Rin continued to look up at his parents in silence. Sera, however, seemed to have regained both her confidence and curiosity, and dropped his hand to step forward.
'What is this secret you speak of, Father?' asked the little girl. 'The little prince and I have both noticed how troubled you have both been these past few months. But I'd like to think we've already proven that we can keep a confidence. Please, feel free to speak openly.'
The emperor allowed himself a short laugh, holding up his hands in acquiescence. Arin only saw this from his peripheral vision, because Rin's gaze was now fixed upon his mother's face.
The empress was biting her lower lip with a troubled look on her face. After a moment, she let out a small sigh and shut her eyes, as if to collect herself.
'If you are certain…' she relented, only to cut herself off with a sudden gasp.
Her husband immediately hurried over to her side, looking down at the glowing glass orb in her hand. He swallowed.
'So, it is as we had suspected,' he said, a hint of hoarseness appearing in his voice.
'What is it, father? Mother?' Sera asked, even her voice now subdued.
The lady before them looked to be on the verge of tears, only barely holding herself back. The emperor gathered her in his arms and held her tight. 'It is for the best, my dear. It is for the best,' he said, as though to convince himself.
Arin might have felt sorrier for them if he hadn't noticed just how troubled the two children were by the suddenly utterly dismal atmosphere.
Sera's hand was trembling by her side, and he could feel how Rin's heartbeat had sped up. Clearly, this was not a sight they were used to. He was as clueless as them in the moment, but still silently ridiculed the couple – the man especially – for giving in and allowing these two incredibly young children to witness such a spectacle, especially since they'd known well enough to initially disallow their presence during whatever the hell was going on.
Then again, he himself was privy to this only because Rin had lived through it.
Huh.
He felt Rin tighten his jaw, and clench his fists. The boy mumbled something that even he couldn't quite catch, despite sharing his body. After another moment, Rin finally raised his voice higher and spoke again, asking, 'Is-is something the matter with my little brother? Is he alright?'
The distressed couple seemed to jolt back to reality at their son's words.
Both their gazes locked onto Rin's face.
The emperor blinked rapidly as he looked at the boy. He opened his mouth, then shut it again. Even with his handsome features, he suddenly looked like a fish out of water. 'The… The truth, my children, is that –'
'The painful truth is that your brother was born terribly weak,' interrupted his wife. Her face seemed to have gone entirely blank. After a heartbeat, it relaxed back into a sad, yet more controlled appearance. 'The emperor and I had already suspected it early on, even before the poor child was born. We simply did not have the heart to hurt you with this knowledge at the time. But I realize now that you father is correct; you deserve to know.'
Rin's eyes slid down to lock onto the side of the crib, beyond which the tiny form of his youngest sibling lay hidden. His breathing sped up.
Sera's voice piped up to ask, 'What of the healers? Is-is there anything that can be done for the baby? If we call them now, perhaps –'
'The finest of the capital had all been called upon, weeks ago, when the child was born,' answered the emperor in a gentle voice. He walked up to the two children and half-kneeled before them. 'They can do away with all ills, but cannot restore one's health to a state beyond its natural peak.'
He sighed. 'Even his magic is frail. That is what the soulglass has just shown. I am afraid the youngest prince shall remain bedbound for the foreseeable future.'
'Oh…' was all Sera could say, before she threw herself into her father's arms and broke down into soft sobs.
Rin stared at them for a few moments. He then looked back up at his mother.
'What did the soulglass show?' he asked.
His mother blinked. His father, too, looked over his still-sobbing sister's shoulder to meet his gaze. Surprisingly, Rin remained undeterred.
'What did the soulglass show about my brother's magic?' he asked again.
'Well, he too has a sovereign talent, of course,' said his father, glancing back at the empress. 'The nature of his magic is designation. If you remember, it means he can declare and define an individual's status. But even that is weak, present only in barely-there traces.'
Rin nodded silently.
However, his little fists remained clenched.
Arin could guess why.
Through Rin's eyes, he too had caught a glimpse of what the soulglass had shown, right before the empress had erased it with a discreet wave of her hand.
Clearly formed within the sphere of glass, through the same, bright gold light he had seen earlier, had been a circle with spokes radiating across its upper half.
It had been the very symbol that had taken form during Rin's own testing.
And if Rin had been taught what that meant, and had known enough to have recognized it, then he'd also just realized that his parents had lied about his infant brother's talent.
Ralen also possessed absolute pronouncement.