Chapter 84: Meeting The Emperor
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"Let him in," echoed a gruff, noble voice from the inside of the throne room.
"Yes, sir!"
Not long after the guards shouted in unison, the large golden doors opened with a bang. Then, with piercing glares all focused on him, Lucifer strolled into the throne room in a respectful manner.
In a disguise and with a deferential disposition, he walked just a few steps behind the apathetic goth girl.
Making sure to transmit her directions on what she should do, he patiently waited for the events to unfold.
And when they did, he would make sure to come out on top!
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"Ahh, so you are the Devilduke's daughter? Li Yan, was it?"
Hearing the voice of the Fire Emperor, Li Yan turned her cute face up to the robust man in ostentatious clothing. Sitting upon his jewel bedazzled throne, he ignored the scrutinizing glares of all his advisors and ministers, instead putting all his focus on the short goth girl.
In response to this attention, Li Yan stepped a few feet forward. After making it a decent distance away from her 'servant', she said, "Yes."
The answer was simple and sweet. Although some of the ministers did not like this 'disrespectful answer', they knew when not to open their mouths. Hence, the Emperor was left as the only appraiser.
And to say the least, he was quite pleased with the easygoing and straightforward attitude of the only surviving heir of the Devildukes.
Contrary to how sinuous the rest of her family was, she was a nice change of pace. Thus, he waved his hand, beckoning to one of the pretty, gorgeously dressed women sitting beside him.
"Yes, father," sounded a response from a girl with long auburn hair and diamond dolphin earrings. With graceful steps, her body got up off her chair. Upon making it to her father, she pulled out a rough piece of golden-outlined paper.
After handing this piece of paper to the Emperor, she proceeded to sit back down. Then, with a sophisticated demeanor, she waited for the drama to unfold.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for such a thing to occur as the Emperor said, "This document right here; it is what will allow you to take control over everything that the Devilduke Family possessed. And though your age is quite young, I can tell that you are more intelligent than you seem. Therefore, your birthright will naturally be yours and only yours to do with as you please."
"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"
Watching their Emperor sign off on the document put all of the ministers in a state of disarray!
They couldn't allow a gold mine like the territory of the Devilduke Family to be given to a young girl no older than 6!
Even though the territory was now in shambles after the mysterious disappearance of everyone in Riversea City, that didn't mean there was no value in the land itself. After all, it sat over a Mortal-Rank Spiritual Vein for God's sake!
No longer able to put up with this farce, Minister Zhang stepped forth and shouted, "This just can't happen, your Majesty! That girl is but a child-!"
"Silence."
With a single word, the uproar that was about to ensue was quelled as easily as that.
Thereafter, the Emperor turned his piercing, fiery glare across the few dozen Nascent Soul Realm ministers in his court. "What I say goes. My word is final; you better not forget that," he said with an imperious tone, his intense regal aura nearly leaking from his stalwart figure.
"..." "..." "..."
Minister Zhang and the ones who were about to speak up immediately slumped into their chairs. With defeated expressions, they felt immense regret at all the wasted business opportunities that just passed them by.
However, of those in the room, the princess who presented the document earlier did not seem to care about the ministers. Rather, her serene green eyes honed in on the slight movements that a seemingly ordinary servant was making.
She didn't know what it was about him that set her off, but when one of the ministers was going to play a trick and secretly kill Li Yan, she felt that the servant had his hand ready to strike.
'To notice something was up… Hmm… how interesting.'
This girl was called Princess Lianhua, and since young, she had always been exceptional. Whether that be in the Classical Arts, Martial Arts, or anything else she tried, everything was practiced to a state of excellence.
By the age of 19, she had already reached the Early Core Formation Realm. Which, by the standards of the Fire Nation, put her beyond the status of a Heavenly Genius.
By all means, she was perfect—perfect body, perfect face, perfect cultivation talent.
After turning 25 and breaking through to the Golden Core Formation Realm, Princess Lianhua even obtained the recognition of an expert from the Glacial Empress Sect.
As a result of this recognition, she found herself a master in the Soul Transformation Realm, someone beyond even the Emperor himself.
With such a master, a number of techniques were picked up along the way.
With one of said techniques and a cultivation base in the Early Nascent Soul Realm, Princess Lianhua was able to pick up on something that even her father and siblings were unaware of.
'That man… He is not normal.'
'He's dangerous.'
Though it was just speculation, she now had a newfound sense of caution for the one that stood behind the sole heir of the Devildukes.
"..."
Feeling an icy glare boring into his back, Lucifer knew he had been found out to a degree. But if he were being honest, such a discovery didn't mean shit in the grand scheme of things.
Although there would definitely be more eyes on him and his sister, if anybody got a little too nosy, there would simply be another loot bag for the reaping.
Speaking of his sister…
"Done…?"
"Yes, we are done, Little Li Yan. At least, that is the case when concerning the conclusion of your inheritance rights. However, there is something else that I would like to ask you and your family to accomplish for me."
The Emperor may have been speaking to Li Yan in a friendly and trustworthy manner, but Lucifer knew better than to believe the appearances of a nobleman…
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