Steel and Sorrow: Rise of the Mercenary king

Chapter 122: Reunion (2)

Valeria's gaze sharpened, her tone firm as she addressed the guards. "His lord grandfather called for him, and you brought him here? He is the Emperor. It should be the opposite."

The two guards exchanged uneasy glances, clearly unsure of how to proceed.

''Answer damn you!'' She spoke in a voice that could not be misunderstood

One of them,finally took a deep breath before answering. "Your Grace... it wasn't Lord Marthio who summoned him. The Emperor... he went to visit his lord grandfather on his own."

Valeria froze, her thoughts momentarily scattering. Mesha went to him? Her own son, the emperor, had gone his grandfather—without her knowledge, without her permission.

For a fleeting moment, a rare sense of vulnerability washed over her. She felt like a child whose dog walked to a stranger even after she called for it.

She said nothing, her face a mask of icy control as she gathered herself. Without a word of thanks or rebuke to the guards, she stepped forward and pushed open the heavy wooden door. The guards made no move to stop her, after all they were in her payroll.

The door creaked open, Valeria's eyes immediately landed on her blood and flesh.

Her father, Lord Marthio, sat at a polished wooden table, his long, lean fingers resting calmly beside a plate of small, delicate cakes. Opposite him sat Mesha, her son—the boy emperor—who stared up at his grandfather with wide, curious eyes.