Alicia, with a sudden recollection, now confused, asked,
"Grandpa, when Uncle Alfred and I went to a night market before, we saw some magicians performing... didn't you say they were not allowed to go out?"
The Count, with a small smile, replied,
"That was before Bella became the Magic Emperor. She brought several reforms, one of which was this. The people who performed magic weren't mages but were apprentices. She gave the freedom to apprentice mages to roam freely outside the mage district. But they had to go back before the day's end, that is, midnight. And they were not allowed to go out during their training."
Alicia asked,
"Then, why were mages not allowed to go outside?"
The Count explained,
"Because the Empire didn't allow it. First of all, this law was during the rule of the first Emperor, when mages defeated the Kiburg Empire with us. They were still scared of the discrimination and unjust executions made by the Kiburg Empire. They didn't trust the new Emperor completely. And so, the Emperor made a decision. He created the post of Magic Emperor and established the Forbidden Grounds Law. He made sure that not even he nor his future descendants would be biased towards the mages. The law clearly stated that not even the Emperor could roam their grounds freely, and the Magic Emperor was the sole sovereign on their grounds. And the First Magic Emperor made a promise that as long as the Empire acted in accordance with the Forbidden Grounds Law, the mages would not wreak havoc in this Empire. Both parties agreed to this pact. It was like the mage district, though a part of the Empire was a different land. The mages wanted to honour this pact and were strictly opposed to Bella's idea. They even mocked her as 'the former rose who knows only beauty'. But Bella had other plans..."
Alicia asked,
"So, how did Mom overcome this challenge?"
The Count replied,
"She met with the previous Emperor. After all, the Mage district didn't have any restrictions on the Magic Emperor. The previous Emperor had several meetings on this topic, and the Council managed to reach an appropriate conclusion. They allowed the apprentice mages to roam freely around the grounds, and didn't allow the mages as they were quite powerful. And... and during these meetings, The Current Emperor saw and fell in love with Bella. But Bella had no clue about this."
Alicia, hiding fury, asked,
"Where was Dad during this?"
The Count replied,
"He was sent to war by the previous Emperor..."