THE SEED HAS BEEN PLANTED,.. ONE CAN NO LONGER CONTROL IT'S ROOTS.

     Despite their probing's and their casual display of strenght, Tamara soon calms down as she remembers what she has discussed before the event. Her face showed no worry and she seemed perfectly calm and in control of everything that's happening in her space and just as they were about to completely wear off the power of her artifact,.. a very powerful and familiar aura envelopes her completely.

     The Emperor's aura!.

     In an instant, all probing gazes were withdrawn like they were never there with some of them suffering mild backlash.

     Seemingly indifferent about what has just happened, Tamara takes another sip of her wine as she thinks of the exchange that just happened.

     It was a test.

      What they all just did is a very simple test to see how much confidence and trust she has in the Emperor's backing as they wore away her shield. If she had shown even the slightest bit of panic or fluster then they would have read it as that she doesn't feel much protected by the Emperor.

     No matter how powerful they were outside or in the Palace, none of them could grow the balls to truly probe the Emperor's unprotected Consort.

     They would naturally stop their probing the moment her shield wore off but by then they would have already confirmed what they needed to.

     Thank goodness she knows this before hand of else Tamara would have already messed up her social standing before she even begins socialising. Thinking of this, Tamara circulates a wave if mana through her system to wash off the numb feeling of dodging a close bullet.

     "Your Elegance Tamara..", A noble voice politely urges her from behind.

     Tamara tilts her head Sideways a bit as she sees a nobly robed man in a blue and white attire approaching her with a polite smile on his face.

     Returning the polite smile, she says.. "Fancy seeing you here Noble Saint Damian Fort..".

     With a broad smile not at all showing any surprise at knowing Tamara recognises him, Lord Damian Fort offers his polite courtesy bow as he invites himself to join her around the table while calmly picking up a glass of wine.

     Immediately she's seen his face Tamara has already recognised who he is. Damian Fort, a terrifying SAINT LEVEL Rank 7 Fire mage with unpredictable combat levels. Current general of the legendary flaming sword Army division with over One hundred thousand and counting of the best loyal warriors at his command!.

     He is known for his ruthless and destructive nature in battle as well as his wealth which he gets from both loots of war and martial training centre's. He's the third Chief of the Dragon King's tribe which is one of the seven great arms of the Imperial Court and he has proven himself worthy of both his titles, his army and his surname time and time again in the records.

     There's a feat where they records he single-handedly burns down an entire Rank 5 level army unit of over twenty thousand men down to the ashes!.. other records talk of him drying out rivers, winning impossible battles and even burning down entire army cavalries of elves and demons.

     Not at all fooled by his polite smile that perfectly masks a monster, Tamara secretly let's her guard up. The Dragon King tribe from a political perspective weren't gaining much benefits from the Empress and so they weren't fully on her side but that doesn't make them enemies either.

     She isn't sure about his motives of approaching her but she's atleast sure that as a Saint level cultivator, he's not much interested in lending an helping hand or becoming political 'friends'.

     "This is the first time we are getting to exchange pleasantries, although I would have loved it'll be a more casual setting, I must still say that it's quite the honour.", Lord Damian says with a small smile that looks too genuine but Tamara isn't planning on buying. Any snake in here can make a genuine smile or laugh.

     "An honour indeed,..", Tamara says keeping up with his conversation pace. As the Emperor's Consort.. although not on a level of importance as massive as this one she has been to a lot of similar events. The only difference this time is that she's recognised as a little more than just one of the Consort and she's actually a part of instead of just attending the gathering.

     "Noble Saint Damian, would you mind giving me introductions into a circle I'm afraid I'm rather awkward at giving self introductions..,", Tamara asks with a polite smile. Since the old snake was already here why not use him influence for her own good in terms of socialising.

     ".. Of course Your Elegance, this way", Saint Damian Fort replies.

     From one table they went to another they moved. They visited one social circle then the other with Lord Damian acting as her hook to start up meaningful conversations with others.

     There were flowing introductions and exchange of pleasantries and smiles. Most of the people here obviously didn't see much in her but they were also slightly impressed with her being brave enough to make an impression.

     Hours flowed by with the humans and elves still in negotiations and by a stroke of luck and planning, Tamara was able to introduce herself into an elven circle. They were polite and even a little eager to speak to her and this surprised her greatly even though she played along with the flow.

     Through various interactions, Tamara was able to gain powerful contacts of a lot of people and she has been able to filter out those who she has a chance to get on her side. By the time she's leaving back to her castle she can boldly say that she have done a good job in her first event and that she has left a small mark in the long term memory of most of those powerful figures present.

     Not bad of her first meeting.

     Riding in a crystal dragon-horse carriage, Tamara exhaustedly transports herself back to her castle while using waves and waves of mana to stabilise her mental health. Dealing with those snake-like people and carrying out conversations with carmeleon is not at all a simple task.

     She could barely feel the carriage moving but she knows she would soon be back in the wide comfort of her own quarters.

     The carriage soon pauses for a moment before it's doors were silently pulled open by two Knight with deeply noble yet brutal aura's.

     Tamara smacks her lips slightly open as she calmly steps out of her carriage. She looks around her space and at her Palace while feeling a deep sense of wonder.

     Massive, artistic and more than worthy of the word Imperial. The white plain grass covering the floors, the knights robotically standing their posts and her beautiful passage to the Palace doors which were illuminated by elegant tall lamps with enough space for it to be declared as a territory!.

     She truly has it all and under the pale moonlight, it becomes even clearer and outstanding.

     She looks on as the knights bowed to her with their hands on-top of their hearts and couldn't help but feel her heart race a bit. One would think that absolutely nothing can beat such a paradise-like environment where she isn't restricted but rather protected but the sight she's seen today has washed off every bit of her naive thinking.

     There's something much greater than this and the Emperor and Empress's Palace were one of them. The grandness of their architecture, the luxury in the strokes of 'casual', The arts in their halls, the undeniable aura of power in their walls and the might in the environment.

     She has never been to the Empress's Palace before but she has been to the Emperor's Palace multiple times. She isn't just noticing this but why does she feel so intimidated this time?.

      She is wealthy and has a very intimidating position as the Emperor's Consort but why is it that she feel so.. poor?.

     She knows that it is all in her head and that she has a life that most of the top 1 percent couldn't even boast of and yet,.. yet she can't stop the feeling of jealousy and inadequacy rising in her.

     Without showing any of her thoughts on her face, Tamara elegantly makes her way into her Palace doors which opens up to welcome back its master's presence but the deed has been done.

     Humans or rather, people were never known for their satisfaction no matter how much they have and greed naturally comes with its own dose of obsession.

     The seed has been planted and now, one can no longer control how deep the roots would be.