The carriage rattles to a stop, jolting me out of my thoughts. We're here. The Imperial Palace. Stepping out, I'm greeted by a wave of color – meticulously sculpted gardens, vibrant banners waving in the breeze, and a throng of curious onlookers. This is a far cry from the humble academy walls I've called home for so long.
A contingent of guards escorts us through a maze of ornately decorated corridors and vast courtyards. Finally, we reach the imposing double doors of the throne room. Taking a deep breath, I follow the lead guard inside.
The throne room is a spectacle of opulence. Golden tapestries adorn the walls, depicting scenes of past glories. At the far end, seated on a raised platform, are the Emperor and Empress. The Emperor appears older than I expected, but his gaze is sharp and focused. The Empress, in contrast, radiates warmth and kindness.
As a group, we kneel in respect. The Emperor clears his throat and addresses us. His voice carries a quiet power
He gestures towards a group of guards standing nearby. "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒅," he continues. "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇-𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 – 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅."
There's a flicker of surprise on some of the students' faces, particularly Rimuru. Perhaps they had different expectations based on rumors or speculation.
The Empress smiles gently, her voice like a soothing melody. "𝑳𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔," she says, "𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒓, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒅𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆."
Her words settle over me, a calming balm. This is not what I expected, but it's a challenge nonetheless. Protecting the peace, building a strong nation – these are noble pursuits. A silent vow forms within me. I will excel in my training, but I will also hone my mind and spirit. The future stretches before me, full of possibilities.
A quick glance at Rimuru reveals a mix of emotions on their face. Disappointment? Curiosity? Perhaps the journey ahead will be one of discovery for both of us, as we navigate this unexpected path within the Imperial Palace walls.
The Empress's gentle smile widens as she addresses the female students, "𝑴𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔," she begins, her voice as soothing as a summer breeze, "𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒂."
A flicker of curiosity dances in her eyes. "𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕, 𝒅𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 – 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑾𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒕 𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆."
She gestures towards a group of young women in elegant gowns. "𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒚 𝑯𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏."
A collective nod ripples through the group of female students. The prospect of intellectual pursuits and courtly refinement seems to spark a different kind of excitement compared to the initial anticipation of battle training.
As the maidens usher the female students towards the Grand Assembly Hall, the Emperor motions for the men to stay behind. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air, a new chapter unfolding within the grand walls of the Imperial Palace.
YOU ARE READING
Rise Of Royal Phantoms And Qixi Festival
FantasyThis story unfolds a tale of a young boy who trainees much as he can to become the best vision of himself no limitations
