It had been more than a month and a half since the coronation of Madurantaka Uttama Chozha Devar. The winter season had departed more swiftly than usual. Mounting the divine chariot of the southern breeze, the season of spring arrived. Parakeets pressed their coral-hued beaks against the saffron-tinted new shoots of the mango trees, admiring their own beauty. The golden-hued leaves of the royal trees swayed and sang in the gentle wind. From the punnai trees, pearl-like buds fell as the cuckoos called out in joyous chorus. Nature herself shivered in delight. Mother Earth overflowed with exuberance. On trees that had shed their leaves and stood bare, buds suddenly burst forth and blossomed. The bowers of madhavi vines and the jasmine and mullai bushes struggled under the weight of their abundant blooms. The rivers, their flow diminished, ran clear as crystal along their banks, murmuring softly.

The people of Chozha Nadu bloomed with joy, their faces and hearts radiant. The red paddy harvested from the fields had been gathered into the granaries. The uncertainty and anxiety that had gripped the land’s politics had now vanished. In both cities and villages, the people prepared to celebrate the festival of Kama. Arrangements were underway in the temples for the festival of spring. In every street and public square, stages for plays were being erected.

Beholding all these delightful scenes, Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan journeyed towards the city of Pazhaiyarai. This time, he did not enter that great city in disguise, nor did he hide or sneak in. He entered freely through the open main city gate and reached the palace of the young princess Kundavai Devi.

Princess Kundavai, surrounded by Vanathi and several of her companions, came to the palace entrance to greet him with a bright smile. After he had rested from the fatigue of his long journey, she asked him to meet her in the palace gardens and recount the details of his travels, then departed.

Vandiyathevan did not take long to recover. He quickly finished his bath and refreshments and went to the palace garden. There, the young princess awaited his arrival. It was impossible to say who was more eager for their meeting. Both were filled with anticipation to hear each other’s news. But was that the only reason for their excitement? Their future... Is it not possible that the desire to find certainty about life itself was the reason? The youthful spring that stirred even the inanimate objects—could it not have awakened a flutter of excitement in their emotion-filled hearts as well?

"Sir! I have come to know that you did not achieve complete success in the task you undertook. Is that true?" asked the Young Princess.

"It is true, Devi! In which of the tasks I have taken up so far have I ever achieved complete success?" replied Vallavarayan, letting out a deep sigh.

"Do not say so! Did you not bring my brother safely back from Eezha Nadu? Was it not only because Arulmozhi Varman returned at that time that the Chola country survived until now?" said Kundavai.

"I brought Arulmozhi Varman back, but only after exposing him to unnecessary dangers and bringing him as a helpless invalid suffering from a severe chill. Even that was only with the help of Poonguzhali Maharani. When I entrusted my friend to Sendhan Amudhan and Poonguzhali and asked them to take him to Nagapattinam, never in my dreams did I imagine that they would come to Thanjavur and ascend the throne of this Chola Empire, to be crowned with the jeweled diadem..."

"I have not forgotten, nor has he, that it was you who saved the life of Uttama Chola Chakravarti. Uttama Chola himself wished to appoint you as the sole authority of the Chola land in place of Periya Pazhuvetarayar..."

"Fortunately, I escaped that fate!"

"Why do you say that? Is the position of sole authority of this Chola Empire an ordinary one? It is greater than the post of Prime Minister, greater even than the office of Commander-in-Chief! Without the consent of the sole authority, even the Emperor cannot accomplish anything!"

"Devi! Once, I had to hide in the underground treasury of Periya Pazhuvetarayar. There, in the glow of the heaps of gold coins, I saw a spider's web. I also saw the skull of a dead man. I resolved then never to go near that treasury room again..."

The Young Princess smiled and said, "Even if you become the sole authority, you will not have to go to the treasury room. All the wealth stored there must be spent to build a great navy, to construct ships—" “Arulmozhi has made his decision. He has also obtained the new emperor’s permission!” she said.

“I heard in Thanjai that the new emperor and his crowned queen have gone to Kodikkarai with Arulmozhivarman.”

“Yes, when they left, they were deeply regretful that they could not take you along with them.”

“I do not regret that. Even now, I can go to Kodikkarai and join them. What I regret is that Arulmozhivarman waited for my absence to marry the Princess of Kodumbalur.”

“Why, sir! Are you displeased that your friend has married my companion?”

“Heavens, no! That is not what I meant. I only regret that I was not present at that wedding. It is Arulmozhivarman’s fortune from a previous birth that he was able to wed Vanathi. Your friend Vanathi is indeed fortunate as well, but why was there such haste?”

“They were not in haste—I was the one who hurried things. My father and mother wished to leave for Kanchi. I insisted that the wedding should take place before they departed. This also brought peace to the heart of the great Velar of Kodumbalur. On the day of the coronation, when your friend suddenly placed the Chola crown on Uttama Chola’s head, it was a great shock to the Periya Velar.”

“Many others must have been shocked at that time as well.”

“To all of us, it was a