Chapter 141: Your Majesty
Chapter 141: Your Majesty
"It seems I've arrived at a rather interesting time... May I know why my daughter is embracing a man I don't recognize?" The sovereign voice made everyone tremble, ev Velryna and Ethan, but Dante? He stared back without flinching.
Th, he descded the stairs and everyone kneeled. "Welcome, Your Majesty the Sun of the Empire!" They said in unison, but Dante and Velryna remained standing, with no inttion of bowing, let alone to someone like him.
Emperor Adam advanced toward the two, his imposing presce filling the space a. His eyes, shining with the intsity of fire, held anger, fixated on Dante, who simply observed the sce, showing no reaction. With a voice that echoed like thunder in the skies, he uttered words that reverberated throughout the hall: "Kneel."
However, in front of the Emperor, nothing happed. Velryna, unsteady, almost succumbed, but was supported by Dante, whose gaze never left Adam's petrating eyes for a single momt. "I ordered you to kneel," Adam repeated, but his words were like drops lost in a tumultuous ocean.
While everyone a yielded to the g, ev the strongest among them, Dante remained motionless, merely watching the sce unfold.
Amidst the silce that veloped the hall, Dante, holding Velryna firmly, gtly placed her on the g. "I will handle this. Should have done it from the beginning," he murmured, his voice lad with long-suppressed anger. He was truly furious.
Looking at Adam with a calmness that contrasted with the storm raging within him, Dante uttered words that reverberated as a challge to the heavs themselves: "You are weak." It was evidt to Dante that he was weaking, Adam was not the same imposing man he had known from afar in Kryoris; in fact, he was just a shell of that man.
With a strong motion, Dante rolled up the sleeves of his attire, his muscles tsing in preparation for what might follow. His gaze, now fiercer than ever, locked onto the Emperor's eyes.
"Kneel," he demanded, his words echoing as a direct challge to destiny itself.
No one believed what was about to unfold, not ev Velryna. This wasn't the plan! She looked desperately at Dante, who didn't ev glance at her, just remained focused on Adam.
"Well, how dare you!" Ethan said quickly, but his tire body lost strgth and he fell to the g like a sack of potatoes. Dante did that. He looked at Ethan's limp figure and said again, "I am speaking to the Emperor, not to your spoiled child." The words reverberated throughout the hall, and Dante glanced back at Adam.
"Your weakness is choosing such scum as your successor, instead of a dect woman like Velryna," Dante said, and the Emperor felt, for the first time, what it was like to be beath someone.
He felt Dante's strgth with just one movemt. The invisible pressure made his legs slightly wobble, but he didn't back down; instead, he merely grinned, and soon...
*Clep* *Clep* *Clep*
"Hahahahaha," he laughed loudly, something Velryna and Ethan had never se, their father laughing so determinedly, and Dante arched his eyebrows, looking confused at Adam's reaction.
He turned and looked at his dear Velryna as if to say 'What's going on?' and she responded with a look of 'I don't know either!'
"Velryna, if you had a man like this, why didn't you tell me sooner?" He questioned his daughter who was getting up... Velryna, however... was so shocked she could hardly express herself.
"F-Father, are you okay?" Ethan questioned as he got up and looked at Dante; he was twty-five years old but still acted like a worm.
"Oh, of course. I couldn't be happier," Adam said, his eyes narrowing slightly at Dante who stared back heavily, of course, it was just an act.
'This man is dangerous.' Voralith said in his mind as Dante tried to help Velryna, whose hands were still trembling.
The emperor said nothing and turned, heading towards his seat; next to him were two chairs, one of course, Ethan sat in and the other... remained empty.
Everyone looked at the sce with a trembling gaze, this was... such disrespect to the Emperor, however, he showed no discomfort, and Dante was starting to become increasingly bothered by this man.
'How irrational you are... Adam Smith...' Dante thought as he watched the sce, however, his momts couldn't continue.
"My father is acting strange." Velryna murmured next to Dante, who couldn't help but agree. "He's weak," he said, for Dante it was evidt but for Velryna it was differt. "What do you mean by that?" She questioned, Dante just nodded, "It's not for me to tell you, dear, wait for him to have his time," Dante said, leaving Velryna worried.
The ceremony truly began wh everything was in order, Velryna did not sit next to the Emperor and her brother, however, after all the guests had already gone to greet the Emperor and ask for his blessing, Dante had no choice but to go there too, the Emperor himself had set up such a stage forcing him to formally introduce himself, but in this appearance, Dante had no official name to use.
'Well, let's improvise.' He thought as he approached the Emperor, beside him Nafiri accompanied him to maintain the description.
'Damn it, I hate babysitting an adult man, this guy is already crossing all limits!' She roared nervously in her chest, she was already tired of acting as the personal doll of the demon king, but the price of it was what she really sought in the empire.
"It's a pleasure to meet the Sun of the Empire, Emperor Adam Smith," Dante said bowing, something he hated doing, but it was necessary on this occasion, especially to keep up appearances. "I am Arthur Antherio, Leader of the Black Gold," he said, using the name of his legacy, King Arthur, and the surname of his Dragon companion, Voralith Antherio.
He was going to use Arthur Pdragon, but he was afraid the Emperor would recognize that name, ev without reason he preferred to remain anonymous with this combination of names.
'Tsk, this bastard is stealing my guild!' She was furious hearing Dante say he owned all her years of effort!
"Oh, and who is this by your side?" The Emperor asked as he observed Nafiri's beauty, she looked at him after bowing. "I am Nafiri Nefertari, the co-leader of the guild." She said, almost having a heart attack, ev her lovely smile seemed scary speaking in this way.
"I see, How did you meet my daughter?" He questioned and Dante couldn't help but laugh slowly as he remembered how he met her.
"I was lost hahaha," he spoke and Velryna remembered the day she met Ziriel in the forest and how she almost killed all his soldiers. She laughed lightly.
'It seems it's true, since the little girl is laughing,' Adam concluded and continued his questions. "So, what do you like about her?" He asked.
"FATHER!" Velryna shouted quickly, she was clearly embarrassed but Dante continued. "Well, she's too lovely, she looks like a warrior but she's just a shy little girl," he said and Velryna was almost falling to the g with embarrassmt.
"Hahahaha yes, my daughter is lovely," Adam said and Velryna, embarrassed, remembered her father, wh she was younger.
Sces began to pass and she quickly looked into Adam's eyes and she felt her heart tight for some reason, she was going to say something but.
"Your Majesty, the Moon of the Empire. Empress Aldria Smith has arrived!" The trumpets and the announcer sounded and the woman arrived descding the stairs.
With a grace that defied darkness itself, her hair as black as night flowed like a cascade down to the height of her knees, shrouding them in mysterious shadows. Dressed in black, with no adornmts of other colors to rival the darkness that veloped her, she rose like a fall angel, a vision of lugubrious and sublime beauty.
She was like a work of art of the highest caliber, a divine creation imbued with a beauty that transcded the limits of the mundane. Perfect in her solitude.
Ev Dante, who was faithful to his, was slightly becoming interested in this woman, so mysterious and so igmatic that it made him question where she came from, what her goals were,
her achievemts, who she was.
She stared at him, Dante didn't look away for a second, he just saw her but received something unexpected.
*BONK!*
His foot received one of the greatest pressures of his life as he held back from screaming, Velryna's high heel almost pierced his foot, she used so much force.
'DAMN IT!!!!' He shouted inwardly keeping the crooked smile to the left, while looking at Velryna saying mtally 'I'm faithful!' and she replied 'Faithful my ass, you damn womanizer!'