Chapter 553
CHAPTER 553
RULES OF THE EMPIRE
Bit by bit, the Grand Hall was slowly being filled up . Lights from above lit up every corner of the majestic opening, people streaming in, gathering in small and large circles, chattering away in peace . It would be hard to claim a certain sense of uniformity within, as styles of clothing varied from the grand-standing, layered dresses full of fluff and decorations to seemingly low-brow, leather-capped vests, pants, and boots dyed in a dull brown . Hairstyles as convoluted as sculptures themselves, all the way to the bald heads, calm and exaggerated deanors, it seed more like a political gathering of dozens of different Kingdoms than an internal ball .
Yet, even with the surface-level differences, the distinctions themselves seed to stop at that point; people, regardless of their appearance, mingled with others, with the sa language echoing in and out, and a sense of belonging present in the shimring eyes .
Rio and Xia, alongside Namia, Yun and nurous other, young Generals, mingled toward the leftmost corner, sporting their military garb and proudly displaying their ranks, the highest of which belonged to Xia, having been promoted to the Lieutenant-General, the second highest being Rio, Yun and Namia, Major Generals, with the rest being Brigadier Generals . The latter, especially, often glanced enviously at Xia’s insignia strapped to her shoulder-pad, as she was now on par with so of the Empire’s legendary figures in terms of rank, like Y’vol and Y’elleve .
Xia hardly minded their gazes, most of the attention drawn to Rio who was unashadly sharing his ’heroics’ with the young generals, his ego no doubt soaring at the mont .
\"So, how does it work between you two?\" Namia asked her suddenly .
\"What?\" Xia asked back .
\"Does he have to greet you as a superior each ti you guys draw the curtains over the bed? Like, saluting you each ti he reaches for one or the other piece of clothing?\"
\"... no?\" Xia tilted her head in confusion as Rio’s eyebrows twitched .
\"Jealousy is really an ugly bitch, huh?\" he comnted from the side, causing Namia to shift her gaze over to him and smirk .
\"Aren’t you embarrassed your girlfriend is a higher rank than you?\"
\"Why would I be?\" Rio shrugged . \"If they ask , I’d promote her to the General of the Army . That’s how good she is . \"
\"... aah, don’t even bother,\" Yun sighed . \"These two are a weirdly odd specin . \"
\"It’s not that,\" Rio chuckled . \"But, once you’ve experienced the disaster called the Emperor and his vile tongue, most others beco... sowhat ek . Anyway, what about you guys? Will you retire or continue?\"
\"Continue,\" Yun replied . \"If I retire, won’t you shoot past ? That’d be enough sha to send to an early grave . \"
\"What he said . \" Namia nodded .
\"—what happened then, General Rio?\" one of the youngsters prompted Rio to abandon Yun and Namia and turn his attention toward the thirsty-eyed newcors .
\"Ha ha, let tell you – I charged straight through the tunnel! Unleashing blasts of fire and ice, killing hundreds with each move! And then I...\"
\"... aren’t you embarrassed by him?\" Namia asked Xia who smiled contently .
\"Let him have it,\" she replied instead . \"He’s deserved it . \"
\"Attention!!\" a serious voice suddenly burned throughout the entire hall, causing all chatter to cease instantaneously . \"Duchess Alison and Duchess Lucky Olltor are entering!\"
Eyes of those present quickly shifted over to the grand entrance to the hall where two won were currently entering; both, by now, were very familiar faces to everyone here as their portraits have long since been distributed throughout the localities . The forr sported a sun-gilded hair let loose freely down her back, her glistening, sky-dyed eyes shining more brightly than the chandeliers above, entrancing all those who t them . She wore a bright-dyed dress, a mixture of silver and light-erald, strapped loosely to her shoulders, arms exposed . Her appearance sent quick tremors, though everyone quickly swallowed them; nary a soul hadn’t already learned of her actions during the Battle for the City of Sun which earned her the nickna of the ’Blade of the Thousand Suns’ .
Lucky, on the other hand, lived up to her extensive rumors – even for the ball she dressed up in tightly-bound leather armor, several daggers strapped neatly to her belt, her black hair cut sowhat short, the piercing black eyes seemingly capable of draining life from those who dared stare at the for a second too long . Though far less was known of her than Alison, her na rang far more terror across the vast plane of the world, dubbed ’Death’ herself, the silent, invisible sword of the Empire sharp enough to pierce the world .
\"... tsk, these polar reactions really are grating,\" Lucky clicked her tongue and comnted, causing Alison to nearly burst out into laughter . \"Dudes look at you, their eyes light up as do their dicks, no doubt . ? They look like they aged a century at that mont . \"
\"Maybe if you didn’t choose to proudly display weapons on a ball, people’s opinions might change . \" Alison kept her smile as she waved to the now-applauding audience . Their seats were placed on the highest table, one that rose even above the dancing platform, where the Empire’s top figures would be seated, beneath a massive, crimson-dyed banner .
\"Who knows if there might be opportunistic lurkers . I can’t loosen my guard so easily . \"
\"Aye, there are sure to be a whole heap of dissidents in a hall filled with the world’s most powerful people . \" Alison said . \"Because anyone clever enough to have hidden themselves from us so far, certainly is dumb enough to try sothing today . \"
\"... oh shut it and keep walking . \" Lucky rolled her eyes, taking out one of her daggers, beginning to twirl it through her fingers, causing many in the audience to swallow with a loud gulp .
The two quickly shifted past the dancing platform and onto their seats from which they could easily see the entire hall . The room stayed silent for but a mont before it was filled with chatter once more, only an occasional glance flashing their way .
\"I told you we were early...\" Lucky sighed, shaking her head . \"We’re the only ones here . \"
\"Ah, rember that weird guy I was telling you about?\" Alison asked suddenly .
\"What weird guy?\"
\"The Vampire one . \"
\"Oh, yeah, the one who surrendered after you told him you had a wife?\"
\"That one . \"
\"Yeah, what about him?\" Lucky asked .
\"He’s coming up . \" Lucky shifted her gaze and spotted a well-dressed, rather handso man walking up to the table, courteously bowing toward them, looking upward .
\"This lowly one greets Duchesses and begs a minute of your ti . \" Jonttar said, barely managing to hide the excitent in his heart .
\"Ha ha, what are you doing Jonttar? Co on up,\" Alison chuckled and invited him . \"You always clamored about how much you wanted to et my wife, no? Here she is, in all her glory . \"
\"Could you not treat as a glassed display?\" Lucky rolled her eyes, uncapping a bottle of wine and taking a gulp directly from it . Jonttar quickly, yet still elegantly, climbed the invisible stairs toward the platform and reached the two, though didn’t dare sit down . His eyes veered past Alison and onto the black-haired figure seated next to her, his eyes lighting up .
\"... it really is true...\" he mumbled .
\"It’s one Legendary-tier weapon for a preview . \" Lucky t his gaze and smirked .
\"Hm? What preview?\" Alison asked innocently while Jonttar coughed, trying to hide his awkwardness .
\"You jest, Duchess – I wouldn’t dare,\" he said quickly . \"Besides, Legendary-tier weapon is too cheap—I an, I’ve no such motives . \"
\"...\" Lucky grinned, shaking her head . \"Sit down . \" She pointed at the chair next to Alison’s . \"How are you finding our little lovely planet?\"
\"Imasurably pleasing,\" Jonttar said, sitting down . \"Brimming with life in all corners . You all have done a fantastic job . \"
\"... you sound like soone who’s experienced the court before,\" Lucky said . \"No?\"
\"Ha ha, nurous tis, I’m afraid,\" Jonttar smiled sheepishly . \"It’s simply the most widespread system in the universe . \"
\"What do you think about ours, then?\" Lucky asked as Jonttar winced .
\"Don’t worry about it,\" Alison said, sighing faintly and shooting an angry glare at Lucky . \"She’s only an on the surface . I’m also curious about what you think of it . \"
\"... h-honestly?\" Jonttar mumbled .
\"Hm . \" Alison nodded while Lucky shrugged, turning her attention to the bottle of wine .
\"It’s, uh... a bit too... loose? I’m sorry – I can’t think of a better word at the mont . \"
\"Loose?\" Alison pushed .
\"For instance, right now,\" Jonttar continued . \"Everyone on the hall resud talking without you two having never given them a signal . \"
\"... eeeh... we were supposed to do sothing like that?\"
\"Ah, no, no, I don’t know . I’m just spouting nonsense...\"
\"He’s right,\" Lucky chid in from the side . \"It’s the basis of instating hierarchy, especially now that we’re entering a peaceful period . Ranks need to be established and rules of the court followed . \"
\"... why?\" Alison asked curiously .
\"...\" Lucky glanced at Jonttar and smiled mysteriously, causing him to shudder for a mont . He naturally wasn’t the one to pass on a handed opportunity .
\"Because of power,\" Jonttar said . \"The ssage that is being sent is that the Duchess themselves, people just beneath the King and the Queen, can only be greeted and entirely ignored right after . Though it may seem minuscule and even oppressive otherwise, it is important in establishing a clear structure . \"
\"Part of it stems from the fact that the two idiots who founded the Empire,\" Lucky chid in once again . \"Don’t really give all that much shit about ruling it . Well, no, Hannah does; she’s perhaps the only person those loafers down below wouldn’t disrespect even if eighteen generations of their ancestors arose from their graves and ordered them to . However, the Court itself is still too young and none of the lands are distributed . Nearly all mbers of higher royalty reside here, in the fortress, while the rest of the Empire is largely left to the locals to administer . \"
\"...\" Alison blanked for a mont, though her expression quickly grew serious as she began processing everything .
\"... the Duchess seems to know more than enough,\" Jonttar smiled bitterly . \"If I may ask, why you haven’t tried changing anything?\"
\"... eh, waste of effort,\" Lucky shrugged . \"You can’t douse the ambitions . Almost every single person in this room has a precise reason as to why they decided to co to this ball . I can’t be bothered to try and reign them all in, so I may as well let them give it a shot and kill the few that step out first as a lesson . \"
\"... ha ha, ha ha...\" Jonttar laughed weakly, cold sweat dripping down his back .
\"I’ll just ask Hannah to put Jonttar in charge of it,\" Alison said after a brief silence . \"That way, you can stop scaring people and always threatening you will kill them . Seriously, that joke has gotten old long before even we did . \"
\"Don’t worry about it,\" Lucky chuckled, glancing at the now-stunned Vampire who couldn’t quite follow the logical stream of thinking of people on this planet . \"If I were you, I’d grab onto this opportunity, you know?\"
\"Huh? Ah, yes...\"
\"Political power right now in the Empire is really volatile,\" Lucky said . \"And only a few positions are really secure . Without having divided the land, established the chain of command, or even properly distributed the titles, the virtual majority of the active power exists in the vacuum right now . That’s why they’re here tonight, a lot of them,\" she added, pointing at the chattering audience . \"Right now, they’re rely chatting about coins and trade deals; however, once those with titles start showing up, you’ll start seeing just how good we are at kissing ass and licking boots . The only truth, and the one they all realize, is that the central figures cannot be replaced – that is Lino and Hannah . The rest of us, to them, are just a temporary patch, the lucky few who latched onto those two’s tits early enough to now enjoy the fruits of success . I’m a Duchess, but I may as well be a swollen cock, seeing as I’ve no army, no land, and no coffers . Rather, well over half of people here have bigger armies, more land, and most certainly much fatter coffers . \"
\"... that still doesn’t matter,\" Jonttar sighed, smiling bitterly and glancing at the audience down below with an empathetic smile . \"What you have cannot be bought with deep coffers, or won by a large army . \"
\"...\" Alison and Lucky remained silent, knowing full-well what he was talking about .
\"But, you are right in that establishnt of a proper governing body is necessary, even if for nothing but for the billions of people to whom those two are just figures of the stories . Besides, in a properly ran Empire, the Emperor and the Empress usually only need to show up ever so often to remind people they’re still there and not much else . \"
\"Attention!!\" the announcing voice once again quickly drowned out the chatter as everyone focused on the arched entrance upfront . \"Her Majesty, Princess Aaria Qa’yi, Grand Duke Eggor Qe’ll and his son, Duke Criador Qe’ll, and Earl Ivon the Eternal are entering! Please arise!\"
With another announcent, four figures slowly walked through the archway, the leading one a young girl draped in a rather flamboyant dress, walking straight with her head held up high, followed shortly after by two awkward-looking n dressed uncomfortably in formal clothes, and lastly by a relaxed-looking middle-aged man greeting everyone with a faint smile on his face .
\"... if I were you,\" noticing Jonttar’s dubious gaze, Lucky chuckled from the side . \"I’d worry more about our haughty Princess than the rest of ’em . That little chick doesn’t listen to anyone except a select few . \"
\"Select few?\" Jonttar mumbled, glancing at Lucky who grinned .
\"Where are you watching, little princess?\" Lucky’s voice suddenly drowned the applause as the eyes of the audience shifted onto her angry face . Aaria stumbled and barely stopped, fearfully looking up . \"Is there sothing interesting on the ceiling the rest of us are missing?\"
\"... uh, no... no, Aunt Lucky...\"
\"Is there sothing wrong with your neck so you have to keep staring up?\"
\"... n-no...\"
\"Then why the fuck are you looking up?\"
\"... uh...\"
\"Hush,\" Alison slapped the back of Lucky’s head with a pout and turned toward Aaria, smiling apologetically . \"Co here, Aaria . Ignore her . \"
\"...\" This Empire is fucked from top to bottom! That was the solitary conclusion Jonttar made after his brief exposure to the reality of things . Who embarrasses the sole heir to the throne so openly and publicly?! And why is the Princess herself so fearful of a re Duchess?! Just what the hell is wrong with these people?!
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