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Her question caused Hal to raise a brow and while thinking deeply would allow him to at the very least guess the answer to his next question, he decided he might as well ask and save himself time thinking and guessing, 

"Your daughter?" He asked the Empress who chuckled.

"Ah, of course, you don\'t know I\'m Tanya\'s mother. It further reiterated my thoughts that she was never your sponsor. She gave you the Royal Academy seal just so she could get you close to her and turn you on to her grand ambitions." She said.

"Tanya... I mean Princess Tanya is your daughter?" Hal asked.

He had of course not known of the relationship between the Empress sitting in front of him and the talented Princess he was aiding to acquire the Nexus stone.

That said, now that he knew there was a connection between the two, he could see the similarity in their looks.

Similarity he would have, before being told, thought was merely because they were both Harons and on some level, Harons share a similarity in looks.

"Oh, you call her Tanya?" The Empress asked with widened eyes.

Hal shook his head, 

"No" He said.

"You called her \'Tanya\' just now. Only adding the honorifics to throw off any possible suspicions which is an action that is in itself suspicious" 

The Empress narrowed her eyes with a light smile as though she was teasing the blue-eyed young man both Hal ignored the look to answer her seriously, 

"The only reason I forgot to add the honorifics is because I was answering reflexively after you called her Tanya yourself. I meant no disrespect" he said and the Empress paused, 

"Why would calling my daughter by name be a sign of disrespect?" The Empress asked.

Hal shrugged, 

"Because it\'s not the right etiquette. Even if the Princess and I were engaged to be married..." He began but was quickly interrupted by the Empress whose eyes were widened once again,

"You\'re getting married to my daughter? Hmm, that would explain the lack of honorifics. It must have been done out of habit. Which means you don\'t use honorifics during pillow talks" she said with a nod of sagely understanding.

Now it was Hal\'s turn to have widened eyes, 

"What? I\'m not getting married to Princess Tanya" he said with his voice a bit raised and not knowing why he was not being his usual perverted self who would have most likely accepted the accusation with his chest thrust out in pride.

"Why not? You don\'t think my daughter is good enough for you?" The Empress asked with a dangerous tone.

To which Hal thrust his hand up in exasperation, 

"No, that is not what I meant. The princes and I just don\'t have that sort of relationship" he said.

"But you wish you did?" The Empress asked with her expression relaxed a bit and Hal opened his mouth to reply but then shook his head in frustration.

It was while he was shaking his head that the Empress burst into laughter. A boisterous one no less, 

"Oh my goodness, you should have seen your face. Couldn\'t you tell I was just joking with you?" She asked as she elegantly covered her mouth while she laughed.

"You were joking?" Hal asked with furrowed brows.

"I was messing with you. All to make you feel more relaxed around me. It helps the conversation progress better and not become stifled." the Empress nodded, 

"You joke?" For some reason, Hal found that a bit hard to believe.

The Empress shrugged, 

"Not all the time. I usually do it when I am speaking with someone who thinks I\'m a hardass. That image of me makes the prank all the more successful. 

That said, I would prefer if you don\'t let this whimsical side of me be known outside of this study. I have an image to keep after all."

"Your secret is safe with me" Hal said with a light smile.

"I appreciate that. You should count yourself lucky, only a few people get to see this side of me. They are either those I trust to not let it be known or those that I know will not dare to speak because before they can convince people that they are speaking the truth, I would have killed them already" The Empress said and Hal believed her.

The Empress continued, 

"I knew you were not in that kind of relationship with my daughter. She is much too focused on her ambitions to allow time for frivolities. Besides, you are already engaged to the Dane girl, are you not?" She asked and Hal nodded, 

"Yes, I am" 

He saw no reason to deny.

Especially since the Empress was sure to have sourced her information enough to know of the engagement.

The Empress gave him a sly sort of smile as she said, 

"And you are also involved with the Antonov girl" it was not a question but a statement. One Hal as who use in denying as he smiled, 

"Guilty as charged"

The Empress shook her head with that sly smile on her face, 

"I am quite sure the list does not end with those two as there is clearly something going on with Valerie Cruz and many other ladies. My my, you are quite the promiscuous one, aren\'t you? Feeling obliged to spread the \'delicious goodness\' that is Hal Doxon, are we?"

Maybe Hal should have gone along with the Empress\' playful tone and equally playful words but something else caught his attention,

"I\'m sorry, Your majesty but what did you call Valerie?" He asked.

The Empress paused, 

"Interesting. You clearly have a history with that young lady and yet know nothing about her." The shift in the Empress\'s tone from an almost playful one to this almost disgusted tone took Hal by surprise but he was not going to fold.

"Valerie and I met months ago and we met only for a few hours. While she told me her name she never told me her last name and I was not about to question that choice when I did not actually have a last name to tell either." He said with a bit of a defensive tone.

He was only saying this to set the record straight.

He had no thoughts that that Empress would offer him information on who Valerie was.

That seemed the kind of task that Hal thought she would think demeaning and unbefitting of her status.

That said, he had neglected the fact that the Empress could almost be said to be addicted to gathering and disseminating knowledge.

The Empress shrugged, 

"Very well then. Since I find you intriguing. I will offer you this piece of information before we return to the matter for which I have asked you here in the first place.

Her name is Valerie Cruz. She\'s the daughter of the Count of the Cruz county. Her last name was kept out of her introduction during the exams because her sponsor had preferred it that way. That said, information about who she is and where she is from is quite detailed in the published bio on all participants."

\'I wonder if she and Penelope are related\' Hal thought.

(In case you\'ve forgotten, Penelope is a beautiful lady that was introduced when Hal was in the city. She was said to be from Cruz county. She was introduced in chapter 242)

"You know, even if it was a fleeting meet, it was clearly an impactful meet considering the amount of focus that young lady put into possibly facing off against you and putting you in your place." The Empress said and Hal asked with a mild smile,

"Are you perhaps interested in the details of the said meet?" He asked.

The Empress shook her head, 

"No. That is information I feel I can very well do without. Now, what does my daughter have you doing for her."

Hal shrugged, 

"Nothing. She met me in Salmon city and gave me a jade token with which to join in the Royal Academy entrance exams" he said.

"Trying to lie to me is pointless. I have been keeping an eye on you since you first visited her in the palace. She had you going to the Silver moon sect for her, didn\'t she? I really just want to know what she has gotten you mixed up in.

I am sure it is related to the throne. She is obsessed with ruling."

Hal furrowed his brows, 

"While I do not admit to having anything to do with the Princess\' ambitions, whatever they might be, I have to say I am a little surprised you would call her desire to rule, an obsession"

"So you admit to knowing of that desire" the Empress caught on and Hal made a noncommittal gesture with his head as he said,

"Well then, fine, my relationship with the princess has evolved to the point that we tell each other what our dreams are. You have still not answered my question though.

The Empress took a deep breath, 

"I have nothing against Tanya striving for the throne. I know better than anyone that Amador is willing to give all his children the opportunity to vie for the throne. It\'s just that I know my dear daughter. I know Tanya and I can tell when her ambitions start turning into an obsession.

An unhealthy one"

Hal sighed, 

"Well I have nothing to do with her plans" he said.

The Empress took a deep breath before smiling, 

"Okay then, how about I rephrase my question; How far along is my daughter in her search for the Nexus stone?"