Walking down the hallway leading to tonight’s meeting, Celestina wore a smile on her face that was a mix of amusement and exasperation as she chatted with her First Disciple.

"So, let me get this straight. Two days ago, you dealt with a terrorism incident in Crystal Lake, then after a sleepless night battling a slum fire, you flew to the capital and were immediately dragged into a meeting with the Third Queen."

"Uh huh."

"During that meeting, on top of pushing for you to get engaged to Christina, Cynthia also managed to extract the whole story about what happened in the South-West Province from you."

"In my defence, I didn’t share anything we decided should be classified."

"After that, you were taken to dinner, where the Second Queen happened to show up and bombard you with business offers you spent the rest of the night hammering out into a multi-million Gold, multi-province trade deal you want me and Count Carlson to sign as soon as possible."

"That deal is necessary for promoting our new farm machinery and stabilizing the kingdom’s economy."

"And the massive amount of imports you ordered from the Kore Sovereignty through the Vast Ocean Trading Company?"

"Errr... the offer Her Majesty made was too good to pass up..."

"Riiight... Anyways, after spending another mostly sleepless night here in the palace, you decided to try to unwind by heading to the training grounds, where you ran into Marianne, who recognized you from the descriptions Cynthia and Natasha gave her, and dragged you into a long training session as well as several sparring matches."

"Sounds about right."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Haaa..." Shaking her head, Celestina wasn’t sure whether she should scold her First Disciple for being reckless and ignoring his own condition, or praise him for making such an enormous impression on the Rockwell Kingdom’s three Queens.

Lucas, for his part, kept his head up and back straight, not because he was proud of what he had done or because he thought it was the right thing to do, but simply because if he relaxed too much, he feared he might pass out from exhaustion.

In addition to the Royal Family and Royal Council, this Royal Summit was open to any noble above the Count-rank to attend either in person or by proxy. As such, instead of the smaller Council Chambers, tonight’s meeting was being held in the much larger Throne Room.

Unfortunately, the only ones who sat in the palace’s Throne Room were Royals, so Lucas would somehow have to endure standing up through tonight’s meeting, something he was very much not looking forward to.

As the Master and Disciple pair got closer to the hall, they began running into more and more people.

Most of these people were on the younger side, but there was also no small number of older looking individuals who carried the bearing of rulers. It was a clear mix of proxies and actual heads of noble households.

There were far more present than Lucas had anticipated, but recalling that the events in the South-West Province had been a disaster on a national scale, it made sense that many would be interested in hearing a first-hand account of what transpired.

When Marquess Balfour passed by, everyone greeted her respectfully, with some even bowing formally. Everyone also took note of Lucas, the young boy walking with her, but none dared to ask about him in this kind of setting.

It was only after entering the Throne Room, where the true bigshots of the kingdom had mostly gathered by now, that people began to simply nod towards Celestina.

All except for one, that is.

"Marquess Balfour," a middle-aged gentleman with silvery-grey hair dressed in tidy robes approached, "It seems you have been busy these past few days."

For a brief moment, a look of distaste appeared on Celestina’s face, but she swiftly hid it behind a mask of indifference as she turned to acknowledge the man, "Duke Roth, a pleasure to see you as well."

The Patriarch of the second most powerful noble family in the Rockwell Kingdom and the Matriarch of the third most powerful family stared each other down, the tension between the two palpable to everyone around them.

The Roths and the Balfours had never gotten along, and things had been particularly bad ever since Gregory Roth assumed the position of Duke.

Today, however, was an unusual day, with Gregory actually offering a note of compromise, "I have supported your actions in the South-West thus far because I judged them to be in the best interest of the kingdom, but whether I continue to do so will depend on the results they produce."

"Thank you for your consideration," Celestina replied curtly, "I will keep your words in mind."

"Not words, a warning, Celestina," Gregory stated flatly.

Celestina would normally have snorted in derision at this kind of threat, but she decided to let it pass tonight in light of the situation.

Seeing the annoyed red-headed woman before him not saying anything more, Duke Roth turned on his heels and began walking away.

"Gregory," Celestina called out from behind, "About your youngest son, Madison."

Upon hearing this name, the Duke paused in place for a moment before asking in a cold tone, "Was anything of him retrieved?"

Celestina shook her head, "Unfortunately not. I suspect he was... quite close to the source when the explosion occurred."

"Are you implying that this situation is my Roth Family’s fault?" Duke Roth glanced back over his shoulder and asked pointedly.

Although she very much wanted to say yes, without solid proof, Celestina knew such speculation would be nothing more than slander, so she held her tongue.

"Hmph," Gregory snorted and turned back, grumbling to himself, that damn waste, causing trouble for me even after he’s dead.

There was plenty Lucas wanted to say in that moment. He had a terrible impression of Madison Roth, the spoiled noble son who caused so much trouble in Redwood Town, but seeing the boy’s father react so callously to his death was still quite shocking.

Feeling a pat on his shoulder, Lucas looked up to see his Master shaking her head at him subtly, silently telling him to not dwell on this matter.

Understanding her meaning, Lucas nodded and followed after her as Celestina made her way towards the head of the hall.

Although there were no assigned positions in the Throne Room, it was understood that those with greater status and power stood near the front, while those with less power gravitated towards the back.

As such, Celestina brought Lucas to the very front of the hall, just before the steps leading up to the throne, before she stood there and closed her eyes, waiting for the meeting to begin.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Lucas glanced around quickly, trying to take in the faces of the most important members of the Rockwell Kingdom. Unfortunately, since this wasn’t a social occasion, no one was introducing themselves and his Master seems utterly uninterested in explaining who was who.

Soon realizing the futility of his efforts, Lucas decided to follow Celestina’s example and just stood still, doing his best not to fall asleep.

Another 10 minutes or so passed as everyone filed into the hall and the doors were sealed, Royal Guards in ceremonial armour standing outside to ensure no uninvited guests approached.

Only once everyone was settled did a herald announce the arrival of the Royal Family.

From an entrance located at the head of the hall, 1 man and 3 women entered.

The man at the head of this procession was none other than Nathanial Rockwell, Eighth Monarch of the Rockwell Kingdom. Following behind him was First Queen Marianne Campbell, Second Queen Natasha Summers, and Third Queen Cynthia Morgan.

The royals ascended the short flight of stairs to where 5 thrones awaited them, each of them standing before their designated seat as they looked out across the room.

To Lucas’ surprise, however, the middle throne, the one which stood one step higher and was clearly the largest and most opulent, was actually left empty.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, though, the herald spoke once more, "His Excellency the Imperial Envoy, Lord Alexandros Ateo!"

When these words rang out and a lone man strolled out from what was supposed to be the Royal Family’s exclusive entrance, the entire hall stiffened, with everyone straightening their backs unconsciously.

While the King and Queens were symbols of power and respect in the Rockwell Kingdom, an Imperial Envoy was an avatar of fear and submission.

It didn’t matter who this Envoy was or what he said or did, none present today dared to question him.

With an almost disdainful nonchalance, the Imperial Envoy strode over to the middle throne, the one normally reserved for the current ruler of the Rockwell Kingdom, sat down without any kind of hesitation, and swept his gaze over the assembled nobles.

Instantly, a terrifying pressure filled the Throne Room, along with a deafening silence, causing everyone present to sweat.

Some of the weaker noble proxies in the rear of the hall even trembled, their legs nearly giving out under the weight of the Imperial Envoy’s Low-Rank Soul Elite Soul Sense.

Then, just as suddenly, the pressure receded as Imperial Envoy Ateo yawned in boredom, waving his hand dismissively as he commanded, "Begin."