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."
