Kundavi stared at the Emperor in amazement. Her large eyes widened further. “Father, what is this? Wearing guises is the job of stage actors. Why should kings learn to disguise themselves?”, she asked.
“To rule over a country, one needs to learn several arts. The most
important of those is the art of camouflage. It can help the ruler keep his
finger on the pulse of the nation, learn the secrets of the enemy, and prevent
crimes”.
Kundavi intervened, “What crime were you preventing now? Or did
you suspect me of some sort of crime?”. She laughed.
“You have indeed committed an offense Kundavi. Four people lost
their lives on your account last night”.
Kundavi was startled. “What is this father? I don’t know of any
offense!”
“It’s true that you don’t know. Did you invite a foreigner, a gem
merchant to the palace?”
“Yes, I did. Is that an offense?”
“Did you tell him you were the princess’s friend?”
“That’s right too. But so what?”
“That was the reason for all the trouble. Someone has subsequently
told him that you are really the princess. He was rattled. He thought he might
be in danger. He decided to flee to Uraiyur the same night, via the forest
route.”
“To Uraiyur?”, asked Kundavi, surprised. And then she added, “Why
would he go to Uraiyur? There is no one in the palace there. I’d expect a gem
merchant to head to Kanchi.”
“He wanted to see his mother, who I heard is in Uraiyur.”
Kundavi was about to respond but stopped herself. She had
suspected that the merchant was Vikraman in disguise. The theory seemed to have
been confirmed. She thought her father may have had the same suspicion. She was
not going to help him confirm his suspicion by letting something slip.
The emperor asked, “Why are you lost in thoughts?”
“Nothing! Old memories! I was thinking of our trip to Uraiyur. But
tell me more about the gem merchant.”
“When he was walking along the forest route, four men attacked him
with swords. He was not an ordinary man. He fought them and killed three men.
The fourth one fell to this sword”, said the Emperor, pointing to his sword.
Surprised, Kundavi asked, “How did you reach there in time?”
“If I couldn’t do it, how would I rule this large empire?”, asked
the Emperor.
“Don’t boast! What happened to the reputation of no crime in your
country? If bandits dared attack a foreigner this close to Kanchi and
Mamallapuram…”
“I too thought they were ordinary thieves and bandits. In reality,
they were not”.
“Who else would dare do such a thing?”
“My child, this is worse than thievery”.
“What is it?”
“Did you see the merchant carefully?”
“I did.”
“What did you think when you saw him?”
Kundavi gulped and said, “Nothing!”
“Did you not notice that he had a regal look?”
Kundavi was agitated, thinking he might have discovered the
trader’s identity. But the Emperor did not notice it and went on, “People who
conduct human sacrifices covet men with such regal appearances!”
“My gosh!”, exclaimed Kundavi, “Do we still have such barbaric
activities in our country?”
“Yes, my child, I have been trying to root out this superstitious,
evil practice. I have not succeeded. If I kill it in one place, it seems to pop up
elsewhere.”
“And the innocent trader was caught in this. I shudder to think
what might have happened if you had not gone there to help”.
“Oh, he is not that innocent Kundavi. He is a criminal himself.
That is why he faced this danger!”
Kundavi’s heart missed a beat. She asked, “So were the gems he was
selling stolen ones?”
“No, he did not steal gems. He was stealing something else. He was
trying to entice our sculptors to go with him to his island. That is a crime.
Do you know what the punishment is?”
“I know father.”
“He wanted to keep his activities a secret. To protect the secret,
he employed a mute dwarf. I already had a suspicion that the dwarf was working
for Kapaliks. My theory was proven right. He had guided the trader along
the forest route. If I had not reached in time…”
The Emperor lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
“What happened then? Where is that trader now?”
The emperor told her the story, all the way until having lent his
horse to the merchant to ride to Uraiyur.
After a pause, Kundavi asked, “Did he discover your identity?”
“No, why?”
“I wanted to know how effective your disguise was”.
After another pause, Kundavi asked, “Father, I want to ask
something else. Brother has not seen Uraiyur at all. I want to take him to
Uraiyur.”
“Of course. I am reminded of another matter when you mention
Uraiyur. I saw Marappa Bhupathi in Mamallapuram. Do you happen to know how he
turned up there?”
“Oh, that! Brother and I had invited him there.”
“What for?”, asked the Emperor, with a note of surprise in his
voice.
“General Achutha Varman has been saying that he is getting too old
for royal duties. Brother summoned Marappa Bhupathi, and reinstated him as
the commander of the Chozha army.”
“Oh, I see!”, said the Emperor and fell silent again.
Kundavi realized the futility of trying to
engage him in further conversation. She picked up her musical instrument yaazh,
and started playing a melancholy tune.
Click here for the audiobook version
Parthban Kanavu: The Tamil version of the novel is in the public domain. Copyright for the translation is reserved by the translator..
Art by Sujatha, unless otherwise credited.
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