"You can't do this to us! You have no right to take away our money like this!" screamed a shrill voice inside Enki's office.
Enki was sitting at his desk, leisurely leaning back while looking at the group of people in front of him. There were a total of four women and two men inside his office, beside him and Madelein, and two guards that never left his side.
The uninvited guests consisted of his half-siblings. They had just gotten the news that their allowances would be cut and they were not happy about it. The one who had just screamed was the first princess, Priscilla von Imvidra, Darren's older sister. She was the most pampered princess in the imperial family. As the Emperor's firstborn child, she had actually received the affection of their father while growing up, unlike her other siblings.
"I can do this, and I also have every right to do so. I'm the crown prince and the one in control of the palace budget, which includes your monthly allowances.", Enki declared with an icy voice. He had no time or sympathy for these pampered young adults.
Hearing his answer, Priscilla's eyes narrowed, and she trembled with rage. Looks of hostility could be seen on the faces of the other princes' and princesses' faces.
"How dare you, a lowly bastard son with the blood of a commoner, do this to us? Do you think you will remain the crown prince for long? Any day now you will be found dead in your chambers.", Priscilla spat out through gritted teeth. It was supposed to be her brother, the son of the Empress, that would be named the crown prince. She didn't understand how this lowly mutt had convinced their father to name him instead.
"Be very careful with your words, princess. You are treading on thin ice.", Enki said while anger swelled inside of him. He could take all the insults his half-siblings would throw at him, but wouldn't allow them to insult his mother and her background. She was his only source of warmth while growing up, and he truly admired how she had stayed strong and taken care of him and Elise while being isolated within the palace and neglected by all.
"What? Are you that desperate to defend the whore who seduced father?", Priscilla snorted, earning nods of approval from the other princes and princesses.
Not being able to keep his calm any longer, Enki slammed his palms upon his desk and spat out; "Guards, please escort the other imperial highnesses back to their chambers. As for princess Priscilla, let her reflect on her actions in the dungeons for the rest of the day. If anyone asks for her whereabouts or objects to the punishment, have them come directly to me"
Hearing their orders, the guards dragged out the protesting princes and princesses, Priscilla being the one to scream the most loudly in protest. Apparently, the idea of staying in the dungeons did not suit her well.
Meanwhile, through all of this commotion, Madelein had not once lifted her head from the documents she had been working on. It was like nothing could faze her.
Sighing to himself, Enki got back to work. The day had just started, yet he was already feeling exhausted.
After a few hours of working, a knock came from the door of Enki's office.
"Enter.", Enki said while not lifting his head from the stack of documents in front of him.
Upon receiving permission, a palace aide entered the room. He gave Enki a small bow and said; "Your imperial highness, a delegation from the eastern merchant kingdom Velocene has arrived."
This made Enki frown. he had heard nothing of a delegation coming to the palace.
The kingdom of Velocene was located on the eastern continent. It was the second most powerful nation there, right behind the Kengshi Khanate, which dominated over half of the continent. Velocene's military might wasn't anything to scoff at, but the kingdom's real strength lay in their trade. They had trade agreements with all the nations on the western continent and were the only ones to do cross-continental trading, earning a vast amount of profit annually. They were most likely the wealthiest nation on the two continents.
"Where are they now and who is leading the delegation?", he asked the aide.
"They are currently in the throne room paying their respects to the Emperor and Empress. The leader of the delegation is the royal princess of Velocene, Adelinetta de Vedici. Your imperial father ordered me to inform you of their arrival.", the aide told him.
"Alright, I'll go there and greet them.", Enki said while walking towards the door.
"By the way, who else is there receiving them, besides their Majesties?", he queried.
"Their highnesses prince Gaius and prince Darren.", the aide replied.
"Oh. And how did they hear of the delegates arriving before me?", Enki asked with a sharp voice.
"I don't know if they knew about the delegates arriving personally, but they were invited by the Empress to the throne room.", the aide stated.
'So she's most likely the reason why I didn't receive any news of the delegates arriving beforehand.' Enki thought. The Empress most likely wanted to give the other two princes a chance to impress the foreign princess first. She wouldn't want Enki to make any connections with people of high status.
"Let's go.", Enki told Madelein, who simply stood up without questioning why she was being dragged into this mess as well. To be honest, Enki didn't know either why he was bringing her, but something about her stoic and unwavering personality made him rely on her a lot and he felt more at ease with her around.
When they arrived at the throne room, was Darren openly trying to flirt with princess Adelinetta. Sadly for Darren, the princess did not seem impressed, and seeing her son's futile efforts had made the Empress' face slightly contort.
"Imperial Father, your imperial majesty Empress mother.", Enki greeted the two sitting upon their thrones, slightly stressing the last word, making the Empress' brow twitch. He knew the woman hated when he called him that. In her eyes, Enki wasn't worthy of calling her Empress mother, unlike the other princes and princesses.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your royal highness. I'm the crown prince of Sargon, Enki von Imvidra.", he said while turning towards Adelinetta and giving her a small bow out of courtesy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, your imperial highness. I'm the royal princess of Velocene, Adelinetta de Vedici.", Adelinetta introduced herself while giving Enki a curtsy.
Adelinetta had long red hair, a small build, barely reaching 160cm in height, and mesmerizing silver eyes. They looked like small moons, instantly attracting the attention of any man.
'No wonder Darren was smitten. Knowing his personality, he can probably barely hold himself back right now.' Enki thought while glancing at Darren who didn't bother to hide his lustful gaze that was tracing over Adelinetta.
"Ah son, you have finally arrived.", Emperor Anatheus beamed from his throne.
"Sorry, I'm late, father. I had some business to take care of before coming here.", Enki replied with a small smile. He knew how he was going to pay back the Empress for withholding information from him.
"And what would be more important than coming to greet the foreign delegates?", The Empress asked with a prickly tone.
"As you know, Empress mother, I have recently made some cuts in the amount of allowance the other princes and princesses receive and it had made some of them quite unhappy so I had to deal with them.", Enki told with a sweet smile.
"Oh, I hope you managed to calm them down.", Antheus mused with an interested look.
"Yes father, I did, except that princess Priscilla went a bit too far so I had to slightly punish her.", Enki said while sorrowfully shaking his head.
"What did you do to my daughter?", the Empress demanded with a slightly raised voice. Her hands were clutching her throne so hard that it was a miracle that the armrests didn't crack.
"I simply sent her to reflect on her actions in the dungeons.", Enki practically purred. It was satisfying to see the cold Empress so riled up.
"What gives you the right to send MY daughter to the dungeons? You lowly basta-", the Empress started to scream but was interrupted by Enki.
"I'm the crown prince of this Empire, this title alone gives me EVERY right to punish those who disrespect me and my mother, an imperial concubine. Within this Empire, my authority is only second to his imperial majesty, the Emperor himself. So don't try to chastise me, your imperial majesty. You don't have the right anymore.", Enki rebuked, practically spitting out the last words, his voice dripping with hatred.
The Empress trembled in rage, barely managing from holding herself back from lounging at the arrogant brat in front of her. If it weren't for the foreign delegates being present, she truly might have done so. Darren that had been gazing at Adelinetta had also turned his attention towards Enki, glaring at him hatefully, and his hands were balled up into fists with his knuckles turning white.
Gaius seemed to be fully enjoying himself, immersed in this little family drama. A playful glint could be seen in his eyes. Madelein on the other hand was just standing at a corner of the room with a cold and expressionless face.
Adelinetta had a slightly shocked looked, clearly not expecting the imperial family of the mightiest western nation to bicker before outsiders.
Clearing his throat, the amused Emperor said; "Why don't you take Adelinetta and show her around the imperial palace, Enki."
The Emperor had truly enjoyed seeing this backstabbing woman he had married, losing her composure like that.
"Sure, father.", Enki replied, having returned to his usual calm self.
"This way please, princess.", he said while guiding Adelinetta out of the throne room, with Madelein following them from behind, her dark eyes slightly sparkling but no one noticed this.