Venara stared at the necklace the Lycan King held in his hand, her gaze lingering on the rather normal-looking gem for a few seconds before fixing on Aldric's side profile.
He looked morose as he stared outside, staring at the scattered lights throughout the Empire. "Is it truly the late Empress's Necklace?" she asked.
"It is," he answered.
"I sense no magic inside the gem," Venara remarked.
"Maximilian would not do something so pointless," Aldric replied, glancing at the woman in the dark green dress. "You thought he would harm me?" he asked.
"I simply thought his timing was suspicious," Venara said, meeting his eyes. She was not one to hire thoughts to please a man. "You cannot blame me for thinking this way."
"Maximilian does not involve himself in mere political struggles. To him, this was pointless."
"Twenty years ago," Venara continued, "that was twenty years ago. The man you knew then could be different now."
