"Ants, you say?" The emperor lood over Theo’s words, his expression difficult to discern.
"So is it right for to assu you have tad an ant queen, Theo rrick?" the emperor asked again.
Theo remained silent for a few seconds, which made the murmurs in the hall intensify. Then a steady, dominant voice soon cut through the noise.
"Your Majesty, the emperor..." the baron spoke.
The emperor turned to him with a faint smile.
"What is it, old friend?" The emperor spoke with an amused tone, but Theo could sense sothing beneath it.
It didn’t feel right.
It was as if the emperor was mad or sothing. Not at Theo, the supposed wrongdoer, but more at the baron instead.
"I believe it would be better if we could have an audience in private," the baron said calmly.
"You dare make requests when you are being persecuted, Baron?!" the sa noble stood up again and shouted, making the hall fall into restless whispers once more.
The baron ignored him completely once again. The noble looked as though he was going to lose his cool this ti.
"Duke Theron, you need to calm down," the emperor said.
The man who had shouted stiffened upon hearing the emperor’s words, then bowed his head and sat back down.
"There was a reason I took my son to the gate," the baron continued, his eyes unwavering like before. "I would like to discuss it with you in private, if possible."
The emperor held his gaze with those sa unreadable eyes before letting out a deep, human sigh.
"Alright."
The murmurs grew louder for a mont, but no one dared object to the emperor’s word.
The emperor glanced toward the right side of the table. At once, the elder nobles rose one by one and walked out through the door Alfred had already opened.
They didn’t even spare a look at the baron, but several of them glanced at Theo’s ants up close before walking out of the room.
Soon, following the elder ones, Theo saw every single noble reluctantly leave the room in hushed murmurs until only the royal tars in red robes and the knights of the rrick Barony remained.
"You all shall leave as well," the emperor ordered.
The knights of the rrick Barony imdiately ford ranks and departed without hesitation.
"But, Your Majesty..." one of the red-robed tars began, wanting to voice his thoughts, glancing uneasily at the baron. But upon seeing the emperor’s expression, he swallowed his words. One by one, they left, though concern still lingered on their faces.
When all of them left and the room was finally emptied, Alfred closed the room behind him and disappeared too, leaving only the emperor, the baron, Theo and the two attendants in the room.
"So," the emperor said, his tone shifting, "what do you have to say for yourself, Aldric?"
The baron held his gaze for a few seconds before rising to his feet.
Theo instinctively looked to the side, trying to signal his father that he wasn’t permitted yet, but...
"Are you curious about your father’s misbehaviour, Theo rrick?" the emperor asked with amusent.
Theo lifted his head and just stared at the emperor, who spoke out right away.
"He is one of the only few who can act like this and still not be forced into the royal prison. He is Aldric rrick." The emperor spoke while looking at the baron, who still had a serious expression on his face.
Theo didn’t know how to respond; here he had been thinking that he might get interrogated, perhaps even punished, for the actions they had committed over the past few months.
Instead, the emperor just stated very personal opinions.
"You know you have brought a great deal of trouble, Aldric," the emperor said with a shrug. "What am I to do with that temperant of yours?"
"Your majesty," the baron replied evenly, "We have so important matters at hand to discuss."
The emperor just smiled again, resting his head against his hand.
"Well, at least you are still respectful enough to call ’Majesty’ in front of your child."
This ti, the baron ignored him completely and began speaking.
"That academy," the baron spoke, his tone steady. "Is it still going after Theo?"
The emperor shook his head in response. Just like that, they had stepped into the main conversation.
"When the case was handed over to , the first thing I did was get the academy to slow down," he said calmly.
"But you know how these matters go, right? There are still certain things I must answer for, at least regarding what they possess..."
He spoke in a slight sly undertone, yet the baron didn’t show any reaction.
Theo decided to remain silent as well. If his father wasn’t going to reveal anything, why would he?
"But I can at least keep them away for a while," the emperor continued. "Until then, we can co to a conclusion about your son."
He didn’t stop, but his gaze shifted back to Theo.
"Theo rrick, get up," he stated.
Theo did just that, respectfully.
"I was planning to ask you about your primary beast, which happens to be an insect," the emperor said, his eyes lingering on the armor. "Yet here you are, showing sothing even more surprising."
He paused.
"So you control all the ants?" he asked.
Theo nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. Due to my unique affinity, I am able to exert better control over insects than over other beasts."
"And that other beast, the ’Mantis’, as I have heard. What about that one? Where did you get it in the first place?"
Theo didn’t even glance at his father to know if he should speak or not. He knew this was the ti to show what he could do on his own.
"I procured it from a rchant, Your Majesty. He was an ordinary rchant who dealt in normal-grade insects for my orders."
Theo paused for a second before continuing.
"I got it firstly as an ’Iron Mantis’, which is a very common insect in the Western regions."
He paused once again, giving the last part so emphasis.
"And then I evolved it into a superior beast with the help of my affinity, the very sa one you once said you had high hopes for, Your Majesty."
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