The other men standing around Cadmus Akhekh also looked at Sylvia in puzzlement.
They had never seen her before today and had no idea who she was and how she had the authority to announce her arrival in the presence of the patriarch instead of simply waiting like everybody else.
"You have to excuse me, gentlemen. My granddaughter has requested my company."
Granddaughter???
Throwing a grenade and leaving the other guests in his chamber with their mouths wide agape, Cadmus Akhekh chuckled.
He locked his chubby arm with Sylvia's slender arm and walked away hand in hand with her.
"The royal family has another daughter?"
"Wasn't Ella the youngest daughter?"
"The King perhaps had a child out of wedlock?"
Murmurs and whispers slowly spread in the chamber and the group of men soon dispersed.
Not bothering about this, Grandpa Cadmus was happily chatting with Sylvia.
"That brat Roman told me about the results of your mana affinity testing the first time around child."
"You ought to not worry about that."
"Since your bloodline was sealed, I am sure it affected your affinity as well. Especially for us beasts, our strength stems from our bloodline."
Sylvia nodded. Irrespective of whatever affinity she was naturally born with, there was little that she could do about it.
And there was no point in worrying about things beyond her control.
The two of them walked through the long and twisting corridors of the royal palace for a while.
The old man kept chattering the entire time, saying sweet, encouraging, and positive words, even though Sylvia remained calm and quiet.
They finally came to a stop in front of a small chamber on one corner.
"We are here! Aha ha ha ha. It's been a while since we have used this room." Cadmus chuckled.
Typically, the affinity of a person was measured when they were young. So the room in front of them had not really been used in the last decade.
The room was also nothing special.
It looked just as exorbitant as the rest of the palace with mysterious engravings on the wall and a resplendent ceiling.
However, there were no furnishings or any other objects in the room except for a small stand at the center like an alter and a crystal ball atop it.
Grandpa Cadmus first entered the room and briskly walked over to stand in front of the crystal.
He flashed a beaming smile towards Sylvia and signaled for her to come in as well. "Place your hand on the crystal, pumpkin."
Sylvia walked in and did the same. She lifted her hand and placed it on the translucent crystal.
"Are you nervous, kiddo?" Cadmus chuckled, intending to tease the girl, but she didn't give him the chance.
"No, grandfather." She answered with a straight face.
Ah ha ha… The old man chuckled wryly while shaking his head.
He was worried that the young girl was far too serious for her age, but considering everything that she had gone through, this wasn't too surprising for him.
He hummed lightly and turned his attention back to the small translucent ball. This ball had the property to change colors based on a person's affinity.
Different colors symbolized different affinities, starting with black being the weakest and red being the strongest.
Cadmus himself was one of the powerful beasts in the Kingdom and he had a dark maroon affinity, one of the best results to be ever recorded in the clan.
Just like him, the current King, Sylvia's father also had a deep blood red affinity.
As a matter of fact, almost all the royal beasts were born with an above average affinity. That was one of the strengths of the draconian bloodline.
This was why he wasn't nervous in the least about Sylvia's affinity results or the fact that she needs more help in order to fully shift into her beast form.
A couple of seconds passed and the crystal slowly started changing colors. It was black at first, but it then slowly turned green, orange, and yellow.
The old man's gaze widened and he waited for the ball to further change in color. However, it seemed to be settling on yellow.
Yellow wasn't that bad of an affinity. It was an average result.
He frowned lightly, not because of the result but because he didn't want her to feel disappointed.
However, unfortunately, some things just cannot be changed.
The affinity that a person was born with or the beast bloodline a person was born with belonged to this category.
Sometimes a person's fate is just like that decided at their birth.
People seldom overcome this fate, but those who manage to challenge it and conquer it inevitably become extraordinarily powerful.
Knowing Sylvia even for this short period of time, the old man had a feeling that she would choose this difficult, long, and treacherous path and he did not want this life for her.
He sighed and was just about to tell Sylvia when the color once again started changing.
The old man's eyes shone as he watched the small ball with puzzlement.
"This is odd," Cadmus muttered.
"Should I take my hand off?" Sylvia asked, furrowing her brows.
"No… " Cadmus paused "Keep still, pumpkin." He mumbled absentmindedly.
Was this because she was sealed until recently? But this shouldn't affect the affinity so drastically?
He could understand her not having mana affinity when there was a seal on her bloodline, but now that the seal was removed, even if she was still struggling to shift, there shouldn't be any effect on her affinity.
He had a bad feeling as he continued watching the ball, with the colors still changing from one hue to another like fireworks in the sky.
A couple more seconds passed and finally, the color of the ball stopped changing again.
This time, just to be safe, he waited for a few more seconds and when nothing happened, Cadmus let out a long sigh.
The small ball in front of them was shimmering white, with not even a hint of any other color.
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