When the man came through the entrance, Damien noticed that everyone including the maid was bowing at a 45 degree angle without daring to lift their heads. He straight away understood that the man before him was not simple.
But he still asked in a proud tone, "Who's asking?"
The man frowned a bit seeing Damien's rudeness and his inability to recognize who he is, but he seemed to swallow his pride and said, "I am the imperial general, Rowan. The empress requests an audience with you. I hope you will accept." The man's tone seemed like Damien had no choice but to accept.
Damien was surprised hearing that the empress wanted to meet him. But then he remembered how Elder Edward's expression seemed strange and guessed that the news of his abilities must have reached the empress' ears somehow.
He didn't know what to do since he knew that the empress was one of the people who has been troubling Lily most of the time. But he knew that if he chose not to go with Rowan, things might get ugly. He already knew that he would have to face the consequences of displaying his abilities but he didn't expect it to be this fast.
Rowan was surprised at first why the empress would want him to request for the presence of a Rank 4 alchemist personally. Unless it was a Rank 5 and above or a reputed alchemist from another empire, there was nothing else that was worth his time or hers. But the empress told him to invite that person even without knowing their identity. Having no choice but to follow her orders, he had to go see Damien himself.
Since it was the empress' orders, he had to ignore Damien's rudeness and make sure his job was done. And seeing that he was unable to see through Damien, he assumed Damien was stronger than him which made him think about Damien's identity and why the empress asked for him.
"Very well, let's go." Damien replied.
He was curious what the empress would want from him and if it was anything he didn't like, he could easily come up with excuses to refuse her. Also, this was a chance for him to learn more about his enemies. After all, Lily's enemies were his enemies too.
'This should be for the best. As the saying goes, know thy enemy and you need not fear defeat.'
——-
In the throne hall of the imperial palace,
After Rowan entered the throne hall, he had constantly kept his head down. Damien moved towards the middle-aged woman clad in blue palace robes standing with her back faced in front of the throne.
"You may withdraw." The empress spoke in a dignified tone.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Rowen immediately withdrew and closed the doors as he went out.
"Alchemist Azrael greets Your Majesty." Damien said in a deep voice as he gave a light bow in a dignified manner. No matter what, she was still the empress of an empire and he decided to reveal his true face when the time comes. Till then he could play along as long as he wants.
The empress slowly turned, exposing her appearance to Damien. He saw that despite her middle-aged appearance, she seemed to have taken great care to preserve her youthfulness. And seeing a trace of arrogance hidden deep within her eyes, he started to somewhat understand what kind of a person he was going to deal with.
Olivia Rong slowly nodded and said, "It's my pleasure to meet you too, Mr.Azrael. I have heard how you even shocked those experts at the Alchemist Society with your talent for concocting even the legendary Supreme Tier Pills. As an empress, knowing that such a talent emerged in our empire, I couldn't help but feel proud."
"Your Majesty's words are too kind. I am just an alchemist interested in researching the ways of alchemy and medicine. Any fame or riches are secondary to me unless they are useful for my research." Damien said in a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.
"As expected from a genius like you. Well, I will get straight to the point and tell you the reason why I requested for your presence. I hope you would be able to concoct some Supreme Tier Rank 3 and Rank 4 breakthrough pills. I can promise you a compensation of four times the market value. Is this of your satisfaction?" Olivia Rong asked as she focused her gaze on Damien.
'Four times?? Rank 4 breakthrough pills go for 10,000 Yellow Spirit Stones and four times that is 40,000 Yellow Spirit Stones! That is more than what a medium-sized family makes in a year!' Damien was inwardly surprised the empress was even ready to offer him such a generous compensation.
He now understood how Olivia Rong was able to run an empire despite being a woman. She knew how to deal with people to see to it that her objectives are fulfilled.
If a normal person was seeing this conversation, they would think that Olivia Rong was a generous and kind empress who knew how to nurture and motivate the talents in her empire.
But Damien knew that she only offered him such an enticing offer so that he wouldn't think of going anywhere at least till the news of his ability spreads. She knew that once other empires also get the news of Damien's prowess, they would shower him with wealth to bring him to their side or at least request him to concoct some Supreme Tier Pills. And if she waited till Damien got famous, then she may not be able to request him to concoct a pill for her at the same compensation she offered now.
'No wonder, Lily is having a hard time with her.' He realized that Olivia Rong might be someone whose schemes run so deep, one wouldn't even realize when it all started.
After all, he had seen all kinds of people in his previous life and even survived from innumerous plots, schemes, and traps from these very people.
"Okay, I can do it. But I have two conditions." Damien said in an airy tone.
Olivia Rong narrowed her eyes and then nodded, "Sure. After all, someone as talented as you would naturally have their own needs which I wouldn't be privy of."
If Damien had seen how Olivia Rong behaved towards Lily then he would be surprised at the 180-degree change in her attitude and demeanor. But because of Lily's words and from what he observed, he knew he couldn't let his guard down for even one moment.
"My first condition is that I would like a top-notch earth grade cauldron as part of the compensation since mine had broken down due to its long years."
"Hmm...that's no problem. What is your second condition?"
"My second condition is that...I want to request an audience with the Celestial Princess."
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