|The Imperial Palace|
Despite his apathy to go, Aiden rode to the imperial palace upon receiving a letter from the emperor. When his butler had delivered the letter to his room two nights ago, he had tossed the stupid thing aside, wondering if members of the imperial family could not make any decisions by themselves without calling on him. He had caught a whiff of the news that the Myeong envoys were set to arrive in some weeks time to pay their usual tribute and he already knew that that was the reason behind this sudden invitation from the Emperor. Much to his dismay, the letter had requested his presence at the palace to discuss the envoys' arrival, an affair he'd much appreciate to be left out of.
As he climbed out of the halted carriage, he found the crown prince walking in his direction with a smug smile on his face that made him feel uncomfortable for some reason. Something annoying always happened whenever the prince wore such a smile.
