The grand dining hall was completely filled with the chaotic, overwhelmingly warm energy of the Kaelen family.
Arthur and Kaelia had arrived via high-speed carriage from the East to join the private dinner. Everyone was seated around the massive mahogany table, enjoying a feast to celebrate their miraculous survival of the Cathedral incident. Seventeen year old Seris, wearing a beautiful, dry dress provided by the Royal Maids, sat nervously next to Lyra, who was happily and forcefully feeding the foreign Princess extra portions of roasted meat.
Emperor Aldric set down his heavy silver goblet and cleared his throat. The noisy room instantly quieted down.
Aldric looked down at the far end of the table, where five year old Leo and Mia were happily eating their sweet dessert.
"Leo. Mia," Emperor Aldric spoke gently, his terrifying aura completely retracted. "I have an announcement. Your father is getting married again."
Leo blinked, a spoonful of vanilla pudding frozen halfway to his mouth. "Dad is remarrying?"
"Yes," Zion sighed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He gestured toward the newly arrived Princess. "Seris is going to permanently join our family."
Leo's eyes instantly blew wide open. He dropped his silver spoon entirely, looking at Seris with absolute, uncontainable joy.
"The cool lady who saved my head is going to be my new stepmother?!" Leo cheered, literally jumping up from his plush chair.
Mia's face lit up with a massive, brilliant smile. "Yay! Big Sister Seris is staying with us!"
Seris blushed deeply, completely overwhelmed by the pure, innocent acceptance of the children. She had expected intense political resistance or cold suspicion from the royal heirs, but instead, she was being welcomed with completely open arms.
Arthur, however, was absolutely not about to let this vulnerable moment pass peacefully.
"Wow, Zuzu," Arthur smirked, leaning heavily across the table with a wicked, highly annoying glint in his eye. "Two wives? I am honestly amazed. You can barely handle Lyra without crying like a baby in the infirmary, and now you have a fierce warrior Princess to deal with too? You are going to be completely bossed around for the rest of your natural life!"
"Shut up, Arthur!" Zion yelled, his face turning bright, burning red as a tiny spark of chaotic red mana flared angrily from his hair. "I am the man of the house! I am not bossed around!"
"Really?" Kaelia chimed in seamlessly, perfectly matching her boyfriend's teasing energy. "Because exactly ten minutes ago, Princess Lyra told you to stop eating the sweet rolls, and you instantly put it down and apologized like a scolded puppy."
The entire table burst into hysterical, uncontrollable laughter. Seraphina covered her mouth to hide her wide grin, eight-year-old Elian shook his head in profound disappointment, and even Emperor Aldric let out a low, rumbling chuckle. Zion buried his burning face in his hands, absolutely and utterly defeated by his own family.
True wealth is not measured by the gold in a kingdom's treasury, but by the volume of unrestrained laughter echoing around a dining table after the darkest of storms.
The very next day, Emperor Aldric summoned the highest-ranking nobles of the entire Kaelen Empire for an emergency Imperial Edict.
Standing on the high marble balcony overlooking the grand, packed assembly, Aldric formally and loudly announced the official engagement between the Second Prince of the Kaelen Empire, Zion, and the Crown Princess of the Jeal Kingdom, Seris. The royal wedding would be held in exactly four days.
The political reaction in the hall was completely explosive.
The loyal Dukes of the East and West applauded loudly, instantly recognizing that this brilliant marriage effectively, legally united the two largest empires on the continent without shedding a single drop of blood.
But Duke Kael Vane of the North and Duke Alistair Valerius of the South were completely, entirely shocked into pale silence.
(The Reason: The North and South had been secretly sending heavily bribed envoys to Duke Malus in the Jeal Kingdom for months. They were meticulously planning to form a massive, three-way rebel alliance to overthrow Emperor Aldric. By marrying Seris and legally claiming the Jeal throne for the Kaelen Empire under the guise of protection, Aldric had just completely, effortlessly destroyed their secret rebellion before it even started!)
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely absurd!" Duke Alistair of the South shouted desperately, stepping forward in panicked protest. "To marry a foreign enemy into our pure Royal bloodline is incredibly dangerous! We must hold a formal vote on this!"
Emperor Aldric's eyes turned to absolute, unforgiving ice. The terrifying, crushing weight of his absolute Darkness magic descended entirely onto the Southern delegation, physically forcing Duke Alistair to his shaking knees.
"I am the Emperor," Aldric's voice thundered, vibrating the very stone foundations of the palace. "I do not require a cowardly vote to approve my son's marriage. My decision is absolute."
The South and North were completely, humiliatingly silenced. They gritted their teeth in pure, helpless rage. They had lost again.
Meanwhile, back across the border in the Jeal Kingdom, the newly self-appointed Regent, Duke Malus, was sitting arrogantly on the stolen throne.
A terrified, sweating messenger sprinted desperately into the throne room, frantically waving a magical parchment.
"My Lord!" the messenger gasped, dropping to his knees. "An Imperial Edict from the Kaelen Empire has just been broadcasted across the borders! Crown Princess Seris is marrying the Second Prince of Kaelen in four days! Emperor Aldric has officially declared the Jeal Kingdom under his absolute, unquestionable military protection!"
Duke Malus leaped to his feet, his face turning purple with absolute rage. "That little brat ran crying to the Emperor?! Prepare the armies! March on the border immediately! I will not let them take my...!"
Suddenly, Duke Malus's roaring voice completely vanished.
His eyes widened in sheer, paralyzing terror as his muscles locked up incredibly tight. A cold, numbing sensation instantly shot up his spine like ice, entirely paralyzing his legs, his arms, and finally his jaw. He collapsed violently off the throne, hitting the hard stone floor like a stiff wooden board.
From the deep shadows behind the throne, a servant dressed perfectly in Jeal Kingdom colors stepped forward, casually wiping a tiny, highly poisoned needle with a cloth. Underneath the servant's pristine collar was the black feather insignia of the Obsidian Owls.
Emperor Aldric's secret, elite spies had already infiltrated the Jeal Kingdom the exact moment Seris arrived at the Capital.
"You will remain paralyzed for exactly fifteen days, Duke," the Obsidian Owl whispered coldly, looking down at the frozen, terrified traitor. "Just long enough for the royal wedding to conclude and the Kaelen military to formally, legally occupy your borders. The Jeal Kingdom now belongs entirely to the Kaelen Empire."
The greatest military victories are not the ones won on bloody battlefields; they are the ones secured in complete silence, exactly five seconds before the enemy even realizes the war has started.
The massive preparations for the Royal Wedding had thrown the entire Capital into a joyous, wildly chaotic frenzy of celebration.
But high above the dancing streets, Emperor Aldric stood entirely alone on his private balcony, staring intensely up at the starry sky.
He raised his armored hand. A few moments later, the heavy winter clouds parted, and the glowing, majestic Angelic Beast descended silently from the heavens, landing softly on the marble railing.
Aldric held out a sealed, heavy golden envelope.
"Take this directly to the God of Time and Space," Aldric commanded the divine bird, his voice carrying the weight of a sovereign addressing a deity. "Tell Grand Duke Yash that my son is marrying for the second time. He is formally invited to the ceremony."
Aldric's icy eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into a deadly, uncompromising serious tone.
"And tell him," Aldric continued, staring straight into the bird's glowing eyes, "that I expect him to physically answer the question I asked him days ago. I entirely demand to know exactly what kind of divine power is resting inside my unborn grandchildren."
The Angelic Beast bowed its glowing head in respect, took the letter gently in its beak, and shot back up into the night sky like a falling star in reverse.
The Divine Realm The Astral Void
Far beyond the mortal realm, Grand Duke Yash sat cross-legged on a floating, cosmic asteroid, looking utterly miserable as he stared down at the Earth that he was strictly forbidden from visiting.
Suddenly, a streak of pure light broke through the silent cosmic void. His Angelic Beast fluttered down and softly dropped the golden envelope into his lap.
Yash tore open the heavy seal. As he read Emperor Aldric's demanding words, his silver eyes widened, and a massive, genuinely thrilled smile broke across his face.
Zion and Seris... The long-buried promise of Empress Elara is finally being fulfilled, Yash thought. They are legally uniting the continents without war. Despite the looming, catastrophic threat of the Demon Realm and the strict, unbreakable laws of the Original God binding him to the void, Yash felt an overwhelming sense of profound pride. The mortals were actively fighting back against fate.
"A wedding..." Yash laughed softly to himself, the warm sound echoing in the starry void. "I wouldn't miss it for the universe, Aldric. And I promise you... you will get your answers."