***
Later that night, a sumptuous banquet was held in the Great Banquet Hall. It was an enormous hall, with enough tables to accommodate 300 people.
Max sat at the head table on a raised dais, surveying his guests. In addition to members of the nobility and the clergy, he had even invited commoners to celebrate, much to the chagrin of the archbishop.
On his right sat Ariel.
On his left sat Lucrezia.
Beside her was Eddie.
Beside Ariel was the archbishop.
The Kairuku Grebneffi, imperial servants and cousins of the emperor penguins of the Natural World, began serving dinner.
They rolled out serving trays on wheels. The most magnificent foods were presented to the imperial table.
Apart from common item such as bread and cheese, there were foods that Max had never seen before. There were exotic and expensive birds of every kind, one stuffed in another. These were all smothered in some kind of brown and yellow sauce.
Max took a big whiff. The aroma made his mouth water.
A plate was placed in front of him by the head butler, Steward.
It was a roast dodo baked in ambrosia.
Steward then set down a glass of prenglas juice.
He hesitated slightly, his hand lingering around the glass, but then went back to his business.
Max noticed the hesitation and sensed something off-putting about Steward, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Max picked up a knife and fork and prepared to dig in.
He was about to cut to into the meat when the archbishop interrupted him.
“Your Imperial Majesty,” said the prelate. “May I introduce the pontiff?”
He pointed to a woman who had appeared in front of the Emperor. “This is the Holy Mother, Her Holiness Matriarch Eleanor XX, Pontifex Maximus, which means Head of our most Holy Mother Church.”
The pontiff bowed before the Emperor. “Your Imperial Majesty. It is an enormous honor to meet you.”
She had a soft and cordial yet authoritative kind of voice.
Max looked into her kind blue eyes.
Although she was wearing a white shawl, he could see she had long white hair.
She also had wrinkled skin. Max wondered how old she was.
“Your Holiness,” he said to her.
She smiled, revealing almost no teeth. “I was wondering if we could chat later about expanding the role of the Church in the Empire. As you know, we rank under the nobility in the Order of Precedence and I’d like to rectify that. We have very little power....”
As she droned on and on, Max zoned out.
Here we go, thought Max. Everyone wants something from me. Now that I’m the Emperor, I better get used to it.
***
Book 1: The Crown Prince (The Kid Emperor of Occultoria) Page 36