But more than being annoyed and disappointed at Alta, Lucian was angered by the fact that he was no different from her because he allowed that human to escape from his pursuit as well.
"Give me your soul thread of that moment," Lucian said while pointing a finger at Alta. "I want to see that black mage's feature."
"M-My s-soul thread, Your Majesty?" Alta raised her head in fear, gaping at Lucian with trembling lips.
Soul threads, the very essence of a human's memory, are not to be trifled with. Surrendering a thread is like tearing a small part of their soul away. It may be small, but the damage is permanent. A mage with a damaged soul is akin to a magic core in disrepair— their usage of magic will be severely hindered.
Geir and the Blade Dancer Clan's Elders also paled, especially the female elder, because Alta belonged to her House.
Alta was considered one of the most talented mages of the new generation, and her future as a leader was practically guaranteed. However, that would change if her soul thread was taken. Even if only a piece would be taken out, the damage to her magic core would make it hard for her to grow any further as a mage.
The Emperor's request appeared to be an innocent request to confirm if the black mage Alta encountered was the same one he was pursuing. But Geir and the rest of the elders knew better.
Asking Alta to surrender her soul thread was The Emperor's punishment for her incompetence.
"Are you deaf?"
"N-No, I— ack!"
Alta gasped as a streak of light that came from The Emperor's pointing finger pierced through her body. Afterward, a flimsy silvery-white thread weaved out of her and followed The Emperor's light as it came to him.
Lucian opened his hand and grabbed the flimsy silvery-white thread with his thumb and pointing finger before opening his mouth to eat it.
"Ngh...!" Alta fell to her knees. Her eyes shook in disbelief, with her face covered in cold sweat. She could not believe that her soul thread was taken just like that. The future she had wanted for their clan... the hope of breaking free from the Solis's rule, slipped out from her grasp so easily like how The Emperor took her soul thread.
Geir and the Blade Dancer Elders could only grit their teeth and endure the situation because they could not defy The Emperor.
Alta grabbed her chest, her eyes filled with bitter tears. She wanted to scream and ask the Head of the Clan and the Elders to help her. However, doing so would not improve her situation. The Emperor had already taken her soul thread, and there was no way for them to reclaim it. Even if there were a way, it would not return to her.
Once a soul thread is taken, it can no longer be returned.
...Unless one can use Soul magic, that is.
In the end, Alta could only shed silent tears at the hopeless situation she was in, as well as how pathetic their clan was for being helpless before The Emperor.
Lucian closed his eyes as he tasted Alta's soul thread.
Normally, no one could force out a soul thread from a mage because there was no guarantee that the thread they would get was the memory they wanted. However, Lucian was quite familiar with how soul threads worked after dealing with so many instances that required taking them from another mage.
For this reason, he did not hesitate to take out Alta's soul thread because he knew he would get the right one.
The trick was to ensure the mage was thinking of the memory before taking out the soul thread. Since Alta had just narrated her encounter with the black mage, and Lucian even demanded that she surrender her soul thread, the probability that she was thinking of the memory of her encounter was stuck in her head.
Of course, there were times when this method did not work. But Lucian was confident because he knew Alta's straightforward character.
As soon as Alta's soul thread melted into Lucian's mouth, a first-person view flashed through his mind's eye. It was as if he became Alta, and he was the one chasing after a man in black clothes.
That was right. Apart from the visuals, the soul thread also carries the thoughts a mage had during the memory. This was why Lucian was aware that the Blade Dancer Clan actually had designs on betraying the Solis Clan.
'This is only the start... I'll grind your clan to the bones for thinking you can betray me.'
*
Cyneah looked at Kyran with furrowed brows. It had only been three hours since he agreed to rest, and now he was already working.
"Kyran..." she started.
"I only want to know what The Emperor is up to. I am not doing anything that will tire me out."
"The fact that you are already working when you have only three hours of rest is what's worrying me."
Kyran chuckled as he looked at her. He wanted to remind her that he had been unconscious for more than a week but decided against it because he could almost hear her say that he was not exactly resting then because he was enduring the influence of Coelus's corpse.
"I'm worried about my informants," Kyran admitted instead. "I can't let The Emperor do anything to them."
"Do you think The Emperor will harm them?" Cyneah asked worriedly.
"I can't deny that possibility."
"Then..."
"I need more information about The Emperor, the clans, and the relationships between them. Lady Leif explained some of them, but it was not enough for me to draw a definite image of their relationship."
"What are you going to do with the information? You're not planning on kidnapping more people, are you?"
Kyran almost slipped off the mattress at Cyneah's words.
"Y-You..."
"Well... I say kidnap, but... rather than making their life hell like how kidnappers usually do to their targets... you ended up making them one of your people."
"..."
Kyran was rendered speechless because if Cyneah had not said it, he would not have realized it as well. Nevertheless, he had to make things clear with her.
"... I don't kidnap people."
"Okay."
"... you don't really believe me."
"I do believe you," Cyneah replied with a smile.
"..."
Kyran sighed in defeat and turned his attention back to what he was working on.