Atlas had already awoken from his slumber and, with Cassandra’s help, teleported to the Golden Palace, the main palace of the Epsilon Empire.
Even if those who saw him didn’t know who he was, those who saw Cassandra immediately began to fall to their knees. It was incredible how easily power could open every door. Even the gates of the main palace of perhaps the oldest and most powerful empire in the world could be opened to you.
It was indeed a mesmerising sight. Cassandra was just walking, and some of the servants were even trying to prostrate themselves.
This woman was another symbol of power. She was a Sage, and it was clear that she was indeed the second most powerful Sage.
Atlas followed Cassandra behind him like a cat. Today there was a festive atmosphere in the palace...I mean, there really was a feast, and in two days even a ball would be organised in the palace. It was to celebrate the Emperor’s new age, 28 years old.
The third day of March was Emperor Aether’s birthday. Atlas had slept soundly for two days from the first of March, the day of the raid.
However, both Atlas and his follower Cassandra were placed in a room. The two sat on the luxurious armchairs in the room and waited patiently.
Each of the servants quickly filled the tables in their room with dozens of sweets and a variety of drinks.
Some of the soldiers had gone directly to report to the emperor. As a result, only ten minutes after the two had entered the room, Aether arrived with Aelia and Eva in tow.
The moment Atlas saw his sister, he stood up and gave Eva a big hug. Eva didn’t even realise what was going on, but she still hugged her little brother Atlas with the happiness and peace of mind of seeing him.
"How come you’re here?" Eva suddenly questioned.
"Lady Cassandra and I came to talk about something", Atlas replied. Immediately after that, he bowed respectfully to Aether and Aelia, and then fell silent, saying, "Uncle, aunt."
Aether tapped Atlas on the shoulder twice and then moved without missing a beat to greet Cassandra, while Aelia gave Atlas a big hug and said, "It’s good to see you’re doing well, little handsome."
Cassandra coughed to draw attention to herself, then invited Atlas to sit next to her. The beautiful woman sat with one leg over the other, a coffee cup in her hand, as if she owned the palace.
The Emperor and Empress sat in the seat opposite Cassandra, while Eva stood behind them.
Of course, Atlas sat next to Cassandra as requested.
"Firstly, it’s nice to meet you, Eva. Lady Cordelia has told me a lot about you, and I’ve heard of your reputation even in your student days. A young woman of only 27 years old and a monster with a level nine aura at the same time. It’s really admirable." Cordelia suddenly said, and immediately after that, without waiting for Eva to speak, she uttered the following words:
"You’ll be my sister in the future, so it’s a pleasure to know you already."
"I beg your pardon, my lady?" Eva asked with great curiosity.
Cassandra put the coffee cup in her hand back on the table and then replied, "There is nothing to not understand." Immediately after that, the beautiful woman approached Atlas and added, "Your brother will be my future husband, so you are like my sister."
Both Eva, Aether, and Aelia’s mouths were wide open, there was nothing they could say after hearing those words. What could they say anyway?
"Lady Cassandra, again, I did not agree to such a thing," Atlas said, but it was obvious that Cassandra didn’t care.
"Now let’s get to the reason we’re here. It was Aether, wasn’t it?" Cassandra complained.
"Uh...Yes, my lady, my name is Aether." Aether suddenly shook her head, trying to get over what she had just heard.
"Ah! I’m talking to the right person, good! You see, in the future the man next to me will be mine, he is both young in age and experience at the moment, even though he is considered an adult, I am not such a lowly woman," Cassandra said.
Immediately after saying these words, the beautiful woman smiled. She carefully looked at the Aether in front of her and then said, "What rank can you give this dear of mine? He should be a noble. West of the city of Herria, we plan to build a cold harbour there."
Aether frowned sharply when he heard those words, then looked at Atlas and saw the look of assurance on his face as he said, "He has no great accomplishments and is woefully weak at the moment. In that case, I can only manage to give my dear nephew the title of Viscount."
When Cassandra heard these words, she said, "Hmm...You are right about him being weak. However, I can’t be sure that he doesn’t have accomplishments. Revealing the identities of the devil worshippers, defeating a sorcerer many times stronger than him while he tried to save three people, and, to put it directly, uniting the Sages who have not been united for over a thousand years." and then added the following:
"I don’t think his achievements... his contributions to the empire are small. Historically speaking, someone of the rank of Marquess or even their ancestors may not have made the same contribution. After all, I was already ruling this world when your ancestor founded his principality, am I right?"
When Cassandra finished, Aether pondered for a few dozen seconds, then said, "Considering these contributions, it would be right to crown him with the rank of a duke. However, as you know, my lady, for a noble to be a noble, and for a noble to be a duke, he must have sufficient power at his disposal and his wealth must be of the highest order. Only two families in the entire empire fulfil these criteria."
It was now Cassandra’s turn to answer.