Chapter 8 - The Imperial Family [1]

(Sorry if the time skip is too sudden, I just wanted you guys to get acquainted with the characters for the past like 7 chs. This is the first proper arc of the story.)

-1 week later, The Imperial Princess' Birthday, around 11am.

Today was an important day for every single noble of my generation. The Empire had there nobles debut on the 8th Birthday of the Imperial Prince of Princess closest to their generation. This was to make sure all the nobles knew their place before the Imperial Family, it was also to make sure all the nobles got acquainted with each other. It also allowed noble families to eye out potential marriage partners.

We were going a tad bit earlier, this was because my sisters were already acquainted with Angelica. This was because the Pendragons and the Godharts were extremely close, the first Emperor was friends with 'our' progenitor. This may have been due to the fact that the Angels and Dragons were allies back in the ancient era.

Well... before they dissappeared. I wonder what made them dissapear like that.

Anyways, I hadn't met the Imperial Princess yet so this was a pretty big day. The Imperial Princess, Angelica Tenebris Godhart. Arguably the strongest female character in the series, the character I found the most pathetic. She had all the power in the world but couldn't secure herself the man she loved, she ended up having to settle for a harem despite it not being what she wanted.

If I knew how to love someone, I'm sure I'd want to tie them down and keep them to myself. And I'd probably stop at nothing to achieve that.

I quickly got dressed, I was wearing a white suit and white shirt, the suit was threaded with real gold. The gold was threated on the edges of my suit and around the cuffs. The material of the suit was made from a high quality silk that came from a foreign country. My trousers were black, they looked simple but they were of the same quality as the suit. I wasn't wearing a tie because I didn't want to, who could actually stop me anyways?

I headed downstairs, left the house and got into a limousine where Cecillia, Irene and Iris were waiting. They were all wearing white dresses so expensive that they may have eclipsed even wedding dresses in price. I looked at Iris, she was rather adorable, a small and cute face and eyes that were rather big, she was someone that normal people would feel an instinct to protect. Irene was rather pretty, she didn't have the same adorable vibe that Iris did but this cool one.

"Good morning Cecillia, Iris and Irene."

I called the Archduchess by her first name because although she wasn't my mother, I couldn't go around calling my 'fathers' wife by her official title now could I? And honestly, it may be seen as an act of disrespect if I called Irene or Iris my sisters, I was just a concubine's son after all. But of course I don't think either of them would mind, but it wouldn't be very good for either of our reputations. I would be seen as some sort of cocky, disrespectful brat and they would seem like they were lowering their statuses.

So it was best for me to act as If I was a bit distant. For now at least.

The Archduchy wasn't too far from the Imperial Capital so it only took us around half an hour get there. If this was a normal car it'd probably take us a few hours but the cars in this world were really damn fast.

***

When we arrived at the Imperial Castle, all I could feel was shock. It was huge, like really huge, it was made of marble and gold, it towered over everything else. Our mansion was...

'Wait? Have I even looked at our mansion? Now that I think about it this is actually my first time outside of the mansion.'

Before I could even do anything a butler grabbed me by the sides, I flailed my arms helplessly but it was to no avail.

"Cecilliaaa, help meeee-"

Before I could finish my sentence she winked at me and gave me a smile before her and the other two were guided elsewhere.

"My apologies, but the Imperial Princess requests an audience with you. Had you been a legitimate child I would not have been allowed to do this. I honestly don't want to do this, but her higheness' orders reign supreme."

I didn't say anything, the Archduke's family couldn't be treated like this, the Archduke and his family didn't even need to kneel before the Emperor. But I was the child of a concubine, so I wasn't given such privileges, of course being the 'child' of the Archduke meant I was still a noble. I was comparable to a count. Of course if my authority rises then people will naturally stop doing stuff like this.

The butter put me down and lead me through the Palace and into a room, there was a throne at the furthest end of the room. And on it there was a beautiful young girl, long golden hair and golden eyes. But... what stood out most was her presence, it was ethereal. It made you want to kneel but despite that, I stood tall. Without me even noticing the buttler dashed forward and grabbed my head and tried to force me to kneel.

My head crashed to the floor, but the buttler controlled his strength, making sure I wasn't in pain and making sure the floor didn't crack. I resisted him but made sure to hold back. I wanted to stick to my act, and the most optimal way to do that would be to not resist at all and act like a weakling. But... for some reason, I didn't want to kneel, something told me that it was fine to hold back.

But under no circumstances should I kneel or bow my head towards that girl.

"Leave him be, and let me and the boy talk in peace."

The butler immediately let go of my head, bowed and left the room. I got up and dusted myself off, I glared at the girl infront of me.

Angelica Godhart, the bearer of the Angel's Bloodline.

Angelica Godhart POV:

I looked at the boy infront of me, white hair and crimson eyes. He looked nothing like the other Pendragons. But, he was the most interesting, if my informants were correct then he possessed access to three elements. Darkness, lightning and fire. I have never met someone with the Dark attribute before, so that's why I placed such urgency in meeting him. I imagined him to be someone who would be a cute little pet.

'Hm, I'll use those eyes on him, he seems like an interesting fellow.'

'The Eyes Of Truth', they could show me a person's soul and with that I could find out whether they were lying and what they were feelings. They were called the Eyes Of Truth as they could see a person's soul, the part of them that should show me their truest self.

I activated The Eyes Of Truth, and for the first time in my life.

I felt fear.