(Thank you very much to 'Kaede no Chōrei' for the reward!)
At this moment, a group of people stood atop the central royal palace in the Royal City.
At their head was the emperor of the Ai Lu Empire—Kate!
Besides Kate, the Thunder King was also present, standing beside him. On Kate's other side stood Hilif, whom they had not seen for a long time but whose face remained as cold as ever.
Fei Fei was here as well. Bing Ling and Bisi stood to one side, while three middle-aged men stood before Fei Fei, Bing Ling, and Bisi respectively.
Of these three middle-aged men, who appeared to be around forty years old, the one in front of Fei Fei and the one in the middle were both familiar faces.
The current head of the Luo Li Family, the foremost family of the Ai Lu Empire—Lal!
Since the man in the middle of the three middle-aged men was Lal, the identities of the other two men qualified to stand beside him were obvious.
On the left stood the current head of the Saito Family, the second-ranked family of the Ai Lu Empire—Sado!
On the right stood the current head of the Leiting Family, the third-ranked family of the Ai Lu Empire—Haruo!
The heads of the Ai Lu Empire's three great families—Lal, Sado, and Haruo—were all present, with the next generation's pillars—Fei Fei, Bing Ling, and Bisi—standing behind them.
Yet even the heads of the three great families could only stand to the side. None of them were qualified to step forward and stand on equal footing with Kate.
Hilif, the beloved genius Princess, was an exception. Aside from her, no one was qualified to stand on equal footing with the emperor of the Ai Lu Empire unless they were a