Empire of India: Rise of the Ruthless Prince

The last thing Harsha heard were the screams of Viswa as he fell down the hill into the forest cover, along with the man who had come to help. He felt something soft on his hand. The gentle warmth of the skin, soft and cushy, was pressed against his face.

Harsha heard a hoarse but sweet voice groaning and shifting as the gentle feeling of softness gradually faded from his face. He got up groaning, gripping on the soft, cushy thing, and flickered his eyes open.

The "man" who fell down the steep hill along with him was seated up on his lap. The turban of the "man" had come off, revealing luscious, silky long hair following onto his shoulders. His clothes were torn, the chest bare open, and the sash holding up something was on his waist.

Harsha, grogging, squeezed softly on the cushy mound of warmth that elicited a soft groan from the "man" as his eyesight stabilized. He realized that the "man" was a woman, and the softness he felt on his hands was her breast.

Harsha took his hands off her breasts quickly and rubbed the back of his head in pain.

"You were a woman?"

The woman, startled by the sudden squeeze, got up from his lap and stood up, covering her breasts.

Harsha looked at his tunic, which was barely damaged from the fall. He took his tunic off, leaving his upper body naked.

The woman's was startled by the sudden undressing.

"What are you?"

"Here, wear this," Harsha said as he gave her the tunic to wear.

The woman changed into the tunic quickly, also tying her hair up into a ponytail using a piece of torn cloth. Harsha noticed the scars on the woman's body. She was toned and had various injuries from battle, and she barely looked to be in her early twenties.

She shifted her gaze to him and muttered.

"Thanks."

Harsha looked up at the hill they fell down from. It was too steep to climb.

"We need to take a detour and find the group. First, let's take a rest."

They walked silently for a few minutes before finding a small cave to take shelter in for the night. Gathering some dry wood, Harsha lit up a small fire in the cave for warmth.

The woman looked over at Harsha curiously.

"What's your name?"

"None of your business."

"WH-"

"As I said, it's none of your business. We both seemed to have our own situations, considering you are also disguising yourself as a male."

The woman was taller than Harsha, his face reaching close to her neck. She was quite close in height to Narayana.

The woman looked up at him again.

"Come on, just the name won't hurt. By the way, I am Gauri." She said this, stretching her hand out.

"Fine, my name is Rohit." He said it coldly, ignoring her stretched-out hand.

"Why are you lying?"

"Huh"

She narrowed her eyes as she explained.

"That guy called you "Your Highness," and you are quite young. You are the youngest prince of the Empire, Harsha. Since you don't have any European features,. Am I right?"

Harsha added some wood to the fire and fiddled with it with a stick, glancing up at Gauri.

"If you knew, why ask?"

"Just curious."

"So you are the "exiled prince of Yadava." Did I guess right?"

Gauri winced slightly at the statement but didn't bother refuting him. She wondered if he had already found out. There was nothing she could do about it other than kill him.

"Well, it seems we both have our own troubles." She chuckled sweetly, warming her hands up.

"You seem awfully relaxed in front of a potential stranger who could kill you."

Gauri laughed loudly at Harsha's words, clutching her stomach.

"You won't harm me."

"Your reasoning?" Harsha looked up with a skeptical look.

"Because a battle between us would result in our mutual death, and you know it as well."

Harsha stayed silent at her remarks. He knew he couldn't kill Gauri without risking his life. She was a seasoned soldier, even stronger than Viswa. On top of the exhaustion and injuries from the fall,. He would suffer in a head-on fight with Gauri.

"But I am curious. Why are you disguising yourself as a prince?"

Gauri's brows arched up in surprise at the question. She spent many years in disguise. It was the first time she was talking and acting like a woman.

"Oh! The prince is curious."

"Yes, if you wish to share it."

She glanced up at his face, her eyes scanning his features earnestly. His eyes were jet black, looking lifeless.

"Well, to make it short, my twin brother was killed by my uncle, and I took his place instead to take my revenge."

"I see, that's great."

"You are quite cold, you know?"

"I get it a lot."

Gauri was enjoying her small talk with Harsha for some odd reason. She could open up to him, even more than she could freely talk to Naiki.

"You don't spare me a glance after you touched me there." She teased him playfully.

"That was an accident," he replied with a scowl.

"Do you like delicate girls rather than girls who look like me?"

Gauri looked out of the cave into the eerie silence of the night. She knew men would find her intimidating. Her height dwarfed men; on top of that, she was blessed with strength. All the men she had met were eager to have a delicate woman.

"I don't have a preference of sorts. I don't really care about these things."

"You are no fun; choose one."

"If that's the case, it would be you. You are strong and smart."

"No man finds a woman with calloused hands and scars all over her body beautiful."

"You look plenty beautiful. Those scars and hands are a sign of hard work. I personally value strength and efficiency over other things."

Gauri, for the first time in her life, felt like someone acknowledged her worth as a woman. Her eyes naturally wandered to his face. Her cheeks were flushed and hot. She could hear her heartbeats grow louder and faster as she kept looking at him.

"I am going to sleep." She turned around in embarrassment and laid down.

"We will leave at dawn, Gauri."

Gauri, at the time, didn't realize this feeling. The maiden heart of Gauri felt this sort of feeling for the first time in her life.

She fell in love.

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