Ludwig was standing in the center line of the chamber, where the light was brightest and everyone could see him clearly, which was precisely the point. This was not a private audience. This was a public weighing. And he needed to answer.
"Mere words, Emperor. They used to work for Van Dijk, assistants. The two of them. And when I was discovered by master, he chose me to be his disciple for the fact that I was able to mimic his Black Flame without ever having learned magic. They on the other hand worked for him for years and never were able to do as much… I suppose their inferiority, and their lack of self discipline is what caused them to go astray." Ludwig said.
The words left Ludwig's mouth with the same measured cadence he used when negotiating contracts and condemning monsters: calm, exact, and stripped of anything that could be used against him later.
