"Let's welcome His Majesty the Emperor, Grand Quintin, and Her Majesty the Empress, Lilia Quintin."
The emperor and the empress entered the hall at the same time, followed by a group of guards and a blue-haired girl, my little sister Lena.
As soon as they entered, the hall fell silent. Every noble in the hall looked towards the emperor and the empress and bowed slightly, showing their respects to the ruler of the nation.
The emperor nodded back with an indifferent expression. Then, he walked towards his throne at the main table with dignified steps.
Once he sat down on the throne, the empress sat down beside him, and the guards stood behind the two of them. As for Lena, she rushed towards me as soon as she saw me.
I smiled softly and ruffled her hair. Then, I grabbed her hand to stop her from wandering around.
The 'party' will start soon, so it's better if I keep Lena close to me to keep her protected.
When the emperor sat down, he looked around at the people in the hall and spoke up.
"Welcome, my subjects and the ambassadors of the other races." He said while looking at the nobles and at the representatives of the daemons and the beastkin. "We are here today to celebrate my 43rd birthday.
"As the ruler of this empire, I'm pleased about seeing all of you here. Now, please, sit down. Let's start today's banquet."
With the emperor's words, the nobles and invitees took their seats one after another.
Each person had a respective place where they could sit down. The higher-ranked nobles could sit down closer to the emperor, while the lower-ranked nobles could only sit at the farthest tables.
Some very weak nobles, like my mother's family, were not even invited to the banquet. They did not have enough status to appear here.
By the way, as I am a prince, I have a seat at the main table, where the emperor is seated. Alan, Dina, Lena, and the empress, were seated here as well.
I could see the emperor and the empress frown briefly when I sat down, but they said nothing and proceeded to ignore me. I ignored them as well. After all, the only reason I'm here is to observe the show.
After the nobles sat down, it was time for them to bring over their gifts.
One after another, the nobles stood up, from the weakest to the strongest, and presented their gifts.
"I, Baron Astor, have brought one-hundred-thousand gold coins and three red diamonds to the emperor."
"I, Baron Clade, have brought twenty-seven pieces of elven jade to the emperor."
"I, Viscount Dilan, have brought two-thousand pieces of highest-grade mana stones to the emperor."
"I, Viscount Glory, have brought ten twelfth-layer mana cores to the emperor."
The nobles in the hall stood up and announced their gifts. Then, a servant would bring the gifts to the emperor and if the emperor was interested, he would take a look at them.
This part of the banquet lasted almost half an hour, with nobles giving their boring speeches and the emperor receiving gifts.
However, not everything was boring.
Because while this was happening, my senses picked up what was happening outside the palace.
Stealthily, some men were taking out the soldiers patrolling the surroundings.
They were very throughout and careful, making sure of not being discovered. However, it also meant that they were about to make their move soon.
After all, someone would discover the killings before long. In other words, they needed to make their move before someone notices something wrong if they wanted to create the greatest effect.
While I was paying attention to the situation in the surroundings, it was the turn of the three greatest families to bring out their gifts.
Their gifts were the most amazing, as expected; going from expensive jewels to powerful artifacts.
And then, it was our turn.
Gina was the first, giving the emperor a custom-made magic sword filled with jewels.
My turn came after her, and I took out a pair of boots.
The boots were nothing great, though. Nothing worthy of appearing in this kind of event.
The emperor frowned and his eyes showed a displeased expression when he saw my gift, but he remained silent. just looking at me with an ice-cold glare.
I did not care, though. Anyway, he was going to stop being the emperor soon.
Dina's gift was a crown. It was very beautiful, made with orichalcum and mithril plus precious jewels.
It was a much better gift than mine, but I found it ironic that Dina gave him a crown when she knew that the emperor would change today.
Finally, it was Alan's turn.
Alan smiled softly and took out a small box from his pocket. He then passed it to the emperor.
"This is?" The emperor asked curiously and opened the box.
Inside, there was a tobacco that emitted a faint and addictive smell.
"[Highest Sky]. That is its name." Alan explained. "It's made of several precious herbs cultivated by the elves, and it has the ability to stimulate the body and soul of a practitioner. It's said that a puff of this tobacco can help a twelfth-layer practitioner to take the next step."
The emperor was slightly surprised before nodding with a look of praise in his eyes.
"Good, good! Truly a great gift, son."
The emperor smiled happily. He then brought the cigar to his nose and gave it a sniff.
And at that moment, Alan smiled.
And I smiled as well.
"It's great that you like the gift, father," Alan said. "And you will like it more soon."
"Huh?" The emperor frowned. "What do you mean, Alan?"
"Focus, father. You will feel it soon."
The emperor was surprised. But soon, his expression changed.
For some reason, he could feel his body turning weaker.
Poison!
And a strong one!
"Alan!" The emperor cried in rage. "How do you dare to poison your gift!?"
"Poison? No, father, the gift is not poisonous." Alan smiled gently. "But if you mix its smell with the tea that you drank during the last week, it creates a harmful and weakening effect."
Chuckling, Alan took a dagger out of his belt and walked slowly towards the emperor's heart.
"I hope you like my gift, father."
And with an ice-cold smile, he stabbed towards his heart.