"Master Prime Minister! What happened just now? Didn't we agree to resolve the issue of Volavos peacefully? How did it end up like this?"
"This matter is finally over, Marshal Reid. By the way, are you interested in going to my Chancellor's mansion for a drink and discussing the affairs of the Gloria family?"
"Chuckner! I have recorded what happened this time! The next time His Majesty the Emperor discusses the salt and grain case in the Cruver Province, you and Farriette will never have an easy time!"
"Ha, come on then. The premise is that you still have the life to continue to be active in Redcar, and by the way, if you are not invited to the Intelligence Bureau for tea by that guy Susas..."
The court meeting gradually dispersed as time went by, and the surrounding area of the palace was gradually filled with many imperial nobles who came out of here. Some of them were even still immersed in the atmosphere of the trial and debate just now. They used their quarrels and fierce words to tell all kinds of side stories that had happened in this court meeting personally hosted by His Majesty the Emperor. Different from the small building on the side of a certain hillside that they were facing while walking and talking, Tristan, who had already put away his sharp edge, was also gathering his sleeves and standing on the straight steps leading down the mountain. On the side, he didn't know what he was thinking about, and he kept passing by countless other imperial nobles who ignored him. It wasn't until a certain voice sounded in his ears that he turned around slightly. Head: "It's His Excellency the Prime Minister."
"Hello."
After looking at the luxuriously dressed old man for a while, he smiled lightly and stretched out his right hand to show his kindness. Then when the other party didn't respond at all, he took it back indifferently: "Is there anything you want to ask? ?”
"...You are not the kind of person who wants to fight for power and profit."
Different from the wisdom and calmness on the high platform before, what appeared in Caldera's eyes at this time was only the oldness and turbidity caused by fatigue: "So...what do you want today?"
"I know that the Prime Minister once sent someone to invite me to your house." Shaking his head slightly, Tristan replied with a grin: "I don't mean to reject you on purpose, but I just want to be a guest in your house." My current worth and situation are really not suitable for an empire veteran like you."
"I have some understanding of your origins." Prime Minister Caldera slowly shook his head: "Isn't it because of your status in the City of Freedom that you have become accustomed to this feeling of superiority?"
"How is it possible? I have already given up that status." Tristan denied with a smile: "And how can a small place like Freedom City compare with a big country like Frey Empire?"
"The intrigues and deceit that Frey Empire is full of are naturally not comparable to other places, but the Free City is an exception." The gorgeous old man paused the crooked cane in his hand: "I also know the legend of the Twelve Thrones. I heard that given the level of danger there... even the slightest carelessness could result in death."
"But you have lived there for forty-seven years." There was a little more sparkle in his turbid eyes. He looked up and down at the face of the middle-aged man in front of him: "I wonder if this is the result of your innate talent. Or is it given by the imperial blood flowing in your body?"
"No need to guess anymore, dear Lord Caldera."
Sighing and putting away his smile, the middle-aged man named Tristan finally turned his head to the distant sky over the empire again: "No matter how powerful I was once, I am just a commoner in the empire now. I choose to give up my freedom. The throne of the city, when I returned to this place, I just wanted to take this opportunity to spend my old age in peace and take my family to have a good rest."
"I have never thought about returning to the aristocratic world of the empire like I am now." He let out a long sigh: "To reach this point is really not what I want."
"Oh, really?" Prime Minister Caldera's voice sounded immediately behind him: "But I see that your performance in the recent period, and the skills you showed in the hall today, don't seem to be the same. He looks like he’s giving up.”
"My current official position was given to me by His Majesty the Emperor. There is nothing I can do about it." Tristan shrugged and replied, "As for my performance today...well."
"In the end, it's just me trying to find a way to repay the favor."
He turned his head, and the half of his face that was turned sideways pulled out a smile again, and the prime minister who looked at this smile seemed to understand something from it, and his movements on the crutches also changed slightly: " Those adventurers...do they have different identities?"
"Didn't the Prime Minister investigate them before? You should know better than we do."
"They should have come to the imperial capital together with Volavos, and there was no problem in the process."
As if he was lost in some kind of thinking, Caldera's face showed old wrinkles as his brows furrowed: "But... yes, the previous report mentioned that there were five of them, and one more person—— "
"Master Prime Minister."
A voice of calling then sounded behind him, accompanied by a young imperial guard who quickly ran to the two interlocutors: "Marshal Reid invites you."
"He is waiting for you at the headquarters of the Imperial Military Department."
He nodded slightly to understand. Caldera waved his hand gently, but his frown did not loosen in the process. Instead, his eyes fell on Gao Gao behind him. High direction of the palace. Countless imperial nobles who had the same thoughts as him were also casting their departing gazes into the depths of the palace. Their probing eyes seemed to want to penetrate the walls of the tall hall, and belong to Duan Qing's figure was also following the footsteps of the imperial royal guards at this time, slowly moving towards the depths of the palace beyond the reach of these people's eyes: "Well... Sirs, where are we going now?" ah?"
"..."
"Where are my friends now? They shouldn't be locked up by you, right?"
Faced with the indifferent reaction of these guards, Duan Qing curled his lips helplessly: "Now that we have said it, you can't still hold on to us, right?"
"Don't worry, your friends haven't been arrested yet."
A warm voice then sounded in Duan Qing's ears, and accompanied by it was the figure of an imperial man wearing a long hat with flower feathers and his hands folded in the sleeves of his robe, gradually walking towards the group of people. When he came in front of him, his white jade-like face showed a friendly smile, and at the same time he stretched out his hand towards the distance of the passage behind him: "Although His Majesty still hasn't let you go in regard to the matter of Volavos, but you The crime has not yet been officially established. Until then, you can still move freely on the land of this empire."
"You can regard the ulterior motives of those nobles as a warning." He dismissed the two imperial royal guards responsible for escorting Duan Qing, and then nodded with a smile: "They just hope that you will be in Redkar Be more honest and obedient.”
"Is this really good?" Duan Qing looked back at the two royal guards who no longer paid attention to him: "They... aren't you afraid of us escaping?"
"You adventurers just lack the most basic respect for the Imperial Emperor." The handsome man wearing a white robe smiled and shook his head: "But His Majesty and our Imperial Royal Family are still Redkar's. Master, his words still have some authority."
"At least we still have some confidence in our ability to maintain the balance of other forces."
A numbing aura flashed around him. The white jade-faced young man's eyes turned into two slits when he smiled. The natural threatening aura then disappeared from Duan Qing's side as he turned around. , accompanied by his gradually stretched out right hand: "I also hope that you and your companions can do your best to contribute your share to the empire while abiding by the rules."
"Yes, yes, hahaha." After letting out a few subconscious laughs, Duan Qing followed the other person's footsteps and gradually walked towards the end of the passage: "Speaking of which... I haven't asked you for your surname yet. .”
"Ah, look at me, I forgot to introduce myself." The man in white robe said without looking back: "I am Quining, Quining Smit, a swordsman in the imperial royal court."
The white light that appeared at the end of the passage covered Duan Qing's field of vision, displaying in front of him a garden scene spread all over the back of the hall and the stream wind blowing from the top of the hill. Countless treasures came from this garden. Flowers, plants and trees sway back and forth with the passing of these mountain breezes, and together with the rippling blue water on a stone-stacked pond located in the middle of the garden, embellish the natural charm of this royal garden: "Nice to meet you."
"This is..." Pointing to the rockery and pavilions surrounding the pond, Duan Qing's tone and expression became full of surprise and admiration: "Is this still within the palace?"
"Of course, you can still see Redcar's red ocean over there." Pointing to the right side of where they were, Quining, who was leading the way, replied with a smile: "Although this mountain is not that high, the area at the top of it is It’s not very wide, but it should be enough to build these palace buildings.”
"Not to mention the wisdom of countless royal ancestors who once lived here." His eyes moved slightly, and his fingers also turned to the direction of the small palace not far from the royal courtyard: "They have accumulated The wealth, the design and layout of this palace are impeccable."
"Did all the emperors of the empire live here?" Duan Qing couldn't help but asked curiously: "In that place?"
"Otherwise, what do you think the palace is used for?" The palace swordsman smiled helplessly: "As for that place..."
"That's the Palace of Frey." He patted his arm: "It was the residence of Emperor Frey and the place where all the emperors of the empire lived."
"Being invited by His Majesty to come here is an honor that countless people in the empire aspire to."
He turned around and led Duan Qing to continue walking towards the depths of the courtyard, and then came to the door of the small palace amid the scenery of flowers, grass and leaves gradually dancing in the sky. Compared with the previous palace, the doors and window lattice, which were much simpler, were now displayed in front of Duan Qing with countless old and outdated traces. However, they were still using the vermilion color that was spread all around the palace. Several silent The silent male and female guards were also grabbing their own tools to clean the place, and then dispersed to both sides along the pace of Quining's advance: "Sir Sword Master."
"No need to be polite, today belongs to Mr. Linyuan Duanshui."
Waving away the etiquette of the attendants, the man in white robe turned sideways towards the center of the hall in front of Duan Qing: "His Majesty the Emperor should have prepared a luncheon, please enjoy it."
"Isn't this a little bad?" Duan Qing blinked his eyes and said at a loss: "I am a person waiting for sin, and I am still in front of His Majesty..."
"What's wrong?"
The person who said these words was not the swordsman of the palace, but His Majesty the Emperor who gradually walked out of the side door of Frey Palace: "Since I invited you here, you are naturally my guest."
"Please come in."
The golden and red patterns, the straight and simple clothes, and the burly figure belonging to His Majesty the Emperor appeared in front of Duan Qing and Kuining with his relaxed smile that was different from his previous image. The mane-like beard surrounding the resolute face was fluttering softly with the wind blowing in the courtyard. There were also two thick eyebrows full of determination running across the straight bridge of the nose. A pair of eyes as bright as a lion's were also flashing with gleaming light at this time, looking at Duan Qing who was stunned in place with interest: "What's wrong?"
[Completed mission: Emperor's inquiry. 】
[Reputation gained: Drenir, currently rated as friendly. 】
"Ah, ah, no, it's nothing." Duan Qing took a step back slightly, bowed and saluted, and hurriedly cleared the system prompts echoing in his mind: "Just seeing you, the Lion Emperor, so close, or... It’s a little… surprising.”
"I know that I feel different to others now." He waved his sleeves heavily, laughed and turned around and walked towards the door of his palace: "There is nothing I can do about it, after all. There are too many imperial nobles to deal with every day.”
"There are only a few relaxing moments in my day, and the lunch time in front of me is one of them." He pointed to a large banquet table inside the palace, turned back to Duan Qing and gestured with a smile. : "Of course...it would be a waste to invite you alone for such a good opportunity."
"Let's wait a little longer, and everyone will be here soon."
