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"Wah! Look, Calix!!" 

Kel pressed her hands against the window excitedly.

"I promise you'll have time to see all of it," the Emperor chuckled, encouraging her to retake her seat.

"All the time in the world wouldn't be enough to see everything here," Kel breathed.

A large gap appeared between some of the buildings outside, revealing an unobscured view of the ocean that lay beyond.

The water stretched as far as she could see, with several ships sprinkled across the waves. For all the times she'd pictured the ocean, she'd never imagined it to be so vast. The awe of it took her breath away.

"Hey, Calix, lo-Urk!"

Kel grunted as Calix suddenly pulled her down into his lap.

While she'd been admiring the water, he'd switched to her side of the carriage and scooted himself right behind her.

"It's dangerous," he smiled.

"Ah.. r-right," Kel blushed, rapidly turning her attention back to the window.

Thanks to the added height of Calix's legs, she could see much better than when she'd been sitting down before.

And judging by a suspicious lump against her backside, Kel guessed the Emperor was feeling satisfied with their current position as well.

… A little too satisfied.

Kel gulped.

"Relax, I won't eat you," Calix whispered. ".. not yet."

Gah! I'm trapped with a madman! Kel screamed internally.

And like that, the ride from the outskirts of Halseva to the palace became the longest for Kel out of the entire journey. 

Despite Kel's discomfort, however, the carriage eventually rolled to a stop.

In terms of appearance, the palace of Halseva wasn't much different from the other buildings they'd passed. It was made of the same material and had the same basic exterior look.

The only thing that distinguished this particular building as the palace was its sheer size.

It had to be nearly seven floors tall and took up the length of an entire city street.

Kel felt especially delighted when she noticed that most of the rooms had balconies attached, and many of those balconies faced the ocean.

She hoped desperately that she and Calix would be placed in one of the rooms with an ocean view. 

"You seem far too excited," the Emperor whispered to her as he escorted her off the carriage. "If I didn't know better, I'd mistake it for nerves."

"Oh. That too," Kel replied quietly, suddenly remembering the rebels that were supposedly 'lying in wait' for them.

This wasn't a pleasure trip, after all. They had come to officially settle Pandreia's surrender to the Serin Empire.

And not everyone in the sea-side kingdom was happy about that.

The previous Pandreian Crown Prince was waiting for them outside the doors. He personally welcomed and led the Dragon Emperor and his consort into the palace.

"Welcome to the gulf's crown jewel," he bowed elegantly.

Kel had to admit, the outside of the palace had been deceiving. She would have never referred to it as a 'crown jewel'.

But the inside was marvelous.

Ornate rugs and tapestries decorated the walls and floors, surrounding ceiling-high pillars that looked as if they were made of solid gold. Colorful glass lanterns cast a cozy glow throughout, making the massive space feel small and comfortable.

"Please follow me, Your Majesties," the prince instructed, motioning for them to follow him down one of the many hallways shooting off from the main room.

The path he led them on took them past magnificent courtyards, elegant fountains, grand ballrooms and mesmerizing sculptures.

Kel could hardly keep her head still as they walked, resisting the urge to glance every which way. So far, the ocean-side city was living up to all her expectations. She could only imagine how spectacular the ocean must be if the palace was already so wonderful.

Eventually, the prince came to a halt in front of doors that Kel could only assume led to the palace's throne room.

Like many other fixtures in the building, they looked like solid gold and were carved with an intricate floral pattern. On either side of the lavish doors, stood many guards ready to draw their swords at a moment's notice.

Turning and bending once again into a deep bow, the prince said, "it is our pleasure to offer you the Ruby Room, the Place of Kings."

The guards all followed the prince's lead and fell to their knees in front of the Dragon Emperor, placing their foreheads against the ground.

They're really trying to put on a good show for the Emperor, Kel thought to herself. 

Their efforts were commendable but laughable. When the Emperor set up a new government in Pandreia, as he had done in Mevani, he wouldn't choose representatives based on how deeply they bowed to him.

He had explained it to her before, his strategy when selecting the new government officials.

The goal was to choose people who were competent enough, but not too competent. Additionally, he placed his own people in key positions. The combination was meant to ensure leadership would be carried out efficiently but could not be carried out without the Dragon Emperor's direction.

In other words, the governments left in charge of the territories would ensure the people don't suffer and also don't have the means to rise up against the Empire.

The former Crown Prince should have been wise enough to know he was already lucky to keep his life this long, nevermind his power.

Then again, if the Prince was simply putting on a show while he plotted behind the Emperor's back, he wouldn't end up keeping his life anyway.

Briefly, Kel began to wonder who was actually involved in the brewing rebellion. Were the dissenters entirely composed of council members like the mysterious Altair she had seen meeting with Taegus? Or was there someone more powerful behind them?

Someone from the royal family.

As she inspected every face they passed on the way into the Ruby Room--servants, guards, and the Crown Prince--each one seemed entirely capable of concealing a very big secret.

She needed to keep her guard up from now on.

Danger could be lurking around every corner in the magnificent golden palace.