Beneath the enormous golden palace, the air felt unbearably heavy.
Countless ministers lowered their heads, not daring to make a single sound.
The entire hall was so solemn it was frightening.
This atmosphere had only one cause, Aurelian's arrival.
This princess, who almost never appeared in the great hall, had for the first time come here in person.
When the surrounding officials saw Aurelian, every one of them froze.
After all, this was the first time the princess had attended court.
What did this mean?
None of the ministers present knew, and none of them dared to find out.
A princess does not rule as regent, this was common sense.
Moreover, Aurelian's greatest claim to fame had always been her reputation as a "vase princess."
Although opinions of her had recently begun to change, after all, the Empire's strongest fourth-rank mage, Viktor, had become her teacher.
This made people realize that Aurelian might actually possess some real ability as a mage.
But no matter how powerful she was, no matter how much public opinion shifted, she was still a princess in the end.
Aurelian ignored the questioning looks from the ministers and quietly sat down in the seat below the emperor.
Wearing an innocent smile, she looked at the officials whose expressions were tense beyond belief.
Yes, this elderly emperor had even prepared a chair for his most beloved daughter inside the palace.
This was a privilege that even the two princes had never enjoyed.
But when they thought about it carefully, it seemed somewhat reasonable.
As emperor, His Majesty would never openly name which prince he supported, unlike these nobles.
Because doing so would mean publicly announcing the choice of the next ruler.
A princess avoided such controversy, so the emperor could dote on his daughter in front of everyone without restraint.
After all, no matter how much he loved her, a princess's final fate was only ever one thing.
A political marriage.
Still, seeing the posture Emperor Aubrey displayed, many ministers felt uneasy.
They didn't know why the princess had come today.
Surely she wasn't here just to casually observe the court session and relax.
Or was this court session itself related to her?
As the heavy morning drum was struck, signaling the start of the court session, Emperor Aubrey, seated upon the throne, waved his hand at the ministers bowing before him.
The officials slowly straightened up and began reporting to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Prince Owiser has already arrived at the Pale Mage Council in the Northern Territory and met with General Vladimir."
"In just a few days, he should be able to uncover the truth behind the demonic incidents in the north."
Another group of officials immediately stepped forward, unwilling to fall behind, and continued, "Your Majesty, chaos has broken out at the monster rift in the south, but Prince Abenni returned south some time ago to suppress it."
"Before long, good news from the front lines will surely arrive."
At court, the two factions took turns reporting, afraid of losing out to the other, enthusiastically praising the achievements of the two princes.
Even though neither side had yet carried out any substantial action, the officials spoke as if both princes had already accomplished their goals.
The entire morning court turned into a scene of fierce competition, with each side boasting about whose achievements were greater.
Soon, the discussion shifted from comparing the princes' future accomplishments to officials openly despising each other and impeaching one another.
Aurelian watched this chaotic scene with a look of surprise.
This was her first time attending court, and naturally, her first time encountering something like this.
It was somewhat different from what she had imagined.
Aubrey sat on the throne and smiled, glancing down at Aurelian.
"Disappointed, Aurelian?"
"But this is how it is every morning. I'm used to it."
The emperor laughed heartily. With every laugh, the ministers below unconsciously lowered their heads a little more, not daring to speak.
That laughter sounded as though he were watching clowns, mocking them.
Yet everyone wanted to become one of the emperor's founding ministers.
With the emperor's remaining years clearly limited, they were more anxious than anyone.
The emperor on the throne was not angry at all. He simply narrowed his eyes and chuckled, continuing, "Now you understand why your teacher hardly ever comes, right?"
Aurelian nodded thoughtfully.
But she was still an underage princess. Given her status, there were things she didn't need to understand.
Even if she did understand them, she couldn't show that she did.
So, with an innocent expression, she asked her father, "Why do my brothers have to do such dangerous things?"
Aubrey rested one hand on the armrest of the throne, tapping his fingers as he smiled.
"Of course, it's for the Empire, for our country."
Aurelian nodded and continued innocently, "Teacher said he wants to take me south, to the monster rift there, for training."
"I also want to be like my eldest brother and fight monsters."
The moment the princess said this, Aubrey hadn't yet reacted, but the officials on the eldest prince's side exploded in panic.
They bent forward hurriedly and spoke to the emperor, "Absolutely not, Your Majesty!"
A group of ministers moved to the center of the hall, looking up at Aubrey and trembling as they explained the pros and cons.
"The princess is of noble birth, she must not put herself in danger!"
"The southern monster regions are already guarded by the eldest prince and his army. That is more than sufficient!"
They looked terrified.
Setting aside what the princess herself was thinking, they knew Viktor's combat power all too well.
That day, the war magic that lit up the sky over the capital had been witnessed by countless nobles and officials.
If he really took the princess with him, what role would the eldest prince even have left?
Monster riots?
With a single spell from that man, how many monsters would still be alive?
But due to the indirect nature required in court, they couldn't state their thoughts plainly.
So they could only hypocritically frame it as concern for the princess's safety, urging Aubrey to reject her request.
Before they could finish speaking, Aurelian's gaze casually swept over them.
"Mr. Quentin, if I remember correctly, you are the director of the Monster Management Bureau."
The man called Quentin clearly hadn't expected Aurelian to remember his position.
Seeing Quentin's stunned expression, Aurelian began speaking slowly.
"The army my eldest brother leads mostly consists of first- and second-rank warriors and knight formations, with very few third-rank members."
"And there are only a handful of second-rank mage groups that can barely be considered logistics support."
As she spoke, an extremely vast surge of magical power poured out from Aurelian's body.
In an instant, the magic submerged the entire hall, like a deep sea.
Countless ministers felt this terrifying aura and couldn't help but blink.
Wasn't the so-called vase princess just an ordinary first-rank mage?
Then what was this amount of magic, something even second-rank mages might not match?
She was only fifteen years old.
Aurelian took in all the ministers' reactions and said calmly, "Do you think my strength is inferior to theirs?"
There was an unmistakable dominance in her words.
At this point, Quentin was rendered completely speechless by Aurelian's rebuttal.
He turned his gaze toward the second prince's faction.
The nobles there understood perfectly well.
Now was not the time to kick the eldest prince's faction while they were down.
If it happened once, it could happen again. If this time Aurelian truly left with Viktor under the pretense of training,
The one to suffer would be the eldest prince, but next time, it might be the second prince's turn.
So they were willing to step in and support Quentin.
A minister from the second prince's side stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, you do indeed possess strength far beyond others your age. However, the eldest prince is leading an army into battle, with safety assured."
"Forgive my bluntness, but although Count Viktor is powerful, in the midst of battle, he may not be able to protect you completely…"
"Then just add me."
A lazy voice suddenly sounded from outside.
Everyone's attention was immediately drawn toward it.
They saw a mass of white clouds.
Slowly drifting into the hall from outside.
When their gazes focused on the person standing atop the clouds, their pupils shrank violently in shock.
Cocotte Yard.
Ever since Liya had brought her to appear in the palace once, the nobles and ministers had been deeply impressed by this elf.
The future elven queen, and also a former councilor who had known the current emperor long ago.
The minister who had just spoken was so frightened he almost couldn't speak.
"Councilor… Councilor Yard."
The fifth rank was a realm countless people dreamed of, yet could scarcely even imagine.
And Cocotte was one of the chosen few among millions, a being on the verge of stepping into the fifth rank.
At that moment, all his earlier words of concern seemed like complete nonsense.
If a mage like this couldn't protect a princess, who could?
Should the elderly emperor go personally?
Still, they were unwilling to give up. Someone stepped forward and continued, "But… Princess, at the very least, you should have a guard unit to protect you…"
The moment those words fell, a clanging sound of iron armor echoed from outside the hall.
Everyone turned to look, wanting to see where that metallic sound was coming from.
Suddenly, their eyes widened.
Outside the doors appeared a legion formed entirely of demi-humans.
Various animal traits, cat ears, dog ears, grew from their heads, trembling softly in the sunlight.
They wore armor forged from bone, gleaming brightly.
Spikes protruded from the armor, resembling the faces of beasts and inspiring instinctive fear.
Among this all–demi-human legion, they noticed a single human woman.
She stood out strikingly.
A powerful fourth-rank aura radiated from her body.
She wore the same armor and carried the same weapons as the demi-humans.
Some sharp-eyed ministers recognized her.
"Isn't that the southern fourth-rank adventurer, the 'Greatblade Assassin,' Elsa?"
"How could this be? Didn't she become Lady Cassandra's guard?"
Amid the shocked murmurs, a clearer, sharper clash of metal armor sounded.
Gwen stepped forward, one step at a time.
With her back to the morning sun, the brand-new silver armor on her body gleamed brilliantly.
Like a sun goddess emerging from the light, she displayed a majesty and power uniquely her own.
At her waist hung a red blade radiating a terrifying aura, just one glance was enough to sense the endless flames bound within it.
She walked forward slowly, standing at the front of all the demi-humans, outside the palace.
The moment the nobles saw Gwen, they froze.
Facing Emperor Aubrey, she slowly placed one arm across her chest and knelt on one knee.
Swish!
Behind her, the demi-human guards followed Gwen in perfect unison, saluting the emperor.
A fierce, iron-blooded aura surged from this demi-human legion, like a powerful being endowed with natural will.
A terrifying hunting presence flooded into the hall, making the ministers' hair stand on end.
But soon after, that vicious aura vanished, becoming calm like still lake water.
The ministers knew very well, no matter how complex an aura was, it couldn't just disappear completely.
Unless… someone even more powerful had arrived.
They guessed correctly.
From the shadows of the hall, streaks were drawn out as black, ink-like darkness rapidly gathered on the floor beneath the ministers' feet.
Darkness churned as a sturdy figure continuously reassembled itself.
A man in a trench coat stood behind them.
A calm, familiar voice slowly sounded.
"The army you wanted, I brought it."
With his hands in his pockets, a familiar jet-black crow perched on his shoulder, revealing his identity.
Under the stunned gazes of countless people, he slightly raised his head, wearing an arrogant posture as he looked at them coldly.
"Well?"
"You've got nothing to say now, right?"