"Did you succeed?"
"Yes, Father."
Merik was kneeling on the floor, forehead touching the mahogany plates adorning his father's expansive meeting chamber. The sharp scent of jasmine flowers permeated the room, to a point where it made one nauseated if they spent too long inside. But Merik was used to it.
"Not bad, not bad." From his father, that sentence was already the peak of praise. Merik felt his guts churning in nervous excitement. The number of times he had heard such praise from the man could be counted on his fingers.
Something big was coming next!
"Test this Ken's character under the guise of practicing together from here on. Use the same tactics I use on your uncles. You'll report to me every evening after coming to your own conclusions about how to use this pawn to topple the king. Don't restrain your ideas, I want to observe what your young mind is capable of."
"I understand, father."
