CHAPTER 123: CHAPTER: 123 THE CONFERENCE.[7]

The emperor snapped his fingers as the arguments didn’t seem to stop.

The emperor’s snap hit the room like a hammer striking metal.

Every voice fell silent at once.

He turned to his brother, the commander of the royal army.

"What do you think, Vikram? What should we do?"

Vikram finally lifted his head.

He had been quiet the whole time, listening to every argument without interrupting.

His face showed deep thought, as if he had been weighing every word spoken so far.

After a moment, he stood up.

"With everything we’ve heard... we cannot allow a traitor to move around freely."

His tone was calm, but the killing intent behind it was sharp enough to make a few officials stiffen in their seats.

The emperor didn’t look surprised.

He simply nodded and turned his gaze to another corner of the hall.

"What about you, Sir Vined?"

Vined rose slowly.

"I agree with Sir Vikram," he said.

"Fighting in that icy plain will be hard for our soldiers. Many will struggle with the cold. But we have our powerhouses. They can cover the weaknesses of the army and prevent heavy losses."

A few heads nodded at that.

Powerhouses meant Swordmasters, and elite forces, people who didn’t care about weather or terrain.

Then Duke Sant spoke up, his voice steady but cold.

"A war is unavoidable. If this were only related to my grandson, I would have handled it quietly."

"But Duke Tramplin has gone too far. He is not just protecting himself, he is trying to shake the entire empire."

His eyes hardened.

"We should crush him with overwhelming force. That will end the problem and serve as a warning to anyone else who dares to think the same way."

The hall grew tense again, but this time the atmosphere felt more focused.

The wild arguing from before had settled.

The direction was becoming clear, like a blurry painting finally sharpening into shape.

The emperor sank into deep thought.

He didn’t say a word, and nobody dared to interrupt him.

The hall stayed completely silent, everyone waiting for the final decision.

After a long pause, his eyes opened sharply.

"The empire is in danger," he said, each word steady and clear.

"So now the question is... what do we do?"

He looked around the hall slowly.

"In an emergency like this, we cannot waste time with voting or long debate. The final decision is this: we will go to war against Duke Tramplin. And anyone who supports him... we will find them and destroy them."

His voice carried firm will, like steel that refused to bend.

No one objected. Some wanted to, but they didn’t dare.

All the strongest people in the empire were already on the side of war.

Changing the outcome was impossible.

As heads nodded one after another, the emperor let out a small breath and was about to sink back into his thoughts.

But then his wife gave him a pointed look.

He froze for a moment, then quickly stood up straighter, completely understanding what she meant.

"It is thanks to Vivian D. Zenithara that we learned all of this," he announced.

"His hard work, his courage, and his willingness to take risks helped uncover the truth."

His wife nudged him harder, her elbow pressing into his side as her eyes flicked toward their daughter.

Charlotte was smiling at Vivian with a soft, dreamy look.

The emperor coughed and corrected himself quickly.

"And of course... Princess Charlotte also played a part. She took part in this dangerous mission as well."

The moment her name was spoken, Charlotte snapped out of her daze and turned toward her father.

Her cheeks turned pink in embarrassment as she thought she was caught while watching him like that.

The hall felt lighter for a brief moment, even in the middle of such heavy news.

He cleared his throat and continued, "They will both be rewarded, and tomorrow, there will be a celebration."

"During that celebration, I will announce something very important."

He threw a quick glance at his wife, clearly hoping for a hint of approval... maybe even a proud smile.

After all, this "important announcement" was something he came up with himself, and it involved their daughter and Vivian.

His wife only snorted softly and turned her head away, refusing to encourage him.

The emperor’s shoulders drooped for a moment, but he kept going like a man marching through a storm.

"Everyone may leave and rest. Tomorrow, the celebration will be held in the royal palace."

He continued, "attendance is mandatory. No one may leave the capital until further notice."

His voice carried the weight of imperial authority, final, sharp, and impossible to argue with.

"Dismissed."

At that command, all the officials rose from their seats at once.

Cloaks rustled, chairs scraped, and footsteps echoed as they walked toward the exit with stiff backs and heavy thoughts.

Vivian stayed where he was, waiting calmly.

He didn’t miss the way Charlotte was watching him from her seat.

The moment the hall wasn’t crowded anymore, she called out softly, "Wait."

Vivian stopped.

Charlotte nearly rushed to him, her steps quick and a little clumsy.

Her face was red, her hands fidgeting slightly.

There was no way she had forgotten everything that happened yesterday.

Vivian looked at her, expression calm as ever.

"Why is your face red?"

His tone was flat, but he was far from peaceful inside.

During the entire meeting, the perverted sword spirit had been rambling nonstop inside his head.

He was complaining, commenting, gossiping, and acting like a drama-loving old auntie.

It was a miracle he didn’t slam his head into a wall just to shut him up.

Charlotte’s blush only deepened as she tried to think of how to answer him.

The air between them carried a strange tension, soft, awkward, and impossible to ignore.

"N-nothing," she managed, voice trembling just a bit.

Every time her eyes landed on Vivian since yesterday, her mind replayed that moment, his closeness, his touch, the danger they shared, the embarrassment, the rush of emotion.

Her imagination had gone wild ever since, and the result was simple but tragic: nosebleeds.

Lots of them.

During the conference she looked perfectly calm and elegant, but she had secretly used a small artifact to hide the blood each time it started leaking.

If anyone had seen the truth, half the hall would’ve fainted from shock.

Vivian didn’t press her.

He simply turned around and said, "Let’s go. Father and Grandfather are waiting."

Charlotte nodded quickly and followed a step behind him.

She tried her best not to stare at his back for too long, in case her nose betrayed her again.

Not far away, the emperor watched the two walk together.

His face twisted with pure jealousy.

His daughter talked to Vivian so gently... but when she talked to him, she acted as if she was dealing with an annoying older cousin she barely tolerated.

He had to put in effort, real, exhausting effort, just to get a "hm" out of her.

A tiny, tragic sigh slipped out of him.

The empress patted his back lightly, a warm gleam in her eyes.

"Don’t worry," she said with a soft laugh.

"She won’t forget you."

He sighed again, a man defeated not by enemies... but by his own daughter’s affection for someone else.

Their footsteps echoed through the hall as the young pair walked ahead, while behind them the emperor continued brooding like a jealous father in a grand palace.

Vivian and Charlotte stepped out of the parliament hall together.

The cold air outside felt lighter than the heavy silence they’d just left behind.

They weren’t accompanied by anyone.

His grandfather was busy speaking with the current patriarch of the Zaran family, something urgent, judging by how serious both men looked.

And his father... well, he had been kidnapped.

Commander Vikram von Indrath had thrown an arm around his father’s shoulders the moment the conference ended.

He was grinning like a man who had waited years for this moment.

Apparently, the two had been friends since their academy days.

At first, they were rivals, but their relationship evolved into a friendship.

They hadn’t met in a long time.

The parliament wasn’t exactly a place for emotional reunions.

So as soon as they stepped outside, Vikram grabbed him with the strength of a bear and declared,

"We’re getting a drink. Now."

Vivian’s father barely had time to open his mouth before he was dragged away like a sack of potatoes, shouting,

"At least let me say goodbye to my son—!"

But Vikram didn’t care.

He was already pulling him down the corridor with a laugh that echoed all the way to the entrance.

From the way Vikram acted inside the parliament, calm, sharp, and deadly serious, Vivian had assumed he was the cold, stoic type.

Then the conference ended, and the man turned into a loud, laughing beast dragging people to bars.

Vivian truly didn’t know how someone could shift personality so fast.

It felt like watching a sword turn into a pillow in the blink of an eye.

He exhaled and glanced at Charlotte beside him.

"Why are you behaving like that?" he asked quietly.

"Is it because of what happened yesterday?"

The memory drifted back to him, her leaning in, not just for a kiss, but something far more reckless and bold.

It had taken all his self-control to stop her before she did something she would faint over in the morning.

Charlotte played with her hair, twisting the ends nervously.

Her lips formed a tiny pout, her eyes darting away as if she was trying to escape her own thoughts.

Vivian let out a soft chuckle.

She rarely acted like this.

In front of others, she was calm, dignified, composed, the proud princess of the Indrath empire.

But with him... she couldn’t hide anything.

Seeing her so embarrassed, he decided to be merciful.

"It’s already night," he said.

"Let’s go see what’s happening in the capital."

Charlotte looked up at him, her face still red, but a small spark lit her eyes.

She nodded, trailing a step closer than before, pretending it was just coincidence.

The city lights beyond the palace gates glowed softly, waiting for whatever came next.