Chapter 1129: Noble Disputes
Rex was crowned as the emperor without needing to make an oath.
His vicious battle against the Fifthborn, putting his own life on the line was oath enough.
Despite having ambitions to become stronger, he had never thought that one day, he would end up becoming the leader of an empire. But considering his strength, in this dog-eat-dog world, it was not a surprise that he ended up this way.
Acknowledging Rex's ascension, everyone present made a solemn bow towards him.
It was not a foreign sight, the view from the throne that is—but seeing so many nations make a deliberate bow towards him was a sight to see. Rex has mixed feelings inside, but a facade of stoicism covers that.
Upon being crowned emperor, the coronation continued with Evelyn in the spotlight.
Surprisingly, Rex saw Queen Shanaela taking out a tiara from the side.
It has the same features as Rex's crown but it's thinner and more elegant.
After being crowned as emperor, it was now Evelyn's turn to be crowned as the Empress.
Even though an empire could stand without an empress, the benefits provided by the figure of an empress were too significant, to overlook. For this reason, Evelyn, beloved by the land and people, was also crowned as empress.
Looking at her, taking a bow before Douglas and Queen Shanaela, Rex pondered.
He glanced to the side and found Gistella and Adhara by the throne.
Just like Evelyn, the two were adorned in gorgeous dresses that matched their appearance.
Adhara was wearing a baby pink dress, that exposed her tantalizing collar bones and neck, it was designed to highlight the silver star mark on her neck which showed vividly that she was a part of the Silverstar Pack.
Gold necklaces and earrings also added the nice tune of royalty.
Her dress' folds were circling her dress, giving a hint of aggressive beauty to her overall look.
Contrasting to her—Gistella wore a pristine white dress devoid of any folds. It was smooth to the edge and back, but the very fabric shimmered with a starry light. As she stood, the gown emitted dust of moonlight, cascading and dissipating in a graceful display.
Unlike Adhara's aggressive look, she took the approach of a pure maiden.
Anyone didn't dare to look at Gistella too hard and long, fearing to taint and break her purity.
However, aside from their breathtaking appearances, the two were calm.
Both of them didn't seem to mind Evelyn becoming the empress, which was quite shocking.
Adhara, specifically, is quite understanding despite her personality. I guess the girls already talked and came to an agreement. Nevertheless—it's up to me to make them equal. I'll think about it after the coronation.
Being declared empress, Evelyn ascends the staircase.
She gracefully ascends, dragging the long tail of her dress against the royal carpet.
Just as she was about to reach the throne—Rex's attention was diverted, when he noticed a smaller throne appeared beside his. It took him by surprise—but then he remembered giving the editing panel to the girls.
Despite being a surprise to him, it was not the troubling part.
The troubling part was the fact that Adhara and Gistella seemed to be surprised by this.
It seemed the two didn't know about the second throne.
Not minding the surprised gazes, Evelyn sat on her throne and kept her back upright.
On the other hand, Rex massaged his forehead, "Are you happy with this, Evelyn?"
"It's Empress Evelyn if you don't mind," Evelyn replied, casting him a cheeky smile in return.
Rex was evidently irked but tried to keep a straight face, "You know that Adhara and Gistella are going to pester me about this—don't you? I already had enough trouble, from using all of you for the plan to take down the Executor, and now this?"
"You'll figure it out eventually, you always do," Evelyn smiled, ignoring Rex's trouble.
After the coronation of both the Emperor and the Empress, the day continued.
Throughout the morning to noon, it was all formalities.
Since the royal family, in this case, was the Silverstar Pack—the event after the coronation was the blessing ceremony of the Silverstar Pack where Adhara, Gistella, Flunra—and also Kyran participated.
Giana and Prof. K were a part of the pack, but they were excluded from this ceremony.
Naturally, they were only outer pack members, unfitting to be included.
Finishing with the inner members of the empire, the next event was pledging loyalty from all nations under the Clarentium Empire. It began from the Elven Kingdom—at the very front of the line, followed by the Dwarves, Tigerman, Orcs, and finally, the Dark Elves.
Each representative, the King or Queen of the kingdom stepped forward to pledge loyalty.
It was witnessed by all which Rex and Evelyn listened attentively.
After the pledge of loyalty, in recognition of the coronation's timing, after a victorious battle, Rex personally bestowed honors upon individuals—who had shown exceptional valor during the battle as a form of recognition.
This part was already briefed, so nobody who was rigorous in the battle was excluded.
Among them were Ryze, Gelmar, Dindora, Linthia—and several others from different nations, all recognized for their remarkable deeds in battle. While Rex may not have witnessed every moment personally, numerous witnesses attested to their valorous acts.
Surprisingly, the Orcs had four individuals, the highest amongst all other nations.
Being a war-based race, it shouldn't be surprising.
However, the fact that they fought rigorously for Rex who never met them was surprising.
Of course, there were more individuals who were worthy of this honor—such as the generals from the high-rank Supernatural races—mainly Carmilla, Maltrox, and Lyra. But they were not a part of this ceremony because of their absence.
Even then, Rex was not going to exclude them and would send them gifts later.
Unlike when he was a solitary force, he now needed to take friendly gestures into account.
Rex was advised by the others about this, taking a more calmer approach—and he could not rebut the logical reasoning, behind this. His action now would involve the lives of many—and that reason alone should suffice him to change his approach.
Ending the formalities was the knighting ceremony.
It was exclusive to Rex's own forces, and there were only three figures that were addressed.
Gelmar, Dindora, and Ryze stepped forward.
Holding the ceremonial sword, Evelyn tapped their shoulders with it before announcing them as the first batch of knights of the Clarentium Empire. She finishes by giving them a light kiss on the cheek, one by one, as a blessing for doing more good deeds in the future.
As the three became knights, they held the highest nobility rank below the Silverstar Pack.
Now crowned, Rex, Evelyn, and the others made their way to the balcony.
Emerging into the noon sunlight, they gazed down upon the sea of people, their vassals who had eagerly awaited their appearance for hours. But now that they came out with crowns on their heads, the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers.
Flowers, magical energies, and all kinds of good talismans were thrown into the sky.
All were praising the Emperor, the Empress, and the Silverstar Pack.
It was a joyous day for the city, now the capital city of the Clarentium Empire.
Despite the new era being colored with darkness and brutality that were the products of the hatred from the past—upon going through it, there was a rainbow. Regardless of how hard it might seem, there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.
Just like that, the realm of the new Clarentium Empire shook with laughter and celebrations.
Soon, the night came.
People were still drunk and full from the feasts provided for this day.
Even though the city guards were working twice as hard to address the drunkards and those who kept on going without knowing their limits, the task felt anything but tiresome. Similarly, it was utterly the same for the castle.
After the formalities were done, a celebratory banquet was held for the nobilities.
Other than for celebration, it was also a social gathering.
Rex had been entertaining the praise and congratulations from the other kingdoms.
He had finished talking with the newest member of the empire—the Orc's representative, the Lord Chief of the Morgrak Hold, and also the Goz Errudh clan leader, Lurbhuk. To his surprise—Lurbhuk was a well-spoken Orc.
It would be a lie if Rex thought that Lurbhuk would be similar to Ugrok in speech.
Orcs were not known for their knowledge but strength instead.
But surprisingly enough, Lurbhuk was fluent in speaking, even eloquent to some extent.
All of the kingdoms under the empire brought gifts as a token of loyalty to Rex, but Lurbhuk was the first person who dared to hand over a gift to Rex himself. Knowing the power—and also the standing of Rex, many opted not to resort to gifting Rex directly—he was known to possess remarkable items and equipment.
One of the most prominent ones was the fact that he could give others an elemental affinity.
Despite that, Lurbhuk gave Rex a bone necklace.
...
<Honor Fang Necklace>
Equipment Grade: High (Eighth-rank)
Durability: 96/100
Rune Slots: 0/1
Weapon Ego: - (Ineligible)
Description: A necklace adorned with the fang of Bloodfang Dire Beast, an eighth-rank realm mutated jaguar. It was passed down and worn by legendary Orc figures who had done great feats for the Orc Village.
Bonus stats:
-> +13,000 Strength
-> +30,000 Endurance
Abilities:
-> Challenger of Death: Endurance stat amplified by 100% during near-death state.
...
Upon reading the information about the equipment, Rex was pleasantly surprised.
Not only did it turn out to be a piece of extremely good equipment, but it also seemed to be extremely important for the Orcs considering that it was passed down and only worn by the Orcs' legendary figures.
Even though it was not good enough to be worn by Rex, it was still valuable.
If the ability could work on Rex, then it would be extremely good.
However, it won't work on Rex as his realm was too high for eighth-rank equipment.
Gelmar is quite perfect for this, maybe I'll give it to him later.
Anyway, the banquet is going well. Seems like the night is going to end in a good note.
As Rex made his way to the side—intent on quenching his dry throat with a drink from all the talking he did, there were a couple of figures in the corner of the room looking at him closely, not with bad intention—but with a hint of shame instead.
It was King Jorik and General Theodas of the Dark Elves.
Both had given their congratulations to Rex but were met with an extremely cold shoulder.
Rex didn't show it, but it could be felt throughout their conversations.
"What should we do about this, my King?" General Theodas said, troubled by their situation.
Upon hearing this, King Jorik remained silent as he too didn't know what to do.
Minutes before the coronation starts earlier—King Jorik, General Theodas alongside the Dark Elves they brought with them, were surprised by the sudden change in formations. Instead of standing beside the Elves, they found themselves relegated to the end, beside the Orcs.
Starting from that point, they could already feel something was wrong.
Even the Orcs were surprised to see them change positions.
Orcs were not acquainted directly with the emperor, so naturally, they were positioned at the very end during the coronation. But to think that the Dark Elves were changed, and placed to their side was quite surprising.
Furthermore—the delegate sent by King Jorik to meet with Flunra was acting weird.
When he came back, he seemed to be in pain albeit trying to hide it.
Now that Rex was giving them the cold shoulder, it was clear that their position was wobbly.
However, similar to the Dark Elves, Nezera also seemed to be troubled.
"Calidora, why didn't you tell him about the child? Why did you let Evelyn be empress?"
"If you played it correctly, you could've been the Empress easily!"
Speaking in a hushed tone, cloaked with blood energy, Nezera was confused as to why—her daughter decided to keep her child a secret. Knowing the emperor—there was no doubt that he would make Calidora empress if the child was known.
But instead of doing that, Calidora remained secretive and silent.
As opposed to answering, Nezera was silenced when an enigmatic smile crept to Calidora.
Calidora's fangs poked out as she gazed at Evelyn in the distance.