Emperor

Walking into the spacious hallway, Rio, Clara, and Cyan found themselves stepping onto a black tiled floor. The surrounding walls were pitch black, extending upwards to meet at the ceiling, forming a sharp arch. Every few arches, chandeliers provided illumination for the wide hallway. At the end of the walkway was the entrance to the audience chamber, made of two huge dark blue polished stone slabs with lifelike dragons engraved on them.

Rio shifted nervously as he walked alongside Clara and Cyan. Clara glanced at Rio coldly before saying, "There is really no need to be nervous. The Emperor and I have an extensive history."

"You'll just be a tool for me to gain political advantage, so just play along."

"Tsk," Rio jeered and looked away.

'God dammit, shouldn't you at least tell me what I will be used for so I could prepare?' Although nervous, Rio, a former duke, had his fair share of political experience and felt somewhat confident in playing along with the princess.

'Well, I'm not called the prodigy for nothing after all.'

Clara continued, "Oh, I forgot about something. Cyan, hand him a sword."

Rio glanced at Cyan, who was holding out a crimson sword in a scabbard, signaling him to equip it. 'Did she pull that out of dimensional storage? Also, isn't equipping a sword in court tantamount to suicide?' 

'Well, I'm not sure of the culture in this world, and both the princess and Cyan are still holding onto their weapons.' Thinking about the princess's vow and her current behavior, he decided to equip the crimson sword and play along.

After holstering the sword, they reached the entrance to the audience chamber, and oddly, there was no guard next to the door. Cyan, the princess, and Rio stood in front of the door for a moment before it opened automatically by itself. The door made a heavy rumbling as it opened outwards, slowly revealing the interior of the chamber.

The room was dark, with the visitors unable to make out any details. The only source of illumination came from the ceiling, where a beam of light shone down on the emperor's throne. On the throne sat a middle-aged man with greyish-white hair, wearing a heavy set of armor and a modest crown. The armor had multiple plates overlaying each other, each with unique engravings, forming a dragon scale-like appearance. The crown had a single fist-sized purple gem embedded onto its golden base.

The lofty emperor, around 50 years old, boasts a sleek mane of white hair and a matching full beard. His exposed body is marked with scars, each a testament to his numerous achievements. While his imposing frame and piercing golden eye once seemed capable of seeing through anything, his gaze now appears somewhat unfocused.

The emperor looked up in response to the opening of the door, his expression unreadable. Rio shivered at the sight of the emperor. 'His pressure is only barely less than the prime demon king back in my world. Hopefully, I make a good impression here and won't have to cross blades with him in the future...'

The visitors' footsteps echoed in the empty chamber before they stopped in the middle and awaited acknowledgment from the emperor. The emperor raised his head and said in a hoarse tone, "The blasphemous princess and the disgraced daughter of the Cyan family... you have quite the audacity to show up here unprompted. And you dare to show your weapons in my presence... You must be tired of living."

"If it weren't for the fact I respect your families and do not want to escalate the situation into war, you would have lost your life already. Now leave before I change my mind."

'Wh... What? Blasphemous and disgraced? And we're already being chased out? Surely the princess is aware that she is unwelcome here. Wait, weren't we just in the guest room? Was that a lie to convince me that we were properly invited so I won't try to run? Cyan was urging the princess to leave when we first met, implying that the meeting here was prearranged. Coming in unwelcome and giving me a weapon, surely they don't expect a fight?'

'Huh... Prearranged unwelcome meeting with weapons. Surely we aren't here to...'

"We are here to assassinate you, old man," the princess said coldly. Her clear voice lingered in the empty hall before quickly fading away.

'Sh*t. I'm not even at 1/10 of my prime strength in my previous life. I've got to de-escalate before my head flies off.'

"Y... Your eminence, I think that was the princess's attempt at making a joke, haha... You see, your eminence, I was just newly appointed as an interpreter for the princess by her father in case of situations like this. Heh.. You must know how girls are with their hormones, right? Haha, they sure are a pain in the rear to deal with. I will be sure to inform her father of this incident and come back next time with an apology."

The emperor did not react to Rio's attempt to save himself. The princess also did not react to Rio's antics. It was as if he were invisible the whole time. 'Did Cyan cast concealment on me? That should be impossible; a man as powerful as the emperor is sure to see through the presence of concealment.'

The emperor smiled in an exaggerated manner before saying, "I see. It's been a long time coming anyway. To eliminate a blasphemer and a disgrace. God must've approved of this and sent you two to me as a trial to cut off my remaining weakness."

The emperor then stood up, his hand grasped the space in front of him, and pulled out a giant sword that seemed more like a crude metal slab. After swinging the sword to the side in an imposing manner, the emperor declared maniacally,

"I, ROLAND LORDWELL III, KING OF CYMARA! SUBJUGATOR OF WARENSAW! SLAYER OF DRAGONS! ARCLORD OF GRAVITY MAGIC! THE DIVINE GOD OF WAR !HEREBY DECLARE THE DEATH SENTENCE OF CLARA WAKEFORD VALORIA AND SYLVIA OF THE CYAN CLAN. ALL IN THE NAME OF THE ALL-SEEING GOD ZEPHIRON!"

"PREPARE YOURSELF! FOR I DARE NOT IMAGINE I WOULD BE KINDER OR MORE GENEROUS THAN GOD TO GIVE YOU A PAINLESS DEATH."

'I'm screwed...'