B2 Chapter 58: Strategic CitizenshipTiberius blinked. It took all of his effort to keep his face impassive at the Grand Mage’s sudden declaration. He half expected the eccentric old man to burst out into laughter or announce that he’d been joking about joining the Legion. But the sparkle of unabashed excitement in his eyes made it clear that this was no prank.Yet before Tiberius had a chance to even consider his answer, he heard a stampede of heavy footsteps rushing down the hall. A moment later, the door was flung open with such force it nearly splintered rather than swinging on its hinges.Tiberius leapt to his feet as a veritable tide of Legionnaires poured into the room, their weapons already drawn. They spread out across the room in a flurry of activity and leveled their swords at the mage without hesitation. Sweat ran down their brows as a slightly out of breath centurion called over to him.“Emperor Tiberius! Are you unharmed?”Grand Mage Claude glanced up disinterestedly, but remained where he sat as though the matter didn’t concern him. Even though nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, the borderline panic on his men’s faces was entirely due to the mage’s own actions. As far as the Legion knew, the emperor had been kidnapped from right underneath their noses and could well have been held captive or dead. After the near-miss with that [Rogue] woman’s assasination attempt, another failure like this was unacceptable.Normally, Tiberius would have agreed and punished them quite severely. But he well understood how powerless his men were in this situation. Talking to the mage had only further confirmed his initial suspicions. (...)