"Die?" Amar repeated. Only now had he truly comprehended the situation before him. He was a fool, thinking he could trick the Emperor. A fool. And now a sword was facing him, held by a man he once considered his father. A man who didn't even consider Amar his son. Oh how the tides had changed. Amar never really had control over Claude after all. Saving Obelia's future was but a dream.
There was silence, for a good couple of minutes. Amar couldn't think of a way to calm down Claude, so he just said whatever came to mind. "Did you treat Athanasia like this too? When you killed her?"
He could see the hurt on Claude's face. But who was he to be hurt? Claude did not deserve fatherhood. "You will not-" Claude started.
"I will not what? Convey the truth? You were the one who killed her. Are you regretting it? Now?"
Amar struggled to speak, the loss of his dear sister only half processed. "Are you really going to kill me?" His fingers pushing the tip of the sword away.
But then he started thinking. If he was this hesitant to kill Amar, how was he so cruel with Athanasia? Now he wanted, no, needed answers. Amar didn't deserve to live while his sister suffered an agonising death. He needed to prove her innocent. So her name wouldn't be said in spite across the kingdom. They needed to know the real Athanasia. Not the image Claude and Jennette had conjured.
"Here's the thing." Amar said.
Claude was listening. Felix was listening. Amar was pretty sure even Isidore and Blair were listening. Their banter had stopped as soon as Amar met the Emperor. Since his identity was already revealed, why not go with it?
"I..."
"Get on with it." Claude snapped.
"I had only wanted to sneak into the palace for the feel of home. The one you gave me as a child," he sighed. "The one you destroyed."
Claude looked at Amar in disgust. "I exiled you. Are you such an imbecile that you can't even understand the imperial law?"
"No no, you don't get what I'm saying..." Amar paused. "Father." He immediately cringed, feeling repulsed that he could actually call that man his father again. But it had an effect on Claude.
"Please, father. Reinstate me as Prince. I will be by your side the whole time. I will be loyal to you."
Amar could provide nothing to Claude. Becoming Prince would just help with his goal. The one he still wouldn't give up on.
"Felix. Give Amar his room back" Claude commanded. "I hope you are right... son."
Ah. It was that easy. Why hadn't he just persuaded Claude in the first place, instead of acting like a fool? He then remembered it was Anastacius's plan. How was he going to alert his uncle of the new plan?