The crowd hushed immediately, and even the other champions frowned their faces evidently.
Arcadius was especially flabbergasted.
If Yeneffer's addition had surprised him, then this was something else. He was utterly confused. Was the Exalted One playing a joke?
Even if Florian had some kind of special origin, he had only been in the capital for barely two weeks so far… What about those who had been here for years? Other more direct family members? With more powerful bloodlines?
Sylas—the Exalted One's second brother, still had more children.
Could it be that they really couldn't compare to Florian when it came to connection to origin…?
That was the criteria they all knew they were being chosen based on. But this was privy only to them. The public did not know this fact, and simply thought the Exalted One was selecting his children and sibling's children simply because he was confident.
No.
