C78- Meeting the Emperor (2)

"We finally arrived.", said Corvin while looking outside the window of the carriage. He was now looking at the home of the Altus family, and the administrative center of the Altus Empire, the Altarce Palace.

Located at the center of the capitol Alaturb, this massive palace consisted of two separate buildings.

The outer building in the shape of a ring was the administrative center of the Empire, where all the paperwork were dealt with. The wide structure had gates between two security towers at every cardinal directions, and the height of the building was low, not having more than three stories.

At the center of the hollow building, was a crescent shaped inner building that acted as the house of the Altus family with a garden full of colourful flowers that welcomed you once you entered the private quarters. The garden was covered with a tall hedge that prevented outsiders from looking inside. The building got taller at the center, and was five stories tall at it's highest, where a balcony that looked into the garden was supported by two pillars that cleverly also acted as decorations in front of the entrance.

At the back of the crescent shaped building from the center was the great hall that connected the inner building to the outer building, used by the Emperor for official activities and as a ballroom.

Noah, Corvin and Felyp got out of the carriage.

Felyp was wearing a dark blue military uniform with golden buttons and a swan carrying a sword with it's claws, the symbol of the Vyolor family on his chest made out of gold threads.

Noah was wearing a white shirt under a black coat and black pants that created a contrast with his white hair pulling attention towards his face, showcasing his handsome features.

Corvin looked at Noah and then himself, then sighed.

"Why am I the one who has to wear this? Isn't Noah your son?"

Corvin was wearing arguably the same thing Felyp was wearing, just in a lighter tone. The blue military uniform also carried the symbol of the Vyolor family on his chest, but both the buttons, and the swan were out of silver instead of gold.

"What are you talking about? Didn't I tell you, it is a tradition for a disciple to wear similar to their master in official settings like this?"

"You did..."

"It does look good on you, don't worry about it."

"Thanks."

"Well, you guys go to the ballroom ahead of me, I have something to do in the administration first."

""Okay.""

Felyp walked ahead and entered the palace. Before he enetered, he pointed at Corvin and Noah, telling the guards the boys were with him. He didn't have to do it, since the boys had invitations, but he knew how slow the guards were in confirming identities.

"I always saw the palace when I'm in Alaturb, but now that we are here I can really feel it, this building is really big.

"Right? It is the same height as our mansion, but just the wideness itself is on another level completely."

The boys admired the architecture for a bit, and then turned towards each other.

"...Then, shall we also get in, Corvin?"

"Yeah."

Corvin and Noah got inside the palace. After spending a couple of minutes trying to figure out where to go towards, a maid who saw their confused faces walked up to them and showed them the way.

Walking up to the door to the hall, Corvin tensed up. He glanced at Noah, who also looked a little tense. There was no helping it, they were going to meet with the Emperor of the Altus Empire, Terry Altus, and they were also the reason this event was held in the first place.

"W-Well, let's jus-"

"Noah! Corvin!"

Just as Corvin was opening the door, a familiar girl called them and they both turned back to see Clair.

Her long bright red hair was tied in a single braid that flowed down from the left of her face towards her chest, contrasting her green earrings which were a gift from Noah while giving her a mature charm. She was also wearing a dark green dress that perfectly matched both her beauty and her personality, showcasing her figure in a moderate way. In her hands was a black leather purse with a golden nightingale holding a rose with it's beak, the symbol of the Flarum family out of gold on it.

'Ooh, she cared a lot about her looks for today, didn't she? Let's see Noah's reaction...'

Corvin glanced at Noah to check his reaction. Noah was completely stunned. With a slightly red face, he stared at Clair, without blinking, as if he didn't want to stop looking at her by doing something like blinking. Corvin nudged his smitten friend. Noah came back to himself and his face got redder as he tried to speak.

"A-Ah... Y-Yes-I-Sorry-Uhm."

"Hm?"

"H-Hi, Clair. Did you come here as well?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I did. I was invited as well."

"R-Right... Sorry."

Clair looked at Noah up and down. 

"Y-You look good today..."

"Y-You too..."

The couple's faces got beet red and they both stared at the ground in embarrasment.

'Sigh~, These two...'

"Cough! Let's enter the hall, shall we?", said Corvin, trying to break the awkwardness of the two.

The two twitched and raised their faces. Corvin held the door handle and stared at them.

"..."

"..."

"Umm... Corvin. Aren't you going to open the doors?"

"Aren't you going to hold hands?"

"W-What?! Why?"

"What do you mean 'Why?'? To show everyone inside that the Flarum and Vyolor families are close together, so that they don't try anything funny."

"W-Why do we have to hold hands?!"

"To show everyone how close you two are so they don't try to get in between, like I said."

"Uh-Ah, umm..."

Clair kept glancing at Noah frequently but stopped before making a move, so Corvin took action. He grabbed Clair's arm and intertwined her arms with Noah's. The two were startled at first and Noah tried to stop him, but Clair held his arm tightly while averting her gaze. Then Noah looked straight forwards as if trying to hide his blushing face.

"Yup, that's better. Let's enter the room now, shall we?", he said as he opened the door.