The Euyn Palace was a tall building.
Made out of pristine white sandstone with golden and light blue details, the octagon shaped building stood twelve stories tall. The palace was also wide, but it's width couldn't be compared to the Altarce Palace. It was, however, about four times taller without counting the eight spires present in the corners of the octagon shape.
The spires that pierced the sky with their sharp tips were almost double the height of the rest of the palace. Most of them, at least.
The Euyn Palace was currently an incomplete project. It's construction started after the Buthaldi Kingdom was founded and the rough design was drawn by the first king of the kingdom, Nehdean Il-Buthaldi, when the capitol wasn't as big as it is now, since most of the population had migrated to the city and the villages around it after the Armilat Civil War.
The octagon shape was chosen to guide the growth of the city to be ordered and not randomly sprawling streets like most of the cities in the world. The outer side of the palace was housing for government workers except the first floor, which was reserved for shops instead. The inner parts of the octagon were for government offices.
In the middle of the octagon shaped palace, there is a garden with a small spire in the middle of it, where the Buthaldi family lives. The spire is has an extendible roof to be used when the garden is used as a great hall for meetings and other activities.
The genius design of the outer details on the palace, painted with a special paint made out of the blue stone used to clean rain water, deliver water to the spires that act as a water tower, which is then either delivered to the garden to water the flowers or used as drinking water. A lot of money is spent to ensure rain water isn't wasted in the city because of the drier climate of the area. Unfortunately, the paint doesn't glow when it is purifying water as it was made to be more efficient and not a decoration.
All in all, though unfinished, the palace was a magnificent piece of architecture both artistically and practically.
And standing in front of this amazing building to greet Corvin and his friends was Nehdean, the first king and the founder of the Buthaldi Kingdom.
He was one of the men who led the uprising in the Armilat Kingdom and dismantled it after the Armilat family proved themselves to be unable to fix the kingdom after their defeat in the war with the Altus Empire a decade ago.
He was known for his clever and strategic thinking, famous for spending too much time in his study, thinking and planning for the future. His skin, which was lighter than the average tanned skin of the Ale-An people, was almost like the proof of the time he spent indoors.
Nehdean slowly walked towards Corvin and held out his hand with a perfect business smile.
"Hi. I am Nehdean Il-Buthaldi. You are Corvin Mundy, I assume?"
"...Y-Yes! I am...Um.. Nice to meet yo- Ouch!"
Surprised by the sudden pain, Corvin raised his voice accidentally. He looked to the side, and saw Noah, who was talking with the other nobles, glaring at him. Noah leaned towards him and whispered.
"Is that how you talk with the king of another kingdom, Corvin? Don't act like you do in front of our Emperor. He doesn't care what you call him as long as you are respectful, but that's not the case everywhere. Apologize and make sure you address him properly."
Corvin nodded and turned back to Nehdean, whose smile had turned into one that was trying not to giggle from the business smile he had.
"I-I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I was disrespectful."
"No, it's okay. I called you three here for help. Instead of getting stuck on these things, I would much rather talk about business. Let's walk inside instead of standing here, right?"
After he said that, they started to walk towards the meeting room in the Euyn Palace. While walking, Noah and Clair were chatting with two nobles who looked like a couple themselves. Amy walked next to Corvin and talked.
"All of them are really young, aren't they?"
"Yeah. In the Empire, the average head of the family is usually forty-something years old. But they are mostly in their twenties..."
"Well, the Kingdom was built just a decade ago. They were about our age when they rebelled and won the civil war."
"Yeah... That's incredible isn't it? I couldn't do something like that."
"You are weirdly humble sometimes, do you know that?"
"Hm? How?"
"You also did something incredible at your age, didn't you? That's why we are here."
"No... That was Clair. It was her inventions who made it all possible."
"Maybe you are feeling guilty for using them in your project, but your contributions are as important as her contributions if not more. It's because you are humble and kind as a person Corvin, that's why you are feeling like that. But you shouldn't worry about it. You can talk more if you want later. I will always listen to you.", said Amy with a smile too beautiful.
Corvin's breath stopped for a second. Her mesmerizing smile was all he could see right now. So much so that it wouldn't be weird to congratulate him on how he managed not to lose his balance when he was entranced like that.
As Corvin was staring at her face, his chest tightened. His heartbeat quickened and face blushed slightly. But along with this sweet pain, there was also a growing sense of unease. An uncomfortable feeling was growing inside of him.
He was sure he saw something like this before. He doesn't remember where or when, but he remembers the same smile and the same encouraging words. The more he tries to remember, the more his chest hurts. Eventually, he gave up remembering what it was when they finally reached the meeting room with Nehdean and other Buthaldi nobles.
They entered the wide room with a big gold-granite table and comfortable chairs around it. After introducing himself to the other nobles and getting to know them, the business talks finally started between the nobles of the Buthaldi Kingdom and the young stars of the Altus nobility.