Hollywood Zenith

The Imperial palace was not consistently named as such; it bears the name Edo castle and is located around a large park surrounded by moats and massive stone walls in the center of Tokyo, a short walk from Tokyo Station. It is the residence of Japan's Imperial Family.

Edo Castle used to be the seat of the Tokugawa shogun, who ruled Japan from 1603 until 1867. In 1868, the shogunate was overthrown, and the country's capital and imperial residence were moved from Kyoto to Tokyo. With such construction, a new Imperial Palace was completed. The palace was once destroyed during World War Two and rebuilt in the same style afterward.

There was no sign of such a history present when looking at it; it was indeed a beautiful place, serene and peaceful, completely cut off from the modern civilization surrounding it.

The convey drive past the inspection gate, David had already informed them about them, so it didn't take long. They took one of the two bridges which connected the outer area to the inner grounds.

" It really is beautiful." Adele exclaimed.

" Yeah, I can't believe that earlier, Samuel was debating about whether to visit the Palace or not." Iblis followed after her.

" You don't know but it is a big hassle to deal with, I wanted to be as low-key as possible during our trip." Samuel said and shook his head helplessly.

" It will not be a bad experience; it is not every day you get to meet royalty. As far as I know, they seldom make public appearances and keep to themselves, " said Karoline, evaluating the surroundings.

" The inner grounds of the palace are generally not open to the public. Only on January 2 which is new year's greeting and on Emperor' birthday, visitors are able to enter the inner palace grounds and see the members of the Imperial Family, who make several public appearances on a balcony. " Samuel added.

" Cut that out, will you. It's not cute anymore." Oscar lamented and promised himself to remain humble in front of this 'human encyclopedia' from now on.

We reached the inner ground and got out of the car. To our surprise, several people were present in front to welcome us.

" They are really overbearing sometimes." Samuel muttered as he got out of the car.

On the other hand, Hannah became confused seeing so many people, promptly reaching for Samuel's hand. She is shy when meeting new people.

" Come on, let go and greet them. Its going to be okay," Samuel said and helped the little girl get out of the vehicle.

Samuel walked at the front with Oscar and Karoline trailing behind him; the girls huddled together at the back. Samuel was familiar with only Masako and the little princess, which he could see standing beside a thin-looking man. Although he looked weak and frail, his deep, bright eyes gave away his wealth of experience and knowledge. Samuel could already guess the identity of the person.

Castle employees and protective details surrounded both sides, seemingly forming a line for the incoming group. There were others beside him, a total of three to four people. It also included the people from Imperial House Agency; he met a few familiar faces during his birthday celebration. Still, he never actually interacted with them that much.

Everyone had impeccable form and a warm, welcoming smile, which showed they were professional. The bodyguard was evaluating our movement; they were primarily focused on Oscar and Karoline. I could not blame them; both are strong individuals with a certain air about them.

Especially Karoline, who displayed a rigid attitude by staring back at them; they could sense she was bad news.

" I guess, I will have a lot of introduction to do. But first I have to greet them moderately. Japanese custom is all about proper decorum." Samuel thought.

Samuel stopped in front of the group and did a proper royal greeting.

" It is nice to meet you. As you might have heard, I am Samuel Rothchild." he did it in fluent Japanese. He has already learned most of the languages of this world, and treating them in their own culture will compel them to treat his group favorably.

Iblis also heard the name, but she never tried to pry into Samuel's background, which made her unaware of the type of person he was. But hearing the title gave her a big shock, she was not well versed about her family's history but she had heard rumors. Sinister rumors about the Rothschilds. She looked toward Karoline but seeing her unfazed told her everything she needed to know.

" It is nice to meet you too, Samuel. Your Japanese is excellent but we don't need to be so formal around here. It is not a official meeting." said the man at the front.

" I am Naruhito by the way, you must be tired. Come we will talk inside." said Naruhito.

He led the group inside; the people who followed Samuel for security detail were led somewhere else by one of the onlookers. They hesitated at first, but Samuel gave them permission. Besides, he already had Oscar and Karoline with him, giving them peace of mind.

Iblis also followed the group; she felt conflicted about the situation. She kept looking at everyone's back, not knowing what to do.

The room had a wide array of decorations, much from the ancient era. Any artifact collector would kill to be in here; this one room can tell all sorts of stories. Everyone looked around as they followed the man leading them.

They came to a big room with sofas lining geometrical shapes; it was an excellent design to discuss between the two parties. The design was completely different from the western designs; it had a more elegant vibe and eastern patterns displayed in various parts of the room. It could accommodate a large number of people, but for the time being, it had few seats available.

" I guess they prepared the meeting room used for foreign delegates." Samuel thought.

They got comfortable on one side of the room with the man's permission, while the other party took the opposite side. Samuel also notices a strange old woman staring at him from afar. She took off the end seat and simply observed his group.

" Was she there earlier?" He could not recall seeing her earlier.

" Samuel, it is an honor to finally meet my benefactor. Thank you very much for everything that you have done for me. My wife, Masako told me incident and seeing you in person confirms her narrative. " Naruhito bowed slightly to show his sincere attitude.

Samuel almost stood up, trying to stop the man, " It's okay, really, you have already done so much for my short guess work. It is not a big deal."

" We are only here on a trip, letting us stay at the Palace is more than enough for my foolish remarks."

" It seems that you don't understand the gravity of such news. Nonetheless, we are grateful. " Masako said from the side.

Adele nudged Samuel from the side, he almost forgot about them due to Naruhito's earlier incident.

" Yes, ah, I should introduce you to my companions. This is Adele, Oscar, Karoline and at the back is Iblis, the little one beside me is my sister, Hannah." Samuel introduced his group and noticed the irregularities in Iblis's mood.

"Did something happen? She seemed out of it for some reason." He thought.

" Ah, it is nice to meet you, everyone; you already know my wife, Masako and the little niece, Kako. The one beside her is her father, my little brother Fumihito and his wife, Kiko. I am sorry, but my father and mother are not here currently but you would be able to meet them at the dinner. It is a small celebration among the family to show our appreciation." He introduced everyone, and both groups simply greeted one another. He failed to notice the old woman at the far left.

" I can't possibly make Emperor greet me personally. Beside there is no need to hold a dinner party. It will cause too much inconvenience."

Samuel said persuading the other party. He wishes to be low-key but with everything happening, it will only be a pipe dream for him.

" No, no, it has already been decided. We have been preparing for couple of days now. Kako is very excited about it too." Fumihito included Kako's name to deter any resistance.

" He seems like a proper diplomat, using words for his advantage." thought Samuel.

" You don't have to worry about it much. It is the only party in the name; there will only be dinner with the family. We opted against to invited any outsiders. " Kiko, his wife said plainly.

" She seemed like a strict person, I wonder if that is why Princess Kako is behaves so well for her age." analyzed Samuel.

Fumihito whispered something to his wife; others didn't hear it, but Samuel heard it with his special hearing, " Honey, you are doing it again." Which made her sudden gasp.

" What, really? But I practiced a lot this time." She said, dejected about her behavior. Others looked at the situation confused.

" It is nothing, Kiko is not as scary as she seems on the outside. She has been practicing to behave more approachable for the guest. Don't mind her." Masako clarified the situation.

" It's okay, we don't mind, but who is the old woman sitting there?" Adele replied to the group and pointed out the apparent anomaly in the room.

Naruhito and others also finally noticed the woman.