"My lord, how are you feeling? Are you nervous?" Diana worriedly eyed Lionel as the carriage that they were riding moved forward.

Lionel turned to her direction before smiling lightly at her.

"I’m fine, Diana." He answered in a low voice.

Diana let out a sigh of relief at that. The truth was, it was she who was nervous. After all, today was not an ordinary day.

Lionel slowly turned his gaze back toward the carriage window. Outside, the streets of the capital slowly passed by one after another. The closer they got toward the center of the capital, the more crowded and lively everything became.

Right now, they were actually on their way to the Imperial Palace once again.

Originally, Lionel only planned to send his answer about accepting the offer through a messenger knight. It was his father’s plan. However, Elara suddenly suggested something else entirely.

"If we’re already responding to His Majesty, then why not deliver the answer personally?" That was his mother’s exact days, 3 days ago. Because of it, his answer got delayed. Aside from that, Elara also mentioned another reason.

"It has also been a long time since we last visited Father as a family."

And just like that, the entire Exelio family ended up traveling together toward the palace.

Lionel was sitting in his own carriage with Diana while his mother and father rode a different one. Their carriage was just in front of him. While on the back, a parade of their family’s knights and soldiers followed. There were countless of them.

After all, their safety was still the number 1 priority. They couldn’t afford any misstep when it was their whole family traveling together.

"My lord, don’t move too much, okay? You will spoil your clothes. Just wait for a few more minutes." Diana voiced out her concern when she saw Lionel moving from time to time.

When Lionel heard it, he immediately stopped moving at once. His eyes gazed down and saw his clothes. The ends of it were getting wrinkled a little. When Diana saw it, her eyes widened.

She immediately went to his side and held it in her hands, trying to fix it.

Lionel could only watch her in silence. He shook his head secretly. He didn’t even know why he was more dressed up than usual today.

He was wearing a dark formal attire that was neatly fitted for him. On the sides, there was silver embroidery decorating parts of the clothes. Even his hair was properly combed and styled today by the servants.

Honestly, Lionel still felt somewhat uncomfortable wearing such formal clothing after spending the past days getting beaten around in the training grounds.

Aside from that, his clothes were also far more extravagant than when he last saw the emperor.

"It still feels strange seeing Young Master dressed this elegantly again," And as if Diana could read his mind, she mentioned those words with a teasing smile on her face.

"I know right?" Lionel could only laugh awkwardly after hearing that.

The carriage ride continued for several more minutes. They passed by the familiar way. And after an hour, they finally slowed down. Soon enough, the large silhouette of the Imperial Palace fully came into view.

"It seems like we’ve arrived, my lord," Diana spoke softly afterward.

Lionel took a small breath before nodding once. He waited, and a minute later, the carriage doors opened from outside.

From the other carriage, it was Arden and Elara who got off the carriage first. Several servants and imperial guards immediately lowered their heads respectfully the moment the Duke and the Duchess of House Exelio appeared.

Lionel was the next one to step out. As a knight held his hand right on him, he accepted it. The moment his feet landed on the ground, Lionel instinctively raised his gaze toward the enormous palace standing before them.

I’m here again... he smiled at that thought. He should take this opportunity yt get close to his grandfather now.

Finally!! He can start his mission about that.

Meanwhile, Elara glanced toward Arden beside her. For a brief moment, the two silently looked at each other. Then Arden suddenly cleared his throat before offering his hand toward her.

Elara chuckled once before smiling softly. She naturally placed her hand on top of his. Only after that did they finally glance toward their own son, Lionel.

"Come, child," Elara spoke gently.

Lionel looked at his parents and nodded before walking toward them.

"Are you ready?" Elara asked him with a smile on her face.

"I am a mother. Don’t worry."

Elara let out a light laught at that.

"Alright, alright. Let’s go then, my dear." Just like that, they started walking. Elara and Arden took the lead first, while Lionel walked behind them just a few steps behind.

Due to the noble customs, he cannot walk ahead or at the same time as his parents because they have higher noble status than him. It was they who still had the title, while he was still just an heir.

But it was fine. Because in this way, Lionel could see his parents walking ahead. The two looked so in love with each other that it warmed his heart.

However, as they slowly began walking toward the palace entrance together, Lionel quietly noticed something strange.

His father looked somehow stiff as he walked and his mother seemed somehow nervous too just by her actions.

Lionel’s eyes narrowed slightly at the sight. That’s when he remembered it.

Ah... right.

The truth was, his mother and the Emperor were not exactly on the best of terms right now. It was not that they hated each other. In fact, Princess Elara and the Emperor used to be extremely close before.

After all, Elara was the Emperor’s beloved only daughter.

However... the reason things became complicated was because of the man currently walking beside her— Arden, his father.

To put it simply, the Emperor greatly disliked Arden when it came to his daughter. He liked Arden as a general and as a man, but he saw him not enough for his beloved daughter.

Honestly, Lionel could not even blame his grandfather completely.

Back then, countless nobles tried to win Elara’s hand in marriage. She was popular with her beauty, that even princes from kingdoms and heirs from the other empires wanted her.

In the end, it was Arden who succeeded in getting her heart. They loved each other deeply, that’s why Lionel was here in the world right now.

= = =

A/N:

Shout out to Mr387 again! Thank you for dropping more Golden Tickets! I really appreciate it man.