"Ohh!" Dion wasn't surprised. He didn't have any good feelings for the Heart Crystal, he pretty much expected this.
The two sisters soon left Dion's chambers, and he was left to study the history of this world.
Dion learned many new things and the landscapes of this world. The continent they are in was mainly filled with lands and not much water or river. The cities are all developed near rivers. Major transportations all happens over the water. There are also a lot of cities situated near the sea. The economy of those cities depends mostly on seafood and sea treasures.
The capital which Dion was currently in was dependent on the port economy. Major trades all happen in the capital due to security and ease of transport. All the non-river bank cities are also pretty close to the capital, and transportations were more accessible from the capital. The empire didn't demand a lot of tax on the trades, which made it attractive for the merchants.
Dion passed his time reading, although he felt bored, he had Nothing else to do. Cilia returned with lunch after they took the lunch together, she helped Dion to prepare for the enthronement ceremony. She also brought a golden robe for him to wear during the ceremony. Dion already got a lot of dresses made for him with Cilia's help.
The both of them left for the grand hall right after sunset. The whole palace was bustling in excitement.
There were a few noble families that already arrived at the grand hall. They were happily chatted with each other.
"Have you seen the new emperor?" Vylan, a tall man with a black beard, said to the man next to him.
"No, not yet." The man replied. His name is Wolda. Both of them are from the six major noble families. Vylan is from the Helmann family, and Wolda is from the Gyles family.
"I didn't hear much about him. No one knows where he is from." Vylan took a sip from the wine glass in his hand after he said it. His facial expression made it clear to Wolda that he wanted more information.
"What do I care? I only need to send my gifts to the new Emperor and be done with it. If he asks more, I will give more." Wolda replied with a cunning smile.
"Hahaha, so like you." Vylan said, "A few people from your family participated in the competition this time, do they know about who got selected?"
"No one!" Wolda also took a long sip from the wine glass keeping Vylan waiting to get the remainder of the sentence, "The people from my family saw everyone who started in the competition return. This can only suggest that no one was selected from them."
"That means..." Vylan already guessed it, but saying it outright was hard for him and also not safe. If anyone hears it, then he will be in serious trouble even after being the family head of a large noble family.
"Yes, that thing might have selected him." Wolda replied, "Nothing surprising, we didn't have any emperor for the past ten years. The longest time in history."
"The test that the previous emperor set was just too hard," Vylan said.
"Who knows what this new Emperor is going to be like. I hope he is not too bad." Wolda replied.
Similar talks were going on everywhere. Not only noble families but the kings of the kingdoms under the Cafeld Empires rule also came to attend the ceremony. It was effortless for the empire to change a king from any kingdom under the flag of the empire, so all of them stayed very composed and didn't say anything dangerous for themselves.
Among all the guests, not one of them was not interested in the new Emperor. Many smaller noble families also brought beautiful girls from their families to make sure the Emperor sees them. The chance to enter the Emperor's harem was rare, and if they can have one or two daughters of their families enter the Emperor's harem, their family will prosper at least for a few decades. The larger noble families and kingdoms had different thoughts in their minds. Their target was the seat of Empress. That was where most of the power of the empire rests on. If any woman from their line can become Empress, then they will be unstoppable in the empire for a few centuries as higher-level battle mages can live a longer life than commoners.
The grand hall slowly became full as all the seats had someone seated in them. Many families brought one or two-person extra who was standing at the corner of the grand hall.
Dion entered the grand hall before the time was up. He came through a door that directly led one into the stage, which was prepared for the Enthronement Ceremony. There was a small red alter at the center of the stage, which had half a circle of moonlight that came from a hole in the ceiling. When the moonlight circle overlaps the alter, the Enthronement Ceremony will begin.
Dion had a different look right now. He already changed his appearance with the help of the 'Myriad Faces' spell. And due to the boost he had today, he can keep this appearance as long as he wanted. The feeling of casting a spell took a few minutes to get him used to. Cilia showed him how to cast the spells, how to circulate the mana that was inside one's mind, and use it to communicate with the mana in the air to produce the spells.
He slowly walked into the alter and keep standing there. Cilia stood one side of him while Ennet on the other. Both of them had their uniforms on. There was an elderly person behind Dion who gave instructions about the ceremony to Dion and the others who were in the stage. Four male mages held a crystal in each of their hands in an upright position and supplied them mana from their bodies. These crystals will transfer the thoughts of the elders into here so that they can directly observe the situation.
The moonlight circle soon started to overlap the alter.
"Your majesty, as soon as the moonlight overlaps the alter, please raise your hands and bow with one knee in the alter." The elderly person said from behind.
"I understand," Dion replied with a smile in his face.
Many people in the grand hall had a surprise in their faces. None of them can recognize the Emperor.
"I never have seen or heard of him," Vylan said to the other family head who was seated beside him.
"Hmm. Me neither. I wonder where he comes from. The structure of his face is also not similar to the people who live on our continent." Wolda replied. Both of them put their focus on the ceremony after this.
The moonlight soon overlapped the alter, and Dion raised his hands and kneeled into the alter with his left knee. As soon as he did that, the four crystals that were held by the four mages started to shine with multicolor light and began to utter spells that sounded mysterious in the ear.
There was a disturbance in the air as a crown, and a seal appeared in the air. Dion didn't see as his focus was on the alter. The crown soon landed on his head, and the seal slowly descended.
"Your majesty, raise your head." The elderly person said.
Dion raised his head as he looked at the Emperor Seal, landing on his forehead. He started to have a burning feeling in his forehead. The feeling slowly turned into pain, and then the same feeling came from inside of his head. He tried to endure without uttering anything as the Emperor Seal branded itself into his soul. The process finished, but he still felt the burning sensation inside his head for quite some time.
"Your majesty, please stand up." The elderly person said.
Dion slowly stood up and looked at the people below him with a smile.
"Bow before the Emperor!" The elderly person suddenly shouted as everyone in the great hall stood up and bowed to the Emperor. He also bowed. Only the guards kept their heads up. Their life bounds them with the Emperor. Their loyalties are never questioned. They needed to keep their head high to properly guard the Emperor.
Cilia had a rare smile in her face as she looked at the man standing beside her.
"Your majesty, do you want to say anything towards your citizens?" The elderly person asked.
Dion nodded his head and slowly walked in front.
"I am Dion Calles, your thirty-first Emperor," Dion said with a serious expression in his face. "From this day onward ..."
Suddenly the time seemed to be stopped as the voice of the system sounded in his head.
"Danger detected. First-time life-saving charm consumed, life-saving charm remaining, zero. A projectile detected to be headed towards your chest. Do you want to use your two GP to produce a temporary barrier to protect yourself from the projectile?"
Dion was stunned due to the sudden development of the situation. He looked at every direction before seeing a white light that was coming towards him from the hole in the ceiling. The projectile was still further away. Dion can make sudden movements to save his life, but he would still be hit according to what the projectile's speed seems like. He gulped and felt fear for the first time coming into this world.
"Yes, use the two GP for the barrier," Dion said as the time continued to flow normally. A red barrier suddenly popped around Dion, but before the projectile got a chance to hit him, a figure suddenly came in front of him. Time seemed to slow down for Dion. He recognized the hair from the back of that figure. A scream came out of his throat as soon as he saw that figure to shake violently as she got hit by something. That thing also hit the barrier and made a loud sound as the barrier broke. He didn't see this happening when he was looking around. How did she come in front of him so fast?
"No!" Dion was blasted a few meters back, and the slender figure was also fell into the stage in front of Dion. He quickly stood up to get near the figure before seeing a pained expression on her face.
"Cilia, why?" He only could utter this word before Ennet, and the other guards brought him out of the stage. He looked at Ennet, who held her gun in her hand. She didn't even look at her sister before bringing Dion to a safe place. There was light sparkling in her cheek, but that was all the reaction she had.
"No! No! Nooooo!" Dion shouted a few times before losing consciousness.