Chapter 33 : true prince
Duryodhan and I had entered the palace.
As soon as I stepped inside, I saw that the palace floor was made of some fine material and was completely smooth. When you looked down, you could clearly see your own reflection. Because of this, many paintings and red carpets had been spread across the floor.
And when I looked up at the ceiling, it stretched as far as the eye could see. Large pillars had been placed at many spots to support the roof.
Near these pillars, many soldiers stood on guard, holding spears in their hands.
"Greetings, Prince Duryodhan…"
As soon as the soldiers standing near the pillars saw Prince Duryodhan, they went down on one knee and saluted him.
"Hmm, get up,"
Duryodhan gave them permission to rise, and they all returned to their positions.
Seeing this, I turned toward Duryodhan and asked,
"Duryodhan, do all these soldiers do this the whole day whenever you come?"
"Yes," Duryodhan nodded. "What's the big deal? This is normal. Why are you asking?"
"Doesn't this kind of behavior feel strange to you? Whenever you come or go, they salute you. Doesn't it get boring every single day like this? Don't you have any privacy?"
Hearing my words, Duryodhan realized something.
He replied, "Now that you say it, I also feel it's boring. Whenever I go out or come inside, the soldiers salute me. Sometimes I even feel what's the need for all this?"
"But I never questioned it, because whenever anyone from the royal family passes by, the soldiers kneel and pay their respects. I understand that this is a soldier's duty, so I never raised any questions about it."
"No," I shook my head at Duryodhana's words and said, "a soldier's duty is to keep watch over everything that happens in the palace, to ensure the safety of the kingdom, and to carry out tasks that serve the state such as going to the battlefield in times of crisis."
"But is that really all a soldier's job is? Soldiers seem to do every kind of work, almost like servants. I always thought this was part of a soldier's duty," Duryodhana said, expressing his surprise and asking me this question.
"Why wouldn't they do it? If they don't, they would lose their jobs. And without a job, how would they provide for their families?"
I laid bare the real reason behind it in front of Duryodhana.
"But why is it like this? Why doesn't anyone tell them that all this isn't their duty, that they should only do the work that truly belongs to them?"
Duryodhana said through clenched teeth. He had never considered himself a good human being, and he was feeling angry, because he had never needed to belittle others in order to prove his own strength.
"What you're thinking is exactly that everyone wants to see themselves as greater than others, whether knowingly or unknowingly," I replied with a smile.
"Karna, how do you know so much? You're only three years older than me," Duryodhana asked.
"Didn't I tell you earlier? Surya Dev is my father. Nothing is hidden from him—he knows everything. So, as his son, is it really strange that I know all this?" I replied plainly.
I lied clearly about the origin of my knowledge, saying it came from my father, because all of you already know where I used to live before.
"Karna, you're right. Leave that aside tell me how I can put a stop to this," Duryodhana asked again.
"For now, you can't interfere in it. Don't take offense at my words you're not capable of doing that yet. But you can put a stop to it for yourself.
Tell everyone that from now on, all soldiers may salute you only once, simply by bowing their heads. No one needs to kneel,"
I replied, opening a new path for Duryodhana.
"Alright, I'll do exactly that."
Duryodhana turned toward the soldiers.
"All of you, from now on you may salute me only once—once when I arrive and once when I leave. After that, do not salute again. This is an order from your prince."
As soon as the soldiers heard this, none of them could believe their ears.
Soon, one soldier stepped forward as their representative, knelt before Duryodhana, and was about to say something when—
"Did no one hear what I just said? Don't kneel stand up," Duryodhana reminded the soldier firmly.
Reluctantly, the soldier stood up and said in a pleading tone,
"Prince, please don't give such orders. If His Majesty finds out that we did not salute you properly, we will lose our jobs."
"Hm, you're right," Duryodhana said. "I'll speak to my father about this, so you don't need to worry. And remember one thing you are soldiers, not servants."
Duryodhana looked at all the soldiers and reminded them of their true duty.
"Thank you, Prince… thank you, Prince, for giving respect to insignificant people like us."
Tears of joy welled up in the eyes of that soldier and the others.
They had once thought that Prince Duryodhana was the embodiment of cruelty.
But they now scolded themselves for that thought thinking so badly of such a good prince felt no less than a sin.
For the first time, Duryodhana truly felt like a real prince. He had done something that no one else had ever dared to do.
Being seen this way did not suit Duryodhana's usual nature, so, putting on a stern face, he said to the soldiers,
"Don't make a scene. Go back to your duties."
All the soldiers stopped crying and returned to their work.
After everything was settled, Duryodhana came up to me and said,
"Because of you, my friend, today I felt like a true prince."
Then he hugged me. I pushed him away slightly and said,
"There's no need to show it so much. Now tell me, when will you take me to the royal feast?"
After stepping back, Duryodhana said,
"Are you in such a hurry? I want to introduce my new friend to my father and mother first."
...
Duryodhana and I were standing in front of the door of a room. Two soldiers were guarding it.
As soon as the two soldiers saw Prince Duryodhana, they immediately opened the door.
Both of us entered the room.
Inside the room, King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari were seated.
Dhritarashtra sensed that two people had entered the room. From the first scent, he immediately recognized that it was his son, Duryodhana.
When he sensed the second boy's presence, he felt a kind of freshness, as if all the fatigue of his long day had vanished.
This made him curious about whom his son had brought with him.
"Father, Mother, I'm back."
Duryodhana ran toward them, Dhritarashtra thought his son would embrace him, so he opened his arms.
But Duryodhana instead hugged his mother.
"My son is covered in dust. Son, how did you get these injuries on your back?"
When the queen felt some scratches on her son's back, she asked him in a worried voice.
"Mom, I accidentally fell while training in the training ground,"
Duryodhana hid the truth from his mother and lied.
"How many times have I told you not to train? But you never listen," the queen scolded her son.
Duryodhana said nothing and remained silent before his mother.
When Dhritarashtra realized that he had been standing there with his arms open for no reason, he quietly returned to his normal posture to avoid further embarrassment.
After hearing his wife and son talk, he did not show much concern. His son was destined to become the king of the kingdom in the future, and for that, a few scratches meant nothing.
"Duryodhana, won't you introduce to us the person you've brought with you?"
Dhritarashtra said to his son with a smile.
"What, Duryodhana, have you brought someone with you? Is he your new friend?"
Queen Gandhari asked, reacting to his husband words.
"Yes, Mom, you guessed right. He is my new friend, Karna," Duryodhana said, nodding his head in agreement.
I stepped forward and said,
"Greetings, King and Queen. My name is Karna, and I am your son's new friend."
"You are our son's friend, but don't you know that there has long been a rumor that our son is inauspicious? Then why did you choose to become his friend?"
King Dhritarashtra asked me this question, trying to understand why I had become Duryodhana's friend.
"My husband, one should not question a child in this manner,"
Queen Gandhari said, responding to her husband's interrogation.
She could not see her son, but she could feel how happy he was.
Earlier, her son used to pretend to be happy in front of her, but as a mother she could recognize that false smile. She could sense how lonely her son truly was.
Even though he had ninety-nine younger brothers and one sister, none of them could take the place of a true friend.
That was why, today, she could feel how genuinely happy her son was. But when she heard her husband speak in that manner, she raised her voice to stop him.
She could not bear to see her son remain in sorrow any longer.