As a castle that had a history of over six hundred years, Hamilton Palace could proudly, in the whole of the West Empire, announce "I am the one and only!" In fact, being the greatest and most luxurious building in this world definitely fit the title of ‘The Only One’.
When you stand at whichever corner in the palace, you will find all scenes in front of you being solemn and strict. Its decorations and arrangements depicted the aura of the Imperial Titan Family. This condescending aura did not weaken over time. It had immersed into each and every brick of the palace. The way it stood at the end of the Journey of the Emperor was as if it was at the utmost peak of its own throne.
Sunlight shone on the gigantic body of the Hamilton Palace, and the smooth walls and roofs of the palace were smeared with a layer of gold. It was just like a halo of light crowned upon the head of the Imperial Titan Family. Such dazzling, such bright light. But, those who truly knew the Imperial Titan Family would set their gaze upon the shadows of the palace. Even though the visibility was poor in those places, but truths were always hidden there.
Hamilton Palace was the place that His Majesty the Emperor worked in every day. There were many large-scale meeting rooms and guest rooms. It could be said that the administrative center of the Titan Empire was simply this palace.
Alfa III His Majesty did not like Hamilton Palace. The interior designs here were not on par with his sense of fashion. He loved fashionable design styles and trinkets of strange shapes and figures. The underlying reason for the Emperor coming to ‘work’ every day was because it was habitual. It was a habit inherited from the old Emperor and all the ancestors of the Morisette family.
Hamilton Palace had a lot of hidden chambers that were not known to the public. The origins of many major happenings in the Titan Empire were from these hidden chambers. But even His Majesty the Emperor was unsure of how these hidden chambers were set up since he always ordered his secretary to arrange his meetings and was always led by the servants into the chambers. It seemed that this was also one of the major reasons why the Emperor did not like Hamilton Palace. Walking in those narrow corridors that looked exactly the same as one another was not a pleasant thing to do. In fact, Alfa III His Majesty was already sick of this.
But there would always be exceptions. Alfa III His Majesty was really excited now. When he knew that the person who was ordered by the old man to meet him was a beautiful Madam, he had already began looking forward to this meeting.
Walking alongside the Emperor now was Marquise Erdogan Vas Ferdinand. When she was younger, this Madam’s beauty was once infamous in the whole Westland. It continued even until after she stayed by her retired father’s side, and that lasted for a long time. Only then the upper class community’s obsession with her slowly receded.
Erdogan did not know what kind of ideas her father was plotting. Weasley Alfa Morisette was no longer the Prince that used to follow her around anymore. He was not the Emperor of this Empire. He was the ruler of the whole Titan. Even though he had no outstanding achievements, this Emperor had built up a significant reputation during his twenty-five years of ruling.
"Dogan, you seem to not be feeling well?" The Emperor lightly tapped Marquise Ferdinand’s hand that was clinging onto his arm. The motive of the Emperor was really obvious. He did not call Erdogan by her title, according to the etiquette of the nobles.
"Ah! No, the most respectful Your Majesty. It was nothing. I am simply thinking about the words I should say. You must know that you and my father are both unpredictable. I am unclear of your thoughts and could not understand the things that my father wanted me to convey to you."
"Hehe. Dear Dogan, these are things that you should not understand. I am surprised by your visit. Being able to see you these few days is the happiest thing that has happened to me of late."
The servant of the Palace led the Emperor and the Madame into a hidden chamber in the corridor. The moment the door closed behind the both of them, Marquise Ferdinand clearly felt a thump in her heart. She was a little afraid, yet a little anticipating. She did not know why such an attitude of a maiden would still manifest in her after all these years.
"Dogan, seeing you healthy makes me happy. Time did not bring too much change to you. It is a blessing. The God of Light was fair to both you and I. The one He let me meet is still the perfect girl that I know."
Even though Marquise Ferdinand felt a little sick by the Emperor’s direct tease, but her face inevitably became red. She had lived her life in secluded territory for more than twenty years, assisting her husband and teaching her children. Hearing such flattering words all of a sudden obviously made the almost-forty-year-old ‘girl’ uneasy.
"Your Majesty, I cannot accept your flattery. Even though it is true that time did not leave its mark on my face, but you must know that the power of time is not manifested this way. It has changed everything other than my appearance. You are not the person you were before; and I was neither the person that I used to be.
The Emperor had already forgotten all about the matters that the old man wanted to discuss with him. In comparison with this woman emitting a deathly temptation in front of him, nothing was more important than conquering her.
"Will you call me Weasley? Just like you did before." The Emperor now seemed to regress back to his younger days. His eyes brimmed with a scorching passion.
The Marquise was a little flustered. The request of the Emperor was definitely not in line with law. From the day this Emperor was coronated, the name of Weasley Alfa Morisette had completely disappeared. What was left were only the Emperor of the Titan Empire and Alfa III His Majesty.
Marquise Ferdinand retreated to a corner in the hidden chamber. Her hands tightly clung onto the handle of a chair beside her.
The Emperor was a little anxious. He was not usually like this. His passion and patience with beautiful women was well-known. But this ‘good’ reputation of his was soon to be destroyed. When facing such a beautiful Madame that emitted such an angelic aura like Marquise Ferdinand, the Emperor decided to be the Weasley of his younger days.
"Am I making you uncomfortable? Did I make you dislike me? If you are not even willing to call me by my name, then why did you enter this room? Have you forgotten all the things that happened to us in the past? Answer me!" The Emperor at this moment was truly the same as one of those impatient lads. He forcefully hugged the Marquise who was not quick enough to run away, in order to express his urge to monopolize her, crazily.
Marquise Ferdinand seemed to be frightened of the daring Emperor. She did not know if she should get out of the tight grip of the Emperor. Suddenly, she thought of many things in the past: When she was young, Weasley Alfa Morisette was undoubtedly the most outstanding suitor among the others. Except the fact that he was a little playboy-ish, the handsome prince did not have many flaws. Even though she had hidden her feelings well, but during her last days living in Dulin, this beautiful, disciplined and well-mannered Miss of the Duke decided to let her feelings run free. She had given her first love, first kiss and first night to Weasley in a hidden chamber in this very palace.
"Could it be...? Could it be that this was that hidden chamber?" The Marquise was shocked by the hidden meaning of the Emperor’s words. Was this the room that was full of sweet and bitter memories? Erdogan could not confirm her thoughts. The body temperature of the Emperor was enough to burn her skin. She could no longer think. His body temperature reminded her that she had to answer the Emperor’s question.
"I did not forget! All of it! I did not forget all of that!" Erdogan regretted immediately after saying those words. She thought of her husband and her two children. She had never had any history of cheating. But as we all know, some things simply do not go according to what logic tells us to do. Even the Marquise herself was shocked by her own words.
"Light of God, praise love. How could I forget? Forget that sole love that I had felt? I can’t do that. But, Your Majesty, what meaning does this hold now? You chose the most suitable partner and I have a husband of equal social status as I. Everything that happened here should be treated as just a short dream in our life."
His Majesty the Emperor was apparently unsatisfied with this answer that confirmed yet denied his feelings. He had never seen this Madame since that exciting night. He chose the most direct way to express his feelings.
Erdogan was stunned by the sudden, hot kiss. She had no idea how she could deal with this incident. She wanted to push him away, but the one kissing her was no gangster from nowhere. It was the most supreme Emperor. Because of this, the troubled Marquise could only accept it stiffly as she protested in a soft voice.
"No! No! I don’t want this!" Miss Sasha E. Nedgabel Andrew was attempting to push her Brother Oscar. They had just bought a handful of things from the infamous flea market in Dulin. At this moment, the Prince was trying to convince his little sister to put on a lipstick in which a gold coin could afford a whole ton of it.
O’Neil Andrew Morisette would never allow such low-quality and cheap things to be on his sister’s body, but seeing the young lady screaming crazily was rather an interesting thing to do, although painful at the same time.
The flea market in Titan went back a long way. If it had to be dated back, this would probably go back to the ‘self-cultivation’ period. The people would trade their unique handmade products in the market. Sometimes, they did not even mind even if it was a barter exchange. In fact, the earliest concept of business was to exchange something you need with products that you did not need.
Now, the flea market had become a must-visit place for the locals. The things sold here were much cheaper than those sold in the market. Since they were all homemade products, the style and originality of the products here had a definite advantage. Of course, the main products of this flea market were simply small items. The nobles would only shop in this sort of place when driven by their curiosity.
These strange things surely attracted the attention of tourists and buyers. The young lady pulled His Imperial Highness the Prince, that had the brightest future in the Morisette Dynasty to shop around this place for a whole afternoon. After that, they finally turned to their carriage. She had a habit of showing off the ‘trophies’ she had bought, so the Prince was reminded once again of the results of her shopping, until he found the lipstick that was most probably made of fat from dead animals.
Just when Oscar was drowning in his sister’s laughter, the trotting carriage came to a stop abruptly. The rushing sound of hooves and flustered screams could be heard from outside.
A young man who was dressed like a knight stopped right in front of the carriage in which His Imperial Highness the Prince had rented. He immediately shouted angrily. "Your Imperial Highness Prince O’Neil Andrew Morisette, if you are still an esteemed member of the Andrew Family, then please pick up your sword and leave the carriage. Accept my challenge for I am Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn."
The loud voice of the knight made the atmosphere in the street heat up. "A duel!" A duel between nobles would only appear on places like the newspapers. They would never have guessed that it would happen so dramatically at the flea market. When the crowd realized that the subject of this duel was His Imperial Highness the Prince who was discussed heatedly recently, they all went crazy. They all surrounded the scene. The already packed market now became flooded with people after the appearing of the knight.
Oscar rested against the seat in a laid back manner. This knight called him the Prince. This fact made the little fatty who felt his rights were invaded, feel slightly better. But the young lad did not want to get involved with these young men whose minds were flooded with jealousy. Moreover, the Mendelssohn family’s reputation had appeared in his memory before. And Ricky the Liar had yet to bring the proof that allowed him to take action, back to him.
The young lady who was curious about all things, was the first to put her head out of the window. Such a thing like a "duel" was a thing that these ladies would never accept and yet still feel extremely excited about. But after Sasha took a glance at the knight, her attention was immediately attracted to another thing.
It was a seven or eight-year-old girl. She looked helplessly at the fresh flowers all over the place after being trampled by the horse of the knight. She simply stood stunned by the knight’s side. Obviously, she was frightened by the horse that came rushing in, and the sudden incident.
Sasha’s rage exploded almost instantaneously. That was narcissus! The flowers of the little girl that was all over the place were real narcissus flowers! These noble flowers were trampled by a guy that came from nowhere. If this sort of thing happened in the Narcissus County, then this guy would definitely be beaten to death with wooden sticks!
Oscar could feel the sudden rage of his sister. He looked as Sasha went down the carriage in a swift move. He exchanged glances with Paul, who was equally as confused as he was. What exactly happened?
Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn was already in battle mode when the door of the carriage swung open. But what he did not expect as the people exclaimed by the sides was that it was a fairy-like lady that came out of the carriage.
This... She must be "Andrew’s Narcissus Corolla"! Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn awkwardly took back his long sword that was facing forward. He coolly dismounted from his horse and gave an impeccable courteous bow towards the beautiful lady.
"The most respected young lady of the Andrew family! Only the God of Light could praise your purity and beauty. But now I can only say disappointing words to you. I would like to carry out a true duel with your brother, the fourth son of the Andrew family, His Imperial Highness the Prince of Titan Sir O’Neil Andrew Morisette."
The young lady’s cute eyebrows were tied in a dangerous knot. This ... This ... This disgusting guy used his dirty boots to step on the Narcissus again! Unforgivable! Definitely unforgivable!
There were some things that must not be violated in any way, such as the crest of the Andrew family. Little Sasha’s voice was trembling. She was on the brink of exploding.
"You... You... You are a noble?"
"Yes! The respected Miss Andrew! I come from the Mendelssohn family from the Layne Province at the east of the Empire. The Great Emperor of Titan bestowed the title of Viscount upon me."
"Then... You said you are a noble. Then... Er... Oh…. What are you called again?"
"Miss, my name is Ceille Mendelssohn. I hope that you can..."
The knight could no longer speak a word. He stared wide-eyed as this angel-like lady walked in huge steps towards him and slapped him on the face.
"Wow... Oh!" The people unconsciously exclaimed! The lady of the Andrew family was rather... rather too aggressive, wasn’t she? She had just gavin a solid smack to this Sir Knight’s face! Oh god! Things were starting to seem interesting!
Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn was stunned! His hand was already on his sword sheath. But he knew that if he pointed a sword towards a lady, he would never be able to face the crowd ever again in his life. But... But why did this happen? The young man put a hand over his face and stared blankly.
"You are the Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn? You are a knight that came from an ancient and noble family? Yet, you choose such a place to challenge my brother. You challenge His Imperial Highness the Prince of the Titan Empire in public. How can you not be aware of such disgusting thoughts you have in your mind? Yes! Piercing my brother’s chest with your long sword in public. Aha! Oh god! You have made a name for yourself! You now receive the attention of a certain lady that you have in mind! What? Did I say anything wrong? You have a dark expression now eh?"
The Viscount’s expression was in fact dark now. But he could not find any words to counter this lady.
Little Sasha did not stop giving blows to this unfortunate guy.
"Do you know what I am suspecting now? I was thinking if you had exchanged brains with that stupid horse of yours? Oh my! Everyone look! Look at this! His stupid horse just nodded! Ah, then that must be the case! You think killing my brother would help you achieve your aims? You think you would become the hero that rescued the angel? You know what? Your ego is the exact thing that prompts the angels to follow my brother towards the heavens of the God of Light. And also! Duel, yes! Duel, you came for a duel! Then let me tell you what a duel exactly is."
Sasha took out a huge handful of coins from the purse she had on her all the time. She threw them on the floor and took a glance at the crowd around her. She immediately noticed a few guys that kept staring at the coins.
"You... And you! Come out!"
The two guys who were chosen by Sasha jumped out of the crowd, feeling flattered. From the disgusted look from the people, we could all see that these two were terrible gangsters. These two gangsters had probably not had a chance to work for a lady of such high social status in their lives before. Their voices and looks were disgusting to look at.
"The most respected, noble and beautiful young lady! What can we do for you?"
Sasha did not even spare a look at these two gangsters. She stared straight into the eyes of the knight, determined.
"I need a duel right now at this place. The crowd can be the witness. The winner will get all the coins on the floor."
A cacophony of voices broke out once again amongst the crowd while these two exchanged glances. Their attention was focused on the coins on the floor. It was not a small amount!
"What are you doing? Let’s begin!"
The cold words of the young lady pulled the people back to reality. One of the gangsters suddenly launched his attack on the other guy. But the other guy had quick reflexes. They quickly engaged in a fight, with their actions clumsy and ugly to watch. These two even used foul language to insult their opponent whilst they exchanged blows.
The flea market had never been as lively as today other than the days during the carnival! The people were shouting crazily at the sides. Yes! There were so many interesting things happening today! "Do your best!" "Fight!" "Hit him!" "Disgusting worms! What are you hesitating for? Kick his ass!"
Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn was already hopeless! Why did things turn out this way? He had already forgotten about the slap. Not only his duel was treated as a fight between thugs, this fact was presented in front of him in such a realistic way.
"Enough! Enough!" The young lady once again gave her order. The two guys whose faces were covered with blood was picked up like chicks by the carriage driver of the Prince and thrown aside.
"I believe everyone has seen it. This is the duel as requested by this Sir Viscount!"
"No! It was not anything like that..."
"No! It is this way!"
"Then... Since His Imperial Highness Prince is not present, then.... I shall take my leave then!" Ceille felt like his life would be over if he did not leave now. He could never win against this aggressive young lady. Moreover, everyone was watching this! He was a knight, for god’s sake! He was already embarrassed enough! He must leave now!
"Leaving now only proves that you do not have what it takes to be a noble. Also, I am even suspecting that you are not even a knight."
"I am a knight. I am an official knight of the Military Academy of Dulin University. You must not doubt my title of nobility as that was bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor himself."
"Fine then! If you say so! Look at what’s underneath your foot. The people of Titan, the people of Dulin City, come and have a look at what is under the foot of this Sir Knight!"
"Ah! That’s a narcissus!" "Yeah! It really is a narcissus!" Oh my! It’s not an easy job to plant narcissus in Dulin!" "Shh! Don’t say anything unnecessary! That is the crest of the Andrew family!" "That is right! No wonder this happened!"
Ceille knew that his life was truly over! All the blame of this young girl just a moment ago could be treated as a joke, but this was different! He truly did something wrong! Inviting a Prince for a duel was already risky enough, but he actually trampled on the symbol of their family crest before the duel. Even though this was an accident, his stupid horse and he did in fact trample these flowers.
But things did not turn out the way everyone thought. Our young lady walked towards the owner of these narcissus, that little girl. "Little girl! Tell everyone bravely. Are these the results of your hard work?"
For the first time in her life, the little girl received so much attention. Her face burnt red, but she did not forget what she should do in this circumstance. Those narcissus were her pride. Many people praised the narcissus planted by her family.
"Yes! It was the result of hard work of my dad, mum, older brother, younger brother and me. We used the clean and cool spring water from a village more than ten miles away. We would use the Ti Coin that we saved over time to buy fertilizer for them. When in season, it would become the only income source for the family. But now... now... sob!"
"Alright! Little girl, do not feel sad! Here! Take this!" The angelic Miss Sasha E. Nedgabel Andrew untied the exquisite platinum necklace that had a few small diamonds in it around her neck. She wore the necklace on the little girl’s neck in a sincere manner.
The young lady put her forehead on this little girl’s forehead. Her mouth spoke of one of the Holy Phrases from the Bible of Light. "Solely in the name of my highest god that light be shone upon this world. Let all suffering pass, all darkness overcome. Let the sincere soul welcome tomorrow."
The noisy market completely quieted down. There was no more hostility or greed in the people’s eyes. It was as if they had witnessed a miracle – an angel who had transformed into a young girl appeared in front of them.
Viscount Ceille Mendelssohn admitted his defeat. He suddenly felt like he did not mean anything in front of this young lady of the Andrew family. He went down on one of his knees on the floor and performed a bow of loyalty towards the goddess-like Sasha E.
The people from near to far eventually kneeled down as well. Those who did not know what happened almost thought that the Pope His Grand Eminence had visited their market.
Sasha did not feel that anything was wrong. She stopped the chant and turned to Viscount Mendelssohn who appeared regretful.
"Sir Viscount, surely you knew clearly now of the trouble you had caused to the people around you due to your actions. Surely you understand now that there are a lot of things that are more important than your pride. The God of Light, praise love. There is no wrong in a one-sided love, but this should not be an excuse for a duel. A true knight would save his strength and power to face the enemy in war. And acting out of jealousy with no logical reasoning is only an act of disgusting men. When a knight has lost his rationale, spirit and ability to judge, he cannot even be compared to a farmer. Please do not forget this."
"Yes! I believe I will never forget this in my whole life."
"What won’t you forget? Why do you say that all of a sudden?" Marquise Ferdinand lay in the embrace of His Majesty the Emperor as she asked softly.
Their expensive clothes were scattered all over the hidden chamber. From the degree of damage on the clothes, His Majesty the Emperor obviously had a really good time with the woman he was seeing just now.
"Of course it’s you, my beloved. Why do you only appear now? How could you leave me for so many years? It’s great now! I would never forget the joy of embracing you forever. I would not ever leave you. You must be responsible for this, my precious!"
Facing the love of the Emperor, the Marquise showed a complicated expression of shyness, surprise, joy and more to just the right extent. "But...but I am no longer young."
"Hehe. My dear Dogan, I am an old man myself. What are you afraid of? I swear that I would never have let you go that easily, not now, not ever."
Marquise Erdogan Vas Ferdinand was flustered by the Emperor’s promise. She did not know if she should continue this relationship with the Emperor. After all, she had a complete family now and her father was a Duke. After all, words like ‘cheating’ and ‘lover’ brought ill meanings.
After all that passion, the Marquise finally realized that it seemed that she had forgotten something. It took her a lot of energy to come back to reality from the Emperor’s touch. Oh god! Her father’s signed letter! Oh god! She prayed that it was not torn into smithereens together with her dress by the Emperor.
The carriage of His Imperial Highness the Prince received a hero-like treatment. The people were scrambling around talking about the incident with Andrew’s Narcissus Corona. Sasha was a little embarrassed under her brother’s gaze. She had thrown a tantrum back then and now she had not calmed down yet. Thus, she could only pretend to not see anything.
The young Prince did not praise his sister, but the little fatty’s gaze had held a thousand words. He was proud of having Sasha E. Nedgabel Andrew by his side.
He believed that the Andrew family had won this duel and the respect people had towards the Andrews increased a little bit more. Compared to those hero myths of the knights far away, the people were more willing to accept a young miss who prayed for a poor girl by their side.
The nobles of Titan did not have a tradition of oppressing the people. However, since there existed such things as rank in this world, then those of higher status would definitely use their power to express their will to dominate those of lower status. Regardless of whatever method they used, these doings were almost a basic rhythm in the ranked hierarchical society.
The nobles would not even think of the public’s rights or benefits. This was because the word ‘people’ had never existed in the vocabulary of the nobles. They only thought of the people under their influence as a means to create wealth and happiness for themselves. These thoughts were not really too much, for in the traditional and conservative Titan Empire, the people was definitely accomplishing each of their roles.
The number of free civilians had become rare as the ownership of land and wealth became increasingly focused. Most of the people would choose to become a farmer on a piece of land under a certain noble. Because only in this way, they could ensure their survival. The pride of the nobles did not allow them to abandon their people. This was probably the most excellent tradition preserved since the system of the dividing of land in Titan to different people was introduced. If a family lost a huge amount of its people, this would lead to the contempt of the whole noble class. Therefore, even though the people of Titan were under different degrees of oppression and suffering, the only fortunate fact was that the nobles were not planning to force them into a dead corner.
The people today were a little riled up. They witnessed a lady of social status as high as the princess protecting a normal and weak girl. The actions of that lady were printed into booklets in the fastest speed. Those novelists with their great imagination and gossip-inducing words, gave the booklet an extremely touching yet impactful title – "The Joy and Anger of the Angelic Girl". And the necklace was named as the "Heart of the Angelic Girl".
"Did I miss anything? What were the people talking about out there?" Marquise Erdogan Vas Ferdinand lazily rested against the seat in the carriage.
"I do not know. You can find any other guy to ask about this." The one speaking was a young gentleman who had a beautiful face.
The Marquise could hear a hint of jealousy from the tone of her male companion. "Lad! You are being jealous. You knew that this was only a part of the plan."
But obviously, this young gentleman had no intention to let Erdogan go. "Hehe. You are wrong, mother. I simply hate the smell of cologne on your body. The stink is totally unbearable."
Not a single mother can stand humiliation from her child. Erdogan raised her hand. She wanted to show some color to her eldest son who knew no manners.
"Enough! Mother! You should understand my feelings now. That perverted old man is the Emperor. I get it. But is this worth it for you to exchange those unrealistic benefits with your precious body?" The young man held his mother’s arm.
"You can’t say that. After all, he is your birth father. Can’t you see why your grandfather and I had to leave at our most glorious moment? Do you think the Imperial family then would accept an illegitimate child like you?"
"But mother! I don’t understand what good can this bring? Isn’t life in our gardens wonderful? Why should we come to this filthy place where even the air is dirty?"
"Why? Hehe! Don’t you have your answer already? Your father is the Emperor. Don’t you want to attain the right to rule this Empire? I believe that in these few days you have come to realize how useless your two brothers are. I am sure that anyone who sees you will be surprised, regardless of your looks or ability. Please believe in me, my child. The effort of your mother and grandfather all these years are definitely not for show. It is to create the day that you will be coronated as the Emperor."
The young man pursed his lips in disdain. He was not young anymore. He thought that his mother had some mental problem. The Imperial Titan Family had never accepted any illegitimate children before in history. He felt like it was not worth the energy for this sort of unrealistic imagination. He set his gaze on the booklet in his hands. "Andrew’s Narcissus Corona"! He was full of admiration for this goddess-like young lady.