Guest Of Honour

-Splash!

With a splash of water, Scarlett appeared inside her courtyard along with Egon.

He looked around enviously since his courtyard was nothing compared to Scarlett's. She even had a cool secret tunnel to go in and out of her residence.

"Brother, wait here. I will change into my Imperial garments and then we can go meet our father."

Scarlett spoke calmly from the side as her appearance reverted to the original one. She went to her room and quickly donned her regal dress before leading her brother out of the courtyard to Imperial Palace.

As soon as she stepped out of her inner courtyard, the maids assigned to night duty looked at her and Egon strangely. But one look at their princess' serious face kept them from asking any questions about Egon.

They followed her obediently as she strode towards the emperor's abode. It didn't take long for her to reach the Imperial Bedchambers located in the depths of the Imperial Palace.

"Your Highness, please forgive us. His Majesty is cultivating and has asked us to not allow anyone inside."

Again, she was stopped by two guards who stood in front of her father's bedchamber.

Scarlett massaged her forehead in frustration. Why was he cultivating so hard now that the Phoenix festival was just around the corner? Shouldn't he be handling the preparations?

"Let her in."

Just as she was thinking about bringing her mother and first brother to discuss the matter, a cool and majestic voice slipped through the door and echoed out in the hallway.

"Can I go in now?" Scarlett asked with annoyance.

"Please, Your Highness." The guards quickly opened the door and let her and Egon go inside. The rest of her entourage was made to wait outside.

"Father!"

Scarlett cried out looking at her father's ashen face. Dark circles hung heavy by his eyes and his face looked white as a ghost.

"Father? What happened? Are you alright?"

Egon was one step ahead of his sister as he walked near the bed and knelt beside the place where the emperor was sitting cross-legged with his back hunched.

"Sigh~ Don't worry, you two. I am fine—cough!" He coughed in between as he talked. "I encountered a deviation while cultivating. Nothing too serious, I managed to control it before anything ill happened to my body!"

"Father, why are you cultivating so hard? Don't we have a festival to host?" Scarlett asked with a frown on her face. "There is only a day left before the festival and you have injured yourself like this? What will others think if you appear weak in front of the masses?"

Scarlett was not going to take it lying down. He had dumped most of the work related to her brother's coronation on her head, preventing her from going out as Sasha.

Now that they were in the confines of a room away from the public, she didn't hesitate to give a lecture to her father.

"Heh! What a good daughter!" Egon spat back. He wasn't going to miss the chance to suck up to his father. "Instead of worrying about his health, you're questioning his actions—Aack!"

A fist landed on his head shutting him up.

"Shut up, Egon! Scarlett is right," the emperor spoke in an agitated voice. "I should have focused on the festival preparations instead of rushing my cultivation. Sigh~ It seems even I couldn't control my greed sometimes."

"What do you mean, father?" Scarlett raised her eyebrows.

"I was trying to break into the Martial Monarch realm. I was this close, I really thought I had a chance," He sighed wistfully. "It would've boosted our prestige even more if I were to appear as a Martial Monarch in front of our subjects."

Scarlett took his hand in her hands and caressed it lovingly. "Don't worry, father. If anyone can reach the realm of Monarchs in this empire, it's you. Please don't rush these things and injure yourself."

Scarlett spoke as she took note of his pulse. Her worries ceased a bit after seeing that it was normal.

"You're the one who taught me that cultivation shouldn't be rushed and yet you didn't listen to your own advice." She let go of his hands and tried to talk some sense into him. "Promise me you won't push yourself so hard in the future."

A small smile appeared on the emperor's pale face upon hearing Scarlett's concerned voice.

"Scarlett, I am so blessed to have a daughter like you. I promise I will not do this mistake in the future and leave you all alone in this world." He comforted his daughter.

"Yeah, yeah, Father, don't leave us alone. We would be like sitting ducks without you around to protect us!"

Egon said trying to make his presence known since he felt he was being ignored by his father.

"Ah, right!" The emperor's lips twitched hearing Egon's words. "Why did you guys visit me so late in the night? Are there some urgent matters that needs my attention?"

Scarlett came back to her senses at his words. She had been worried about her father so much that she had almost forgotten the reason for her visit.

"You're right, father!" Scarlett pointed towards Egon. "Third brother was abducted when he was returning to Capital!"

"What—Cough! Cough!" Scarlett quickly rubbed her father's back seeing him so flustered.

"Calm down, father. Everything's fine now. We managed to bring him back before anything happened to his life."

"What do you mean calm down?" The emperor spoke in a pained voice. "I have been hiding behind a door while my son was in danger! How am I supposed to show my face to his mother if something had happened to him?" He berated himself for being unable to help his son.

Scarlett winced. He was already getting unsettled by hearing half of the news. She could only imagine what he would do once he came to know about his trusted aide's involvement in this case.

"Uh, Uhm, father. You need to calm down, there is still more you need to hear." She spoke hesitatingly unsure if she should tell him or not.

She took a deep breath, there was no point in hiding. He was the ruling authority of this land, as such, he had every right to know about things happening in it. It wasn't her place to hold back information from him.

"Tell me, what more do you have to say? Be quick, Scarlett. I need to know who would dare to abduct my son!"

-Gulp!

Scarlett gulped aloud. "That's the thing, father. You wouldn't believe me if I said who did this."

"Stop talking in circles and come straight to the point!"

"Y-yes, it was actually Tim." Scarlett worded out anxiously. She could only hope that the news wouldn't worsen his injuries.

Well, her hopes were dashed as soon as the words reached her father's ears.

-Voom!

A spirit-crushing aura broke out from the emperor's body. His sturdy bed creaked threatening to break down.

"F-father! You're killing me!" Egon groaned. Scarlett wasn't better off either.

"What are you saying, Scarlett? You better not be joking!" He reigned his aura as blood flowed from his nostrils.

"There is no way Tim would do this! You must be mistaken. He has been loyally serving our family even before I ascended the throne. Why would he betray us now?"

"Uhm, a-ask third brother! He is the one who told me about Tim!" Scarlett decided to let her brother handle the matter. The more she spoke more her father was getting injured. At least this way she could blame her brother if her father's injuries worsened.

Feeling his father's smouldering gaze on him, Egon nodded his head like a chicken pecking at rice and told everything he remembered from the moment he woke up inside that wooden shack.

Hearing Egon's words, the emperor seemed to have aged a decade all of a sudden. His entire demeanor changed to that of a depressed person.

"Why? What have we ever done to him? Haven't we treated him to the best of our abilities? Why must he do so?"

"Greed, father. What else?" Scarlett sneered.

"Sigh~ You can't trust anyone these days." The emperor sighed heavily. As if realising something he looked at Scarlett.

"Scarlett, how did you rescue him if he was kidnapped by Tim? He is almost as strong as me, who helped you to save your brother?"

"Father, do you remember that person I told you about? You know, the one who killed that wyvern." Scarlett said excitedly. There was even more reason for her father to value him now.

"Ohh! Did he save my son?" Seeing her nod, the emperor spoke happily. "Haha, looks like I need to thank this young man! Scarlett, do one thing. Invite him as the guest of honor for the Phoenix festival. We must applaud his deeds in front of the whole empire!"

"Yes, father!" Scarlett chirped happily. Finally, there was some progress in her plan.

"Alright! It's already too late. You two should go back to rest," the emperor said. "Don't worry about me Scarlett, send a word for your mother, she will take care of me." He added seeing his daughter reluctant to leave.

"Understood, father. I will inform her." With that, the emperor sent them off.