Chapter 59: Give me the Key, Mother
The royal box fell silent as the last echoes of the crowd’s reaction faded. Empress Alexia remained seated, her expression carefully neutral despite the spectacle they had just witnessed. Chancellor Levenhart stood at her right hand, while Marcus was to her left.
"That was... excessive," Marcus said finally, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "A display of power that borders on sedition, given how close that attack came to Your Majesty."
"I believe it was a message," Chancellor Levenhart observed. "One delivered with typical Ambrose subtlety. Which is to say, none at all."
Empress Alexia’s delicate fingers tapped once on the armrest of her throne-like chair. "It was certainly effective as such," she replied, her voice betraying nothing of her thoughts. "He wishes us to know that he has mastered his great grandfather’s technique."
"And that he has no intention of adhering to tournament etiquette," Marcus added, his voice hardening. "Death is permitted, yes, but there is an understood code of conduct. One does not simply... butcher an opponent like livestock."
"The Ambrose clan never cared much for codes of conduct. It only changed after Caius died." Levenhart said with a slight curl to his lip. "It seems Grim upholds that tradition, if nothing else."
"He’s here to reclaim what he believes is his," Liona said. "And to settle old scores."
A moment of silence followed her words as the implications settled over the group.
"Then his timing could not be worse," Chancellor Levenhart said grimly. "With the tensions between the houses already near breaking point...."
"Dangerous enough to justify intervention?" Marcus asked, his meaning clear.
The Empress’s gaze shifted to the arena floor below, where servants were still cleaning the blood and remains of Jin Tao. "Not yet. Let him play his game for now. The tournament continues as planned."