The group walked towards the living room, where everyone was already on their toes waiting for the arrival of the Emperor, Second Queen and Third Prince.
Everyone looked dignified and formal.
Grandpa Ben, Bramwell and Zeke were all imposingly dressed with the official scholarly robe of the Farauld Magical Institute. It was a white robe made from a soft and comfortable fabric. The ends of the fabric were lined with blue embroidery of rune inscriptions.
Grandpa Andi, Randel and Meredith were also stately dressed with suits made from the exclusive Forgerworn fabric. Their suit was also designed with golden buttons and cufflinks shaped with the Forgeworn insignia - the Craftsman's Golden Hammer.
Olivier was also dressed with the official Crimson Blades uniform, while Kayden was looking handsome with his black tuxedo and suede long coat attire.
As soon as Eli entered the room, everyone let out a gasp of admiration.
"My my! The Queen of the house is indeed so queenly! So beautiful!!" Meredith beat everyone in verbalizing her admiration towards Eli's appearance.
"It's true!! Our young Eli is indeed so beautiful! Our precious treasure!!" The grandpas proudly complimented and cherrished Eli's appearance.
Embarrassed from so much attention the group was giving, she let out a light chuckle and replied,
"All of you are also looking good! I couldn't help but be nervous around you! You all looked so respectable and dignified!"
The tense mood of the room earlier changed into a jovial and warm mood. Everyone felt excited now that they had done all they could to prepare for the Imperial Family's arrival.
In the past few month, the project team worked so hard in order to complete the project and they delivered!
Exactly a week ago, they were able to completely finish and test the system and achieved success.
Everyone, especially the core members of the project team burst into tears as they saw the faucet successfully delivered water into the kitchen sink.
Even Randel, who was only next to Leon in terms of aloofness and coldness, had his eyes reddened in agitation seeing their hard work pay off.
The past few days were filled with celebration and excitement as the team, the grandpas and even Kayden couldn't get enough of the convenience of this system especially during bath time.
They were so happy to see that the water flowed freely in the bath tub and they could even adjust its temperature whenever they needed to!
Another thing that caused sensation in the group was Eli, introducing the showerhead.
Everyone was so amazed by what the showerhead can do. Meredith was the happiest in using the showerhead as everyone could hear her sing everytime she takes a bath,
"I summoned a rain through a showerhead~~~"
Eli didn't waste her time either. She was able to finalize the formulation for the henna hair dye and had it mysteriously introduced to the Belizia Kingdom.
The ghost merchant group had already been mobilized and is estimated to reach the little kingdom in two weeks. She had also engaged the grandpa's help in developing the proper storage of the henna raw materials and the ready made henna paste.
Grandpa Andi had his ghost merchant team train to make the henna paste so that they could manage to create more, in case the initial batch of henna would sell out or be stale.
Eli and the rest had all done everything they could for this matter.
They just prayed for a favorable result in order for Eli to have more hope in living a little freely and worry free, especially now that she was about to give birth.
The situation with the Spectre was also hopeful. Due to the reprimand the two princes received, they hurried and stopped taking the assignment for granted.
It could be said that it was the first time the three princes did a collaboration.
Along with the Emperor's army taking care of the north, they had more or less pinpointed the possible hideouts of the Spectre.
The stage had been covertly prepared, they were just waiting for Emperor Valentin's go signal for the Empire wide extermination order.
Nevertheless, the Emperor had an assured heart today. He could leave the palace for meeting his future daughter in law, while also completing the renewal of the treaty on the side.
Since Azayn was close to Eli, she had the elven invitation directly modified to transport the Imperial Family straight to the cottage.
No one in the capital knew of this thing, except Emperor Valentin, Queen Tehila and Leon.
As for the treaty, it was scheduled to be done for tomorrow. The Emperor and Queen's priority today was to get to know Eli, their future daughter in law!
Should any one other member of the imperial family or the nobles knew of this, it would cause them to go nuts!
Since when did the Emperor of Seirende become so leisurely just to visit his future daughter in law?!
They would surely file protests and appeals in the council!
Soon, the now enhanced multilayer array showed signs of mana fluctuations. A green light rapidly traced the inscriptions in the magical array and intensified.
Unlike the usual arrays which had a limit of a few kilometers, the Imperial Array could go as far as Silver dew forest however, with a staggering high cost.
The array itself must be powered by ten supreme mana stones and more, depending on the distance one would want to teleport.
Of course, the Imperial family had enough stones to do that, however it was limited.
Soon, the multilayer array floated up and down until everyone saw the silhouette of the Imperial family.
Swoosh! The array hummed and immediately lost its luster as soon as Eli and the rest could clearly see the owners of the silhouette were.
A man, aged yet full of authority and wisdom. He stood so firm and steadfast, making anyone who would look at him treat him with utmost respect.
A woman, so beautiful beyond her age. Her olive green eyes shouts of pure and carefree personality. Anyone who sees her smile would have an urge to dote on her.
A young man, so cold and expressionless, stood firmly supporting the two. One could feel the countless battles he had witnessed yet no sign of weakness and vulnerability could be seen on his face.
This is the Imperial Family.
This is Leon's family.
Eli couldn't help but feel a little bit insecure in her heart upon seeing their countenance. However, she was a modern woman who had enough experience in the corporate world.
She showed a calm and focused expression as she faced the highest ranked people in the whole empire.
"Greetings! His Majesty Emperor! Her Royal Highness the Second Queen and His Highness, Third Prince!" Everyone greeted in chorus.
They also curtsied according to the etiquette, except the legendary grandpas.
"Welcome to our humble dwelling!" Eli also followed the suit after reciting the imperial greetings.
Emperor Valentin gave Eli a thoughtful glance, a look of excitement and satisfaction could be seen in his eyes.
Badump Badump!
Emperor Valentin held Queen Tehila's hands tight.
Now that Eli was here with him face to face, Emperor Valentin could feel the intensified resonance in his heart as he felt the presence of Little Han in Eli's womb.
Queen Tehila felt the Emperor's excitement and rubbed his hands gently, trying to calm him down.
"At ease everyone!" Keeping himself calm, with the help of Queen Tehila, he let everyone in the room feel relaxed.
Only then they were able to notice the people and the surroundings of the cottage.
Overall, even the Emperor and Queen were impressed by the interior of the cottage.
Nothing in this cottage spoke of poverty. It was as if the designer of this house deliberately got his inspiration from the forest and created something warm and cozy out of it.
Although they had long known of Eli's connection with the legendary Grandmasters, they still felt so unreal seeing them face to face.
"Grandmasters Andvari and Reuben, it's an honor to see you here!" Emperor Valentin expressed his greetings. Queen Tehila also curtsied along with Leon, giving a knight's salute.
"I am equally elated to see you well and good, Your Majesty Emperor!"
"I am also glad that Her Royal Highness Second Queen is here with you!"
The grandpa's returned their pleasantries. Since they were both of the legendary S class. Their authority transcends beyond the borders of the empire.
Hence, they are not required to bow in submission towards the Emperor of the Empire. All they need to do is greet them according to how they should be addressed.
The atmosphere in the room finally relaxed.
Emperor Valentin, along with Queen Tehila slowly walked towards Eli. One could clearly see that Queen Tehila was about to cry in joy upon seeing Eli face to face.
Feeling her queen emotional, Emperor Valentin gave a loving smile and said with a gentle tone,
"At last, we can finally see you… The Creator knows how much we long for this day to come."
Eli was shocked and touched by the kindness shown by the two. She bowed again and expressed her gratitude, "I am really honored meeting you, Your Majesty, Your Highness."
"Oh my, dear future daughter! Do not bother to do this, your body needs utmost care! No need to bow like that!" Emperor Valentin worriedly told Eli, afraid that it would strain Eli's body just because she kept on observing the etiquette.
Everyone shuddered in shock. Even if they knew that it was possible for Eli to be wedded to the Third Prince soon, hearing it from the Emperor himself made their hearts tremble.
Witnessing the Emperor personally acknowledge a future daughter in law? This is a once in a lifetime experience!
What's more, this future daughter in law dared to reject the prince without hesitation!
Eli casted an uncertain look towards Leon who just stood silently. Upon seeing Leon's assuring gaze, Eli then followed the Emperor's advice.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"
Queen Tehila couldn't contain her excitement anymore, she gave a loving smile and said in a sweet tone,
"My dear, let me see you up close." She reached out to gently lift Eli's hands longingly.
However, just as she was about to touch Eli's hands,
Roar!
Hoot!
Baobao protectively used his big furry body to gently yet speedily hug Eli, letting her step few steps away from Queen Tehila.
Wisey on the other hand gave a small hoot. She hovered and stayed in front of Queen Tehila with a vigilant aura.
That small hoot contained mana, that was why as soon as the sound waves reached Queen Tehila, black miasma appeared on the back of Queen Tehila's hands.
"Heavens! A malefic curse!"
Everyone exclaimed in unbelief. How could the Queen contain such a malefic curse?
"T-this this.." Queen Tehila looked at her trembling hands, she felt a wave of goosebumps all over her body.
She looked towards Eli, shivering in intense fear and guilt.
Should she manage to touch Eli's hands, she didn't dare to imagine what would possibly happen!
