“I’m really here,” Ace nodded.

Of the three top talents of the Rohault Empire, Amira was the youngest, but she was also, without a doubt, the most talented. It was the combination of her looks and her talent that made her so desirable to virtually every teenage boy residing in the empire, but she had never shown the slightest interest in any of them.

So seeing her smiling so sweetly at another boy… The shock it caused was no less than the shock of Ebeze being defeated in one strike.

Whilst everyone else was in shock, there was one person who didn’t seem too pleased by this sudden development.

Chukaya’s brows furrowed as he looked at the way Ace and Amira looked into each other’s eyes as though no one else existed.

As the strongest of the Empire’s current generation and the personal disciple of one of their Empire’s most powerful saints, only he was qualified to marry Amira in the future.

Still, although he was displeased, he quickly buried his negative emotions. “Princess, you didn’t have to come out in person. We would’ve brought your little friends here to see you.”

The words little seemed to rub Killian and Leonel up the wrong way as they both turned to glare at Chukaya, almost as if they were daring him to say it again.

Ace, though, wasn’t phased by Chukaya’s blatant attempts to belittle him. He was far too focused on taking in all of Amira’s beauty.

They’d only been apart for a few weeks, and with everything else that’d been going on, to say that Ace had been distracted would’ve been an understatement. Still, it was only when their eyes met that Ace realised just how much he’d missed her presence.

How could the ramblings of an insignificant teen still matter to him?

As unphased as Ace was, Amira was a different story.

Amira’s warm golden iris turned frighteningly cold as she turned her indifferent gaze to the young Chukaya. “Since when do I need you to do anything for me? I’ll take my ‘little’ friends inside on my own; you can disappear now.”

“I didn’t mean it like th…” Chukaya could only stop mid-sentence when he noticed how he had been wholly disregarded as Amira took Ace and the others inside.

“Ahaha, that’s got to hurt,” Ebeze said with a chuckle as he looked at the humiliated face of Chukaya.

Chukaya glared at the glaive-wielding youth, but Ebeze glared straight back, not intimidated in the slightest.

Chukaya may have been the strongest of the two, but as far as Ebeze was concerned, that was only because he was older. In time he’d go on to surpass him and wipe that arrogant smile he usually wore off his face.

“I’ll be taking my leave then,” Chukaya snorted, addressing the Duke.

He was humiliated enough as it was; he didn’t need Ebeze bringing any more focus to the situation.

“Mmh,” Kaymin nodded indifferently before looking helplessly at his son, who seemed to get off on provoking Chukaya whenever possible. “Was that really necessary?”

“Who told him to go around acting as if he’s better than everyone just because he has a saint for a master,” Ebeze snorted.

Truth be told, even he found Chukaya’s attitude a little too overbearing at times, but with his talent, he had the right to be proud. If he was being honest, he knew that as far as pure talent was concerned, even his son was inferior.

That wasn’t to say that his son wasn’t talented. In fact, Ebeze would be considered a top-tier elite in just about every warrior institution on the continent, but Chukaya’s warrior talent was no worse than his sons; the difference was that Chukaya had a high affinity for the element of lightning, making his talent as a mage was just as impressive. Still, he also knew that talent wasn’t the be-all and end-all.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

What Ebeze lacked in talent, he more than made up for with hard work. When he found out that his highest affinity was only an average-level affinity to the laws of fire, he unhesitatingly gave up on the path of a mage, choosing to focus all his attention on the path of the warrior, just like his idol, the strongest mortal – Aiden Rohault.

Still, as proud of his son as he was, he also understood that, ultimately, his son wasn’t Aiden. That man’s talent as a warrior was simply unmatched, or at least it was.

“What do you think of that Ace boy?” Kaymin asked his son.

“Beyond comparison,” Ebeze admitted directly.

Their fight may have lasted only a second, but that was enough for the Duke’s son to understand that Ace was without a peer in this generation.

He knew that as it stood, both Chukaya and Amira were both stronger than him, but there was no way that either would be able to defeat him in one move, and yet that was precisely what Ace did, but the scariest part about it was that Ebeze got the feeling that Ace was still holding back.

He may not have fought all the strongest youths of this generation, but he didn’t believe that there were any on the level of Ace.

“I see,” Kaymin replied with a hint of a smile as he turned to head back inside.

As the father and son duo made their way back inside the palace, Amira led Ace, Killian, and Leonel to the royal garden, which she had effectively turned into her own personal training quarters.

“Why are you smirking like that?” Amira asked when she noticed Ace was wearing the same smile on his face since she led them inside.

“I just haven’t seen you act like that before,” Ace teased. “It was almost as if you were being protective.”

“Who’s being protective?” Amira snorted.

“I wonder,” Ace chuckled.

“Whatever,” Amira rolled her eyes, too lazy to indulge Ace’s teasing. “What are you guys doing here anyway?”

“Why does that sound like we’re not welcome,” Ace replied, feigning being hurt.

“You’re not!” Amira snorted. “I only allowed you inside since you’re with Kil and Leo.”

“Wukong told us to come here to use your Empire’s battlefield against the O’Brien Empire to train,” Killian stated directly, not wanting to watch the two of them continue to flirt like they were.

When she heard that, Amira’s eyes lit up with excitement. Because of her age and status, she had never been allowed on the battlefield previously, but now, with Ace and Killian being sent by the Pavilion, she might just be able to gain permission.

“Come with me,” Amira said as she suddenly changed direction. “I’ll take you to my father so we can get permission.”

“Your father?” Ace asked with his brows raised. “You mean the Emperor?”

“Yeah, why?” Amira said with a teasing smile. “You scared?”

“Why would I be scared?” Ace rolled his eyes.

Even though he said that he knew he was just putting on an act. When Amira mentioned meeting her father, his heart started to race slightly. But he knew it had nothing to do with him being an emperor and everything to do with him being her father. He could be a cobbler and still feel just as nervous.

“Father,” Amira called out as she knocked on the doors to the throne room.

“Come in,” A gentle but deep voice called back.

Inside the throne room, Duke Kaymin and his son were standing respectfully at the bottom of the stairs leading up to a pair of extravagant thrones, one of which was empty, but the other was being sat on by a handsome middle-aged man whom Ace noted looked remarkably like Aiden.

“Little Mira, you arrived right on time,” Amira’s father said softly as he looked at his daughter with a gentle, doting smile. “Duke Kaymin was just briefing me on the arrival of your friends from the Pavilion.”

“My name’s Jordon Rohault. It’s a pleasure to meet each of you,” Emperor Jordon said amiably before focusing on Ace. “How is my little brother getting on these days?”

“Huh, oh. The old man’s alright,” Ace answered absentmindedly as he stared at the Emperor.

It was hard to believe that two men could look so similar physically but project such differing auras.

Aiden’s was unfettered and lazy, but Jordon’s was gentle, stable, and faintly nurturing.

He was so distracted that he didn’t even realise the odd looks he was receiving from Ebeze and his father.

As citizens of the Rohault Empire, like everyone else, they venerated Aiden. The stories of his deeds and monstrous strength made him a legend, so hearing him being called an old man so casually wasn’t something either of them was used to, and for a boy to say it in front of Aiden’s brother – the current Emperor…

Both father and son subconsciously held their breaths as they awaited their Emperor’s reaction, but instead of feeling offended, Jordon laughed as he studied the child his brother chose to take as his first and last disciple.

“You remind me a lot of that brother of mine, minus the smell of booze, of course,” Jordon stated. “So what brings you to my Empire anyway?”

“Dad, they were sent by the instructors at the Pavilion to join the O’Brien battlefield to continue their training,” Amira explained. “And I want to join them.”