in a luxury horse-drawn carriage
"Dad, why are you looking so anxious?" asked a little girl with short red hair, tilting her head while holding her index finger to her lips. She was wearing a red dress with a floral lace pattern.
Upon hearing this, the young man snapped out of his trance and looked at the little girl in front of him.
He was a handsome man named Lucas Weis, and he was the patriarch of a high-ranking Luvic noble family in the southern region.
"It's okay, dear," he replied. "It's just that Duke Asvold suddenly called for all the Luvic nobles in the southern region to gather, which made me quite uneasy."
Lucas knew that his extremely high and honorable status made others envious, but he also knew that being the patriarch of a high-ranking Luvic noble family was really troublesome.
In the Balka Empire, the power levels of the Luvic families were organized into three main families, and their tiers depended on the contributions their families made to the respective regional leaders.
The Wes family was one of the three high-ranking Luvic noble families in the southern region.
The Weis family could be considered the weakest among the other three Luvic noble families, but that was only because they focused on trade and held 70% of all transactions in the southern region.
The founder of the Weis family was a genius merchant who, along with the other two high-ranking Luvic founding families, the Allen family, and the Valha family, helped the Asvold family build up the southern region, leading to their high-level Luvic noble status.
Anna Weis, the only daughter of the Weis family, looked at her father with worry and asked, "Will there be anything terrible, Father?"
Her mother died when she was a baby due to an incurable disease, leaving her father as her only caregiver.
Lucas reassured her, saying, "Take it easy, Anna. Lord Duke can't possibly harm Father. It's just that I feel there will be something surprising, but I don't know what it is."
He spoke in a heavy tone, explaining that something that made Duke Asvold call for a gathering of all Luvic nobles could not be a trivial matter and might affect the southern region or even the Balka empire itself.
"I hope this isn't terrible news."
"Otherwise..."
As Lucas looked up at the clear sky through the small window in his carriage, he muttered in his heart, wondering what the gathering would bring.
...
Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace of Balka:
"Emperor, Duke Asvold has sent invitations to all the Luvic nobles in his territory, including high-ranking ones from all four regions," reported an old servant, bowing respectfully to the figure on the throne, who was lazily closing his eyes.
"What is the purpose of this, Butler?" asked the emperor, opening his eyes slowly.
Instantly, a powerful aura filled the throne room, causing the butler to shiver involuntarily.
"Has the Emperor already reached that level?" wondered the butler in disbelief. "If so, carrying out the glorious plan would be easy. How terrifying!"
After a moment, the butler regained his composure and explained respectfully.
"Emperor!" exclaimed the butler. "It seems that Duke Asvold intends to use this occasion to introduce his heir to all the high-ranking figures throughout the Balka empire."
Upon hearing this, the emperor merely smiled, as if he had already anticipated this move. "You truly are an astute butler," he remarked.
"But there is something you don't know about David," the emperor continued. "He is a cunning and secretive individual, so it's unlikely that this is just a simple introduction to his son. There must be another purpose behind it."
The emperor leaned back on his throne and lazily propped his chin up with his hand. "Of course, we must attend the event to add some excitement to it," he thought, with a hint of an inexplicable smile on his lips.
After a moment of contemplation, the emperor turned to the butler. "Prepare a gift and inform Lucia that she must prepare to travel south," he commanded, standing up from his throne and speaking loudly.
"Yes, Your Majesty!" The old servant bowed and replied respectfully.
"Alright, you can go." The Emperor exclaimed calmly as he turned his gaze towards the imperial window.
Hearing this, the old servant bowed once more and disappeared into the void.
"David, it seems you're getting impatient."
"Hahaha."
"Also, I would like to meet the figure of the heir of Duke Asvold's mansion."
"Arthur Asvold..."
Emperor Balka smiled mysteriously and disappeared from the throne room.
...
"Lord, all the Luvic noble families have gathered at the Rozen city square," a black, shadowy figure said respectfully to David, who was standing facing the window.
Upon hearing this, David turned his gaze to the shadow and asked lightly, "Has everyone gathered?"
The shadow replied respectfully, "Yes, Lord."
David pondered for a moment before asking, "Are Emperor Balka and Duke Wilhem also coming?"
The shadow hesitated for a moment before replying, "Yes, Lord."
"Emperor Balka and Duke Wilhem seem to be interested in the invitations you distributed, so they plan to come."
David nodded and turned his gaze toward the clear sky outside. "Greet them both respectfully and proceed as planned. I don't want things to go awry because this is the starting point and the most important of all."
The shadow bowed and quickly disappeared, leaving David alone with his thoughts.
"Emperor Balka, your arrival wasn't in my prediction. However, it's fine because it will add to the festivities later. And Wilhem, it seems like you can't sit still anymore either, right?" David smiled slightly as he spoke, his gaze fixed on Rozen as if he could see the situation there.
-----
I can only be active again because of some business.
Well, I'm going to quickly update this volume and finish it since I got five days off hehe.
Oh yeah, maybe I'll fix chapters 1 to 30 a bit for some grammar mistakes to make it more enjoyable to read because when I wrote those chapters, I really ignored the grammar.
Keep supporting me~
Thank you~
