Come closer

The scorching rays of the sun touched Neonidas' body, prompting him to rise from bed with some difficulty. Like many men struggling to fully wake up after getting out of bed, Neonidas shuffled to the next room with tired steps and ate the breakfast prepared for him. After a while, he suddenly started jumping around. It was time for his daily exercise. Using the equipment he had prepared, he worked out until his arms and legs trembled. After that exhausted, he began crawling toward the bathroom.

He took a bath under freezing cold water. In this world, there was a kind of superstition that cold water increased magical power, while hot water was said to enhance physical attributes. These beliefs had developed among the people over centuries and were not part of the original novel.

Still, Neonidas began showering with cold water daily, thinking there might actually be a chance it could boost his magical abilities. Over time, his body got used to the icy water. After his bath, Neonidas moved to another room assigned to him.

It was customary for important figures to be provided with multiple rooms in the emperor's guest palace. In reality, the suite given to Neonidas was more like a house than a mere room. After moving to the adjacent room, he stayed there for a while. Since he was going to speak with the empress today, he dressed in formal attire. When there was a knock on the door, Neonidas checked the time and guessed it likely wasn't the empress's servants, as it was still early.

"Enter!"

Solara and Soren walked in. Soren entered with his usual smile, looking more confident with each passing day. Solara, however, followed her brother with quieter and more cautious steps. Yet, both seemed happy. Solara was holding a cup, which she placed in front of Neonidas.

"Thank you," Neonidas said, taking a sip of the coffee.

Even this small thank-you were enough to widen Solara's smile. She walked over to the couch, as if suppressing a desire to jump with joy. Neonidas buried himself in ducal affairs for a while. There was still no good news from the mana stone mine, but it was a bit early for that, anyway. Meanwhile, blacksmith forges were being opened in several places across the duchy, but they still hadn't reached a sufficient number. As a solution, Neonidas sent a letter indicating that some of the duchy's properties for sale should be purchased and converted into blacksmith forges.

Additionally, the brothels had started generating excellent revenue. With a portion of this income, Neonidas managed to pay off part of his debts and planned to use the rest for new investments. His primary target was establishing magic centers, which were expensive to set up initially. In the empire, there were fewer than a handful of these facilities, also known as "arcane workshops."

This was because duchies with mana stone mines typically sent raw mana stones to magic centers, where they were transformed into more valuable items, such as shielding rings or boots that enhanced speed. However, skilled mages were required to process these mana stones, and Neonidas already had someone in mind: Zalira, one of the most prestigious professors from the top academy.

If this project succeeded, he could undoubtedly earn money equivalent to a small kingdom's treasury. For example, an unprocessed mana stone, even if of high quality, would fetch no more than ten gold coins. But if properly crafted into a quality item by a skilled mage, it could sell for at least a hundred gold coins. Of course, mages had specific demands to work at magic centers, such as good salaries, private laboratories, sufficient freedom, or housing for their families.

In addition to this, Neonidas allocated a reasonable budget to invest in the duchy's vineyards. At last night's ball, he realized how terrible the quality of alcohol was in this world. If the alcohol served in the imperial palace was this bad, the alcohol consumed by the common folk must be downright awful. This inspired him to establish an alcohol brand. However, with this final investment, it seemed he had exhausted all the money he could allocate to projects.

Hearing a knock at the door, Neonidas lifted his gaze from his desk and looked around the room. Solara was already gone, but Soren was still present, and went to open the door.

A few well-groomed servants entered, bowing respectfully.

"Your Grace, Empress Velriona, wishes to host you in the palace garden of her private residence."

As he gathered the documents on his desk, Neonidas replayed the servants' words in his mind. 'The palace garden? That must mean Velriona trusts her husband or his concubines even less than I thought,' he mused. Despite the servants formal and composed demeanor, their faces carried the weight of the empress's unusual request.

After straightening himself, Neonidas gestured to the servants with a nod.

"Inform the Empress that I've received her message. I'll prepare and come shortly," he said, his tone as authoritative and calm as ever.

The servants gave a deep bow before leaving the room. Once the door closed, Soren turned to Neonidas.

"The Empress wants to host you in her own palace? That's intriguing. It's not common for the Empress to make such personal invitations, my lord."

"Where is Solara?" Neonidas asked, ignoring Soren's insinuation.

"Solara managed to convince the palace instructors to train her. In fact, they even offered to make her one of their students, but she, of course, declined. She's there now, and I'm about to join her. Is there anything you'd like me to convey, my Lord?"

Hearing this, Neonidas thought about Solara for a moment. She seemed to be devoting herself to training excessively, but that was a good thing. She likely wanted to serve as his personal guard.

"Don't push yourself too hard," Neonidas said, then exited through the door.

Since the ducal guards stayed on the land outside the palace, the royal guards accompanied Neonidas. The imperial palace was essentially a complex of palaces. There were several independent palaces, the first and largest of which was the emperor's palace. Following that was the empress's palace, which, although not as grand as the emperor's, was still larger and more magnificent than the palaces of many kingdoms in this world. After that came the guest palace, which was a large palace reserved for visitors, but of course, it was not as important as the first two. Lastly, there was the concubine palace, the smallest of the palaces, though still sufficiently large. The concubine palace housed the emperor's concubines, and the children born from them. Of course, Avelina had once lived there as well.

The architecture of each palace was elegant and intricate. Imperial architects had engraved symbols on each structure that told a different story. The towers of the emperor's palace were designed to resemble the rising neck of a dragon, symbolizing power and sovereignty. The empress's palace, on the other hand, featured delicate flower motifs and flowing lines representing Velriona's grace and feminine authority.

Neonidas, accompanied by his guards, made his way to the empress's palace garden. The garden was enchantingly beautiful. The air was filled with the fragrance of various flowers, and in the center, a large fountain created a soothing sound as birds chirped around it. Around the fountain were marble benches decorated with sculptures. Exotic trees dotted the garden, their leaves rustling in the breeze.

At the very center of the garden, under an intricately designed pavilion, Velriona sat. The empress wore a light-colored silk dress and held an elegant goblet in her hand. Her hair was held in place with a delicate golden tiara, and her expression was serene as she gazed at a distant point.

One of the servants announced Neonidas's arrival. Velriona turned her head, her eyes resting on him for a moment before she stood, her face neutral but her gaze tinged with concern.

"Lord Neonidas," she said, her voice melodic and graceful. "Please, come closer."

Neonidas approached her in an authoritative yet respectful manner. The woman's posture radiated the dignity and wisdom that came with being an empress. Once he had taken a few steps forward, Neonidas bowed his head in greeting.

"Your Majesty," he said, his tone measured. "Thank you for your invitation."

Velriona nodded lightly and gestured for him to sit. "Please, sit down. Here, I prefer to speak not just as an empress, but as a friend."

The servants and guards stepped away, and the empress removed the mask she had been wearing. As Neonidas took a bite of a delicious-looking cake, he could hear the sweet sound of her voice, even though her expression was one of barely contained anger.

"Explain everything to me without losing my patience. What do you know?"