Chapter 49

　　Mare found her Grandmother tending her flowers in the Solarium. The glass structure was separate from the main building, surrounded by large, green lawns. It housed some of the rarest plants in the galaxy, collected over hundreds of years.

　　She heard the older woman singing softly to herself as she entered the humid building, the snip of a pair of pruning shears accompanying the sound.

　　"Have you come to help me, Darling Girl?" Mare`s Grandmother called out, her hearing still sensitive despite her age.

　　The woman was ancient, over a thousand years old, but still spry and healthy. Rejuvenation procedures had long since been unable to smooth her wrinkled skin. Still, her Noble genetics kept her alive for centuries while her contemporaries were long since ground to dust by time.

　　"Ugh. No, Grandmother." Mare replied, looking at the plants with distaste. She had a black thumb` and couldn`t even keep a houseplant alive, let alone rare and fickle flowers her Grandmother preferred.

　　"What brings you out here so early?" Her Grandmother replied, gesturing to the sunlight barely cresting the horizon, obscured by the thick layer of cloud. The rain fell steadily against the glass, promising dismal weather.

　　Weather-manipulating technology was forbidden on Terra. The ecosystem was to be kept pristine and unchanged.

　　"I was looking for Grandfather but couldn`t find him," Mare replied honestly. Her Grandmother smiled at the comment, putting down her pruning shears and looking at her Granddaughter.

　　"Perhaps he knew you were coming to pester him with difficult questions, yes?" The older woman laughed, removing her gloves and affectionately patting her granddaughter on her cheek.

　　"Come, sit and have tea with me. It has been ages since we last had a chat." Her Grandmother said, leading her to a table, a steaming pot of tea already waiting. Obediently, Mare poured two cups, adding a small splash of cream and a spoonful of sugar.

　　"Now, what trouble is plaguing your mind?" Mare`s Grandmother asked, taking a small sip of tea and delicately placing it back on the porcelain saucer.

　　"I had an encounter with someone in my game, and I wanted to inform Grandfather." Mare relayed, idly running her finger along the rim of her cup but not drinking.

　　"Pah! That game! I wish you had taken an interest in something besides those beastly machines. Wouldn`t you rather study botany under me?" She replied, looking at her granddaughter with expectation. Mare gave her a look of distaste at the notion, causing her to laugh again.

　　"If not botany, then at least something safer."

　　"It`s perfectly safe. None of you will allow me to Pilot a real Mech anyway." Mare muttered with a frown.

　　"You`re destined for much greater things than that, my lovely girl. Now, tell me of this encounter.` How could something in a virtual world disturb you so?"

　　Mare relayed the details of the World Event to her Grandmother, describing how her regular teammates had recruited a new member, Merit. Something about him had been familiar, so she had investigated his background. It led her to discover he was the Baron of Caledon, recently released from prison.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

　　"I sought to inform Grandfather that the Traitor`s son is training to use a Mech and lead troops into battle," Mare confessed. Her Grandmother waved off the notion with a small gesture of her hand.

　　"He already knows." She replied.

　　"And he isn`t doing anything to stop him!? What if he leads an army in Rebellion, just like his father did before?" Mare exclaimed, her voice rising. She stifled her outburst at a stern look from her Grandmother.

　　"Kalen Caledon would never betray the Empire. It`s been some time since I`ve seen him, but that sweet boy is completely loyal." Mare`s Grandmother replied.

　　"You know him?" Mare asked, surprised.

　　"Of course. His Grandmother and I were the very best of friends. I still mourn her passing. And his Grandfather raised Kalen in their image. I doubt that would change, even with his time in stasis. You have nothing to worry about regarding the Baron, my darling girl." The older woman frowned, tapping her cup with her fingernail.

　　"You should return to your studies. I will speak to your Grandfather about your concerns." Mare`s Grandmother assured her, smiling as the young woman left the Solarium.

　　Once the door closed, Aurelius, the Emperor of Humanity, stepped out from behind a cluster of flowers. He arrived while they were discussing Kalen, hiding his presence until his granddaughter left.

　　"You heard?" Empress Amelia asked, looking up from her cup of tea and smiling at her husband.

　　"I did." He replied, taking Mare`s empty seat and sipping tea from his granddaughter`s untouched cup. Frowning at the taste, he added another spoonful of sugar.

　　"Did you know they would encounter each other in this game`?" Amelia asked, truly curious. Even she didn`t know the limits of her husband`s prescience. He smiled ruefully at the question.

　　"No, it was a happy coincidence. I hadn`t expected them to meet for quite some time, but this also works. Although I am concerned over her bias of young Kalen." Aurelius replied.

　　Amelia sighed, shaking her head dramatically as she playfully frowned at his response.

　　"So it was a coincidence that they happened to meet amongst billions of other players? Fate brought them together randomly, without the intervention of the Emperor?" Amelia criticized his response, quirking an eyebrow as she drank her tea and observed her words` effect.

　　"I`m not omniscient, my darling," Aurelius replied, his blue eyes twinkling.

　　"No, but you are one of the keenest minds I have ever met. It wouldn`t be outside the realm of possibility that you manipulated events in a way that benefits you. For example, pushing young Kalen into a future where he needed to learn to Pilot quickly. And I believe it was on your advice that our Granddaughter also found solace in that VR world, was it not?" Amelia mused, tapping a finger against her lips.

　　While the Emperor`s intellect was acknowledged across the galaxy, only those closest to them knew that the Empress was, in many ways, his match.

　　"It was." Aurelius acknowledged, sipping his tea.

　　"If I looked into the events in-game, would I find that the World Event` that drew the pair together was also suspect?" Amelia contemplated. After centuries, she had become proficient in parsing out the truth. One of her greatest joys in life was unravelling the threads of her husband`s plans and gaining insight into his thoughts.

　　"As always, I can hide nothing from you." Aurelius conceded, bowing slightly before draining his teacup and standing again. As he was about the leave, Amelia called out to him.

　　"You can manipulate events, my love, but you cannot change what is already inside them. Simply throwing them into the same room won`t guarantee the outcome you are looking for. The human heart is fickle." Amelia advised.

　　Aurelius turned to look at his wife, shrugging his shoulders as he replied.

　　"I can only set the table. It`s up to them to sit and dine." He stated before leaving the solarium.

　　Empress Amelia thought for a moment, going over the events. She had promised Aurora that she would look after young Kalen after her death, and it was only her husband`s argument that sparing him from Stasis would almost certainly result in his death that she had allowed the boy to be punished.`

　　Aurelius was intelligent and able to predict events based on his understanding of human nature, but there were times when even he was wrong. What he wanted to accomplish was clear, but perhaps this needed a less delicate touch.

　　Smiling, the Empress returned to her flowers, the outline of a plan already in place.