Edward was clearly smitten with Jasmine, and seeing her in her current dress did not help him get over her beauty at all. It was only a few seconds later that he even thought to turn around and greet the other two.

Edward made some small talk, asking Ning about his involvement with Zarius and whatnot.

“I managed to sponsor sir Zarius under these two’s names. They are now the proud part owner of whatever it is sir Zarius will create next.”

“You two? Lady Jasmine is sponsoring sir Zarius?” Edward asked.

“I am now.”

“Say, Prince Edward. Is your family religious by any chance?” Ning asked.

“Deeply. My grandfather is a devout believer of God Zurinus, and likewise, we all are as well. Everyone should know this though. The pope came here for a reason, you know?”

“I see. Is that why there is a statue of him by the front of the palace?” Ning asked.

“Yes. There are many such places within the palace too. We like to consider ourselves one of the most devout families ever faithful to Zurinus.”

Ning nodded slowly. Jasmine left with Edward to dance after a few minutes of talking, leaving Ning and Tim behind by themselves. A few minutes later, Arya came up to them.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be with your dad?” Ning asked.

“Nah, everyone else is with my dad. They want nothing to do with me at all,” Arya said.

“Nothing?” Ning asked.

Arya looked at him and sighed. “Okay, no. Not nothing. Literally, everyone I meet wants to set me up with their son or their nephew. Hell, some of these old men think they would be good for me.”

“You need a deflector,” Ning said.

“A what?” Arya was confused.

“A deflector. Something to deflect their proposition before it even comes. Make them think from the beginning that they don’t have any chance.”

“Oh? What can I use? We left all things outside before coming in.”

Ning grinned. “It doesn’t have to be something. It can be someone too.” He nodded toward Tim.

“Oh, that…” Arya blushed a little. “Sir Tim. Would you mind dancing with me?”

Tim was caught off-guard. “I’m sorry, dance? I mean, yes. Absolutely.” He held out his hand and took Arya away to dance.

Ning remained by himself, drinking the glass of wine he had been served. He wasn’t alone for long, as people came to talk with him.

15 minutes passed quickly and Ning managed to weed out a lot of potential people as just that, people. None of them were Zurinus. He never expected them to be one. There was only one possibility in his mind, and it was the Emperor.

A man who was the Emperor of the greatest empire in the world, living to be 100 years old? That screamed Zurinus to him. Especially given the fact that he had turned the entire royal family into greatly religious as well, the truth was all but confirmed.

Just as he thought that, a commotion rang from all around, as a group of people arrived at the party. Ning turned to look and saw the man he had been thinking of.

The Emperor had arrived.

The Emperor was a young man. He looked to be in his early 60s, and that was very young for someone in his 100th year alive on this planet. He was greatly smiling all around, surrounded by many people.

There were 2 old women by his side, one that seemed to be in her 80s, and another in her 60s. There were also 6 men, each ranging in age from 40 to 70. He heard one of the men addressing the Emperor as his ‘royal father’, which told Ning that they were his sons and grandson.

Ning looked at the women, wondering if they were his daughter or his wife. He knew the current empress was supposed to be young at around 60, so it had to be the younger woman if any.

But then, he could only imagine who the older woman was.

As they arrived, the men and women walked away from the Emperor, who was wearing his regal robes for the day, with a crown on his head that gleamed with jewels on it.

It was a Zurin treasure. Ning wondered what it was for.

He slowly walked toward the Emperor. They all did. Everyone gathered as the Emperor began giving a speech for his birthday.

“Dear guests, thank you for accepting our invitation to my 100th birthday. I, Vixian Vol Morgiana, humbly welcome you all to this celebration.”

“This is a day of happiness, of prosperity, and a day that proves that as long as you work hard and believe in yourself and Zurinus, everything will come just right.”

“When I was 7, my family was killed. My mother helped me escape but in doing so she got killed back then. I can barely remember her face now.”

“I was orphaned in a single night, and I thought I had lost everything. However, I found Zurinus when I was at my lowest, and I believed in him. With his help, I worked hard and I got back on my feet. Years later, I was back on the throne, as its rightful heir.”

“The throne of the Morgian Empire had its rightful heir back, and that would not have happened, had it not been for my faith.”

“So, for this day, for my 100th birthday, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to none other than Zurinus himself. May we all be blessed by him on this blessed day.”

“Thank you.”

The sound was back in the party as everyone began clapping. People who had stopped playing the music went back to playing it again and the crowd slowly dispersed.

Ning continued staring at the young emperor, taking his words into thought. That was an incredible story to tell to turn people into the Zurnius faith.

And that was exactly what Zurinus would do.

Ning was becoming more and more certain that this was the man he was looking for. Saʀᴄh the 0velFre.nt website on Ggl to access chapters of nvels early and in the highest quality.

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