Chapter 7: The Empress’s Plan
After the nobles left the throne room, only Rowan, Grim, the Empress, and Chancellor Levenhart remained. The Empress gestured to door behind the throne.
"Let's speak more privately," she said, her playful attitude from earlier was gone and she was more serious now
They followed her into a small chamber with a round table. Unlike the ornate throne room, this space was desinged for high rabking officers to meet wjth the empress.
The Empress settled into a chair and motioned for Rowan to sit across from her. "You may set your son down if you wish, Lord Ambrose. He seems quite capable of sitting on his own."
Rowan carefully placed Grim on a cushioned chair. Grim immediately took the opportunity to close his eyes halfway, appearing sleepy to the adults while actually remaining fully alert.
While they talked, he began to quietly draw mana from his surroundings, practicing what he'd done before. The slight tingling sensation was becoming more familiar each time.
[You're getting better at this,] the voice noted. [Forming a mana heart itself is not particularly difficult. Many children accomplish it by age five or six.]
"Then why all the fuss about me doing it at eight months?" Grim thought back.
[Because cultivating a mana heart to its maximum potential is where the true challenge lies. Most people never push beyond 70% capacity with their first heart. Creating additional hearts becomes exponentially more difficult.]
As Grim practiced pulling mana toward himself in subtle waves, the Empress was getting straight to business.
"I'll be blunt, Lord Ambrose. The timing of your return is not coincidence. l need you here," she said, pouring herself a glass of water from a crystal carafe. "The empire faces a threat that requires individuals with your family's affinity."