Charles watched everything from a certain corner of the Throne Hall with a small smile. He was in disguise, so no one recognized him. Right now, he is very proud of his daughter. He did not hate or jealously feel toward her for taking his position. In fact, he felt that she was relieving him of his burdens and duties by taking his position. He thanked his daughter for stepping up to save the Dune Sovereignty. However, his attitude towards the Istarin Empire was still very indifferent. The reason for that doesn't need to be explained. "I hope this change won't impact our lives." One of the nobles in front of Charles said to his wife. Since Charles stood close to them, he could hear their conversation.
He recognized the couple. He was a young man who inherited his father's title after the previous Viscount died while hunting for a specific magical animal said to have special healing abilities.
"We will talk later!!" The maid pinched her husband's arm and said in a very low while maintaining her smile. These kinds of things among the nobles are very normal. After all, no one knew just how capable Soraya was. The Istarin Empire's backing led many to view their New Ruler as a mere puppet.
'She would need to work hard to prove herself and change everyone's opinion of her. Only then she will earn the true recognition and respect of all the nobles.'
'This is the test that she will need to pass on her own.'
But knowing just how mature and intelligent Soraya was, Charles had no doubt that his daughter would earn everyone's recognition in no time. The conversation from last night revealed a completely different side of his daughter, one that seemed destined to be the next ruler.
•••
Once the coronation ended, all nobles slowly took their leave.
Soraya did not hold any after-parties or similar events.
She kept things very simple. The coronation ended with her sitting on her throne.
The reason for that was a ton of work waiting for Soraya. Although around 80% of their troops survived due to the Istarin Empire allowing them to surrender, their military still had heavily suffered. About 2.5 to 3 million troops had died. This huge number cannot be ignored. Not to mention, around 25% to 35% of their remaining troops were injured, including the generals. War is a very expensive and money-draining process. Like the Istarin Empire, a lot of gold coins were drained from their treasury. The Istarin Empire was very rich due to all the polices and steps Aditya had taken place. But the Dune Sovereignty wasn't as rich as the Istarin Empire. The Empire also needed a Prime Minister. She needed her own group of people whom she could trust. She would need to address all these issues. "Your Majesty, I should also take my leave." "Now that we are allies, if there is any help that we could offer, please do not hesitate to ask." The purpose of Backing Soraya wasn't to put their own puppet on the Dune Sovereignty Empire's throne. In fact, Aditya never saw Soraya as a puppet. The real purpose was to gain another powerful and close ally.
At some point, all wars and conflicts have to end. Why go to war when everyone can be friends and grow together?
"Once again thank you for everything." Soraya stood up and gave a small bow to Spencer.
She felt that this was the best outcome. Though, what happened to the old Prime Minister and her brother Garrick was very regretable. But on the brighter side, at least, her relationship with her father was better than before. Their relationship did not transform into a loving father-daughter bond. It was more of a relationship of mutual respect. In the end, my brother and father were still alive. That's all that mattered to her. "Your Majesty, there is no need to bow to me. We also had our own interest in helping you." It was better to be straight with certain things. This approach can help avoid awkward and uncomfortable conversations, as well as misunderstandings.
Soraya nodded her head. She also appreciated the straightforwardness from the Istarin Empire's side. "Sir Spencer, how is His Majesty doing?" "His Majesty is completely fine. He has no serious injuries or wounds." "Lady Riya informed me that His Majesty passed out from exhaustion. If nothing goes wrong, then he should wake up today."
"That's good to know!!" Soraya looked slightly hesitant. "Madam, if you don't mind why don't you come over for dinner? Meeting His Majesty allows for a lengthy discussion about our new alliance's future." Spencer said with a smile. He was about to invite her but felt a little hesitant about inviting her to Aditya's personal space. But seeing her struggling look, he no longer hesitated. There is a reason why he did this. In fact, as Prime Minister, he hoped that the relationship between Aditya and her would deepen, eventually reaching a stage similar to the Istarin Empire's relationship with the Ethereal Empire or the Celestial Terrain.
"If there is nothing else, I will excuse myself now. As the Prime Minister, I also have a ton of work waiting for me." In the end, Spencer's expression became slightly strained. Just remembering all the work that he would need to do after returning made him feel tired. Spencer stood in the middle of the teleportation. A few seconds later, once the bright lights dimmed down, he was gone. He had returned to his Empire. Soraya turned around and began walking towards her father's study room. That place was a holy ground for her father. To this day, she only went there once and that was also when she was really young. Her maids silently followed her. "Your Majesty, nearly all the major empires across the Six Continents have sent gifts in honor of your coronation." "Some even sent their Princes to with the gifts." "Yeah, I noticed a few of their faces in the Throne Hall." "All of them were looking for a personal audience with you. But as you instructed, we politely told them to get lost." Hearing this, the New Empress chuckled. The polite way of telling them to get lost was - "Her Majesty is really busy right now. Unfortunately, she won't be able to spare any minute to have a conversation with you. But you're welcome to come at a different time." It was a simple but polite way to tell them to get lost. "Your Majesty, I hope you realize what this means." "They want to reach out to me through their sons so that they can eventually marry me." How can she not see that? From the beginning, she had a feeling something like this was going to happen. If a prince from any empire married Soraya, the new ruler of the Dune Sovereignty, it would forge a powerful bond. The marriage would create an unbreakable alliance between the two Empires. The prince's empire would gain many advantages. They could expect military support, better trade deals, and maybe some influence over Soraya's decisions. This marriage would also raise the prince's status. Soraya would stay Empress, but he would be favored to be the next king of his own empire. "And this won't stop!" Soraya looked at Liora. "These annoying bugs will keep coming over and over again. Even if we indirectly make her intentions clear that Her Majesty is not interested in you, they will pretend to not understand and will continue to pester you until you give in." "So what do you think I should do?" Liora must have a solution to this; otherwise, she won't be talking about it. "My suggestion is you get engaged to the Istarin Emperor." She said in a blunt tone without any hesitation. The moment the words reached her ears, the Empress stopped and turned around with her eyes wide and cheeks slightly flushed. "What are you saying?" Soraya was slightly flustered. She had little to no contact with men due to her father and brother. So just the thought of getting married was very overwhelming to her. It easily made her embarrassed. "Think you it!" Liora continued in a calm tone while her expression still remained unchanged. "Once you get engaged to His Majesty, no one will bother you. At the same time, the relationship between our Empires will reach the level of the Ethereal Empire and the Celestial Terrain." "Not to mention all the benefits that will come with it."
Just imagining all the benefits that her Empire would receive, it was impossible not to feel tempted.
She held her cheeks with her palms while wondering all sorts of possibilities in her head. "No...!!" Soraya then shook her head. "Your Majesty, think about it! If you two were to have children, then your children would have Divine Dragon Blood in them. This would mean that they would be destined to be geniuses." Once again, Soraya imagined herself with Aditya's children. The thought of holding her own boy or girl and walking to the Throne put a silly smile on her face. "No...!! No......!!"
"I must not lose focus." Liora pouted as the plan had failed. "If His Majesty had one or even two wives, then I might have considered getting engaged to him. But he already has too many amazing women as his future wives. I don't want to join." "As I said before, if I am going to get married, then I want my husband's love. I don't want to have contests every week just to get my husband's love and attention."
Hearing this, Liora sighed. Compared to before, at least, she was able to make Soraya think about it. Maybe if she keeps insisting, she will be able to change her mind. ----------------