"Enough you two!" Hayatobi snapped.
A localized wave of spirit energy burst out from him, heavy and pressurized like a sudden change in atmosphere, physically forcing Yakima back a step and extinguishing the glow of her sword. The sheer authority in his voice vibrated the windows of the office.
"Yakima, calm down... And Mirabella. Sorry for that," he said, his voice dropping into a tired, pragmatic register.
"Huh?"
Yakima stood paralyzed, her white eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and hurt. She stared at her father, the man who had raised her to be a pillar of the Empire, as he offered a genuine apology to a student—an outsider who had just insulted her.
'This is beyond strange,' Princess Delphine thought, her orange eyes shimmering as she observed the interaction. Being of the Royal Bloodline, she possessed an innate, nearly divine sensitivity to the nature of souls.
