Soon, the Empress— now wearing a tall, crystal crown adorned with shining white jewels and pearls, and three small yet imposing gems placed on the middle— and the Two Princes of Asturas arrived and walked to their own thrones whilst their servants and retinues waited outside. Compared to the Emperor's throne, theirs were less imperious, but were still vastly superior compared to the ministers. The Empress' in particular, had a symbol of a rose on the top of her throne's head rest. It symbolizes the other title that the current Empress have as a Grand Duchess.
Seeing them, Reynald smiled and nodded at them for a brief moment before returning to his serious expression. After that sign of acknowledgement, the Empress then sat on her throne whilst the two Princes, Weise and Voltaire, remained standing like the other ministers. It was a rule set by Reynald for the entire Imperial Family whereas members of the Imperial Household other than the Emperor himself will not be bestowed or backed by his or the future Emperors' authority, and only by acquiring merits that equates to that of a Grand Duke would they be allowed to sit together with him or the future rulers. It is for the heirs to learn that they cannot rely on the perks of the Imperial Family if they do not have the merits to do so.
The Empress Grand Duchess, for instance, was once the Princess Regent of Asturas' rival kingdom that led an army that went head-to-head against the prowess of the former Grand General Reynald's army. They fought with a lesser army yet won neck and neck battles against that of his professional one. If not for Reynald establishing a truce and then a treaty, Asturas would've been strained too much before they can even defeat her, which would've caused their rear to be wide open for the attacks of other opposing dominions.
Because of this, Reynald respected her request and placed her as the Grand Duchess of the territory of her old kingdom that was integrated when the Empire was established. If she was just his wife, a simple Empress, she would've been required to stand up, the same as the others. Of course, if she was just that, Reynald wouldn't have even considered her as his Empress.
A little over a minute later, on the first seat at the right side of the throne's platform, the space eerily distorted and there appeared a long-haired man donning a black robe lined with prismatic minerals. He first faced the Emperor, bowed, before taking a seat.
"Ooh, It's Uncle Aquineas!" Prince Voltaire gasped silently, but was still heard by the man, who showed a smile at him.
10 minutes after his arrival, the remaining ministers that were missing finally arrived. Once they all got into their respective seats, the ceremony before the meeting then started.
First, everyone, seated or not, except for the Emperor, stood up and faced his direction. Next, they bowed towards him in a synchronous manner before addressing with a loud yet respectful voice, "Hail the Sovereign of Asturas! Hail the Emperor!"
Nodding and raising his hand, he then said to them, "Your presences have been acknowledged. You all can sit."
After they have all been seated, it was the long-haired man, Aquineas, who spoke first, "What is the matter, Lord Emperor? We have just finished the monthly audience a week ago, and you hardly ever call upon your ministers for another audience after it. The only instance you did so was 7 years ago, when the Borbian Empire to the south attacked the Fortress of Paran to reconquer the Dominion of Agaria into the palm of their hand. Is there a similar event happening?" He asked in an inquisitive tone.
"The Archduke of Tuberios has a point, Lord Emperor. You usually do not use your authority to call upon us if it's not urgent. Did you discover a problem within the Empire? Is tension about to rise again between Asturas and Sevia in the West?" A tall and lean short-haired middle-aged man whose ceremonial gown looked more like a light armor due to its thickness followed, earning the murmuring and the nodding of the other ministers. Despite being the youngest within this hall, his words struck true for the other officials.
"I doubt it's the latter." The long-haired Archduke Aquineas Tuberios shook his head, adding, "That pocket-bulging businessman within the confines of Sevian Empire is not stupid enough to challenge the rising strength of our Empire without enough reasoning and justification, and that senile old man that is locked within his tower would definitely not encourage him to do so." This also were supported with the nodding and murmurings of the ministers.
Ehem. Reynald cleared his throat, which prompted everyone to be silent. After a while, he then answered, "There is currently no problem in the Empire, for now. I cannot say the same for Sevia because we have had a problem for more than a decade now, but they're also not the problem, for now."
Noticing a pattern in his speech, the Empress Athenasia turned to look at him and said in an inquisitive manner, "For now?"
Seeing as to how his wife immediately caught him, Reynald chuckled to himself while his expression remained neutral, "I fear that we would have problems going forward."
The ministers exchanged glances in worry, whispering to themselves. "What is it? I'm sure we can deal with it." Archduke Aquineas comforted, clasping his hands in front of himself.
Reynald inhaled deeply before answering, "There is a change that I am to implement." Looking at the ministers below, he continued, "A change that would bring several problems. I could not not summon everyone for this matter."
The atmosphere within the hall grew heavy as they anticipated what their Wise Emperor would say. "If Your Majesty knows that the change would bring a vast array of problems, why should we implement it?" The middle-aged man asked with as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"It wouldn't be that simple, Grand General Gunther." Aquineas replied solemnly while remaining his sight at Reynald, "You can continue, Your Majesty."
Nodding at the Archduke, Reynald then explained, "For the first time in the last thousand years, I shall re-establish a Church; The Church of Amanael."