Kaelith's calm eyes met with Dimitri's furious ones.
"I can't," he said slowly, as if he wanted those words to stick into the Emperor's head.
"How dare you!" He rose to his feet, seething in anger. "Guards!"
Kaelith's expression didn't change a bit.
'If I weren't trapped in a child's body, do you think you could tell me to bow? Insolent? That is what you are right now! Just you wait… I will remember this day and all the gifts that you have sent my way.'
Agnes rushed down from the throne. She placed herself between the Emperor and Kaelith.
"Have mercy, my lord. He is just a child."
She turned to face Kaelith.
"Bow down… you don't want to bring attention to yourself," she cautioned in a hushed voice.
"I can't," he said, staring straight into Agnes' eyes.
The guards quickly surrounded them, waiting for the Emperor's command. However, before the Emperor could say anything, the door burst open. A gust of wind rippled through the air, ruffling the hair of everyone inside.
Kaelith's eyes squinted. 'This power…' Before he could finish his train of thought, the slit ends of the Patriarch's coat danced to the tune of the wind. His black boots sent small shockwaves through the ground the second they touched it.
His long grey hair was packed up into a ponytail. His aura sent shivers down the spines of the onlookers. Even Dimitri's mouth fell open, unable to believe his eyes… his father had broken through his current level, attaining a level that was as good as a myth. He fell back into his seat, all the confidence he had managed to gather five years ago vanishing like a ghost.
Kaelith's eyes widened slightly. 'He has attained the level of a Sage.' His gaze fixated on the Patriarch who was crossing the threshold.
In his few years of being reborn, the magic ranking had changed, all because of the shattered artifact of chaos. Now the magic powers are divided into seven levels. The ranking begins from the lowly Initiates, to the Channeler, then to Ascendants, before the High Mages to Primordials who can split mountains with a single thought.
'Excellent… grow stronger, at least it would make my revenge more satisfying.' His teeth gritted slightly.
"My Lord," the guards and the servants dropped to their knees, their arms clasped against their chests. They bowed.
"You may all rise." His voice was calm, but the power it held made their bodies shudder.
The soldiers and servants rose to their feet, but their eyes gawked with pure reverence, like they had just seen a god.
The Patriarch walked further into the hall, stopping just a few steps away from where Kaelith and Agnes were standing. Agnes bowed her head in greeting, and the others followed… all except one person… Kaelith.
Kaelith's grey eyes stared directly into the Patriarch's blue ones. Agnes tugged his sleeve, signaling him to greet.
However, Kaelith didn't move an inch, his jaw clenched slightly.
"Great Patriarch," Artherine climbed down from the high platform where she was sitting; she greeted, a sly smile curling on her lips.
She held Draco's hand, leading him to stand in front of the Patriarch. She flashed a smile at Draco, getting the cue.
"Greetings, Grandfather… your grace knows no bounds. Your mighty name really precedes you," Draco greeted, his eyes burning with respect and awe. "When I grow up, I want to be as mighty as you," he blurted out.
Blood drained from Artherine's face, hearing her son's words. It was not a bad thing to look up to the Patriarch as his role model. But not while Dimitri was here. They could not afford to fall out of his favour. Draco saying this was like a gut-wrenching blow to Dimitri, both to his self-esteem and psychological state.
"Yes, and so is the Emperor. Remember, he had killed the demon child, bringing peace to the realm," she held her son's shoulder, giving him a light squeeze.
Kaelith shook his head. 'The dog doesn't even know which master's foot it should lick.'
Meanwhile, the Patriarch stared at the mother and son with an unreadable expression, before his gaze swept over the room, landing on Dimitri, whose nerves were bulging out of his face. The sight brought a smile to the Patriarch's face.
"To be like me, you must train harder… harder than your own father," he said to Draco.
Draco looked up at him, beaming that he got the recognition of the Patriarch.
"Greeting, Grandfather." A cheerful voice echoed from behind Draco.
Scarlet, who had always looked forward to the Patriarch's return, jumped in front of Draco.
"And you must be?"
"I am Scarlet Pendragon… your grandson. I want to be like you too. I've read stories about you. And I must say… you are super mighty. You are even a god." He raised his thumb at the Patriarch.
A genuine small smile tugged at the Patriarch's lips at the child's enthusiasm.
"Scarlet, that is a unique name… who might your mother be?" He bent slightly to Scarlet's height.
"My mother is the Empress," he beamed, pointing at Agnes.
The Patriarch turned to Agnes.
"I never knew you gave birth to another child."
Artherine bit her lower lip before she scoffed. 'How dare he try to steal my son's spotlight.'
Before Agnes could reply, Artherine beat her to it.
"You might not know about this… but Scarlet is not the real son of the Empress. He is a child born out of wedlock with a harlot," she said slowly, as if to lay emphasis on it.
"That's not true. Mother said she is my mother. Who are you to say otherwise?" Scarlet's tiny voice echoed through the room, his lips trembled.
"And he is also mundane. He has no affinity to magic. He is useless and can never be like you, Patriarch," she added with a sly smile.
Agnes' fist clenched. Before anyone could fathom what was going to happen, she had already appeared before Artherine, striking a hot slap across her cheek.
"How dare you, Ag…" she swallowed her words when another slap struck the other side of her face.
"Agnes, enough!" Dimitri rose from his throne, his feet thudding against the ground.
"Enough! How dare she talk to my child like that?" she snapped at Dimitri.
"What she said is all true. There is no need to overreact," he said with gritted teeth.
"Even if it is the truth, must she be the one to say it… and like this?" she waved her hand across the guards and servants in the throne room. "Aren't you ashamed of people knowing about your infidelity?" Her face trembled with anger.