Jordon didn’t respond immediately. He simply studied his daughter’s expression. As Aiden’s younger brother, he understood full well how insane all the instructors at the pavilion were, so them sending two of their students into a warzone didn’t actually come as much of a surprise, and to some extent, he actually agreed with their idea.
Due to the fact that they shared a border with one of the most overbearing factions on the continent, their ‘skirmishes’ with the O’Brien Empire were particularly cruel and bloodthirsty.
For many, the battlefield was a death sentence, but for geniuses on the level of the students of the Pavilion, it was the perfect place to hone their skills. Unfortunately, whilst that was the case for the other students, that same logic couldn’t be applied to Amira.
Amira was currently the only princess of the Rohault Empire, and whilst the specifics had always been kept under wraps, it was still fairly well known that her talent was incredible.
When added together, those two facts made her a prime target for assassinations and/or kidnapping. It was the reason why, when she was home, wherever she went, she was always escorted by a saint.
“Dad,” Amira called out, having guessed what was going through her father’s head. “The battlefield is only for mortals, so between Ace, Kil, Leo and I, we should be able to protect ourselves from any threat that comes our way.”
Although he didn’t understand the specifics of his strength, Jordon had already learnt from his nephew, Brandell – who went to pick up his daughter from the pavilion a few weeks prior – that Ace had somehow managed to break the curse preventing him from becoming a mage.
When he asked Amira, although she seemed cagey with the details, she still admitted that Ace was by far the strongest and most talented student in the Pavilion, something that greatly shocked both he and his wife.
They could see that their daughter seemed to have developed feelings for the boy, but they were well aware of how proud Amira was when it came to her cultivation. Regardless of her feelings, she would never admit to being inferior to anyone unless it was absolutely true.
In terms of talent, Amira was no inferior to Aiden, who was publicly recognised as the most outstanding talent in the Rohault Empire’s history. So Jordon’s shock hearing about Ace’s talent could be understood.
But after hearing about Ace’s battle against the young Ebeze from Duke Kaymin, he understood just how correct his daughter had been.
For a 14-year-old warrior at the fifth rank to have comprehended ‘Impose’ was nothing short of inconceivable.
Still, as talented as he was, he was still just a child himself. Jordon couldn’t bring himself to entrust his only daughter’s safety to another child, especially when it was this very daughter whom he planned on entrusting with the future of his Empire in the future.
“I know you’re worried about my safety,” Amira continued upon seeing her father’s hesitation. “But if I’m to live up to my full potential, then I can’t shy away from danger.
It was by facing those dangers head-on that allowed you and Uncle Aiden to reach your current strength and bring the Rohault Empire to its current state.”
Emperor Jordan was left speechless in the face of his daughter’s argument; after all, everything she said was right.
A couple of thousands of years ago, back when he and Aiden were growing up, the Rohault territory wasn’t the empire it was today. In fact, it was just a small town that their parents ruled over.
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It was only through the hard work of the Rohault Brothers that they were able to expand and conquer, transforming their territory from a small town into a duchy to a kingdom and finally into the Empire it is today.
In that time, the Rohault brothers faced more than their fair share of life and death experiences and like Amira said, each of those experiences was what tempered the brothers allowing them to reach their current heights.
Still, as true as all of that was, Jordon was willing to go through everything he had so that his future children wouldn’t have to.
“I’ll speak to your mother about it and give you an answer by morning,” Emperor Jordon said with a sigh. “For now, just take our guests and show them to their quarters.”
‘Now I just need to find a way to convince that wife of mine,’ Jordon thought to himself as he watched everyone leave the throne room.
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.
.
“Absolutely not!” An exceedingly beautiful woman who looked a lot like a darker-skinned and more mature version of Amira, with an extremely round belly, shouted from her large and extremely comfortable bed at Jordon, the reigning ruler of the Rohault Empire. “There is no way I’m allowing my little girl to risk her life on the front lines like that.”
She was Sharanthia, Jordon’s wife and the current Empress of Rohault.
“Thia, At the end of the day, this is your decision to make, and I’ll support you whatever you decide,” Jordon said softly as he took his wife’s hands in his own. “But you know better than anyone that if she’s going to make the most of all her potential, she needs to learn how to deal with the adversities life’s going to throw at her without you or anyone else being there to hold the sky up for her.
After all, with her potential, there will undoubtedly come a time when she surpasses both of us, and at that point, neither you nor I will be able to protect her.”
Hearing that, a vacant expression on the face of the Rohault Empress. For the first time in a long time, she was at a loss for how to proceed.
Many would be shocked if they were there to watch the interaction between the married couple.
It was public knowledge that it was Jordon and Aiden who essentially built the empire from the ground up, whilst he only married Sharanthia around 12 or so years ago, and yet, it almost seemed as though Sharanthia was the one in control.
“Bring that Ace boy here, and make sure he comes alone,” Sharanthia snorted with a disdainful light flashing across her light brown eyes. “I want to see what all the fuss is about.”
Jordon didn’t say anything as he took his leave, but a knowing smile suffused his lips as he understood that this was his wife’s way of saying she was willing to consider it.
.
.
.
On the other side of the palace, Ace and the others were all sitting catching up in Amira’s training garden when Ace suddenly turned to face the figure of Amira’s father floating towards them in the skies above them.
‘Ooh, he can sense my presence?’ Jordon discovered as he looked down at the dark-haired youth in surprise. ‘Just how strong is his soul exactly?’
Even though he wasn’t exactly hiding his presence, only those with souls at or around the saint rank should be able to sense his presence from that kind of difference. But when he remembered that it was his brother who was his master, all he could do was sigh helplessly.
“Dad, your back?” Amira asked, a glimmer of hope and anticipation flickering in her eyes. “Did you speak to mom?”
“I did. She said she wants to speak to Ace,” Jordon explained.
“Alone,” The emperor added when he saw his daughter standing up as if she was about to follow along.
“Why alone?” Amira asked back anxiously.
“What are you so scared of?” Jordon asked teasingly. “I promise your mother’s not going to devour your ‘friend’.”
Hearing the way her father said the word “friend”, a furious blush appeared on Amira’s cheeks, but before she could respond, Ace’s voice rang in all of their ears. “I’m willing.”
“Ace…”
“No need to worry,” Ace smiled reassuringly at Amira to put her mind at ease. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”
Even though he said that Ace couldn’t help but feel a rush of nerves threaten to overwhelm him. It was clear from the way Amira was acting that as important as her father was, it was her mother’s opinion that truly mattered to her.
“Where are we going?” Ace asked, turning his attention back to the emperor.
“This way,” Jordon smiled softly as the earth beneath Ace’s feet began to tremble slightly.
Before Killian and Leo could understand what was happening, Ace was floating on a small mound of earth, following behind Emperor Jordon.
“You really don’t need to be worried,” Jordon chuckled when he saw Ace’s nervous expression. “I promise no harm will come to you.”
“It’s not that,” Ace replied. “It’s just there’s been something that’s been bothering me these last few weeks since Amira’s uncle came to pick her up.”
“What’s that?” Jordon asked curiously.
“It’s about the old man,” Ace admitted. “He mentioned that, unlike me, his inability to sense the laws of nature wasn’t a condition he was born with. I was wondering what happened…”