The Royal Court (II)

The royal court hall was an incredibly enormous and majestic hall, a resplendent testament to grandeur and opulence. The glorious royal court hall was adorned with exquisite chandeliers, their ethereal glow casting a spellbinding aura throughout the grand chamber. These magnificent chandeliers, infused with the enchantment of light magic, suspended gracefully from the grand ceilings, bestowing a mesmerizing radiance upon the entire hall.

There was a regal throne studded with rare gems situated right at the edge of the royal court hall, and underneath it was an faux thin flowing river going through the hall. There were even some pretty fishes that bore a resemblance to the goldfish back on earth swimming in it.

On each side of the faux river there were two rows of neatly placed stone chairs, with soft leather covering the chairs to ensure the comfort of the nobles attending the meeting.

The opulence of the royal court hall bore testament to the once impressive wealth and standing Assyria had as a kingdom. The current Assyria with its dire financial straits would definitely not be able to afford the exquisite materials that adorned the royal court hall.

Inside the grand hall, over a hundred nobles seated on the stone chairs could be seen discussing leisurely as they awaited the arrival of their crown prince.

The order of seating were based on the ranks of the nobles, with Duke Oliver seated the closest to the regal throne, while the barons attending the meeting were seated the farthest away from the regal throne chair.

"Do you have any idea why Duke Oliver is suddenly attending a royal court meeting?" A baron queried his fellow noble in a low, surprised tone, his eyes fixed on Oliver's towering figure, which could not be concealed despite how far he was seated from the barons.

"I have no clue. In the past two years, he has never attended a royal court meeting. This is an extremely unexpected appearance." The noble responded with a voice equally tinged with astonishment.

"I see. There must be a good reason why Duke Oliver is suddenly attending this farce of a meeting," the baron muttered to himself, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

"Well, we can only wait until the meeting starts before we know what prompted the Duke's appearance." the noble beside the baron responded, an expression of helplessness gracing his facial features.

Similar conversations could be heard in the grand royal court hall as the nobles discussed indolently.

At that very moment, a precise cadence of footsteps resounded with an intimidating force, reverberating through the very core of the court hall. Suddenly, an aura of immense intensity materialized, its presence overwhelming the air and restricting the breath of the assembled nobles, leaving them gasping for respite. Fear gripped the hearts of the nobles in attendance, as the weight of this imposing presence bore down upon them.

'Such an imposing aura!'

Only Duke Oliver, who was one star warrior could slightly resist the pressure.

As the resonating echoes of footsteps reverberated through the air, their intensity grew with each passing moment, enforcing attention and instilling a weighty presence that matched the resounding cadence.

The resolute and commanding footsteps reverberated through the halls, resonating deep within the souls of the nobles, causing their hearts to quicken in tempo, and some weaker nobles teetered on the precipice of unconsciousness under its formidable presence.

By this time, there was absolute silence in the hall; with either the nobles being too surprised to talk, or being unable to talk from the pressure, or both.

Finally, the owner of the resounding footsteps and commanding presence appeared, sending shivers cascading down the spines of every noble in attendance.

An extremely attractive young man with lustrous golden hair walked steadily towards the regal throne in the royal court hall. He was dressed in an exquisite black and gold medieval-style three piece suit studded intricately with priceless gems, with two black drop earrings dangling from his ears. With each step he took, a regal black velvet royal robe draped on his shoulder cascaded behind him, adding an air of grandeur to his imposing figure.

A magnificent gold crown sat atop his head, and a black regal scepter which was held tightly in his right hand constantly exuded an air of majestic authority.

The attractive young man kept walking steadily towards the regal throne in the hall, and the aura that was emanating from his body kept on increasing with each step he took towards the regal throne.

In less than ten steps he arrived at the regal throne. In a trained and graceful manner, he climbed the three steps that led to the regal throne before taking his seat on the regal throne.

The moment he sat on the regal throne, the pressure coming off from his aura skyrocketed, sending the poor nobles very close to their deaths before it disappeared completely.

Alexander, who was now seated leisurely on the throne, raised the black royal scepter in his hands before speaking in a imperious voice.

"Let the royal court meeting begin."

Following the spectacle of Alexander's imposing entrance, the royal court hall was engulfed in silence, and the expressions on the faces of the nobles who were present were really comical. Their eyes were as big as saucers, and their jaws were open so wide that a fist could easily fit inside of them, while their bodies visibly trembled from fear.

They could tell that the young man seated on the throne was definitely Alexander, the crown prince of their kingdom, but the difference in aura and temperament were too much!

"What are you waiting for? I ordered for the royal court meeting to begin." Alexander said in a displeased tone, his azure irises causing a ripple of anxiety to travel down the hearts of the nobles who were present.

Duke Oliver was the first to react, and in an assertive manner he swiftly seized control of the meeting.

"Your Royal Highness, I would like to propose an increase in the annual payment of the Assyrian soldiers, as well as a worthy increase in the financial budget and weaponry provided to the Assyrian military . . . " Oliver started to say, eloquently expressing his viewpoints without inhibition for a few minutes.

The other nobles noticed that the crown prince paid little attention to Oliver's suggestion, and that he simply nodded his head in response to his suggestions. Therefore, the nobles who were more outspoken grew the courage to share their perspectives.

The previous meetings were held ineptly, with majority of the nobles abstaining from attending the meeting. However, as a result of Alexander's sudden brilliance and success in thwarting the invasion attempt, the doubtful nobles decided to attend the royal court meeting.

They were required to share their perspectives on the development of the kingdom now that they were present. Moreover, it seemed that their crown prince only had a drastic improvement in strength, and was still incompetent in terms of his ability to effectively administer a kingdom.

The nobles gradually became more outspoken in expressing their opinions and perspectives, and as a result, the hall began to exude a sense of democracy and liberty, albeit in a manner that was reserved.

Slowly, the excessive greediness of the nobles began to show in their thoughts. If they could manage to impress the crown prince, he might give them a promotion, increasing their nobility ranks.

As such, majority of the ideas and opinions the nobles gave the crown prince were selfish and profit oriented. Only very few nobles gave opinions that had the growth and well being of Assyria incoporated in them.

Some nobles came prepared and gave Alexander their opinions written on paper made from white cloth and animal skins, while some nobles brought out huge stacks of papers with lengthy essays written on it explaining their opinions.

"Some of the nobles really took this meeting serious." Alexander thought as he stared at the huge stacks of paper neatly submitted in one corner of the royal court hall for him to review later.

Alexander merely remained quiet as he watched the nobles give their selfish opinions one after the other, taking good care to remember their faces.

Finally, after an hour went by, Alexander deemed it time for him to actively partake in the meeting. He raised his royal scepter into the air, and just like turning a switch off, the royal court hall immediately became quiet.

"Thank you all for your opinions and constructive ideas. I will make sure to go through them after this meeting is over." Alexander said as he stared amicably at the nobles who were sweating from voicing their opinions.

Earl Gerid, who chose not to state any opinion carefully observed the crown prince as he spoke. He could tell that the current peaceful atmosphere was not what the crown prince planned. His instincts were still telling him that there was more to this meeting.

Just as he was trying to decipher the reason for the meeting, Earl Gerid suddenly felt an invasive gaze on him, and he looked up to find the crown prince's piercing blue eyes staring right at his own irises.

The stare was so heavy that it seemed like he was carrying a very heavy rock on his back, and his pudgy body immediately froze up in fear. A menancing sneer appeared on the crown prince's attractive face, and Earl Gerid felt his life flash before his eyes. The next second, the crown prince's stare was no longer on him, and the pressure he was feeling vanished, but instead of feeling relieved at the fact, he only felt pure horror.

Alexander suddenly stood up from his regal throne, and reactivating his skill [Sovereign's Dominance], the crushing pressure that was once present in the royal court hall reappeared again, and the nobles felt as if a mountain was pressing them to the ground.

"Now that I have gotten the constructive and innovative ideas from my dear nobles, it is time for me to move to the next topic on the agenda which is the punishment for the nobles who committed a crime against the crown." Alexander said in a tone that was extremely icy, and his frigid voice sent shivers down the spines of the nobles.