Chapter 16: Council.
Lee had to admit. The emperor was a genius. Or maybe, it was his architect.
The bright sunlight directly shone on the throne, lighting up the gold along with the gemstones and when the mighty man finally arrived and sat, it was as if an otherworldly being decided to bless the puny mortals with his presence.
To reinforce the impression, the emperor wore a white robe embroidered with gold, but sadly the ugly redhead at his side, dressed similarly to her father, instantly shattered the beautiful illusion.
During the past years Lee had heard countless people praise her looks, claiming she was the most beautiful woman in the world, but every time he saw her, he felt nauseated.
True, her face was nice and oval, and had the right proportions, but the pale white skin and the creepy red eyes made it hard to resist the impulse to run away in the opposite direction while loudly screaming and waving hands in panic.
Fortunately, during the meeting she didn't stand next to her father and everyone didn't have to see her when looking at the emperor. The problem was, or rather, Lee's problem was – she sat across the prime minister and basically no matter how Lee turned his head, as long as his eyes were open, he had to look at her damned face.
"Welcome! It's rare for all of you to gather here at the same time!" The Emperor started the meeting, but Lee was amused by the subtle usage of you instead of us.
"First things first. Apart from the tragic incident, once again, my condolences to the minister of agriculture, the expedition to Elsdon was a great success. Not only we weeded out an established rebel branch, turns out they had some kind of strategic meeting at the time, and we were lucky to eliminate twelve of their elemental warriors."
Lee glanced at Minister Farcry and was surprised to see an unfamiliar youth next to him. Apparently the man had another son who after Dale's death was promoted to the position of an heir. But only then Lee realized that in Pine Village there were twelve youths, but besides Prime Minister Bates, there were three generals and five ministers present.