Chapter 59: Bad News...!

(Vijay woke up in his palace to a pleasant morning.)

(Kavya had awakened him early, and due to the recent hassles, he couldn't spend as much time with her as he wished.)

(Currently, Kavya turned 17 years old this year and looks more beautiful than ever.)

(Vijay decided to go on a stroll with Kavya today, to spend some quality time with her.)

(They both headed to watch the sports competition being held at the nearest school.)

(After the introduction of rugby to the army, it quickly gained popularity throughout the empire, especially among the boys in schools who loved the game.)

(They picked up the rules quickly, and since rugby was a practical and physical game similar to warfare, it had received strong endorsement from the Ministry of Culture and Education in recent months.)

(The match about to begin today was a trial organized by the school in Hampi to raise funds for the school's development.)

(After enjoying the kids' match, Vijay decided to stroll around the nearest park with Kavya.)

(She hugged him as they walked alone in the empty park.)

(It was a rare moment as he was often surrounded by guards.)

(Unfortunately, Kavya had a depressed expression on her face, Which Vijay quickly picked up on and asked in concern.)

Vijay: "What is wrong? Why the long face? Tell your husband, and I will do my best to fix it for you."

(trying to comfort her.)

(Kavya hesitated for a moment, but then replied after gathering the courage she needed.)

Kavya: "It's nothing, husband. You are always busy, and I have nothing to do at the palace. So when you go away on your duties, I have nothing to do at all. I become very bored and have no one to communicate with. So, I was wondering if I could do something."

(Vijay felt guilty after hearing his wife's words.)

(With all the responsibilities he had taken on since his coronation, he hadn't had much time to spend with his wife.)

(Unfortunately, he couldn't even change this outcome in the near future, Because of his Ambitions that will always keep him busy.)

(Nevertheless, he was thankful to Lord Vishnu for having an understanding wife who didn't blame him.)

Vijay: "What is it? Tell me, and I will do whatever is in my power to help."

(he assured her.)

(Kavya replied hesitantly.)

Kavya: "Husband, please don't be mad at me when I say this, but I discovered that when I was helping you design the uniforms for the school children earlier, I enjoyed this type of work the most. I often came up with new and creative ideas. So, I was thinking, maybe I could start designing new types of clothing, and I believe I would absolutely love doing that."

(she said, her voice filled with hesitation.)

(Vijay was pleasantly surprised by Kavya's plans.)

(In this era, women typically didn't have an entrepreneurial spirit, but he had witnessed the feminist wave in the 21st century and accepted the idea of women in positions of power and influence.)

(He wasn't annoyed by Kavya's request; in fact, as far back as when Kavya showed her interest in fashion.)

(he had already made his plans to privatize some sectors of the government and allow the citizens of Vijayanagar to set up their own businesses.)

(He saw the potential for Kavya to start a fashion empire similar to LVMH in later generations.)

(However, these plans had been delayed as he needed to establish the necessary infrastructure for businesses to prosper.)

(But now, with his wife bringing it to his attention, he decided to fast-track his plans a bit.)

Vijay: "Okay, I promise you. You can temporarily recruit some skilled female craftsmen and start designing the clothes you like. However, you can't sell them to anyone just yet."

(he told her.)

(Upon hearing Vijay's words, Kavya was overjoyed.)

(She jumped around him with joy like a bunny and tightly hugged Vijay.)

(Blushing, she kissed his cheek and said in a soft, grateful voice.)

Kavya: "Thank you so much, husband."

(Just as the couple were having their lovely time, Roshan broke inside the royal palace unannounced, looking for him.)

(Vijay, who had recognized Roshan's voice from outside.)

(quickly coaxed Kavya to let him go and left to meet Roshan, as he knew that his spymaster wouldn't disturb him for some trivial news.)

(Vijay observed Roshan's dishevelled appearance, with disarrayed hair and red, sleep-deprived eyes, displaying a sense of panic all over his face.)

(Seeing him in this state, Vijay knew that the problem was big, So he put on a dignified expression and asked Roshan in a grave tone.)

Vijay: "What happened, Roshan?"

Roshan: "Your Highness, I received a top-level priority message from the Mughal Empire yesterday. But on my way to meet you, I received another top-level priority message from the Lanka branch of the Secret Service."

(Roshan replied in a stuttering voice.)

(Despite being the leader of the Secret Service organization, he couldn't have imagined the gravity of the news he was about to deliver.)

(He feared that hearing this news would shake Vijay to his core.)

(Vijay, however, remained calm and composed as he urged Roshan.)

Vijay: "Tell me one by one and stop stuttering, you are the spymaster for God's sake."

(Roshan continued.)

Roshan: "Your Highness, it's not good news. The Mughal Empire has just completed the integration of their empire, and there have been unusual military movements in the past few days. Upon further inquiry, we discovered that the Mughal Empire was mobilizing a formidable army of 200,000 soldiers, preparing for an expedition either against our empire or the Maratha Kingdom."

(Vijay felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the news.)

(He had always known that the Mughal Empire might make a move soon after their integration, but he hadn't anticipated it happening this quickly.)

(However, he quickly composed himself, knowing he needed to stay calm.)

Vijay: "What is the other news?"

(he asked.)

(Ever since the assassination attempt on his life, he had become more composed and better at controlling his emotions.)

(Compared to when he had just been Transmigrated into this world.)

Roshan: "Your Highness, I believe this news is even more grave than the last one."

(Roshan replied.)

Roshan: "I just received a report from the Lanka Secret Service branch. We've learned that Lanka has been secretly controlled by the Dutch from Europe behind the scenes for a while now. It seems that over the past few months, Dutch activity in Lanka has been increasing significantly. The local kingdom army has also been quietly replaced by the army formed by the white men, and there have been increasing cases of our temples being destroyed and libraries being burnt, along with a massive spike of conversions to Christianity throughout the kingdom."

(Roshan continued.)

Roshan: "As we delved deeper into the power structure of the kingdom that now dominates Lanka, we discovered that the Kandy Kingdom, which was the strongest kingdom on the island, perhaps due to its king's greed or overconfidence, had first taken out a loan from the Dutch to annex the neighbouring kingdom. Fortunately, with the resources provided by the Dutch, the Kandy Kingdom easily won the war in record time. Upon repaying the Dutch loans with the spoils of war, the king of the Kandy Kingdom became overconfident and took out massive loans to annex all the kingdoms on the island and form an empire in one step. However, that all came to nought as he was unable to pay the interest due to a loophole in the contract, which made the interest rates he signed to be exorbitant. When the king of Lanka decided not to pay the interest and tried to use force, the Dutch, seemingly well-prepared, swiftly stormed the island with large gunships, something never seen before. With this show of force, the Dutch were able to blackmail the king of Lanka into signing the contract for leasing the entire island for 150 years in exchange for forgiving the loans he had taken earlier to unify the island and allowing him to keep his crown."

Vijay [in mind]: "Idiot...! Moron...!"

(Vijay cursed as he heard about the idiotic king of Kandy, as he was familiar with this style of play by the Dutch.)

(He knew that the Dutch had used the same method in his past life to invade certain parts of Kerala.)

(He wasn't even surprised that the Dutch chose to install a puppet king instead of completely controlling Lanka.)

(Vijay understood that the Netherlands was primarily a trade-centered country, focusing on extracting resources from the places they occupied with little regard for human life.)

(Their primary goal was to control trade routes, and they often developed weaponry to achieve this, but they didn't prioritize industrial development.)

(This approach would eventually lead to their defeat in wars against more industrialized powers, like the British in the near future.)

(As Roshan continued, Vijay became increasingly concerned.)

Roshan: "The most important point is that the Dutch are rapidly stockpiling weapons and ammunition at Lanka's main port, using it as a springboard for launching an attack on Kochi in six months. We're expecting an invasion force of anywhere from 20,000 to 46,000 soldiers armed with advanced artillery and a new weapon they call the 'Aquabus,' which shoots out fire and can kill a man before he even blinks."

(Listening to the approaching danger, Vijay couldn't maintain his calm any longer.)

(Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as panic set in.)

(He realized that, despite all his advantages, he couldn't fight a two-front war.)

(Even with his knowledge of future technologies, preparing for a massive war in just six months seemed impossible in the face of both the Dutch and the Mughals with a combined army of nearly 300,000, not to mention the advanced artillery of the Dutch.)

(When he was becoming pessimistic, His expression was noticed by Roshan as he reminded him.)

Roshan: "Your Highness, if I may say, there is still a silver lining in the news that we received. Fortunately, we received news this morning that the troops of the Mughal Empire are marching towards the west of their lands, likely towards the Maratha Kingdom, and not towards our Empire."

(BAM...)

(Vijay kicked Roshan in his butt for delaying the important news that he had to inform him.)

(Roshan quickly raised his hands to appease The angry King by saying.)

Roshan: "Please spare me, Your Highness, I only said this news at the end as I did not want to leave a bad taste in your mouth with all the bad news coming up suddenly."

(Vijay calmed down after Roshan's explanation but the news he received did indeed make him feel relieved, thinking that Vijayanagar still had a chance if it was only the Dutch.)

(However, soon, he felt guilty because the Maratha Kingdom was his wife's home.)

(He didn't know how to break the news to her.)

(Unfortunately, Vijay would not be able to assist the Maratha Kingdom by sending troops when he himself was in dire straits.)

(The best he could do was to provide as much weaponry as needed and to rescue as many people as possible.)

Vijay: "Sigh"

(He sighed with a hint of sadness for his father-in-law's predicament.)

[To Be Continued...]