Chapter 444: A Bargaining Chip
The Emperor and the Tower Sage stood and stared opposite each other, distanced by a hundred steps.
The air between them carried enormous tension, barely even making a single sound. The entire hall was drowned in grave silence.
Then the Emperor's voice cut through the silence like a razor snapping a thin thread.
"Guilly, we have come a long way. That future that we dreamt about as kids, the one that drove us to put an end to all the Tower seats - that future is now."
The Tower Sage had his head lowered. After a while, he raised his head and responded to the Emperor with a squared face.
"I've heard you, but leave Lady Henai and her son out of this."
The Emperor shut his eyes for a moment, nodding. "I'm sorry, Guilly, I can't do that."
"Gahalad, she is your sister. Should I even be the one suggesting this? I thought you were happy to see him; I thought you were touched?!"
"I am happy, Guillever; I am touched. Henai has had to carry too much sorrow for the loss of the child; she had suffered internally. He left a void in her."
"And you still want to do this to her?"
The Emperor gestured. "Do what exactly, Guilly? This guy is a spawn of Reimgard. He belongs with them. Have you seen how immensely strong he is? In the right environment, he is bound to blossom."
"Gahalad, they tried to kill him! You know that!"
"He will be fine."
Guillever froze in shock, blinking for a few heartbeats.
"You can't be serious right now. You are going to just displace the boy like that?!"
Emperor Gahalad took one step and appeared in front of Guillever with a blast of wind.
The Tower Sage did not flinch; he glared at the Emperor sternly.
The Emperor slowly raised his hand, then placed it on Guillever's right shoulder.
"I will give you the time you need to make your decision and choose your side. It's not like I'm trying to kill Henai's son. I'm only doing what is best for the kid's growth."
Guillever grimaced. "Is that what you're telling yourself?"
"Guilly, I need to rest. My training is not over." The Emperor let out a sigh before continuing. "With the students' return to the Central Plain, a new era will be ushered in."
"What do you mean?" the Tower Sage inquired with a frown.
"I was not the only one with something to gain from this event. In fact, that man was more crafty than I thought. If I am right, he is probably closer to becoming a Luminary than I thought.
"Moreso, all the students that are on that ship cannot be compared to the drifters that already exist in the Central Plains."
Guilly narrowed his eyes, digesting and meticulously thinking about what the Emperor was saying.
"A Master among their ranks will beat the shit out of a contemporary Master in the Central Plains. I'm sure a Sage would best even the best of Sages. That man created hordes of monsters."
The Emperor erased the small smile on his lips, looking down for a moment as his voice resonated again.
"...and out of all these hordes of monsters, it seems my cousin is the most fearsome of them all."
The Emperor nodded and patted the Tower Sage. "I'll talk to you later. For now, I have to rest. Please keep my useless sons away from my chamber, and when the boy eventually awakes, I should be the second person that knows."
He walked out of the throne hall, leaving Guillever alone in there.
For a few seconds, Guillever stood in silence, his eyes lost in distant thoughts. Then, all of a sudden, he jacked himself back to reality and hurried out of the throne hall.
He immediately made his way to Henai's chambers, where Northern was peacefully sleeping. He had first been moved to an infirmary, but Lady Henai herself had moved him to her quarters after a grand room was hastily prepared to accommodate him.
Henai sat night and day beside Northern as he lumbered deeply, almost as if he was dead. His breath was barely noticeable.
But the physician had confirmed his vitals and told her that he was in good condition; all he just needed was a lot of rest.
Which Henai was giving him.
After a while, when Northern was brought in, Jeci had secretly approached her and told her all about Northern before now.
Including the part where she told Northern about his mother. Although she didn't expect him to make his way to the Empire almost immediately.
Henai easily believed her story because she knew Jeci; she had seen the young lady.
Although Jeci seemed to be the one obsessing over her more.
Along with Jeci secretly residing in the quarters made for Northern, Henai had been
protecting the two for the past three days. And she was ready to continue that way.
But Guillever suddenly bolted into Henai's compartment of the palace, not reducing his speed until he got to her quarters.
Of course, no guards dared stop him, but there were several eyes around.
He didn't seem to care now, however. He just wanted to get something done and get it done fast.
As he reached in front of the quarters, Henai's maiden, a violet-haired young woman with a mole beneath her right eye, stepped outside.
She was not just Henai's maiden; she was the chief maiden of the entire imperial palace and a friend to Henai.
Her allure sometimes was always scary, such that Guillever tended to get tense under her
penetrating eyes.
"What do you want, Tower Sage?"
She was also well aware that Guillever had a two-decade crush on Henai.
"I-I..." The poor guy stammered for a second, then managed to calm his breathing. He looked
into the lady's eyes and continued, "Mariam, I need to see Henai."
"Oh? If you're managing to be so bold before my presence, it must be important." She smiled, even though it was not intended; her smile emanated mature sexual appeal.
It could only take a man with a two-decade crush on someone to effortlessly resist.
"Follow me."
Guillever slowly walked after her as she turned and walked into the halls. After walking forward for a while, she stopped and turned, then opened the door on her left. Bowing her head as she entered, "Your Highness, Guillever is here to seek your audience." Lady Henai was with a needle and thread and a white handkerchief. She looked at Mariam with a somewhat distant expression, not wanting to fully pull away from what she was doing. "Guillever? That's strange. Why? Shouldn't he be busy?"
Mariam smiled. "I can send him away, then?"
"No, Mariam, let him in."
She turned her head over her shoulder and scoffed at Guillever, "You won't be getting to her
without me from today."
Guillever understood her plight very well. The night Northern entered Lady Henai's quarters, Mariam had been absent and probably fast asleep in her own quarters, so she didn't know
what was going on.
After she heard of the situation, she must have been incredibly pissed.
"I don't plan to," Guillever responded and walked inside. He went on one knee and paid his
respect to the princess.
Then he stood up and started, "Lady Henai, I'm sorry, but we have to go."
Lady Henai raised her brows but frowned again. "What do you mean, Guilly?"
"I mean, we must leave as soon as possible."
"Exactly, why should I leave? Why?"
Guillever was hesitant to speak, and Lady Henai could see it.
"If you are not going to talk, Guilly, then I am not leaving this place."
He sighed and then opened his mouth. "The Emperor is having ill intentions towards your son."
"The Emperor? My own brother? What are you saying?"
"It's difficult for me to explain, and it might not be an ill intention, depending on how you
look at it. But he plans to return him to where he belongs."
Lady Henai frowned darkly. "Why would he ever do that? For what?"
"To use him as a bargaining chip," Mariam inputted, causing Lady Henai to look towards her
friend and made, paled.
"You think my brother would do that?"
Mariam shrugged. "I know the Emperor. He would do anything to have the throne. And when I
say the throne, I mean an independent nation. One he is the true ruler of."
She paused, looked softly at Lady Henai as she continued.
"You and I know your brother has always been driven towards a single goal."
"And what does that have to do with returning my son to Reimgard? A place that wants to kill
him! My brother knows that place is no place for a child like him."
Guillever sighed, with closed eyes, and opened them as he spoke. "That is the thing, Your Highness. The Emperor does not seem to think your son is a child. He, in fact, thinks he will be fine and he could use the environment to grow."