He had no need to show anyone a pleasant face, not even the emperor of a nation. He was now rank eight. In any empire, a rank-eight was an existence capable of suppressing an entire province.
Even emperors had to watch his expression before speaking, rather than berate him at will.
He had already reached this level.
Dole slowly emerged from the main gate, looked at George, swept his gaze around the area, then gave a slight bow. "Does Emperor George have some business with me?"
The moment George saw Dole's demeanor, he knew that this man truly no longer cared about his position as emperor.
He smiled faintly, then stood before Dole and solemnly bowed.
When he bent at the waist, Dole instead felt baffled. What was George plotting now? Still, he did not evade and simply accepted the bow.
Seeing this, some of the surrounding ministers' faces twisted.
Yet they followed George and bowed as well.
Having completed his bow, George paid no attention to what those behind him were doing. He laughed heartily and stepped up to Dole.
"Wizard Dole has attained rank eight, giving our empire another powerful ally. Moreover, you are the consort of a commandery princess, so according to imperial regulations, your current noble rank no longer matches your status. Therefore, with the unanimous approval of the cabinet and the consent of the imperial royal family, we now wish to confer upon you the title of Imperial Prince. Does Wizard Dole find this appropriate?"
Dole's mouth twitched. Behind George, he saw a whole group of ministers wearing all manner of expressions.
He was already an imperial duke. By rank, there was nowhere higher for him to go. Unless one was imperial kin, duke was already the limit, with no possibility of further elevation. Yet