Revenge on Those Who Abandoned Me

Carlisle, emperor of the Astrux Empire. Within his own empire, he was a sun so radiant that no one dared tread even on his shadow; yet before Roelia, a traitor from an allied nation, he wore the mask of a mere merchant and asked her: “Your condition is simply that I take you to the Astrux Empire?” “Once we get there, I want you to introduce me to someone.” Ragged and torn as her clothes were, Roelia carried herself with the unshakeable dignity of royalty, unbowed by any breach of etiquette. “The emperor.” “……The emperor of the Astrux Empire?” Her answer, that she wanted to meet him, drew an intrigued expression from Carlisle. “And what do you plan to do when you meet him?” “Make a deal.” “What?” “I’m going to propose an equal trade. To His Majesty, the Emperor of the Astrux Empire.” He had expected her to ask for protection, at most. He never anticipated a request this bold. “Now that is amusing.”