His Majesty the Emperor Eloped with Someone!

July 1st, Philiers, Council Hall

"Your Majesty, King Fiore and Councilor Ogg have arrived. (Red)"

Upon hearing the Prime Minister's report, His Majesty the King, who was selecting formal attire, nodded and then casually said, "Alright! I understand. Take them to the viewing platform first."

"Yes!"

Having just dismissed the prime minister, and His Majesty the King could even breathe a sigh of relief, the Her Highness the Queen's messenger arrived.

"Brother, your wife is getting impatient, are you done yet?"

Hearing the urging voice behind him, His Majesty the King... well, he should be called His Majesty the Emperor now, holding different formal attire in his hands. Sigh! Never mind, let's just call him Old Suo for now. Old Suo waved the formal attire in his hand and said, "Do you think I'm ready now?"

Looking at Old Suo, who resembled a red envelope, the Her Highness the Grand Princess said speechlessly, "Brother, it's been four days! A full four days have passed, and you still haven't decided which clothes to wear?"

Hearing the Grand Princess's complaints, His Majesty the Emperor said with tears in his eyes, "I had already chosen one, but Irene said it was ugly, so I changed it. But after that, the Prime Minister said it wasn't dignified enough, so he made me choose another one. I finally managed to appease those two, but Charlie and the others said it was too old-fashioned, so I changed it yet again. In the end, those two weren't satisfied, so they made me choose another one."

"So, this went on for four days, and I changed clothes quite a few times, but none of them satisfied everyone. And now... I'm still picking out clothes!"

"Pfft"

"Ha ha"

After His Majesty the Emperor finished speaking, Her Highness the Grand Princess burst into laughter.

"Hey! Fatty Di, it's fine if you're not going to help, but what's with the laughter!"

What did you just call me?

Faced with the Grand Princess's instantly serious expression, the great His Majesty the Emperor immediately cowered.

"Um... I just... Oh, right! I meant, beautiful lady, stop laughing and hurry up and help your brother pick something out!"

"Alright! I'll help you out since you're my wallet!"

After speaking, Her Highness the Grand Princess walked into the pile of clothes and began rummaging through them.

Just as the Queen... um, sorry, Great Owl couldn't quite get it right, wasting everyone's time and money! Just as Her Highness the Empress was getting impatient, Her Highness the Grand Princess finally brought His Majesty the Emperor over.

"Oh dear, why are you taking so long to get here? The parade is about to start!" (Irene)

"Sister-in-law, it's not my fault, it's all my brother's fault! He dawdled while changing his clothes, which delayed us until now."

Faced with the Her Highness the Princess's skillful attempt to shift the blame, His Majesty the Emperor was completely stunned. Fortunately, the ceremony was imminent, and the Empress was in no mood to dwell on such matters, so the two of them narrowly escaped unscathed.

"Alright, alright! There's no time for this now, hurry up and get on!"

Upon hearing Her Highness the Empress's decree, the two dared not delay and immediately took their respective positions.

Once the two were seated, Her Highness the Empress commanded domineeringly, "Let's go!"

"Look, His Majesty and the Empress are here!"

Hearing the shouts overhead, the people standing on both sides of the street craned their necks to look in the direction from which the carriage sound came, while those standing on the surrounding buildings began to cheer and shout. Some even scattered prepared flower petals as the procession passed by.

A short while later, amidst this extremely enthusiastic atmosphere, a group of white open-top carriages escorted by Silver Knight appeared at the end of the street.

"Long live the Emperor!"

"Long live the Empress!"

"Long live Erus!"

Feeling the enthusiasm of the people, His Majesty the Emperor stood up from his carriage and waved to the crowd.

To avoid embarrassing the novice emperor, Her Highness the Empress had no choice but to stand up as well, whispering a reminder: "You rascal, your movements are too exaggerated, the crown will be crooked!"

As a humble (and henpecked) emperor, upon hearing the Empress's reminder (command), Old Suo immediately adjusted his actions.

Central Square, Semreko, Improved and Upgraded Bounty Platform

Under the guidance of Her Highness the Empress, His Majesty the Emperor and his entourage finally arrived at the venue for the promotion ceremony without any incident.

"Play music!"

At the command of the musicians, the emperor and Empress, accompanied by solemn and dignified music, slowly ascended the steps and headed towards the top of the platform.

Just as the last note of the music appeared in the air, the two of them ascended the platform and stood in their designated positions.

Upon seeing the two take their places, the master of ceremonies (i. e., the prime minister) announced loudly, "The ascension ceremony of the Erus Kingdom shall now officially begin!"

The moment the Prime Minister finished speaking, a stirring, majestic, and lively piece of music began to play, and at the same time, forty-six cannon salutes rang out from all around the high platform.

Once the surroundings quieted down, the etiquette officer's voice rang out again.

"Please invite Councilor Ogg and King Fiore to change the crown for His Majesty the Emperor!"

The next second, Ogg, carrying the emperor's crown, followed behind King Fiore and slowly walked towards the silver-haired boy not far away.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty Sordil! (Toma)"

Upon hearing Toma's congratulations, Old Suo immediately bowed in greeting. At that moment, Toma removed the crown from Old Suo's head and replaced it with the imperial crown on the tray.

After Requip, Old Suo gave Toma a hug, then said to him and Ogg standing behind him, "Thank you both!"

After receiving Old Suo's thanks, the two slowly walked back to their original positions.

"Your Majesty, please change the Empress!"

After the Prime Minister finished speaking, Old Suo walked down one step and then changed Empress Irene's crown according to the procedure described above.

"Now, Your His Majesty the Emperor, please deliver your declaration!"

His Majesty the Emperor, who had just returned to his seat, immediately spoke into the microphone after hearing the announcer's words, "Citizens, from this day forward, there is no longer the Erus Kingdom on Ishgar, only the stronger and more united Erus Empire. And you... are citizens of the Erus Empire, part of this vast empire, and sharers of this glory."

"But while we enjoy this glory, we should also remember the heroes who fought and bled for it. Therefore, I have decided that all those who participated in the construction of the empire will be promoted two ranks and awarded a year's salary."

"Furthermore, after two years of war, the living standards of our people have plummeted. So as the empire is reborn, we must join hands to build a prosperous and equal new nation."

After His Majesty the Emperor finished speaking, enthusiastic applause rang out from the high platform, while cheers erupted from all around.

The next morning, in the emperor's bedchamber

Looking at the tightly closed palace door, Her Highness the Empress frowned and asked, "Has His Majesty not risen yet?"

"Your Her Highness the Empress, His Majesty has not come out since returning to his palace last night, so he should not be up yet!"

After shaking her head at the man's laziness, the Empress said, "Open the door!"

"This..."

"What do you mean 'what'? I'll take responsibility for whatever happens!"

"Yes!"

After he finished speaking, the two guards slowly pushed open the palace gate.

After passing through the door, the Empress hurried towards the bedside, saying, "You rascal, Red and the others are waiting for you in the meeting, get up now!"

"Um?"

Looking at the motionless bed, Her Highness the Empress felt a little puzzled, so she quickened her pace to the bedside and patted the blankets.

"Oh no... wait, why is the blanket cold?"

Upon noticing something amiss, the Empress abruptly pulled back the covers, revealing a crudely made doll to Empress.

"Bang!"

Just as the Empress was in shock, the doll suddenly exploded, releasing a large amount of pink smoke.

"Air Attachment Flow Rate"

As the airflow increased, the pink smoke quickly dissipated, revealing two letters hidden within it.

Upon learning of someone's unreliability, Her Highness the Empress suddenly had a bad feeling, so she hurriedly picked up the letter and opened it.

' Irene, by the time you read this letter, I will have already left the Empire. As for where I've gone... that's a secret for now! Oh, by the way! The other letter contains information about the Empire's governance methods for the coming period, as well as some important matters. Please remember to pass it on to Red for me. Finally, whatever you do, don't come looking for me, because I won't let you find me. Besides, even if you do find me, I won't go back!'

Bye-bye, my dear wife!

Before Her Majesty the Her Highness the Empress could finish reading the letter and erupt in anger, a gasp of surprise rang out from outside the palace.

"Sister-in-law, something terrible has happened! Sonia has been kidnapped by my brother!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the panicked Her Highness the Grand Princess rushed into her bedchamber.

"Diphiya, what did you just say? (Irene)"

Sensing the icy chill in Her Highness the Empress's tone, Diphiya shivered. Only after swallowing hard to suppress her fear did she speak, "Sister-in-law, Sonia was kidnapped by my brother. This is what she left behind when she left."

Irene suppressed her anger, took the letter from Diphiya, and glanced through the information on it.

A moment later, a furious roar echoed from the palace.

"Sordil, if you're so capable, then never come back, or I'll make you regret ever being born!"

A terrifying chill pierced through endless space and descended upon Old Suo, causing him to shiver violently as he traveled.

Noticing that Old Suo was acting strangely, Sonia asked with concern, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry!"

After confirming that Sonia was safe and sound, Sonia asked, "Your Majesty..."

"Sonia, from now on, don't call me Your Majesty, just call me Sordil!"

"Your Majesty, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"

Looking at the troubled Sonia, Old Suo pondered for a moment, then said, "If you feel it's inappropriate to call Sordil, then just call me Big Brother or Young Master!"

"I understand, Your Majesty... Young Master!"

Hearing that Sonia had successfully changed her form of address, Old Suo nodded in relief.

"By the way, young master, where are we going next?"

"Let's go back to Stellara first to check on the condition of the Stellara Stone, and then inspect the various cities within the kingdom. As for what to do next... we'll talk about that after we've finished those!"

After confirming the itinerary, Sonia nodded with relief and then followed behind Old Suo on this long journey.