Sometime later, fragrant tea was finally served before the guests while the atmosphere inside the first-floor residence gradually loosened from stiff business discussion into something more casual, although the undercurrent of caution never truly disappeared because every person seated in that room carried either authority, secrets, or ambitions heavy enough to tilt entire kingdoms.
At that moment, Phaethon Solaris was in the middle of narrating one of his journeys to the Dragon Empire, the colossal power that existed on the opposite side of the world beyond the Vermilion Continent, and even though his youthful face still retained traces of childish softness, the calmness in his tone while describing foreign lands, gigantic cities, dragon-blooded nobles, and impossible trade routes made him sound more like a seasoned monarch than a twelve-year-old child.
The Dragon Empire truly deserved its terrifying reputation.
It was the strongest empire in the known world.
The largest.
