The information and facts that had just left Calian's mouth struck Eralio and Arlen's consciousness like an invisible sledgehammer. Time inside the private room seemed to stand still for a few seconds.
The bodies of the middle-aged man and the brown-haired boy instantly froze like two ice statues. The phrase 'authority as an Emperor' that came out of the Prince's mouth kept echoing and spinning in their heads.
The Emperor?! their minds screamed in unison.
Realizing the true identity of the woman instantly triggered a massive wave of panic within Eralio and Arlen's chests. Beads of cold sweat began to form on their faces.
Overwhelmed by an unstoppable panic, both Eralio and Arlen immediately stood up from their sofas. The two of them simultaneously dropped down, bending one knee to the floor, and bowed their heads deeply to pay the highest respect to the Emperor.
Seeing what the two men were doing, Elara only let out a soft sigh.
"Sit back down!" Elara ordered. Her tone was calm, yet it radiated an undeniable authority. "This is not an official meeting. The two of you do not need to pay such excessive respects to me."
Hearing the direct order from the Emperor, with movements that were still slightly stiff and trembling, Eralio and Arlen slowly rose from the floor and obeyed. They sat back down on their respective sofas, but this time with a very upright posture, not daring to lean back even the slightest bit.
Ignoring the tension of the two men, on the other side of the room, Calian walked over to his mother. He raised his right hand and handed over the black metal key he had been holding.
"A key?" Elara asked with a slightly furrowed brow as she received the small metal object. "What kind of key is this, Calian?"
"That is a universal key that was just created by Arlen." Calian answered, beginning his explanation about the terrifying potential of the magic tool. He looked into his mother's eyes very seriously. "Please be careful when keeping that object, Mother. That key is no ordinary key. As long as those objects have a keyhole, that key can open anything without the need to pry it open by force."
Hearing the specific explanation coming from her son's mouth about the key currently in her palm, Elara was instantly surprised.
She did not expect that the object was a terrifying key that could be extremely dangerous if it fell into the hands of the wrong people or syndicate.
However, Elara also felt curious about the figure who was able to create a magic tool capable of shaking and bringing down the entire world's security system.
"Who is the person that made this key?"
Calian raised his right hand, then pointed straight at the brown-haired boy sitting stiffly on the sofa.
Seeing the Prince's finger pointing at him, Arlen instantly jolted. He became terribly frightened. His heart was beating rapidly. He was afraid that his forged key would cause him to be labeled as a threat and subsequently sentenced to death by the Emperor.
"A boy that small made it?" Elara asked to confirm.
Calian nodded firmly, confirming his mother's words.
"Yes, he is the one who made it, Mother." Calian explained in a calm tone. "Even though from the outside he appears to have the body and form of a small child, in reality, he is a grown man. He can take that form because I manipulated the time on his body using my blessing."
"But, for what reason did you change and turn him into a little boy like that?" Elara asked, still puzzled by her son's treatment of the man.
"Because after the matters here are resolved, we will immediately head to Wollen City to annihilate the slave-trading syndicate hiding there." Calian answered, beginning to explain their next plan. "Arlen has decided to come with us to that city to free his younger brother, who is still enslaved by the lord of that city. If he went there in his true form, the syndicate would immediately recognize him, and that would cause trouble for us."
Elara nodded in understanding. "So, while the three of you head to Wollen City, you want me to clean up all the mess happening in this city?"
"Exactly, Mother." Calian answered hopefully. "We need your help to secure this city before the syndicate realizes that we have eliminated Thomas."
After saying that, Calian turned his body and looked at his spouse, who was sitting calmly on the sofa.
"Wolvin, may I ask you to take out all the evidence you have stored in your dimensional storage necklace?"
Hearing his husband's request, Wolvin nodded in understanding without asking for the reason. He then stood up from his sofa and walked with slow steps, moving slightly away from the sofa set and table to have enough empty space to take everything out.
Standing straight, Wolvin raised his right hand. He gently touched the silver necklace around his neck, then began channeling his mana into it.
Thud! Clatter! Thud!
The sound of heavy and hard objects hitting the floor instantly echoed in the room.
Elara, Eralio, and Arlen suddenly widened their eyes simultaneously as they saw what Wolvin had just taken out of his dimensional necklace.
Eight large wooden chests filled with a massive amount of money, along with a pile of corpses still covered in blood, now lay stiffly on the floor.
Those corpses were not just anybody. Within that pile lay the bodies of Thomas, his wife, his two children, six kidnappers, and eight official uniformed guards.
"This is the reason we must move immediately and head to Wollen City as soon as possible, Mother. We are racing against time and must arrive there before anyone from the slave-trading syndicate network realizes that this city's lord is dead."
Elara looked at the pile of corpses with a cold gaze.
Now, she truly understood the urgent reason behind her son's request for her help to handle everything happening in Gias City.
"Very well. I will immediately order the imperial soldiers in the capital to move and surround this city from all directions so that no one can leave the city gates without my permission." Elara finally decided, her tone of voice becoming extremely firm and laden with the absolute authority of an emperor. "The three of you just focus on your journey to Wollen City. As for everything here, let me handle it."
Hearing their mother's decision, Calian and Wolvin instantly felt very relieved. The heavy burden that had been weighing on their minds seemed to be completely lifted.
With the Emperor directly intervening in Gias City, the two of them, along with Arlen, could now calmly continue their journey toward Wollen City.