This was not Merlin's first visit to the eldest princess's palace. Although he could hardly call himself familiar with it, he could now find it easily even without a guide.
The two guards said nothing along the way, but their demeanor made their deep respect for Merlin plain.
Soon, they passed through corridor after corridor and arrived at the eldest princess's palace. She wielded great power and would never marry, yet she also harbored ambitions of claiming the throne. That was extremely dangerous. After all, no woman had ever been king in the history of the Sacred Dragon Empire.
Still, it was not impossible. The eldest princess and the second prince were currently the strongest contenders. Their influence was so great that even the king was somewhat wary of them.
The Sacred Dragon Empire was unusual. Its princes and princesses were not raised like pampered livestock. On the contrary, some gained real authority early on and climbed steadily through the ranks. The second prince and the eldest princess were the two most outstanding examples.
However, the king controlled the strongest force of all: Phantom. Both the second prince and the eldest princess were seeking ways to infiltrate the Phantom Intelligence Division. The eldest princess had chosen Merlin, while the second prince had likely chosen the leader of one of the division's teams. Exactly who that was remained a closely guarded secret, one even the eldest princess's people had failed to uncover.
Previously, Merlin had needed to tread carefully around these struggles for power. One misstep could drag him into them and leave him utterly destroyed. But now he had achieved Full Beastification, and that of a High-Tier Behemoth at that. He already stood among the empire's absolute strongest.
Even if the eldest princess or the second prince became king, neither