“So everything’s final then?” Rina asked, gesturing to the list of people eligible for the lucky draw attendance at their wedding.
“Ah, wait... there’s a girl that asked me for an autograph when I was on my ‘European tour’. Come to think of it, I wonder if she ever solved the problem I gave her....” Aron looked around and saw the strange expressions on the other people at the table with him. He suddenly realized how what he had said could be misinterpreted and sputtered, “Y-y-you people! Who do you think I am!? Sheesh! She was the front desk attendant when I was checking out of the hotel and she recognized me and asked for an autograph. That would’ve been that, until Nova looked through her information and discovered she was a talented engineer, so she set a question that, if the girl answered it correctly, she’d find some rewards from Nova.”
He shuddered at the cold shoulder he was expecting from Rina later. Even though he was almost positive they were just fucking with him, he had a sinking suspicion that he would be sleeping alone tonight.
Everyone went silent for a few seconds, then Sarah coughed in an attempt to disguise her laughter and the silence broke as everyone started chuckling. Everyone, that is, except Aron, who was less than impressed to have been made the butt of the joke.
[She did, sir. She’s currently an employee at Hephaestus and was one of the engineers that helped with the final touches on the fortress city designs,] Nova said against the backdrop of Aron’s friends’ laughter.
“Add her to the list for a chance to attend my wedding in person,” Aron said.
[Yes, sir,] she replied. She added the girl to the list and asked, [She’s on it, sir. Anyone else?]
“I think that should be everyone, right?” Aron said as he swept his gaze across the other people at the table. They all shook their heads, indicating that they were fine with the lists as they stood.
“Looks like everything’s settled,” Rina said with a content smile on her face.
Everyone she wanted to attend her wedding was already on the guest list; even her father, who was still in jail serving his sentence, would be granted leave to attend the wedding. It was a privilege that was extended to all prisoners who were on good behavior and weren’t facing execution for their crimes.
“If that’s all, then we shall bid you two lovebirds adieu. Rina and I have somewhere to be that isn’t shining a light on your romantic world,” Aron said with a grin. He took Rina’s hand and walked out of the room, leaving Felix and Sarah to their own little pink bubble.
The last thing Aron heard as he was walking out of the room was Sarah asking Felix, “So, how many kids do you want?”
Rina covered her mouth with her hand and snickered when Aron threw her the sound clip as they were walking down the hall.
……
A peculiar-looking helicopter landed atop a luxurious skyscraper in Istanbul, attracting the attention of all who saw it. Only one person could be a passenger in that helicopter, and everyone knew who it was because of the ostentatious imperial seal on its doors.
The emperor’s private seal was above the imperial seal, displayed in its full majesty, and everyone knew what it meant with just a glance. They had seen it more than once, after all, and every time it was either a very important occasion or some event that would change the lives of many, many people.
The peculiar helicopters were also something of an imperial fashion statement as well. Even though every vehicle introduced by the empire, whether it came from one of the emperor’s companies or not, was at his disposal, he would choose to travel in this particular style of helicopter each time.
It wasn’t the most advanced, nor was it the fastest, or the heaviest armed, and it wasn’t even the most luxurious. It was, in fact, one of the older designs, and one that had faded out of use since the invention of gravity plating. What it had going for it, however, was one simple fact: the Emperor of the Terran Empire seemed to prefer using it.
“Welcome to the House of Hope, Your Majesty and Your Highnesses,” a man of Indian descent said as he extended a hand to welcome Aron, Rina, and Henry.
“You don’t seem too happy to see me, Jai. You’re even sweating a bit,” Aron said with a smile.
“To be fair, Your Majesty, we weren’t informed you would be arriving until you were about a minute away. So I had to drop everything and sprint all the way here,” Jai Chakrabarti, CEO of the Coeus Foundation, laughed, pulling a neatly folded handkerchief out of his jacket’s breast pocket and wiping the sweat from his brow with it.
“Well, are you hiding something?” Aron grinned.
“Unfortunately, Your Majesty, I’ll have to disappoint you. There’s nothing to hide in the first place, whether it be public or private.”
“Then what’s with that godawful expression, man? Lighten up a bit, will you?” Aron patted him on the shoulder.
“We need time to prepare to welcome you, Your Majesty. A surprise visit from the emperor of all mankind is probably the very last thing we expect on any given day.”
“There’s hundreds of children living here, Jai. If it isn’t always in a condition I can see without prior warning of my arrival, that just means it isn’t fit for children to live here in the first place.” Aron’s tone grew serious as he continued, “So is that the case, Mr. Chakrabarti?”
“Let’s go in and you can see for yourself, Your Majesty,” Jai said as he pointed at the elevator that had been waiting for them throughout the conversation so far.
“Sure, let’s go have a look, shall we?” Aron took Henry’s hand in his and wrapped his other arm around Rina’s waist, then followed Jai to the elevator as his emperor’s aegis airdropped in throughout the entire area, making that particular neighborhood one of the safest places on Earth.
