The Governor's Office in the provincial capital of Southeast Province had been temporarily converted into the new empire's command center.
Heavy religious incense permeated the hall. Sacred Emblems of the Golden Feather Flower Church covered almost an entire wall, as glaring as the assorted gilded tableware piled on the tables.
The doors to the hall were flung open.
The Fifth Imperial Prince, Lampard, now proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Holy Eastern Empire.
He entered the hall at a brisk pace. It was not an undignified skip, but irrepressible joy spilling into his steps.
"Duke! Duke Calvin!" His voice echoed beneath the gilded dome, its pitch a little high. "A miracle... this is nothing less than a revelation from the Father God!"
The teacup Duke Calvin had just raised trembled slightly. An instant later, Lampard seized his arm.
It was a forceful gesture of barely contained excitement, driven by an urgent desire to share his elation.
The tea splashing onto his cuff briefly dazed the old duke, but he maintained the aristocratic smile he had cultivated over many years.
Lampard spoke somewhat breathlessly. "You truly are a pillar of the Empire... without you, none of this would have been possible! Duke, history is on our side. Heaven itself stands with us!"
The old duke's smile trembled. He had absolutely no idea what the Fifth Imperial Prince was talking about.
He had already been deeply troubled these past few days. There was simply too much chaos.
Southeast Province had originally worshipped the Dragon Ancestor, but now the Golden Feather Flower Church was forcibly imposing its teachings. The province's nobles had been stripped of power, and his family's assets were being chipped away bit by bit.
But what could he do?
Those old fellows in the Imperial Capital had all been