As Alicent walked towards the Southern city gate, a certain scent made its way to his nose. He looked around, finding the scent intriguing. His gaze fell upon a store at the end of the street where a lone baker was making Juaid Pies.
'Ahh, Juaid pies. My beloved~
He looked at the bakery for a few seconds as his mouth filled with saliva and his throat bobbed up and down. He was worried about money first and foremost, and although the emperor never bought things without thinking more than once, Allicent did, and he was a poor animal herder's boy.
He only held around 20 Ros and 15 Pes of the northern currency, which were only applicable north of the mountain of the giants.
A hundred Pes was a single Ros, and a hundred Ros was a singular Arad.
They were divided into denominations of 1 Unit coins, 5 Unit Papers and coins, 10 Unit Papers, and Fifty Unit Papers.
Besides those, there was also the standard Gold coin for a hundred Arard. This currency existed before the conquest and was perhaps one of the oldest currencies of the central continent.
In the era of the giants and dwarves, the early third age, the forges of the imperial bank of the north were known to be the largest reserves of gold, which was stored in molten form to quickly form currency that had reliable purity, and the amount of coin in circulation was controlled.
It was even said that the wise and knowledgeable First Giant was the one to introduce the system of currency. Later, the dwarves became the pioneers of coin making and smithery, thus solidifying their economic importance in the north.
Alicent looked at the saliva-inducing pies in the shop and thought solemnly.
'My heart wants to buy, yet my mind cannot decide whether or not to.'
"Sir! It's my wife's birthday. Pies are 50% off today." The seller turned towards him and told him he would wait idly no longer.
He walked quickly towards the store and inspected the baked pies. He looked around for some time, trying to find his favorite.
"Do you not have Scented Dewdough?" The baker laughed wholeheartedly as if Alicent had told him a hilarious joke.
Scented Dew dough was made from the root of the scented dew tree, which was rich in starch.
"Sir, I cannot believe you said that with a straight face." The Baker said as he patted Alicent's back with his hands. Alicent was in momentary confusion.
"Wait, did I say something humorous?" He asked the baker with curiosity.
"Scented Dewwood spices cost ten Ararda kilograms; a humble baker like me is too poor." The baker replied as he scratched the back of his head with a grin on his face.
'Perhaps I had grown accustomed to the life of a Noble emperor.' Alicent thought to himself. The baker seemed like a kind and humble man with a wide smile who was working diligently and respected his customers. These were the makings of a great businessman, just lacking the wits and cunningness.
He ordered the pie, which was the most similar to the Scented Dewwood, which was the Mixture of Spirit tree root powder and Sol seeds from the Solwood tree.
The Spirit tree roots were a bit spicy to the taste, but they left a chilling sensation at the end, which was quite pleasant. Besides that, the scent of the Solwood tree seemed slightly putrid or citrusy.
The shopkeeper seemed to have mixed in a little bit too much starch to replicate the flavor of the Scented Dewwood. Under harsh conditions, such as the south, where the Dewwood originated, plants evolved to store the nutrients in less accessible places, such as the roots, to protect them from other creatures; this gave them an earthy sweetness that was lacking in the replica.
"The pies are excellent; I might visit again next time," Alicent told the baker as he gave the man 2 Ros and left the store.
'It's almost 2 p.m.; the sun should set at around 4:30 in the north.' Grunard was located in the deep north. In addition to the planetary factors that astronomers theorize, there are also the mountains of the giants that stand tall in the south. In the evenings, they block the sun for the Grunard region.
'Ah, yes, I almost forgot, I should pick up a history book or a few newspapers if I can find one. The previous Alicent was barely literate or knew anything about the world...' He sighed before he looked around for some time.
At the end of the southern road, near the central plaza, was a small bookstore labeled "Anders Bookstore.".
He walked to the bookstore and opened the door. The tinkling of the bell startled the bookstore owner, who was idly dozing off in his chair with his legs crossed and placed on top of the table.
"Ahhh!" He yawned while stretching his back and extending his arms towards the roof.
"Good morning, Sir. How may I help you?" He asked, rubbing his eyeball with the back of his hand, and he put the glasses he had previously taken off on.
'He doesn't look like he gets many customers. Is it because of the lack of book readers in the city, or is it because of the bookstore itself? I had put in quite a bit of effort to make the public educated; I hope it's not the first assumption.' Alicent thought as he looked at the man who had just woken up.
After conquering the north, he had done several campaigns to educate the public when it came to math, literature, and science. As far as Aegis knew, the western continent was much farther behind when it came to such topics; even 300 years ago, they had invented several devices that made life a lot easier, such as large steam-powered carts called 'trains.'
He, as Emperor of the central continent, had personally participated in the establishment of the continent-wide Train route in the year 887.
Besides such obvious developments, the eastern continent had also made breakthroughs in Medicine at the time. He remembered the younger of his two daughters, Kate, getting serious pneumonia when the medication in the central continent failed; she had to be rushed to the west to treat it.
He quickly dismissed his thoughts and looked at the bookstore owner before him.
"Sir, I think it's hours past noon." He told the storekeeper, who chuckled lightly.
"Good afternoon, then, sir, how may I help you?" The shopkeeper asked the teen boy in front of him, who exuded an aura of wisdom and wiseness, even though he looked like a country kid who didn't know the alphabet.
"I'm looking for a book or two on the events and advancements within the past 300 years or so..." He told the owner that the bookkeeper raised an eyebrow before motioning his hands towards the shelf in the corner, which had clearly accumulated a lot of dirt.
With a slight nod, he moved towards the bookshelf. where there were a lot of books from different publications, all of which were quite unknown to him.
"History of the Arden Kingdom." He read the title of the book, and he was quite curious about what the book detailed, even though he was already knowledgeable in the history of the north, thanks to his second wife, Kaitlyn.
He flipped to the introductory page, and he raised his eyebrow.
"A book that details the millennium-old history of the kingdom in the north, ending with the execution of the last king, Albead, by the tyrant." He was momentarily confused. The "Tyrant" was King Aegis's nickname. Absurd.
'My name has already been defamed then... From the Lightborn emperor to the tyrant?' He thought as he sighed inwardly, although his conquest caused a great deal of damage and an even greater loss in life, the victims were well compensated after the conquest; some received titles of nobility for their acts, while some were given gold.
'Nothing can compare to the loss of life then...' It was one of his biggest regrets in his old life, the loss of life could have been mitigated, the conquest could have ended with mutual benefits to all instead of only the Emperor being on the advantageous side.
'Perhaps the war was too harsh, I was too young, too hotheaded. I've already forgotten the reason I started the conquest, those memories have likely been lost to time then.' Alicent said inwardly.
He placed the book on the shelf it belonged to and went over to the stack of books next to it.
"'Tyrant' A biography."
'Tyrant... that name itches me in a bad way.' He thought as he opened the book and read the introductory sentences.
"A tyrant loved by hundreds and hated by millions, A tyrant consumed by greed, A tyrant who made a pact with the devil, A tyrant who was the spawn of evil, A tyrant who plundered, A tyrant who slaved his foes... The Tyrant Oppressor. "
And the list went on and on for an entire page. Alicent stood there, his hands shaking, sweat dripped down from his forehead and fell on the page.
'The Tyrant Oppressor', He repeated the words in his mind.
A large view of a battlefield came before him, he was floating in the air, looking down at the foot soldiers who carried spears, shields, and bows.
He looked at one of them, the foot soldier who wore the colours of green and white, who fell to the ground. He put his spear and shield before him as a sign of submission.
He sat down on the ground, and his head touched the bloody floor as he prostrated himself.
A look defeated a battle-hardened soldier.
The soldier next to him soon did the same, and another soldier followed, so did another, and another, and another till the hundreds of thousands of soldiers behind them did the same.
Soon enough, an entire army bowed itself before him, the tyrant oppressor.
The amalgamation of green, white, and red blended into the sequence of letters that formed the page before him.
He stared at the page, and his legs gave out under him. He fell towards the shelf and slammed headfirst into the hard wooden shelf, with enough force to knock a couple of books off before he regained his footing.
"You alright?" The bookkeeper asked, concerned. Alicent gained his footing and stood straight.
"Yes, it's just... Hypotension." He told the man whilst rubbing his skull, which had an obvious redness from hitting the shelf so hard. The bookkeeper didn't believe him. Alicent barely looked 18.
'I must take this book, perhaps I will get the answers to my amnesia, even some answers for these random... Visions? I keep seeing.' He put the book in his armpit and picked up the few books that fell down due to his head hitting the shelf.
He picked up one and placed it in its corresponding place before doing the same with a few ones. He bent down to pick another one, one which looked old and dustier than the others; it had an ancient aura that he could clearly feel even before touching it.
A single sentence repeated in his mind.
"Take it..."
He froze. His hands tried to move on their own, yet he resisted. An ominous feeling washed over him; he felt that if he touched it, his entire being would perish right there on the spot. The voice in his head was not his own, it was the book's. It held sentience, it wanted Alicent to take it.
The deep dread feeling he got from the book was something he didn't know a human could have; it was a primal instinct, it was like putting your hands in the mouth of a tiger.
His heartbeat started getting faster and faster till the veins in his forehead started pulsing, and his face started getting red.
His hands started moving on their own again; he had lost control over them, and even his control over his body was getting less and less with each passing second. He needed to snap out of it, or something horrible would happen.
"You thirsty?" The Bookkeeper startled him.
Alicent snapped, his hand pulled back faster than he knew it could, his body jerked, and his control over it returned. The vein in his forehead disappeared, and his heartbeat started gradually turning normal.
"Umm, yes," He told the man. The storekeeper brought a glass of water and gave it to Alicent, who thanked the man and drank it. As he drank, the storekeeper picked up the book from the ground and placed it in its original position without any problems.
'I'm in the safe for now...'