The entourage gradually entered the massive stone castle's entrance, surrounded by ministers.
Blue lights illuminated the previously dark corridors, yet failed to dispel their solemn atmosphere.
Both visually and physically, this stone castle sprawling across the ground exuded an aura of majesty and dignity.
The towering stone pillars extended deep underground, forming natural barrier-like structures.
Upon entering the castle gates, a vast gray-misted hall of impressive scale came into view.
The lighting was dim and scattered, with shadows still dancing in the corners.
The faint candlelight reflected off three suspended iron pillars, the dull orange flames barely illuminating the surrounding darkness through the thick metal walls.
Surrounded by nobles of the Kanter Kingdom, twelve diplomatic ministers in blue-green robes walked majestically into the center of the hall.
Each noble of the Kanter Kingdom wore a glowing sword at their waist. A silent pressure emanated from them like waves, making all the diplomats feel heavily burdened.
Swords and banners hung down from the iron pillars, the lead-colored flags adding to the castle's severe and solemn atmosphere.
The knights and guards remained in the city, not permitted to follow.
In this atmosphere, even the twelve diplomatic ministers wore grave expressions and remained silent.
Although this wasn't their first visit here, they had never before witnessed such an impressive display of the Kanter Kingdom's scale and grandeur.
This didn't seem like a diplomatic reception, but rather more like some royal ceremony welcoming distinguished guests from afar.
So many nobles - almost all were prominent lords within the kingdom.
Moreover, even that legendary duke had arrived - Festan Balo.
The Grand Duke enjoyed extremely high prestige and reputation throughout the Kanter Kingdom. Not only did he command countless riches, but his elite troops could cover hundreds of miles of territory.
Even his domain was governed with exemplary order and peace.
He had countless capable and ambitious people under him, who diligently carried out all his territorial commands.
Second only to one, above all others.
And above the Grand Duke, there was only the royal family.
Although this was the case, even the royal family showed the utmost respect to Duke Balo.
The diplomatic ministers had visited the Kanter Kingdom many times and naturally met with the king each time, but they had never seen this mysterious Grand Duke.
But the ministers knew clearly that receiving such treatment was entirely due to the person walking at their front - Aurelianne Sol.
As the future heir of the Karensia Empire, the Kanter Kingdom would naturally show the highest courtesy.
And there was another point - this Grand Duke was also Princess Aurelianne's maternal grandfather.
At this moment, Duke Balo was walking at the front, leading the ministers into the castle interior.
Aurelianne walked together with Viktor.
Looking at the slightly stooped figure of the elderly man before her, she suddenly realized - this renowned Grand Duke of the kingdom was her grandfather.
This gave Aurelianne a very unreal feeling.
After all, she had never even met her mother, so how could she have met her mother's father?
However, similarly, the elderly man before her just walked at an unhurried pace.
He didn't look back, nor did he speak.
Though his only remaining relative in the world was right behind him, he hadn't even glanced at Aurelianne once.
Sometimes Aurelianne would wonder whether her grandfather also felt pain from losing his daughter.
Watching his daughter marry into a foreign country, give birth to a child, then pass away - would he harbor resentment towards the Empire?
Aurelianne wasn't sure. She also didn't dare to speculate about her grandfather's deep thoughts.
After passing through the grand hall and deep corridors, they finally arrived at the true palace.
Though the entire palace was very spacious, it was surrounded by standing lead-colored cold iron, formed into giant pillars deeply rooted in the ground.
As if connecting heaven and earth, like bridges between the sky and ground.
Those several cold iron pillars supported a silver platform, with the pillars piercing through the floor and surging out towards both sides of the palace, intertwining in the air.
The lights on the high ceiling seemed to be composed of stars, gently spilling onto the cold iron, making it emit a faint glow.
The surrounding atmosphere seemed so quiet you could hear a pin drop, as if time itself had stopped at this moment.
The ministers entered the palace, following the light along the thick gray carpet beneath their feet all the way to the end of the high platform.
On the platform sat an exquisitely crafted iron throne, with beast patterns that seemed ready to leap out, especially the fierce bear head with its bared fangs and claws, as if guarding the dignity of the kingdom.
Around the throne were inlaid numerous blades, displaying the king's power and authority.
Sitting on the throne was a handsome young man.
He too wore a light-colored thick robe and a crown.
Unlike the others, at his waist, he wore three different sword blades.
Just a glance at each sword made one sense their dangerous aura.
Though he looked young, no one, including Aurelianne, seemed surprised.
Augustus Samuel.
He had ascended to the throne three years ago, replacing the previous king who had died of old age and illness, naturally becoming the new king of this country.
He slowly stood up from the throne, his jewel-like eyes sweeping across everyone, and said in a resonant voice:
"Welcome, our distinguished guests from afar."
"Please be seated."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless chairs emerged slowly from the darkness, instantly filling the surroundings of the entire hall.
The diplomatic ministers sat in chairs on the outer sides, while the nobles of the Kanter Kingdom sat in positions near the door on the outside.
Below the steps near the king, two dignified chairs were also placed.
Two chairs, one left and one right.
Viktor walked to the left chair, while Aurelianne, after a moment's hesitation, sat in the right seat.
The young King Augustus nodded with a smile towards Aurelianne.
Then he turned to the Grand Duke and said respectfully:
"Duke Balo, please be seated."
His respectful demeanor seemed to appear only when dealing with Duke Balo.
Duke Balo didn't say much, but walked to the chair beside the huge cold iron throne at the front of everyone.
He steadied himself with his cane as he sat down.
After the Duke was seated, it was as if a huge stone had pressed down on the entire palace, completely stabilizing the atmosphere.
It seemed as if everyone had been waiting for him to be seated.
It was clear that the entire kingdom held great respect for this elderly man.
Aurelianne also secretly observed the Grand Duke, noting his face bore traces of vicissitudes and years, along with a unique resilience and seriousness.
Honestly, compared to the young king, Aurelianne was more interested in this profound grandfather.
Her impression of the Grand Duke was like seeing an ancient pagoda hiding deep secrets.
She suddenly thought of her teacher Viktor.
The two men were surprisingly similar in many ways. Her teacher seemed not much different from this Grand Duke.
Viktor's prestige and status in the Empire had already surpassed many nobles.
Even on par with Duke Balo.
But there were still clear differences between them.
After all, while the Kanter Kingdom had many warriors, those who could master magic were few and far between, quite different from the Empire's situation.
Duke Balo, as one of the few mages among these warriors, had earned the respect of the entire nation.
This point marked a huge difference from Viktor's position.
At this moment, Aurelianne was lost in fantasy,
She imagined herself sitting on her father's throne, with Viktor sitting next to her like Duke Balo was now.
The two of them seemed to naturally govern the entire country together.
Suddenly, the king's voice rang out, interrupting Aurelianne's fantasy.
"Princess Aurelianne, how do you find the customs and culture here on your first visit to our kingdom?"
"After all, in a sense, this could be considered your homeland as well."
The king looked at Aurelianne with a smile.
Seeing this, Aurelianne responded politely:
"Your Majesty, the Kanter Kingdom's governance is meticulous and orderly, with no chaos visible on the roads - this is something I admire."
"Along the way, I could see robust crops in the wheat fields and joyful citizens, with abundance and peace coexisting."
Her answer was very appropriate, without any flaws to pick at.
Finally, Aurelianne said seriously:
"But what surprised me most was the kingdom's powerful lords."
"I believe it is precisely because of their presence that so many territories of the kingdom maintain constant stability."
As her words landed, those noble lords sitting in their seats unconsciously straightened their backs.
Perhaps because these words came from the Princess of the Karensia Empire, they carried great weight.
But these words were indeed true.
The Kanter Kingdom's territory was vast, making it very difficult to implement policies and laws in every region, let alone attend to everything.
Therefore, the lords needed to be powerful enough.
They had to be powerful enough to suppress everyone under their territory to ensure absolute stability.
Looking at Aurelianne, the king was all smiles, perhaps wanting to hear more praise for his kingdom from the young princess.
However.
Aurelianne changed her tone.
"Since the Empire is different from the Kingdom, I cannot make too many comparisons."
The king nodded and said with a smile:
"I see, a very objective assessment."
It seemed that Princess Aurelianne had done her homework well before coming.
She hadn't come blindly and then offered meaningless praise about the kingdom.
This actually made him develop some goodwill towards the young princess before him.
So, he continued speaking:
"I hear, Princess Aurelianne, that you are a mage?"
"I'm very interested in mages, so there are some things I'd like to ask you about."
Aurelianne nodded:
"Please go ahead."
The king stretched on his throne, sat up straight, and said:
"I also want to establish a mage academy in our country."
"Princess Aurelianne, could you provide some advice?"
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