't think much of it and obliged with her.

Harsha had grown a few cm in height but it didn't matter much as Gauri was still taller than him.

He looked her up and down. She was very different now. She grew stronger and became more beautiful. The dress clung to her body elegantly.

Her demeanour had completely shifted and she gave off an air of authority like the former Empress of Vijayanagara.

Harsha looked up at her. "So, what do you want to do?"

She shifted and fidgeted around. "Umm…"

"L- Let's go to the temple." She blurted out.

He tilted his head and looked at her flushed expression.

"Temple? Sure, why not? I didn't have time to visit."

Her expression quickly lit up. She jumped slightly in joy

"R-Really?"

They both went to the temple in the capital. It was a huge temple and due to the visit of the Emperor and the Queen, the temple was emptied for them.

Harsha walked into the temple. It was well maintained and had intricate carvings on the gate. The temple was quite old and the architecture stood apart from the Virupaksha temple in Hampi. It was a Krishna temple.

"You didn't have to send the devotees off for our visit!" He commented as he walked beside her.

"I understand the risk of security but everyone should be equal before God."

Gauri sighed as well; she looked down.

"But since I am also visiting the temple, the crowd will become uncontrollable. So I took this route."

"Well, it looks nice."

Seeing her, a priest approached with a smile. She visited the temple in the morning regularly to avoid crowds.

"Your Majesty, may Lord Krishna always be with you."

She smiled in response.

"Who is this? Your Nephew?" He said, looking at Harsha.

She looked in surprise at the priest, like, What the hell was he saying?. Her eyes went wide.

Harsha chuckled at the priest.

"Do I look like a kid beside her?"

The priest looked confused.

Gauri quickly corrected him. "This is the Emperor of Vijayanagara."

The priest went wide-eyed and quickly began to apologize for his behavior.

Harsha had a grin.

"Mistakes happen."

After praying to Lord Krishna. They both sat down under the banyan tree in the temple to take in the cool breeze.

"Is it nice?" Gauri asked nervously.

"Yes. The work of the Empire has been mentally tiring." He said, looking up at the sky.

Somehow he felt relaxed talking to Gauri. He didn't understand the feeling. It was soothing listening to her voices and watching her actions.

'I wonder what this feeling is.' He thought.

"Let's walk around the market after this." She suggested.

"Let's change our clothes. I want to experience the feeling without hindering others." He suggested.

They explored the market district in the capital of the Yadava kingdom. It was a fun experience. The markets were smaller than the ones in Hampi but the wares were different and there were many local goods.

"Look here, Harsha." Gauri held a small wooden toy prince. "This looks like you." She said it with a smile.

"Really? Does it?" He inspected it.

"Take it. It will be my gift to you for our memories."

She smiled brightly. He was momentarily mesmerized by her bright smile. The time seemed to stand still as he watched her.

He shook his head to fall out of the trance.

Harsha looked over at the stall. He saw a small wooden toy princess and bought it for Gauri.

"Here, this is a gift from me." He smiled.

Gauri accepted it and kept it safe in her bag. She became comfortable interacting with him after spending a bit of time.

She becomes flustered at the thought of touching his hands and shoulders. She wanted to lean on him for support as a princess in the stories she read about. She was too big for that.

'I can't do that.' She sighed.

'I want to at least hold hands.' She thought with a determined expression.

They spent more time visiting stalls and eating out in the vibrant market district. It was a fun day for the both of them. It was mentally relaxing for Harsha and Gauri, who were neck deep in managing the kingdom affairs.

"Mom, look at them. They look suspicious."

"Don't point at them," said the mother.

"You dumbass. Why did you dress like this?" asked Naiki.

"This is a disguise. Barbarians like you won't understand it," commented Viswa, looking at Harsha from afar.

They decided to follow the duo of Harsha and Gauri around to help their love life progress.

"You brat, who are you calling a barbarian?" Naiki smacked his head and pinched his cheek.

"Get off me, you demonic hag." Viswa kicked his arms and legs around.

Naiki let him off after a smack. "Don't call me that."

"Owwh, it hurts. Why are you so strong for a ha-" Viswa zipped his mouth shut as he watched her raise her arm.

"Wait, we lost them."

In the midst of their fight. They lost sight of Harsha and Gauri.

Meanwhile, on the other side. They were weaving through the crowd to get to a secluded place. The crowd was becoming too much and they had to move.

Harsha tugged on her robe as she went ahead to the last location on their list to visit. It was a beautiful place to see the moon in the night.

"Don't get lost," said Gauri.

After a while, the crowd was gone and they were heading towards the location. Harsha suddenly tripped over a rock and was about to fall.

Gauri reacted to it and grabbed his waist and his hand to save him.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

She only realized after that their faces were so close to each other. They were staring into each other's eyes. Their fingers were intertwined with each other's

Gauri saw this and her face went red like a tomato. She flushed in embarrassment.

"Thanks," said Harsha and he adjusted his dress.

He looked up at the midnight moon and smiled.

Enjoy exclusive adventures from M V L

"This place is beautiful, like you said."

She didn't look at the sky. Her gaze was focused on his face.

'He has such a cute smile.'