Reincarnated Hero System - Chapter 1152 - 1152: Calculated Reception [Monthly Bonus 1]

Sandfire Palace

Capital City Saharion

Desert Country of Tarse

September 13th

Year 1055

Barely an hour after Evan’s meeting with his fellow Heroes and associates regarding the Tarse Defence Plan, he was already within the halls of Tarse’s Imperial Palace, walking beside a clone of Tarse’s Emperor, with Eliza and Warlord Isobel following a short distance behind as they conversed.

The Sandfire Palace was a grand structure built from pale sandstone and reinforced metal alloys, its smooth surfaces reflecting the desert sunlight with a soft sheen.

Wide corridors lined with tall archways connected open courtyards where streams of recycled water flowed through narrow channels beneath tempered glass. The architecture blended traditional desert tribal design, arched roofs, geometric engravings, and open ventilation shafts, but also integrated more modern technology.

Pipes carrying magic power ran along the walls, and temperature regulators kept the air cool despite the heat outside.

“Seems you gathered the Chiefs present in Saharion…” Evan said, his senses detecting the concentrated presences in the hall ahead, and at this, Lloris responded.

“It was the Empress’s arrangement.”

“Oh?”

Evan raised an eyebrow, curious as to why Tarse’s Empress would take such an action, while recalling every detail he knew about her.

Tarse’s Empress and Lloris’s first wife was named Cayenne, and she was the most influential figure in Tarse save Lloris.

To the Demonic Hand, Cayenne was viewed as an even greater threat than Lloris due to how she had repeatedly and unknowingly disrupted their plans over the years.

Evan had not met or spoken to her since arriving on Aidos five years ago, but she seemed exactly as his information from Aidos Online had described.

“I just noticed this, but I’ve never heard you call her by name,” he remarked, pointing out an observation he’d made after several conversations with Lloris, both before being sent to the past and after returning.

Lloris never called Cayenne by name, always addressing her as either ‘The Empress’ or ‘My Empress’.

“Why do you do so?”

Evan’s simple curiosity was clear on his face, and seeing that his question carried no hidden intention, Lloris answered candidly.

“Simple. It serves as a constant reminder to all that she is the Second Sovereign of this Nation.”

The marriage between Lloris and Cayenne had not been one of affection but a purely political alliance. Even so, the two were not in conflict and maintained a cordial relationship, though the most they could be considered were ‘friends’.

In public, however, they regarded personal sentiment as irrelevant, choosing instead to uphold institutional recognition.

Addressing each other as ‘The Emperor’ and ‘The Empress’ was simply an act of power maintenance and image control.

In Lloris’ case, it was his way of telling every Regional Chief, City Lord, Foreign Noble, and Ambassador that her authority did not stem from being his wife but from being the Empress.

It was something he had begun doing shortly after their marriage more than two decades ago, as a means to prevent her authority from being undermined by any of the Regional Chiefs, particularly those whose families held greater prominence than hers.

This was one of the main reasons he had chosen not to take an Empress from one of those families, as it allowed him to keep their influence in check.

He started addressing her that way, not as an expression of affection but as a declaration of hierarchical possession, a statement that her authority was an extension of his own, and that questioning her was the same as questioning him.

Hearing this, Evan nodded in understanding.

‘She’s from the Rigburn Region, isn’t she? Before she became Empress, Rigburn was considered middle-ranked and not as influential as Regions like Aneford or Osaburg, so it’s understandable that some among those Regional Chief families might have looked down on her since she came from a house technically ranked lower than theirs.’

With that in mind, it wasn’t hard to understand that Lloris’ manner of address erased any room for veiled condescension or snobbery, serving as a verbal assertion of her unassailable standing.

Tarse was a nation divided not into ‘States’ or ‘Counties’ but ‘Regions’, each governed by a ‘Chief’, the equivalent of a State Governor in a democracy, and they were regarded as the Nobles of Tarse.

And like any other nation, there were Nobles who believed birth outweighed merit or marriage, so Lloris was silencing those kinds with his actions.

As Evan thought that, they arrived before the doors of the audience hall, where the guards saluted and bowed before opening them, while the chamberlain inside announced Lloris, Evan, and the two women accompanying them.

All the Region Chiefs present lowered their heads the moment Lloris entered, eyes fixed on the floor and not daring to look up until permitted.

The only one who remained upright was the woman standing beside the Sandfire Throne on the dais at the far end of the hall.

Her brown, curly hair framed a calm and unreadable face, while her hazel eyes revealed little emotion. She wore a loose, layered outfit of brown fabric that draped around her comfortably, the folds gathered at her ankles and wrists, giving her an appearance both simple and graceful.

The colour of her clothing matched her hair and eyes, though a few shades darker than her lightly tanned skin.

When Cayenne met Lloris’s eyes, she bowed slightly and spoke.

“Your Majesty,” she greeted, her voice even as she straightened after bowing. “Welcome back to Saharion. I trust your meeting went smoothly.”

“It did,” Lloris replied in the same formal tone, and Cayenne inclined her head slightly in acknowledgement before turning her gaze toward Evan.

“Count Bourne,” she said, “It’s an honour to finally meet you in person. Your reputation precedes you.”

“!!”

The eyes of every person in the hall, save Lloris and Evan, widened at her words.

As for Evan and Lloris, they only narrowed their eyes slightly, both harbouring the same question, though phrased differently in their minds.

‘What is she planning?’

‘Just what the hell is she up to?’

It was clear enough which thought belonged to whom.

Their collective surprise, of course, stemmed from the fact that Cayenne had greeted Evan first instead of the other way around.

Normally, a Noble, no matter how renowned, would be the one to greet first before being acknowledged by an ‘Empress’. There was no possibility that someone who had ruled Tarse for more than two decades wouldn’t know that much.

The fact that she still did it, reversing the usual order, especially with more than a dozen Regional Chiefs watching, was evidence that she had other intentions.

Several thoughts crossed Evan’s mind in that moment, but he dismissed them the next and returned her gesture with a polite bow.

“The honour’s mine, Your Majesty.”

Normally, that would have concluded the exchange, but Cayenne wasn’t done yet.

“I assume the Emperor has already done so, and this is long overdue, but I wish to once again thank you for your assistance in neutralising the threats that plagued the Osaburg Region last winter.”

She was, of course, referring to the battle against the FCDs, and upon hearing this, Evan, maintaining a composed expression, replied, “Don’t mention it, Your Majesty. Assisting Tarse was simply part of my duty as a Hero.”

“Duty or Choice, it changes not the fact that your aid was invaluable,” Cayenne said, her voice echoing across the hall.

“Tarse does not forget those who lend it their strength in times of need. Should circumstance ever place you in need of assistance, know that Tarse will not hesitate to return your goodwill.”

Faint murmurs rose among the gathered Chiefs as they exchanged brief, uneasy glances, but it didn’t last long before Lloris cast a gaze in their direction, silencing them immediately.

At that moment, realisation dawned on Evan.

‘Ah, I see what she’s up to.’

He bowed lightly, matching Cayenne’s tone as he replied, “Your Majesty is gracious. I’ll remember your words.”

Cayenne inclined her head once, her expression unchanged as she glanced at the Regional Chiefs, brief but enough to convey her message.

She then turned to Lloris, gesturing toward a side exit as she spoke.

“Shall we proceed, Your Majesty? I’ve prepared the reception chambers.”

“Thank you, My Empress,” Lloris replied, beginning to walk toward it and gesturing for Evan and Eliza to follow as he asked, “And the Princess?”

“She has been summoned.”

“Very well. There are matters to discuss before she arrives.”

With those words, the group left the audience hall, and only then did the Regional Chiefs raise their heads, each wearing different expressions that reflected their varying reactions to what the Empress had just implied through her actions.

From her greeting of Evan to her thanking him for the FCD incident despite the immense casualties, and the declaration that followed.

Her greeting him first wasn’t a gesture of deference, but an elevation, essentially recognising him as a figure of sovereign legitimacy, declaring that he wasn’t a ‘guest’ but a ‘partner’ of the Sandfire Throne.

She had also publicly affirmed an alliance with him, showing that the imperial household, including its highest woman of influence, stood with Evan, while placing herself in a favourable position for when he eventually grew more influential, ensuring she’d be remembered for showing him open respect.

Even if he didn’t, it could still be portrayed as imperial courtesy toward a Hero. Either way, she lost nothing.

Lastly, her actions enabled Evan to move without obstruction within Tarse’s borders and served as a warning to others, making it clear that obstructing any of his actions without reasonable and legitimate cause would be considered interference with the Sandfire Throne itself, placing them on a fast track toward a Treason charge.

‘She’s that type, huh?’

That thought passed through Evan’s mind as he took a seat in the reception room, watching the servants enter with refreshments.

The moment they exited, Cayenne immediately addressed the matter at hand.

“May I inquire about the reason for summoning the Princess?”

It was only natural that she wished to know why Evan wanted to speak with Bianca, especially considering the Princess’s rather complicated position within the Sandfire Palace.

To her question, Evan, calmly stirring cubes of sugar into the tea before him, replied in an even tone.

“Naturally, it’s because of her connection to Dragondune. It’s necessary for the success of the Tarse Defence Plan.”

For a moment, Cayenne was silent before finally nodding in understanding.

Noticing that slight pause, Evan silently shook his head.

‘That’s the most she reacts? This woman is frightening in more ways than one.’

His thought stemmed from the fact that Bianca was, in essence, a sore subject for Cayenne.

The woman had been born the middle child to Rigburn’s Chief, a man who valued merit over birth order, and because of her remarkable skill in territory management, he had been grooming her to become his successor.

However, her display of competence had also drawn the attention of the Emperor, who proposed to take her as his Empress, an offer Rigburn’s Chief couldn’t refuse.

Cayenne entered her role with the same mindset she’d been raised with, believing that her position of leadership existed for the sake of the people, and that her actions should always reflect that purpose—for the betterment of those she governed.

That belief, expanded to encompass the entirety of Tarse, turned Cayenne into one of the most influential Authority figures on the planet.

Because her every decision and reaction was directed toward Tarse’s welfare, public opinion had never turned against her.

Within the Sandfire Palace, she was supreme among the Emperor’s wives, holding absolute power that none of the other consorts, not even the foreign Princesses, could rival.

The only flaw in her otherwise unblemished record was that Lloris’ firstborn child was not hers.

Bianca’s mother was an unknown dragon, and her birth had caused considerable unrest among Tarse’s ruling class.

For starters, no one knew the status of her mother, something that held great significance for any Royal lineage.

It was known that she came from Dragondune, the largest abode of dragons on the continent, but not all dragons there were equivalent to Nobility. There were commoner dragons as well, and if Bianca’s mother was one, it could easily ignite a factional war between those supporting the firstborn’s claim to the throne and those opposing it because of her mother’s status.

Even if her mother was among the higher-order dragons who ruled Dragondune, her exact rank still mattered.