Continent Year 726, Parnos 11th.

The original work, ‘The Flower of Lusensia,’ welcomes a grand chapter. And that too, in a completely unexpected manner.

“Your Majesty!”

The courtier rushed into the Imperial Palace Banquet Hall and shouted.

“Your Majesty, you must escape. Right now, outside…”

“Guests have arrived.”

Hershis interrupted the courtier’s words, leisurely lifting a teacup.

For a moment, the dazed courtier admired the lord’s elegant composure and then quickly regained his senses.

“Your Majesty, now is not the time for this. Outside, Duke Montaner…”

“There’s no need to fuss. It’s just a few guests who have come.”

“Your Majesty, but it’s not just a few…”

“The taste of the tea is excellent.”

Hershis maintained a consistently relaxed attitude.

Even the optimistic courtier seemed to be influenced by that composure, forgetting the tragedy I had witnessed and experienced.

The Imperial Palace had been invaded! By Montaner, the duke who had once been loyal, and his soldiers.

Unfortunately, the Imperial Guards had been extensively deployed to suppress a rebellion, leaving fewer than a hundred soldiers within the palace. It was a perfect numerical disadvantage.

Furthermore, the duke’s soldiers didn’t know how to fight fairly, not realizing that the soldiers were men in armor. They ruthlessly massacred like men who had come to taste blood, and the sight of the spilled blood only fueled their frenzy.

Except for the main palace, the rest of the Imperial Palace was quickly captured.

The courtier had watched it all meticulously hidden behind a building wall.

However, this person, as if indifferent to the chaos outside, seemed to be enjoying tea time as if nothing was happening.

‘Is he thinking about something? Where did Empress Feyha go?’

The courtier observed the burning and looting of the empress’s palace and other places, the barbarian soldiers wreaking havoc, cursing and coming out of there.

‘Did Her Majesty evacuate in advance? Then again, she probably knew this chaos would happen.’

Thinking that way, he felt a little relieved.

The chandelier light reflected in the mirror of the banquet hall seemed to cast a halo behind the emperor, a sign of hope.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

The sound of the door slamming was followed by the sound of military boots echoing as if hooves were pounding the ground.

Startled, the courtier forgot his manners and hid behind Hershis.

About a hundred rough barbarian soldiers filled the hall, brandishing menacing weapons.

“It seems quite a few guests have come.”

Hershis greeted them calmly, without even raising an eyebrow.

“If I had known there would be so many, I would have brewed more tea.”

The courtier tensed, worried that he might be asked to brew tea in this situation. Fortunately, that didn’t happen.

Before that, someone else appeared.

“Long time no see, Hare. How have you been?”

Duke Montaner leisurely passed through his soldiers and stood in front of them.
He wore no armor, held no weapon. Undoubtedly, it was the appearance of an uncle who had come to meet his nephew.

“I’ve always been curious about your well-being, my nephew.”

The affectionate voice and the love reflected in the smile were the essence of an uncle who loved his nephew.

Truly, it was an utterly consistent pretense.

“I’m honored that you’ve personally come to inquire about my well-being, Uncle.”

“Like a person who loves more the weaker one, one should ask more about the well-being of the person one is more curious about. Don’t you think so, my nephew?”

“That’s true. But…”

Hershis scanned the surroundings with a glance, then chuckled and said, “You seem to have inquired about the well-being of too many people at once.”

The mocking laughter became even stronger.

“Are you perhaps overestimating me too much? Or maybe… you’ve underestimated yourself too much, Uncle.”

“…”

“Well, it seems I’ve grown too big to handle alone.”

Hershis burst into laughter. Sijong noticed that Duke Montaner watched this with a smile, much like looking at an adorable child.

It was impossible to tell which one was not in their right mind.

“Anyway, welcome. Since you’ve come all this way, why not have a cup of tea? Even if I can’t entertain all the guests who came together, I can at least host one uncle.”

Hershis poured tea with a composed attitude.

Duke Montaner, watching this, smiled mysteriously and climbed onto the stage.

“There’s nothing I can’t drink.”

Sijong, with an uneasy expression, approached Hershis.

He wanted to speak, to tell about the life-threatening journey he took to get here, to share what he had seen.

The barbarian soldiers, numbering almost five times that of the ones here, were scattered throughout the imperial palace, and they were probably surrounding the main palace now.

If there were any plans prepared in advance, now was not the time to leisurely drink tea. It was the time to execute them quickly, whether it was to attract their attention or to escape.

“Uh… there, you… Emp…”

But once again, his words were blocked by Hershis.