"Oh, my little moon."
Those were the first words which appeared in her mind when she saw him.
Empress Selene pulled Aurelion closer to her chest. Not painfully. Not roughly. Just firmly enough that he could feel her heartbeat, steady and calm beneath him.
Her warmth was all around him.
"...She really isn’t letting go," he thought.
Before anyone could react, she stood up.
Not gracefully.
Not ceremonially.
Then, she stood and turned.
"Your Majesty—" one of the maids said.
The Empress was already walking.
Then walking faster.
Then almost running.
She reached her hand out and pushed the massive doors open.
Bright light ca inside.
The hallway beyond was long, wide, and impossibly lavish. Polished marble floors reflected the sunlight streaming in from tall arched windows. Golden inlays traced patterns along the walls, broken only by tall pillars carved with ancient symbols. Rich tapestries hung between them, depicting victories, coronations, and monts frozen in ti.
Aurelion’s eyes widened slightly.
"...This place doesn’t even try to hide it," he thought."...It just assus it’s impressive."
Selene didn’t slow down.
Her steps echoed as she moved through the hall, skirts swaying, silver hair trailing behind her. Servants and guards along the corridor froze, bowing quickly as she passed.
She didn’t look at them.
She didn’t need to.
She kept going.
And going.
"...She’s excited," Aurelion realized."...Really excited."
They stopped before a door that felt different.
Smaller than the chamber he had awakened in.
Still large.
Still expensive.
But restrained.
The decorations were simpler. The wood darker. The handle polished from use rather than display.
It didn’t scream comfort.
It scread work.
Selene didn’t knock.
She opened it.
The room beyond fell silent almost instantly.
Aurelion saw it all at once.
There was a long table which streched through the center of the room. It was clean and polished. People were sitting surrounding that table. n and won dressed in very nice clothes.
At the far end sat a chair that stood apart.
Higher.
Broader.
More imposing.
And seated in it—
The Emperor.
Tall, even while sitting. Broad shoulders filled the chair without effort. His presence anchored the room, pulling attention toward him naturally. Dark ash-black hair frad his face, streaked faintly with silver at the temples. His jaw was strong, his expression composed in a way that felt permanent rather than practiced.
His steel-gray eyes lifted the mont Selene entered.
They sharpened.
Then narrowed slightly.
"—Honey!" Selene called out, voice bright, echoing through the room."Co look what our boy just did!"
"...That must be him." the boy thought.
The nobles stiffened.
Aurelion felt it imdiately.
The shift.
"...So this is a serious situation," he thought.
The Emperor leaned back slightly.
"My dear Empress," he said, tone calm but firm, edged with the patience of soone interrupted mid-thought, "we are in the middle of—"
"No work is more important than my son," Selene replied instantly.
No hesitation.
No smile.
Just certainty.
The room froze.
One of the nobles cleared his throat.
Another nodded.
A third spoke, carefully, reading the room.
"Her Majesty is correct," he said."His Royal Highness is the most important person in the Empire."
Murmurs followed.
Agreent, polite and controlled.
The Emperor closed his eyes for a brief mont, then opened them again.
Selene crossed the room quickly still holding Aurelion close.
"See?" she said."Our boy just did magic. First try."
Aurelion felt her excitent ripple through her body.
"...She’s really doing that," he thought.
Several nobles exchanged glances.
Subtle ones.
The kind ant not to be seen.
One lifted an eyebrow.
Another pressed his lips together.
"...They don’t believe her," Aurelion realized.
The Emperor looked down at the child in Selene’s arms.
Then back at Selene.
"Selene," he said carefully, "you may be imagining things. You adore him. It’s natural."
Her expression changed instantly.
Her lips pushed forward in a pout.
Aurelion saw it.
"...She’s actually pouting."
She turned her head slightly away from him, arms tightening around Aurelion.
"You never believe ," she said."He really did it."
The Emperor sighed quietly.
Aurelion watched his father’s face closely.
No irritation.
Just controlled patience.
"...He’s used to managing rooms like this," Aurelion thought."...And she just bulldozed through it."
Selene turned back to Aurelion, her expression was now even softer completely.
"My little moon," she said gently, voice dropping into a playful tone ant for a child, "can you do it again for Mama?"
She smiled sweetly.
"Please? Show these bad n... these big bad n how amazing you are."
The nobles blinked.
One almost smiled before stopping himself.
"...They think this is ridiculous," Aurelion realized.
He stayed still.
Thinking.
"...Can I do it again?"
He rembered the sensation.
The way the air had responded.
The way it hadn’t resisted.
"...I think I can."
He looked at Selene.
Then at the room.
At the wide open space.
The tall ceiling.
The pillars lining the walls.
"...This place is bigger."
His breathing stayed steady.
"...She’s the one who gave warmth," he thought."...And this life."
"And well, is my mother now."
He focused.
Not forcing.
Just rembering.
The feeling of air moving.
Of flow.
Of listening.
His tiny fingers twitched.
The room shifted.
At first, it was subtle.
A change in pressure.
A few papers at the table rustled.
One noble frowned.
Then the wind ca.
It didn’t explode.
It rolled.
The mana power in his hands surged, and the wind similar to his mother ca out of his hand.
A voice of swift wind could be heard in the room.
One of the pillars along the narrower side of the room cracked.
Not deeply.
But visibly.
Stone fractured with a sharp sound.
The wind pressed on.
Strong.
Controlled.
Present.
Aurelion felt it clearly.
"...This is easier than before."
The nobles froze.
Chairs scraped back as several stood instinctively.
Eyes widened.
Breaths caught.
The Emperor stood in awe.
A Reflex.
His gaze locked onto his son.
The wind began to fade as Aurelion relaxed his focus.
The air settled.
Silence followed.
Heavy.
Complete.
Aurelion blinked.
"...Did I do it too strong?"
No one spoke.
Selene laughed.
Soft.
Breathless.
Proud.
Her arms tightened around him.
"I told you," she said in a tone looking down on the people not believing her but, still not rude.
The Emperor did not look away.
His composed expression remained.
But sothing beneath it had shifted.
The room waited.
[To be Continued]
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