NOVEL NEXT Chapter 436: Against the Emperor
"The pleasure is mine, Young Duke Pyris," she said with practiced diplomatic grace, though her eyes held calculating interest. "Though I must say, it's refreshing to meet you now not as a student at the academy, but as yourself—the young Lord of House Obsidian. And..." her smile turned slightly predatory, "my brother-in-law."
Pyris's smile didn't waver, though something dangerous flickered in his dark golden eyes. The corner of his mouth twitched—not quite a snort, but close. His expression remained perfectly controlled, the mask of noble breeding that revealed nothing of his inner thoughts. He offered no reply to the family connection, simply let the silence stretch until she leaned back in her chair, her probing intensity retreating.
"Emperor, I didn't know you'd have company. No one mentioned a plus one, not that I'm complaining to see another beauty—a good look away from the emperor, if you know what I mean, Emperor."
The Emperor's smile was sharp, though impatience flickered in his ancient eyes. "Such as yourself, young Pyris. I see you've got your own plus one. A kid, and a moon elf at that."
It felt like this young dragon was trying to make him wait longer than necessary. He needed to get this over with. The boy wasn't his equal—shouldn't be his equal. But something disturbed him. He could feel the subtle pulse of power radiating from Pyris, yet at the same time, it felt like being in the presence of a complete mortal. The contradiction was... unsettling.
"Her?" Pyris's voice carried a protective edge wrapped in silk. "She's more than that, but it's not my place to tell you more, nor your right to know." The threat was subtle but unmistakable before he smoothly shifted topics. "Now, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, Your Majesty?"
Lekiza could feel the charged energy crackling between her father's gaze and this audacious young man. Wasn't he being too overconfident? Too overbearing? Fine, he was impressive for his age—better than all the princes and princesses she knew—but he was before an Emperor! A Rank 20 being!
Yet here he sat, so casual, legs crossed with the white-haired girl hugging his arm like he owned the world.
"Well, as you know, we have a deal between your family and mine. It's not just a deal between Obsidian Tech and the Human Empire, it's—"
"Oh, Emperor." Pyris raised his hand and leaned forward, looking him directly in the eyes. The Emperor met those dark golden orbs, and for a moment, something primal in him recoiled.
He wasn't looking into the eyes of a powerful young Obsidian Lust Dragon. He was staring directly into the Fate Nemesis Eyes of a being whose blood now flowed with an Endless's ichor.
"It's exactly that—a deal between Obsidian Tech and the Human Empire. If it weren't for saving your face, Emperor, it would've been Vice CEO Esmeralda signing the papers! Now, shall we get to it?"
Pyris knew the Emperor was trying to weave his relationship with Alexandra—a human princess—into this deal to make it even more lucrative. Eventually, the conversation would turn to marriage proposals, political alliances, using his woman as a chess piece.
Pyris sighed internally. He wasn't about to let this man exploit his relationship for schemes to get a piece of House Obsidian's benefits. Not when this same emperor had watched while Alexandra was mistreated by his own children and looked away like she wasn't his daughter too.
And if he kept pushing the wrong buttons...
"PYRIS!" The Emperor's voice boomed through the chamber, his aura exploding outward like a damn tsunami of imperial wrath.
'Oh, he's big mad,' Pyris thought, completely unbothered as he examined his nails. The crushing pressure that should've had him kissing marble was bouncing off him like raindrops off a dragon's scales.
Lekiza nearly choked on her own spit. 'Father just went full apocalypse mode and this psycho is... is he seriously checking his manicure right now?!'
The holographic maps fizzled out like cheap fireworks. Crystal decanters started doing their best impression of earthquake victims. The very air seemed to scream under the weight of a Rank 20's displeasure.
And Pyris?
Pyris yawned.
"Wow," he drawled, finally looking up with those stupidly gorgeous eyes that seemed to mock the very concept of being intimidated. "That's quite the tantrum, Your Majesty. Did someone forget to tell you this isn't your throne room?"
The Emperor's eye twitched. 'This little shit is actually—is he MOCKING me right now?!'
"I mean," Pyris continued, gesturing lazily at the trembling room, "if you wanted to redecorate, you could've just asked. Though personally, I think the 'natural disaster chic' look is a bit overdone, don't you think, Princess?"
He glanced at Lekiza with the kind of smile that probably made angels consider career changes.
Lekiza's brain short-circuited. 'He's flirting. While Father is having a nuclear meltdown. What the actual—'
"ENOUGH!" The Emperor's power flared again, this time with enough force to crack the obsidian walls.
Pyris sighed dramatically. "Oh, we're still doing this? Alright then."
He stood up slowly, and suddenly the room's temperature didn't just drop—it plummeted into the ninth circle of 'oh shit' territory. But not from cold. From something far, far worse.
Pure, unadulterated danger.
'Now we're talking,' Pyris mused as his own presence began to unfurl like the shadow of something that made nightmares wake up screaming. 'Time to remind this old fossil why even his precious rank means jack shit when reality itself decides it doesn't like you.'
The Emperor's aura, all that crushing imperial might that had cowed gods and made titans think twice?
It just... stopped.
Like someone had flipped a switch labeled 'nope.'
'What the—' The Emperor's thoughts ground to a halt as he stared at this impossible brat who was somehow making his Rank 20 cultivation feel like a participation trophy.
"Now then," Pyris said pleasantly, his voice carrying the kind of cheerful menace that made seasoned killers reconsider their life choices. "Shall we discuss business like civilized people? Or do you need a few more minutes to work through your feelings?"