"Queen Rowena Drake, the Bloodburn Queen, Guardian of the Demon Kingdom, Master of the Crimson Shadow, and Lady of House Drake, is now entering the hall!" The royal usher shouted at the top of his voice as the entire hall immediately plunged into pin-drop silence.
All the singers and dancers paused whatever they were doing and kneeled.
Except for those from the three great houses, every single one of them, man and woman, no matter the age or status, immediately bent their back and kneeled on their right knee as if to pay their utmost respects to their queen.
Everyone had their breath stolen by how graceful and majestic her entire being was. No matter how many times they had seen her, they couldn't help but feel awe and fear in her presence as her imposing aura filled the entire hall.
Even Asher couldn't help but feel as if none of them women he knew in his life could ever match up to her intoxicating elegance or her regal bearings.
As for those from the three great houses, including Seron and his family, they still got up from their seats and bowed 45 degrees upon their queen's arrival into the hall.
Kookus was already on his knees and was hardly able to contain his excitement and nervousness since this would be the first time he was getting to stand in a hall filled with so many powerful people, especially the queen herself, who was going to sit right beside Asher.
He focused on his inner power to remain calm, but then he noticed something strange. While everyone else was bowing or kneeling, the royal consort was leaning back on his grand, comfy chair as if he was relaxing for a casual event.
There was no hard written rule, but even if he was married to the queen, he was still her consort and should be showing his respect by at least bending his back and not sitting like this.
Kookus remembered that the royal consort must have no idea how to act before the queen in official events like these. And so he whispered to him from below, "Psst, Your Highness, I am telling this due to my sincerity towards you, but Your Highness should be bowing to the queen right now."
Asher's expression didn't change as he said, "Why should I bow to my own wife? I believe that a husband and wife are equals in a marriage," He calmly said as he placed his arms on the armrest.
"Wow…" Kookus' eyes glowed, feeling impressed that the royal consort was so cool-headed even though he might get backlash in the form of bad opinions among the people for this. Was he delusional to think he was equals with the queen?
Surely, each and everyone would be noticing this. Maybe, the queen might get pissed off as well for the disrespect.
Asher wanted to establish a proper husband-wife relationship. And it was always better to create that image as early on as possible. If she were to get mad at this, that would tell him loads about her character and he would act accordingly.
But inherently, as someone who had stood at the peak of his world, he considered every single demon in this hall to be beneath him. His pride didn't allow him to feel anything for them. The feeling of being the strongest in the past felt like a distant dream yet like yesterday at the same time. It only made him realize how much he took his strength for granted.
Asher looked at Rowena walking towards him with her entourage, which included Ceti as well. The rest five of them were clad in black armor, head to toe, with a grand crimson cape hanging down their back.
Each of these men and women in armor radiated a strong, bloody aura that would discourage anybody from even looking at them, let alone look at the queen.
Asher closely observed them and recognized them as the Bloodborn Guards, the strongest combat unit of the Demon Kingdom. Their title might contain the term 'guards' but they were far from ordinary and were highly feared and respected.
Each one of them was said to be trained from the moment they were born by making them go through hellish trials and practices. Only those who survived decades and decades of extreme training and trials would get to stand behind the queen and be her shield and sword.
He had fought one of them during a dungeon quest when he was younger during his life as a Hunter. He never expected to run into one and almost lost his life that day if not for the timer running out.
And the next and final time he met them was just two years before his death. At that time, he fought two of them all alone and almost lost his life even though he managed to kill both.
His experience in fighting them was enough for him to admit that their fame and power were actually underrated. Each of them was like a despair-inducing Boss in their own right.
He knew they served the late Demon King, and now their loyalty was bound to Rowena.
Even most of the others kneeling in the hall couldn't help but feel jitters upon the presence of such a powerful group, especially the queen.
Rowena walked over towards the platform as her entourage split up to take various positions around the hall.
Their duty was to spread around the hall and make sure nothing could harm their queen while letting Ceti, the Battlemaster, stay close to her as always.
Ceti had to control her best to not scowl at Asher for not bowing to the queen upon her arrival. She didn't want him to again make a fuss about disrespecting him and suppressed her indignation.
Besides, why should she care if his actions were only going to make him look bad?
She walked behind her queen with a straight back and stood behind her throne as the queen sat down.
Asher shook his head inwardly when Rowena didn't even glance at him. Her expression just seemed distant and cold, as usual. It was as if only her body was present here.
If she became like this because of her father's demise, he wondered what she was like when her father was alive.
The moment she sat down, everybody else got up and made themselves comfortable.
The Hall Elder, who was an old man with a placcid face and dressed in black attire, immediately came forward and stood under the platform.
He gave a deep bow towards the queen before turning around and looking at everyone else, "Fate has been harsh to our demon kingdom right after the great tragedy a year ago. We were getting cut down like headless beasts by the Hunters until Her Majesty stepped up and brought back strength and stability to the kingdom. But the cruel blow our kingdom suffered last year is not something we can ever forget or recover from.
"However…this doesn't mean our kingdom will never reach new heights. A sign that our future would be more glorious than ever is sitting right before us," He bowed slightly and gestured towards the royal consort as he added, "With the grace of the fallen ones, the Soulless Consort is no longer soulless but has been blessed with a soul by the Devils. This is a day we should always remember since this is proof that we haven't been forsaken. The day would come soon when we would take over the Severed Realm, our rightful home, and reign over the humans. Every single one of them will face our wrath we had been suppressing for eons."
"Hear, hear!" Everybody raised their goblets of wine, praising the words of the Hall Elder with a fervid light in their eyes.
Asher couldn't believe that the celebration meant for him was turned into demon propaganda.
This was like an insult right to his face, though he wasn't surprised.
He also knew that nobody could tell that this elder was being disrespectful to him as none of his words seemed insulting but would only seemed like flattery.
He sarcastically chuckled to himself inwardly, realizing that this elder was quite the expert when it came to these kinds of things.
He was barely mentioned in a single sentence, and instantly it became about the war between demons and humans.
However, he narrowed his eyes upon hearing him mention the 'Severed Realm', which he already knew was none other than Earth. But why were these guys talking as if Earth was rightfully theirs when they never even lived there in the first place?
He felt he had to dive deeper into the history of these demons and see if this was just the vanity of demons talking or facts.
His eyes suddenly glowed upon seeing the Hall Elder stepping down as all these people formed a queue with some things in their hands, wrapped in silk.
"Are they gifts for me?" He asked Rowena, who answered without shifting her gaze, "Yes, but I doubt any one of them would be useful for you. There is nothing among them which you already don't have."
Asher wasn't surprised to hear it since he had already expected these people to bring "gifts" just for the sake of the gesture.
"Tsk, quite stingy, aren't they? So…as your husband, you have no special gifts to give to me?" Asher asked with an expectant smile and was simply trying his luck since, right about now, he was ready to accept any good stuff coming his way.
Ceti inwardly harrumphed at the shamelessness of this guy, asking for a gift from the queen. However, her brother, Kookus, who was not standing too far from her, had a look of awe seeing the royal consort being so free with the queen. He never imagined in his dreams of someone asking for gifts from the queen herself.
Even if the royal consort was a cripple, he had to admit this guy was quite cool.
Rowena briefly closed her eyes and opened them before saying impassively, "I gave what you asked for earlier. That is my gift for you."
"You can't be serious…" Asher had to admit defeat seeing how she beat him to it. It was not like getting the 'Master' key to the strongest castle couldn't be considered a gift. In fact, if anybody else knew that he got the Master key to the ancient Demonstone Castle, the most fortified and mystical structure in the kingdom, they would be crying with a green face.
With the Master key one was considered to command great power as long as they were within the castle. This was the main reason Asher pushed for it as well...to ensure his own safety, though limited within the castle.
Asher leaned towards a side on his seat with a shake of his head and suddenly saw Seron's eldest son, Oberon Drake, getting up with a veiled smile and walking down the platform.
Asher squinted his eyes as he felt like this guy was up to something, and just as he expected, Oberon turned around right as he came down and bowed before the queen, "My Queen, this humble prince has a gift to offer as well. Even though my gift may not be materialistic like others, I believe it would greatly give strength to our people on such a fine day. However, for me to present this gift, I would like to ask your permission to present it before everyone. I am confident that it would greatly please you as well."
'Present a gift before everyone? What kind of gift is he talking about?' Asher inwardly thought with focused eyes.