The Imperial palace was actually the heaven in the Holy Land of light.
When Karl and the group arrived, he could clearly see its majesty and the grandeur which was enough for any person to gape at. The gate itself was made of pure gold with various Asian dragon sculptures engraved on it generating awe and inspiration among the common people who were out there.
After getting out of the carriage along with Rowanna, Karl took a minute to admire these masterpieces from the royal crafters in the clan Sargeer. The whole place was that the residential area of the clan Neitherhood was nothing to be compared to. It made him somewhat jealous of the Emperor in Karl's mind.
' It doesn't matter. Soon I'm going to own this place. Hehe.'
" Hmm, that old emperor tends to show his might and wealth to those commoners. He thinks bragging like this will make them fear him. Haha. This just makes me think of grabbing his riches in the broad daylight!"
Rowanna smirked.
" That's true. Hehe. Let him have some fun. I should reward him for keeping things protected and increasing my wealth. Soon they will all be mine! Haah, I need to see him so much fucking badly!"
" You are planning to overthrow him?"
" Yeah, but first I need to get all of his wives to succumb to me. Especially, that queen. I'm quite interested in her."
Rowanna went silent.
" Lord Karl Neitherhood, we have been gracious to welcome you to our household. Your very presence is an honour to us lowly servants of yours!"
Suddenly he heard someone speaking near him, which made him jump to the side.
" Huh? What the fuck man?"
Karl turned his head towards the source of the previous voice and saw an old man with a big white beard which was long enough to his abdomen. He was wearing a red uniform with golden coloured patterns on it and he could see a batch which was embroidered to the right side of his robe.
It didn't take much time for Karl to understand who the person standing in front of him was.
The royal eunuch, Ethel Sargeer was the most trusted servant of the Emperor. He had been serving the emperor for 500 years making him the most experienced and the most senior in the servant staff of the king. He took only the direct orders from the emperor himself and it was rumoured that his power in the whole Imperial City was only second to Wongoner Sargeer. As he was the first elder of the Sargeer clan he already had so much power and responsibility for the kingdom. He was also the main advisor for the Emperor of the Holy Land of Light which made his presence very much vital in the whole governing system of the Sargeer Empire.
It was a surprise for Karl to see him, welcoming his arrival in the palace. The Emperor sent his most trusted and the most privileged government official to welcome a person like him? What is he expecting from this?
' He is trying to be on the good side with me, hehe. Probably, he is thinking that I may abandon my status as the crown prince, and will flee from here seeing these high-ranking officials. Hehe, you are underestimating me, mate. You have already lost the game.'
After suffering from the betrayal by his little sister in his previous life, he learned not to underestimate anyone. Sad that he had to learn this the hard way.
Now, Karl didn't believe anyone around him and never lowered his guard even in sleep. He couldn't trust even Rowanna and Erena. It's not that he didn't want to. But he simply couldn't. Yeah, he was afraid of getting betrayed again.
" Oh, old man. I don't know your name. But, judging from your attire, you must be somewhat important in the palace, right? So, what can I say? Thank you for your hospitality? And I'm humbled by your own reception?"
These words made the old man's eyes twitch and could clearly see black lines appear on his forehead.
" How dare you disrespect the Royal eunuch and the first elder of the clan Sargeer? Do you have a death wish?"
A young eunuch who was with Ethel roared in rage. From the beginning, he disapproved of the emperor's decision to use his master to welcome the crown prince. According to him crown prince or not, it didn't matter, everyone who was under the rank of the emperor should respect and obey his beloved master.
Currently, there were at least 20 eunuchs with Ethel, most of them being young. They all had a cultivation level of peak level Lotus condensation realm. In rural areas of the empire, this lineup was a whole fucking army!
" Young dogs shouldn't bark when their masters are having some discussions. You are in no power to talk to me like that, little puppy. Hide your ugly tail in between your thighs and shut that stinking snout of yours."
" You-" Before the young eunuch could retort he was cut short by Ethel.
" That's enough! Back down."
" I never knew my lord had such an exceptional personality. This is the first time I have ever encountered someone like you, who dares to speak in such a manner to me."
" Well, I've heard stories of certain people who have enough power to control even the universe, prefer to hear someone speak them with disrespect and with no courtesy. I thought you were also someone like that, but turns out, you are not like them. I apologize for my rude behaviour to you, first elder Ethel Sargeer."
' So, he is a fool as his majesty had already mentioned. He is stupid enough to believe in those stories of fantasy. No wonder he decided to use him in his plans, hehe. Great move, my lord. You are being wise as ever.'
Hearing Karl's apology to his master, the young eunuch's eyes began to shine brightly with overflowing pride and admiration on his master.
' My master is the best!'
Ethel's mouth curled into a smirk.
" My lord, now let me take you to your resting place. If you can be humble enough to follow my lead, I can show you the way."
After studying the first elder's expression, he timidly replied,
" Yes, Please lead the way."
A cruel smile formed on Ethel's face even making the young eunuch shiver from fear.
" As you wish."
The Royal eunuch led Karl and Rowanna through several courtyards and some magnificent-looking buildings. On the way, they met a few high-ranking officials in the Imperial Capital and so many eunuchs and maids. They were so much busy that they had no much time to spend with their group. When they met one of the high-ranking officials who was directly working under the emperor, he just greeted the Royal eunuch and left. They never cared to look at Karl.
Ethel had expected Karl to feel embarrassed and angry about the behaviour of the officials in the palace, but alas, he seemed to not care about it at all.
He had a strange smile on his face and he was walking leisurely while observing the surroundings. This made the Royal eunuch's face somewhat ugly.
" Master, why isn't he angry about this disrespectfulness he receives from these officials?"
The young eunuch who was the best student and his successor whispered in Ethel's ear.
" Hah, don't worry about that. I think he is so much ignorant that he doesn't even know about his status as the crown prince. Perhaps, dealing with him will be a piece of cake for us. You know, the ignorant is the easiest to be dealt with."
" Hehe, good for him. Son of a bitch how dare he cause problems for his majesty?"
" Hush, you shouldn't talk so much badly about our crown prince"
They both laughed silently.
As his senses were above the level of a normal cultivator in this world, he could clearly hear all the conversation, but he didn't do anything except smirking inwardly.
After some time, they reached his place.
" Your majesty, this is the place you are going to accommodate in your entire life. As you are now part of our imperial family, you will be given a justifiable amount of monthly allowance. Further discussions will be conducted tomorrow morning at the Imperial Assemble. And my lord, your attendance is compulsory."
His courtyard was not so much magnificent compared to the buildings he had passed on the way. But, it wasn't ugly either. It was simple with no fancy decorations on the walls and it seemed no one had been occupying that place for quite a long time.
" My lord, this is called the ' Bamboo Leaf Hall', which was left to you by the order of the previous emperor. As you can see no one wanted to go against the will of the emperor, and no one dared to live in this place. So that's why it seems like abandoned. But don't worry our servants were quite capable that they had found enough time to clean this place once a month even in the middle of their busy work schedules."
"Greetings my lord, we are quite honoured to serve and accompany you for the rest of our lives. His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted us with the task of helping you and serving you."
Another old man with a long white beard which was not so long as Ethel's bowed at Karl along with a few other eunuchs.