Time, dawn.

Location, Heavenly Dome Palace.

The black-haired wizard who had not slept all night stood in front of the window, his eyes swept over the palace guards who had also not left all night, standing like steel sculptures on both sides of the palace and stairs, their armor and shields already covered with mist and morning dew.

Loren sighed heavily.

It can make these northern legions so persevering, and they stay up all night standing guard in the palace for only one thing, and only for one person.

Coronation of Conrad de Salion.

Speaking of the coronation ceremony of the Emperor, it can also be traced back to His Majesty Eckhart I in the second generation of the Empire, and only a few families still have this history of how His Majesty the Emperor, who started the "Great Conquest" against the invasion of monsters, "snatched" the coronation ceremony from the hands of the Holy Cross Church.

Yes, Sacra, as far back as the First Age and even in the Old Kingdom, was no different from any principality today, and the archbishop of the Holy Cross crowned the emperor – a sign that the Holy Cross had given the emperor the power to "rule over the world" and allow him to control the world.

On the other hand, it is also a sign of some kind of agreement between the two sides: it was not the royal family that kept the Sakran Empire together at the beginning of the empire, and it was not the dragons who saved the people living in a world ruled by evil gods and monsters... but the Church of the Holy Cross;

Defender of the Holy Cross, Reptor of Wisdom and Truth—a title that is both an honour and a promise, the Emperor of the House of de Salion, who will protect and uphold the Church for generations.

But this promise "changed" a little by the time of Eckhart I.

His Majesty the Emperor, who had returned from a great victory, first prepared to hold a grander coronation ceremony for himself on the grounds of "the great conquest", "the return of Byrne and Boi", and "the marriage of the empress", so that the nobles of the whole empire could come to watch the ceremony.

The church happily agreed, as it would also help to increase the prestige of the church.

Immediately afterwards, His Majesty the Emperor transferred the coronation ceremony from the Cathedral to the Heavenly Dome on the grounds that "Byrne and Boi do not believe in the Holy Cross".

The church reluctantly agreed, as the powerful Valkyrie-believing Duchy of Byrne deserved the Emperor's actions.

Finally, the emperor wanted to avoid kneeling during the coronation ceremony, and at the same time appoint a priest with whom he had a particularly good relationship to be crowned, and the archbishop could watch the ceremony.

Seeing that the emperor had returned from a great victory, and did not want to upset the emperor at the wedding, the church gritted its teeth and agreed.

So at the coronation ceremony that year, there was an incident that would not be recorded at all - the priest who was supposed to put a crown on the emperor actually knelt down directly on the emperor's knees and offered the iron crown with both hands!

The triumphant Eckhart I not only took the crown and put it on himself, but also put on the crown for his own queen, declared that he had drawn the final frontier for the empire from Lothair in the north to Byrne in the south, and formed the first council of the "Knights of Edgeworth".

This far-reaching coronation ceremony has been turned into "black history" in later historical records, and the clergyman who presented the crown to the emperor and almost became an archbishop for a time also died in an unknown assassination.

However, the fact that the coronation ceremony was held in the Heavenly Dome Palace has become a new tradition and has been preserved.

......................................................

"While I don't think there is a need to dwell on such matters, it is still my traditional duty as the Lord of the Seals, as head of the Imperial Cabinet, to supervise the dukes in obedience to the laws of the Empire and to behave in a manner befitting their status during ceremonies. ”

Going to the center of the corridor of the main hall of the Heavenly Dome Palace, Metternich Leopold, who was dressed in a dark blue and gold-rimmed robe, and was draped in a curly curl, stood with his hands tied, smiling and looking at the grand dukes in front of him with a serious smile.

Or rather, a group of "problem children" who have a headache to the point of exploding.

"Yes, yes, we all know how to pretend to be a good person, to dress like a lady who has never been to bed!" Salika Jonah, who looked impatient, waved her hand again and again, and snatched the old man's words:

"We're going to be a good baby on Conod's big day—hey, what's that look at you? Could it be that you really haven't been to bed, well, it doesn't seem strange to look at your size." ”

Ignoring the serious and sharp gaze of the Duke of Ellemont, Ully Wirtz, the Archduchess of the Scimitar snorted disdainfully, and glanced away with one hand.

"I said... Can anyone tell me what is the difference between this coronation ceremony and the one in my hometown?" Lu Wen, who had just woken up and was notified that he was going to attend the ceremony, scratched his head with a blank face - he was the only one who did not attend the last meeting yesterday: "Also, what do you want us to do? Do you want to kneel, I don't want to kneel for Conod!"

"Oh, it's easy to say. Nolan Ode, the Grand Duke of Arles, who was also holding the handle of the knife and smiling with a "social senior" posture, explained to him very patiently:

"We don't need to kneel, we just need to sit in our chairs, stay in a steady state, put on the puppets the whole time, stand up if necessary, and shout 'Long live the Emperor' three times—this is the prerogative of the dukes, and we are only half a rank below the Emperor. ”

"And what if he forces us to kneel?"

"That's easy, I'll just put the knife on top of your head and you'll instinctively dodge it - it would seem like kneeling to them. ”

"Hey, this is a good solution, thank you!"

"You're welcome, it's all as it should be, as it should be......"

The minister who kept the seal silently could only smile bitterly.

"You've become quiet, Duke of Loren Turin. Looking at the black-haired wizard who had not spoken a word from beginning to end, Metternich Leopold said softly:

"Has it become more cautious, or is there something else going on?"

"I think you're thinking too much, Lord Keeper of the Seals—I've always been a cautious man and don't talk much. Loren said very calmly: "But thank you for the reminder, I will be more cautious in the future." ”

"Holy Cross Blessing, that's wonderful. The Minister of the Seal smiled happily and said with some emotion: "There are always people who think that heroes and great men should dare to act, but they don't know that prudence is fundamental. ”

"Having a bottom line and principles is the biggest difference between a hero and a villain, and prudence and steadfastness are the talismans of knights, protecting them from being invincible and invincible on the battlefield. ”

After speaking, the minister of the seal with a meaningful expression turned to leave, and the palace guards on both sides immediately approached, "arching the guard" to the main hall of the Heavenly Dome Palace.

Looking at the legionnaires beside them, fully armed, holding their shields and holding their blades, the dukes frowned slightly.

Although in the imperial tradition, the royal guards of the Heavenly Dome Palace were "accompanied" by the royal guards of the Heavenly Dome Palace, which was an honor and treatment that only dukes could enjoy, the current tension and the fierce glow that emerged from under the helmets obviously had nothing to do with any "honor", but more like a jailer escorting prisoners.

Feeling the extremely oppressive atmosphere, even Ruwen, who had never cared much about this, sensed that something was not quite right, and Salika Jonah snorted coldly, deliberately speeding up her pace to express her dissatisfaction, and directly ignored the guards' warning gaze.

"It's really grand, extraordinary coronation. ”

With a somewhat hideous smile, Nolan Ode deliberately approached the black-haired wizard and said, "It's surprising that such a legion-style coronation ceremony is worthy of the emperor who has returned from the fortress of Broken Mountain—he probably can't tell the difference between a fortress and a palace, right?"

"Where, when it comes to surprise, you are the one who surprises me the most. The corners of his mouth were hooked, and Loren, who did not look back, showed a slight sneer:

"The Duchy of Arles and the royal family of de Salion have been hostile to each other for twelve generations, but you have come to an end - the first Grand Duke of Arles to join the Emperor and ally with the Emperor will surely go down in history a hundred years from now. ”

"I've won the prize, I'm just better at judging the situation. ”

Nolan Ode, who raised his eyebrows and showed a mouthful of fangs, chuckled, as if he didn't hear Loren's cynicism: "In the current situation, Brandon already has you and Duke Salica by his side, and you have such a good relationship with Duke Leuven; ”

"Of course, distant relatives are not as good as close neighbors, and even if Conod is willing to support me, the most he can do is verbally support, and the only one who can really threaten Arles is your Byrne, so if you and His Royal Highness Brandon need information about the Emperor, you can come to me - I am a person who likes to make friends, especially the rich and powerful!"

Looking at his "sincere and enthusiastic" smile, Loren, who had been silent for a long time, spit out a sentence for a long time:

“...... Lord Nolan Ode, you are a real person. ”

"If you were to rule the six realms of Arles as I did, and to establish your own state in a saline land full of deserts and trolls, you would be as real as I am. Nolan Ode grinned:

"The Holy Cross has given Byrne the most fertile land in the world, Lothair a forest full of prey, and Arles with only barren land and a band of treacherous, greedy, evil and incurable people. ”

"My uncle's head was cut off by a mob of anti-tax mobs while he was bathing, and the first thing my grandfather did when he became duke was to rob my father's family of land so that his men could be appeased and not rebel. ”

The Duke of Arles spoke unhurriedly, and as the group walked up the stairs to the main hall, he said eloquently: "So, it is said that other dukes have to deal with only outsiders, and the lord of Arles has to fight with his own family before dealing with outsiders... Look, the main hall of the Heavenly Dome Palace, we have arrived. ”

Stepping into the hall, the first thing that caught Loren's eye was still in the center, the coat of arms of the de Salion family, the iron crown held up by the three-headed dragon.

Compared to the last Imperial Trial, the hall now looks unusually plain, with few ornaments to be found except for the chandeliers overhead and the tapestries on either side, and even these things look very discordant, as if they had been hastily moved from another palace.

There were already a lot of guests in the hall, but there were clearly more legionnaires than their numbers - if it weren't for the daylight lights and tapestries on both sides, it would have given the illusion of being in a barracks.

Looking at the solemn hall, and the guests present—mainly the Imperial nobles and the invited wizards and clerics—almost all of them had strained faces and barely squeezed out smiles.

As long as they give an order, they can make their blood splash on the spot.

On the contrary, the dukes, who had just "seen the scene", were calm at the moment, and there was no longer the slightest uncomfortable expression, after all, even if the emperor wanted to monopolize power, he would not dominate his vassals at his coronation ceremony.

Of course, what is more important is that the troops from the six principalities have also arrived in the imperial capital at this moment, and they are stationed outside the palace gate of the Heavenly Dome Palace; once there is a change, the army of nearly 10,000 people will be gathered together, and it will be able to break through the newly renovated Heavenly Dome Palace in less than a quarter of an hour.

At least, that's what the dukes think.

"This will probably be recorded in the 'most legionary' coronation, like the Dragon Empress's coronation in the style of 'most like dinner and drama and marriage proposals'. ”

With a mocking expression, Nolan Ode, who ignored the gaze of Yuri Wirtz behind him, still sneered: "But... It's quite in line with the current situation. ”

"An empire that has lost an emperor and is about to face an existential war, the 'legion style' really fits perfectly - I don't know how many legions we need to send to death in order to save this empire; a hundred, two hundred?"

"Or... Sacrifice another emperor of House de Salion and give a hero notoriety – as in the great conquest of Eckhart I, the Battle of Bloodborne Valley by Brandon the Sage, the final battle of the Dragon Empress – the Emperors always get what they want, but sometimes the outcome may not be the same as they think. ”

The Duke of Arles, who meant it, set his eyes on the figures under the coat of arms of de Salion.

There were two more figures accompanying Conrad de Salion who walked out.

The one on the left is the well-known Minister of the Seals, Metternich Leopold, standing with his hands down.

On the right, an elderly man is dying, barely able to stand still with the help of two young men in clerical robes, on crutches.

"Ladies and gentlemen......"

"On this painful and tragic and noble and holy day, I hereby solemnly declare to you the authority bestowed upon me by the Lord of the Seals;"

The gentle voice of the Minister of the Seals sounded, but in a depressing hall, it was so clear, and every character carried an indescribable power.

"My Emperor Is Dead......

"Long live my emperor——!"