CHAPTER 57: NINE OF THEM IN ONE CITY

Preparations were only halfway complete when the twentieth day arrived, and noblemen and noblewomen from all corners of the empire had already begun to arrive.

The city was in a festive mood. According to Luke’s orders, the celebration would last for half a month, meaning that the celebration that began on April 19 would continue until May 4.

Everywhere was decorated in the colours of Hiera.

Every shop in the city was actively carrying out its business.

The first thing the nobles who came to the city did was to visit the jeweller in the bazaar because of the rumours about the jeweller, supported by Luke.

Valentina Frost had indeed taken on hundreds of jobs to keep it going this year. Of course, this amounted to thousands, even tens of thousands of gold pieces.

Luke, on the other hand, was continuing to prepare the festival meals with the palace cooks, using foods made from plants he had never seen before, such as ’potatoes,’ and even ready-made items from the shop panel.

He had purchased many plants, vegetables, and fruits and stored them.

Even if the feast were to last two months instead of fifteen days, the menus that had been prepared would allow the feast to continue without any issues.

It would also be accurate to say that the plants, that is, the vegetables and fruits, had begun to be cultivated in dozens of greenhouses.

After all, Luke had other things he wanted to do besides the feast, that is, besides feeding the nobles. Such as ensuring his people had extra food.

The potato plant, which Luke had tasted and loved, was also part of this.

Luke was busy entertaining the nobles in the middle of the city. To be honest, every noble who had wronged Luke avoided his gaze, and he was already aware of each one of them.

The other nobles, who were even planning to go as far as to entertain him if he were expelled from the imperial palace, were already busy praising the city alongside him.

Everything was proceeding normally. Until the roars heard from afar began to echo one by one within the city.

Luke looked directly at Callum and began running with him towards the city gates, towards the area kilometres away.

The roars were getting closer every second. Luke knew who was coming, but he didn’t want to summon the Ancient Dragon Shenhal.

Shortly after, seven dragons appeared on the horizon, growing larger every second.

Luke realised that his sisters were coming. But there was one more dragon besides his seven sisters. The person riding this dragon was none other than Alfred the Second himself.

The nobles were stunned by what they saw. Everyone had heard of the dragons and even the phoenixes flying from the north to the capital, but this was the first time they had seen them.

These dragons had arrived over the city in a short time and had even managed to circle a few times. Then Penelope Aria Heira, Luke’s eldest sister, descended to the area at the city’s entrance and spoke to him from her dragon.

When each dragon, including Alfred’s, landed, they gathered in front of Luke.

Alfred looked tired, but he wasn’t as bad as Zoey had described. Of course, there was the possibility that he had somehow got help.

The dragons were busy looking into Luke’s eyes. The fact that they were still growling and making noise was clearly frightening the nobles around them.

After all, it was astonishing that a normal person could even breathe in front of a dragon... and on top of that, these dragons weren’t attacking.

"Silence," Luke said calmly, using his commanding tone.

With that, each dragon suddenly closed its jaws, and Luke then said, "Go to the palace," again using his commanding tone.

The dragons suddenly took flight from where they were and headed southeast, as if they had read Luke’s mind.

Even so, it was clear who had more authority over the dragons.

Luke’s sisters smiled, Alfred watched with stressed eyes, and the nobles around them were clearly frightened.

"Beautiful walls," said Lucy, Luke’s fourth sister.

When Luke heard these words, he naturally realised that his sister was trying to soften the atmosphere and decided to go along with it.

"Made from the valuable, sturdy stones of Mythril and the Tholien Mountains, with a much higher Mythril content, but I couldn’t care less, at least they’re resistant to magical beasts," Luke replied.

He then turned to Kevin, who had come over to Callum, and said, "If you see a noble who is breaking the city rules, you have permission to arrest them, but try not to be disrespectful."

After these words, Luke took his sisters and returned to the city. He tried not to pay much attention to his father, but at least he knew not to behave disrespectfully.

"I think the other dukes will arrive in the city shortly. If you don’t want to walk to the palace, I can call for carriages," Luke said suddenly.

"No need," a voice came from the back of the group.

Luke stopped where he was and turned around to look at the person who had spoken, his father, Alfred Hiera.

"Are you sure... father?" Luke asked.

With Alfred’s nod, the group began walking again. Anyone who saw Luke in the city seemed to be trying to bow down in reverence. The Dark Elves’ patrols and the mythril armour on the soldiers drew enormous attention.

The city had become far more refined than the capital, and it didn’t take a genius to notice.

When Elsa stepped outside after the patrol team, she approached Luke and began walking with the group. She didn’t even bother to turn around and look at the other Hieras. It seemed as though Elsa worshipped Luke as the only Hiera.

"My lord, I spoke with an envoy who brought news from the western continent," Elsa said suddenly.

When Luke heard these words, he gave the command, "Speak."

When Elsa heard these words, she finally turned around and looked at the other Hieras before turning back to Luke and saying, "There are too many people, my lord."