Chapter 66:Potential
When Anastasia emerged from the tent, Ethan looked at her in astonishment. She was carrying a large and long sword on her back, so hefty that even a man would struggle to lift it. The elaborate golden armor she wore was visibly heavy, yet Anastasia carried it with perfect grace. A delicate jewel was fastened on her forehead, adding a touch of elegance. The shoulder armor was oversized, adorned with a star symbol, the emblem of Anastasia's noble lineage. This star was also a symbol on the flag of the southern kingdom, founded by the legendary Conqueror Ogeada. The sun, the moon and the star, these are the symbols on the flag of the old Southern empire.
The reason Anastasia's house used these symbols was simple: her great-great-grandfather was none other than the Conqueror Ogeada himself, and Anastasia descended from one of his children. The reason the Tamerid emperor wanted to marry Anastasia was precisely this noble lineage. A child from the lineage of King Ogeada would inherently gain power and prestige from birth. The Tamerid Empire needed this noble lineage because once, the Tamerid Empire, or at that time, the Tamerid Kingdom, was just an average kingdom, and the current emperor was quite unsuccessful. Thus, the once glorious Ogeada lineage, now diminished in power, was crucial to the emperor. Pressuring Anastasia's father, who headed the house founded by Ogeada's children, the Tamerid emperor forcibly married Anastasia, and years later, the Tamerid emperor would realize that he had made the luckiest decision of his life.
"Do I have something on my face?" Anastasia said, looking at Ethan's curious gaze.
"No, I'm sorry, I just heard rumors that the armor suits you very well and I must say that the rumors are true." Ethan said.
"Thank you for the compliment. Now, let's leave here before it gets dark, shall we?" Anastasia said.
"Of course, please go ahead," Ethan said, stepping aside.
Anastasia mounted a brown horse prepared for her, with metal armor on top. Ethan and the others also mounted their horses, and they galloped towards the capital. When they finally arrived in the capital, the sun had not yet set, and as they entered through the city's grand walls, the capital's people looked on with curiosity and admiration. Some rushed to call their loved ones to witness this magnificent arrival, and soon, a crowd had gathered around the long road leading to the palace, watching the legendary Empress Anastasia and the young but accomplished Prince Ethan ride by.
Anastasia remained indifferent to the reaction of the capital's people, while listening to Ethan's remarks about the capital. Ethan spoke mostly superficially about the capital city, but Anastasia still paid attention. Eventually, as they approached the palace of the Asina Kingdom, Anastasia observed the palace and turned to Ethan, saying, "I would very much like to hire your architects. I was greatly impressed by both the palace and the design of the houses in the capital."
"Of course, with a mutual agreement, why not?" Ethan said, and the outer gates of the palace opened.
"Even at this young age you are thinking about the interests of your country"Anastasia remarked.
"Oh, was that a compliment?" Ethan said, and Anastasia smiled.
"Yes, it was.." Anastasia said.
Ethan dismounted and approached Anastasia's horse, extending his hand to help her down. They noticed the servants crowding around them, bowing. Anastasia turned to Ethan and asked, "Are they showing respect to you or to me?"
"To me and to our special guest," Ethan replied. The two conversed as they entered through the palace's inner gates, and after walking through the corridors for a while, Ethan stopped by a large ornate door.
"You've come a long way and must be tired. So, rest for now; you can meet my father tomorrow," Ethan said.
"Thank you. oh I almost forgot, I have a guard coming soon and I will ask you to invite him in. his name is juan and he wears a gold badge with the eye symbol on it." said Anastasia.
"I'll inform the guards," Ethan said, and left. Anastasia went inside and took off her heavy armor and long sword and lay down on the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she fell asleep.
The next day, while Anastasia was getting dressed after a bath, someone knocked on her door. When she opened the door, she found Ethan and a standing next to a man with a below-average face.
"Miss Anastasia, is this the man you mentioned?" Ethan asked.
"Yes, this is the man. Thank you" Anastasia said.
"I'll have a room prepared for him" Ethan said politely.
"Thank you, but I'd like to talk to him now" Anastasia said.
"Of course. I'll leave you alone. And Mr. Juan, you can ask one servant later for the location of your room" Ethan said.
"Sure Thanks " Juan said with a slight grimace. Ethan noticed this expression of disgust, but for now, he turned away and walked off. Anastasia entered, followed by Juan.
"I don't understand why everyone is praising this scoundrel, there is nothing special about him, in fact I think I am a more special person than he is," Juan boasted.
Ignoring Juan's comments, Anastasia began to speak. "So, what did you learn?"
"ah yes your majesty. this time it was a very scary man and you were the one with the most potential I have ever seen in my entire life, but now I can say that this red haired man has more potential than you," Juan said.
After these words, Anastasia looked shocked as she gazed into the distance, then shook her head and turned back to Juan. "How much?" she asked.
Juan sat down and started to take out his notebook. "Firstly, I must mention that my ability only allows me to see the potential of a person in their field of expertise, but I cannot input their current power and abilities" Juan said.
"Just tell me what you saw" Anastasia said eagerly.
"902" Juan said with a grunt.
"What!?" Anastasia exclaimed in disbelief.
"You heard me, 902. The sum of all the numbers I saw when I looked at him was 902" Juan said.
"How is that possible? Is this man really a demon, as the rumors say?" Anastasia asked, trying to calm herself as she sat at the edge of the bed.
"I must point out that this is only the count of his intelligence; who knows how many more talents he's hiding" Juan said.
Anastasia held her head and tried to calm herself. No matter how bad the situation was, she knew how to adapt. She fell into deep thought and closed her eyes. She stayed like this for a few minutes, and Juan, who had seen this situation before, waited quietly. When Anastasia finally opened her eyes, Juan saw the eyes of the woman he had fallen in love with once again.
"Okay, we won't share this information with anyone, and we'll keep it as a secret" Anastasia said.
"We won't even tell King Richard?" Juan asked.
"Especially not him. Okay?" Anastasia asked.
"Whatever you wish, Your Majesty," Juan said.
Anastasia got up and went to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she came out; her face was devoid of any emotion.
"Do you still have the right to use your ability?" she asked.
"I'm afraid, Your Majesty. It took me years to gain the trust of Alpshar's elite unit and as you know I can only use my ability four times a year. this year I used three of them to see Alpshar's potential and the last one when a problem arose," Juan said.
"This is unfortunate," Anastasia said.
"Is there anyone whose potential you would like to see, Your Majesty? King Richard?" Juan asked curiously.
"No, just it would be great to see Prince Ethan's potential" said Anastasia..