Chapter 338: The Emperor

A young man was sitting in a grand chamber. It was so incredibly massive that calling it ’vast’ would have been a severe understatement.

He was sitting in the center of the room on a luxurious, gilded stool, painting on a large canvas with a delicate brush. Several maids stood silently around him, each holding a different palette of vibrant colors.

He stared at the empty canvas, his emerald eyes focused, with his long golden hair falling gracefully below his shoulders.

The chamber was perfectly quiet. There was no sound except for the gentle rushing of a natural river flowing directly through the architectural marvel, accompanied by the peaceful chirping of birds nesting in the indoor gardens.

Just then, loud, hurried footsteps echoed through the chamber, immediately drawing the man’s attention. He looked toward the source of the noise and saw a royal messenger standing a respectful distance away. The messenger immediately dropped to one knee the moment he noticed the man looking at him.

"Your Majesty," the messenger called out, keeping his head bowed. "Sir Gideon has arrived, and he is requesting your presence."

The man smiled warmly. He gently placed his paintbrush onto an empty plate held by one of the maids. The maids immediately bowed, placed their respective color palettes onto nearby marble pillars, and exited the grand chamber without the man needing to utter a single word.

The messenger also quickly took his leave. A short while later, Sir Gideon walked in, wearing his platinum paladin armor and carrying his broadsword.

Gideon walked significantly further into the chamber than the messenger was allowed. He stopped, offered a deep, respectful bow, and greeted the man, praising his numerous imperial titles.

This was Emperor Alexander, the absolute ruler of the Lumiere Dynasty, and... Princess Lune’s father.

Alexander welcomed the paladin with a gracious nod. "You took quite a bit of time to return from the Eastern Realms this deployment, Gideon."

"The situation in the Eastern Realms is significantly more dire than our initial intelligence reports suggested, Your Majesty," Gideon responded, remaining bowed. "Even as we speak, I have left a garrison of eighty elite knights and soldiers stationed at the Azure Moon Kingdom to secure their borders. I have only returned to the capital to requisition a fresh batch of knights so the current detachment can rotate home to rest."

The Emperor seemed genuinely amused by the report. He chuckled softly. "It feels almost unreal to hear from your own mouth that someone, or something, is actually giving you trouble."

Gideon chuckled nervously. "I am getting old, Your Majesty. It is probably about time I retire."

The Emperor’s smile faded slightly. "If you retire, the overall morale of the imperial army would plummet drastically. That would mean our effective manpower and recruitment would decrease. Which would mean our military presence would grow weak, and ultimately, the Lumiere Dynasty would fall into ruin, and our entire civilization would collapse."

Gideon chuckled nervously again, feeling the sudden weight of the imperial logic. "You are being far too pessimistic, Your Majesty. Nothing of that sort will ever happen as long as you are alive and well to guide the empire."

"Death can come at any time, Gideon," Alexander responded calmly, his emerald eyes staring at the blank canvas. "I may look healthy and fine right now, but I cannot say what will happen to me a single minute from now. I am not afraid of death itself. I am terrified of leaving the Lumiere Dynasty behind in incapable hands. If you were to retire, the dynasty would surely collapse."

"The Eldest Prince has already come of age," Gideon pointed out respectfully. "He is fully prepared to be named the next heir."

The Emperor’s gaze suddenly turned incredibly sharp and cold. "None of my children are ready to rule. Not even Lune. They can barely take care of themselves and their own petty squabbles right now. How can I possibly expect them to take care of an entire dynasty?"

Gideon remained bowed and wisely chose not to comment on the royal family dynamic.

The Emperor sighed, his demeanor softening. "Give me your full report."

Gideon detailed everything that had transpired in the Eastern Realms, which included the cultist infiltrations, the rift, and the political instability.

"How long will it take for the Eastern Realms to be safe for travel again?" the Emperor asked.

"Two of the Four Evil Sects have already been decisively taken care of," Gideon responded. "Only two remain active. The Azure Dragon Sect is currently mobilizing their forces, searching for the remaining cultists and hunting down their hidden bases. But I cannot give you a timeline on how long the complete purge will take. There are simply too many of them and their reach is everywhere. Even among the Azure Moon Army, more than half of them were traitors."

"Could they be under some kind of influence or blackmail?" the emperor wondered.

"Surely not. We confirmed that wasn’t the case. I am unable to understand how this is possible."

"Isn’t that quite obvious?" he glanced at Gideon. "They were part of the evil sect before they were recruited into the army. Surely, the evil sects didn’t wake up one day and decided to act. They must have been planning this for decades. It is nothing but incompetence of the rulers of the eastern realms to not notice their movements up until now. Perhaps they are not fit to rule."

The Emperor pondered the situation for a while. "You shall take an army of five hundred elite knights and return to the Eastern Realms. You will assist in uprooting and completely removing the evil sects as quickly as possible."

Alexander paused, tapping his fingers against his knee. "I will also increase the imperial funding sent to the Azure Moon Kingdom to bolster their defenses, and I will authorize a highly generous donation to the Azure Dragon Sect."

The Emperor picked up his paintbrush again. "The children are the future of our realms. They must be properly nourished and rigorously trained in a safe environment so our future can be bright and peaceful."

"I will see to it immediately, Your Majesty," Gideon nodded.

The Emperor suddenly began painting with rapid, precise strokes on the blank canvas as he continued talking. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

"Gideon," the Emperor asked casually, keeping his eyes on the canvas. "Do you happen to know why Lune is suddenly so desperate and eager to return to the Eastern Realms? Usually, she would fight against going there, begging me to let her explore local dungeons and labyrinths instead. But this time, for some inexplicable reason, she continuously demands that I allow her to return to the Eastern realms. And because I refused her, she is currently sulking in her private estate and refusing to speak to me."

Gideon gulped nervously.

’Of course I know the reason,’ Gideon panicked internally. ’It is obviously because of Solomon.’

However, the paladin knew he could not tell the Emperor the truth. Doing so would drag him directly into a royal mess, significantly increasing his already heavy workload.

More importantly, if the Emperor became furious that his only daughter was romantically involved with a foreign commoner, and he ordered something terrible to be done to Solomon... and Princess Lune eventually found out about it, the resulting familial fallout would end in a catastrophic disaster for the entire dynasty.

It was vastly better for his own survival to simply play completely oblivious.

Gideon shook his head, keeping his expression perfectly blank. "I do not have the slightest idea, Your Majesty."