"You don't seem very happy to see me, Prince Xar. I was just drawn to this conversation because it sounded very interesting," Prime Minister Henry chuckled, following which the two exchanged an amicable smile.

Erwin couldn't help but be impressed by their ability to rein in their own emotions. They were the most bitter of political rivals, yet the smiles on their faces were so genuine. If Erwin hadn't been aware of the relationship between the two, he could've easily been fooled into thinking that the two were the closest of friends. If possible, he really wanted to get Lola to bring her young actors and actresses here to study this interaction. It was truly a masterful display of acting.

"This here is Erwin, the leader of the City of Freedom, and the one who's forged a resounding reputation for himself in the west," Prince Xar introduced with a smile. "I was just praising him for everything that he's achieved at such a young age."

"Indeed. I'd say the only thing that can match his achievements is his enormous ambition, isn't that right?" Prime Minister Henry took a glance at Erwin, then cast his gaze toward Prince Xar before bursting into laughter, and Prince Xar nodded in agreement.

Erwin was wearing a polite smile this entire time, but deep down, he was wondering exactly what this pair of sly old foxes were trying to do.

Even though the other dukedom rulers nearby couldn't hear the conversation taking place between the trio, they could see that two of the three most powerful figures in the entire empire were gathered around an unknown young man for some reason, and that was nothing short of extraordinary.

These dukedom rulers were esteemed nobles, so they naturally weren't going to erupt into chatter like unrefined and uneducated common folk, but all of them had a burning desire to know exactly who this young man was.

...

Under the guidance of the palace servants, the rulers of all of the dukedoms were taken into the imperial palace before being led to the eastern hall, while all of their entourages were instructed to wait in the front hall.

Erwin patted Onean's hand while giving her a reassuring smile, and Onean seemed to be quite nonchalant about everything, but there was a clear hint of concern that had crept into her eyes.

That Sanfesa is clearly a vile snake. I wonder how she's going to attack the City of Freedom during the imperial conference, Onean thought to herself. And that's not even to mention Prince Xar and Prime Minister Henry further complicating the situation.

Erwin was walking along with the congregation of dukedom rulers, looking at the oil paintings hanging on the walls of the wide and luxurious passageway in an absentminded manner. Just like Onean, he was also feeling rather uneasy.

As soon as he entered the eastern hall, he was immediately greeted by the sight of a massive ovular conference table. The table was constructed entirely from black walnut wood, and it could seat several dozen people.

Nameplates of all of the dukedom rulers had already been set down in front of their assigned seats.

Looks like seating arrangement isn't just randomly assigned, Erwin thought to himself.

At the head of the table was a chair that was noticeably larger than all of the other chairs, and there was no nameplate in front of it. Presumably, this was the seat that was going to be occupied by the emperor of the Fulway Empire. Above the fireplace behind the main seat was a giant portrait.

Erwin was able to identify the man depicted in the portrait as the founding emperor of the Fulway Empire, Canbad the Great. His anchor-shaped mustache was extremely distinctive, and Erwin had seen depictions of him in many historical texts. Inside the portrait, Canbad the Great was standing on a lion-skin rug, and the sword in his hand was polished to the point that it was gleaming like a mirror. The authoritative and ferocious look in his eyes seemed to be able to intimidate everyone in the conference hall, even though the subject of the portrait had already passed away over 800 years ago. Of course, this was most likely the reason why this portrait had been hung up here. It was a massive portrait, and the depiction of Canbad the Great inside the portrait was like a hawk that was watching everyone from above. Even after only staring at the portrait for a short while, Erwin couldn't help but shudder slightly.

At this point, almost everyone had already taken their seats. Erwin swept his gaze over the conference table to find that Prime Minister Henry and Prince Xar were seated to the left and to the right of the emperor, respectively, while Sanfesa was seated to Prince Xar's right. Judging from the seating arrangement, it seemed that all of the people in Prince Xar's faction were seated quite close to him, and the same naturally also applied to Prime Minister Henry for those in his faction.

In contrast, people like Erwin and Duke Tuhar, who weren't part of either faction, were seated further away from the emperor. In fact, Erwin was pretty much sitting directly across from the emperor.

If a straight line were to be drawn between Erwin's seat and the emperor's seat, then that line would perfectly split the ovular conference table into two.

Even though Erwin was feeling a little anxious, he appeared to be quite calm and collected on the outside. He pulled out his hair before taking a seat, then quickly glanced left and right, upon which he discovered that he was most likely the youngest person at the entire table. All of the other nobles present were at least old enough to be his father, and some were even old enough to be his grandfather.

Thus, he was naturally regarded as an anomaly by everyone else.

However, thankfully, the scrutiny of Erwin didn't last very long as the emperor of the Fulway Empire arrived in the conference hall shortly thereafter.

The emperor was wearing a luxurious golden robe, and he made his way into the conference hall accompanied by a group of servants.

All of the dukedom rulers present immediately rose to their feet, then extended a collective salute toward him.

"We pay our respects to His Majesty."

On this occasion, Erwin chose not to refrain from following the proper etiquette. He had chosen not to salute Prince Xar earlier as he knew that Prince Xar's stance against the City of Freedom wasn't going to be swayed regardless of whether he saluted the prince or not. However, when it came to the emperor, Erwin had to put on a more obedient and docile display. After all, he didn't want to be targeted by everyone here, and if he were to irk the emperor, then the City of Freedom wasn't going to be standing for much longer.

In the instant that he raised his head after extending his salute, Erwin was surprised to discover that the emperor appeared to be around the same age as him. What was even more surprising to him was that right as he cast his gaze toward the emperor, the emperor just so happened to be looking back at him as well.

As a result, their eyes met, and Erwin hurriedly lowered his head again in a frightened manner.

In contrast, the faintest of smiles appeared on the emperor's face before he adopted a neutral expression again.

"Take a seat, everyone," the young emperor said in a calm voice.

Only after the emperor had taken a seat himself did everyone else in the conference hall dare to sit down.

"It's been quite some time since I last saw all of you. Have you all been well?" the emperor asked as he swept his gaze around the ovular conference table with a benevolent smile. "Has your gout gotten any better, Duke Olnar? You really do need to cut down on your seafood consumption."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. Unfortunately, my gout has been following me for over 10 years, and I'm afraid it's not going to be cured so easily," Duke Olnar replied with a smile. He was a man who was in his fifties, and he was very pleased that the emperor had chosen to speak to him first out of everyone present.

"The seabass of the Atney Sea is truly an extraordinary delicacy. If I could have it every single day, I would gladly do so, even if I were suffering from gout. I had it once as a young man many years ago, and I've never been able to forget about it since. If I were living close to the sea, I would be a complete slave to my vices. So what if my gout gives me hell? I still have to eat," Prince Xar said with a wide smile.

Everyone was very amused to hear this.

"You know me better than anyone, Prince Xar," Duke Olnar said as he burst into laughter. "If even a single day goes by where I don't have a seabass dish, I feel as if something was missing."

Duke Olnar wasn't part of Prince Xar's faction, so the interaction taking place between the two of them was nothing more than a political formality.

"Gout is a condition that can have very minimal effects if well managed, but can also be very serious if not properly addressed," Sanfesa said as she cast a serious gaze toward Duke Olnar. "It's often the case that conditions like these that are taken lightly end up having the most dire effects."

As soon as this statement was made, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over the warm and friendly atmosphere in the room. Duke Olnar was just about to declare that extend an open invitation to everyone to visit the Kratos Dukedom, but he could only swallow those words as his smile stiffened on his face.

It seemed that Sanfesa had something to say. None of the people in the conference hall were idiots, and they could naturally tell that she had intentionally dampened the atmosphere in the room as she had something serious to talk about.

"What is it that you would like to say, Duchess Silon? Why not make yourself clear?" the emperor asked with a faint smile, getting straight to the point.

"What I want to say is that all of the people seated at this table are nobles, yet there is an unwelcome imposter among us. Not only that, but he's constantly rallying the common folk to topple the nobility system," Sanfesa said as she took a subtle glance at Erwin. He's constantly going on and on about bringing down the nobility and distributing the land that we own among everyone. It is truly the most preposterous thing I've ever heard.

Her accusations immediately sent a wave of unrest spreading across the conference hall, and many of the dukedom rulers present began to converse with one another in hushed tones.

Many of the dukedom rulers who were unaware of the existence of the City of Freedom were quite stunned to hear this. However, seeing as she was a part of Prince Xar's faction, it was clear that she had entered this imperial conference with an agenda, so there was a chance that she was simply making up this story in order to condemn one of her political enemies.

The young emperor was very amused to hear this. "I wasn't aware that there was someone claiming that they were going to abolish the nobility system. If they truly want to accomplish that goal, making bold yet empty declarations isn't going to get them anywhere, they have to instigate a full-blown revolution. The nobility system is a deep-rooted hierarchy that has stood the test of time throughout an extensive period of history, it's certainly not something that can simply be abolished overnight."

"I fully agree, Your Majesty," Sanfesa said. "The person I'm referring to has instigated a massive revolution in the Boll Dukedom under the flag of the so-called Universal Church Freedom Army. At this point, they've already taken over the entirety of the Boll Dukedom, and they call their regime the City of Freedom."

"The Boll Dukedom has fallen? Why have I not heard about this at all?" the emperor exclaimed.

"Your Majesty, I would advise you to speak with Mr. Erwin if you would like to find out more details. He is the leader of the Universal Church Freedom Army," Sanfesa said as she cast her gaze toward Erwin. "Why don't we ask him what he's done with Duke Eru of the Boll Dukedom?"

Everyone's attention was immediately focused onto Erwin upon hearing this, and there was clear hostility in the eyes of many of the dukedom rulers present. Many people were already beginning to believe Sanfesa's claims, and they were naturally not very happy to hear that Erwin was threatening their positions of power.

Erwin remained completely unfazed by this, and it seemed that he was thoroughly enjoying the limelight being focused on him.

"You truly have a unique sense of humor, Duchess Silon," Erwin said with an amused expression. "The story that you just told is certainly far more interesting than the stage plays written by the third-rate directors in Finklan. Duke Eru fell ill this winter and is still yet to recover from his illness, so he was unable to travel to Finklan. That's all there is to it, yet you make it sound like he's already been replaced as the ruler of the Boll Dukedom."

"Even if Duke Eru couldn't make it, surely it's not in your place to act as his replacement. How did you receive the imperial summons?" Sanfesa asked as her eyes narrowed slightly.

"In the absence of Duke Eru, it only makes sense for his daughter, Theresa, to act as his replacement," Erwin said with a smile. "However, after arriving in Finklan, Theresa has caught a cold, so I had to come in her place."

"Who are you to Theresa? What right do you have to take her place?" Sanfesa asked.

Erwin replied with a calm smile, "I am Theresa's fiancee. Do you think I have the right to attend the imperial conference in her place now?"

Many of the dukedom rulers present were beginning to grow rather confused. Judging from how calm and self-assured Erwin was, it didn't seem like he was lying.

"It's rather saddening to see such a handsome young man like yourself spouting lies and deception without any remorse," Sanfesa said with a cold smile, then pulled out a rolled-up sheet of paper before unfurling it for all to see. "Let me ask you this then: what exactly is this thing that I hold here? This so-called declaration is plastered all over the Boll Dukedom."

Erwin didn't even have to look at the sheet of paper to know that it was the declaration of freedom.