"Sit." The emperor cleared his throat as he motioned at the seat on his side

"You all came a long way. It would be troublesome if I let my guests stand there the entire time." He muttered in a stern voice. But in others’ eyes, they knew that the emperor was only doing his best to be formal right now.

Elara’s eyes softened immediately at that.

"Thank you, Father," she said warmly.

Meanwhile, Arden only quietly stared at the Emperor for a moment before lowering his head respectfully.

"You have my gratitude, Your Majesty."

"Hmm," the Emperor only grunted before walking toward the table with Lionel still holding onto his hand.

Honestly, the sight looked surreal for the servants.

The mighty Emperor of the Empire, feared by countless nobles and foreign kingdoms alike, was currently being led around by a child without any resistance.

Lionel secretly smiled to himself after seeing that.

This grandfather is easier to approach than I expected.

Soon enough, everyone finally sat down at the enormous dining table. Lionel naturally chose the seat beside the Emperor while Elara and Arden sat on the other side.

The servants quickly prepared additional dishes and utensils for everyone. While that was happening, the Emperor couldn’t help but glance toward Lionel from time to time.

When Lionel noticed it, he smiled and asked innocently, "What is it, Grandfather?"

"Nothing." The Emperor looked away at that.

[Current Progress: 20%]

Even without doing anything, Lionel’s bond with his grandfather was still increasing. Lionel found it amusing. He doesn’t even know what his grandfather was thinking right now.

The truth was, the Emperor simply did not know how to interact with Lionel properly.

When Lionel was younger, Lionel visits the palace with his family most of the time. However, since the relationship between Arden and the Emperor was not that great, it was awkward around.

The Emperor doesn’t talk to them that much. It also didn’t help that by the time Lionel grew older, the Emperor had already become busier with imperial matters.

However now?

Lionel acted so naturally around him that the Emperor himself was finding it both amusing and awkward.

"Grandfather." Lionel suddenly leaned slightly closer afterward.

"What?"

"Can I try that?" Lionel pointed toward the roasted meat in front of the Emperor shamelessly. He didn’t care if there were eyes watching him in this place. With his parents around, he knew he didn’t need to think about what others would think of him.

"Take it." The Emperor immediately pushed the entire plate toward him.

The servants’ eyes widened because that dish was personally prepared for His Majesty.

"Thank you!" Lionel’s eyes brightened immediately. Without hesitation, he happily took some onto his plate. Honestly, it looked good, so he wanted to try it.

The Emperor quietly watched him for a moment before the corners of his lips slowly relaxed slightly.

Meanwhile, Arden silently observed the entire scene across the table.

Honestly... he had never seen the Emperor this approachable before. Even Elara looked surprised at how her father was acting.

Because, despite how much the Emperor loved her, he was still an Emperor above all else. He always carried dignity and authority around him. Yet now, while looking at Lionel beside him, that facade was almost gone.

"How have you been these past years?" the Emperor suddenly asked Elara quietly.

"I’ve been well, Father." Elara’s expression softened again.

"I see..." The emperor nodded at that.

"So what brought you here?" The emperor turned serious for a moment.

"So what brought you here?" the Emperor turned serious for a moment.

At that, Elara and Arden briefly looked toward Lionel. Lionel immediately understood what they meant so slowly, he placed down his utensils properly before sitting straighter in his seat.

Lionel took a small breath before he answer.

"Grandfather, I came here to personally give my answer regarding the Imperial Knights’ offer you gave me," Lionel spoke calmly.

The Emperor quietly listened to him as Lionel met his gaze directly.

"I have decided to accept it."

The Emperor stared at him quietly before slowly nodding.

"I see."

For some reason, hearing Lionel say those words personally made the Emperor feel strangely satisfied.

[Current Progress: 21%]

Good.

That child was finally starting to act like a proper royal.

"I will forward the matter to the Commander of the Imperial Knights," the Emperor answered calmly afterward. "Preparations for your admission will be arranged soon."

"Thank you, Grandfather." Lionel nodded respectfully.

The Emperor gave another nod before naturally continuing his meal, as if the matter was already settled for him. After that announcement, the atmosphere around the table relaxed again.

Elara occasionally spoke with the Emperor while Lionel quietly continued eating beside him. Even Arden joined the conversation from time to time. The emperor may not like him that much as a man, but as a commander and a duke, he has his respect.

After all, Arden was loyal to the empire and to the emperor.

However, in the middle of eating, Lionel slowly noticed something strange. Since he couldn’t join every conversation, he decided to just look around. That was when he saw that the servants around them suddenly looked uneasy.

The servants repeatedly glance at one another nervously. Even the Imperial knights suddenly looked more formal.

Lionel’s forehead slowly creased at the sight.

What’s going on? He eventually stopped eating and just looked around.

"What’s wrong?" Lionel broke off his silence with that question.

The moment those words came out, Elara, Arden, and even the Emperor stopped talking.

"What is it, my dear?" Elara faced Lionel, thinking that there was something wrong with him. However, Lionel just points the servants around.

"They are acting weird." That’s the only time they finally noticed the strange atmosphere, too.

The Emperor’s brows furrowed slightly when the entire dining hall suddenly became tense. A servant at the door immediately stepped forward before lowering his head deeply.

"Your Majesty..." he spoke carefully.

"What is it?"

"The young prince has arrived."

"..." Lionel’s fingers unconsciously paused on the table.

Don’t tell me...

"Why is Cassian here?" The Emperor’s expression did not change much, but there was clear confusion in his eyes.

"Either way, let him enter."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The servant immediately bowed before retreating toward the entrance once again.

Elara’s face softened slightly when Cassian’s name was mentioned.

"It has been a while since I last saw Cassian," she murmured quietly. "I hope he’s fine now."

"I’m sure, my dear. He must be fully fine now after what happened in the retreat."

However, unlike the two of them, Lionel remained completely silent beside the Emperor. He couldn’t exactly say that he was happy to see his cousin. After all, this would be his first time seeing Cassian again since the retreat.

And honestly, he did not know what to expect with the man. The last memory Lionel had of him was during the chaos of the retreat itself. His cousin didn’t even bother visiting him once with the reason that he was also injured and tired.

I wonder what’s going to happen now... Lionel slowly lifted his gaze toward the entrance of the dining hall when the large doors slowly began opening once again.

Soon, a familiar figure entered the dining hall.

Cassian walked inside wearing formal black clothing embroidered with gold patterns that represented the imperial family. His hair was neatly styled and a gentle smile rested on his face as he entered.

At first, he looked completely relaxed. However, the moment his eyes landed on the people sitting around the table, his steps halted almost immediately. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"...!" His smile instantly disappeared.

For the briefest second, shock flashed across Cassian’s face. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Elara, Arden, and Lionel.

There it is... Lionel quietly watched everything from his seat beside the Emperor.

But Cassian quickly recovered afterward. His expression returned to normal and a polite smile slowly returned to his face as if nothing had happened.

He calmly walked forward before bowing respectfully.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

"Mm." The Emperor quietly looked at him.

Cassian then turned toward Elara and Arden afterward.

"Her Highness. Duke Arden." He greeted them properly too.

"It has been a long time." Elara smiled warmly after seeing him.

"It truly has been a while, Cassian." Arden also commented calmly while looking at him.

"The recent matters in the palace have kept me busy." Cassian only smiled faintly at that.

Then, slowly, Cassian’s gaze moved toward Lionel. The moment their eyes met, Lionel immediately noticed it—the hatred in his cousin’s eyes.

However, it vanished almost instantly, hidden beneath his calm smile.

Ah... Lionel quietly stared back at him without saying anything.

Cassian maintained the same gentle smile on his face as though nothing was wrong at all.

"It’s been a long time, Lionel," Cassian spoke calmly, his tone was soft and filled with worry. "I’m glad to see that you’ve recovered safely."

Lionel quietly looked at him for a moment. Then slowly, he smiled too.

"Thank you, Cousin," Lionel answered naturally.

"I’m glad to see you’re healthy as well."

= = =

A/N: Wow! I was surprised when I saw the notification in this book.

Shout out to rockstxr! Thank you for raining Golden Ticket on this novel again! You’re really the best, man.