"…You just declared the rebuilding of your empire and the restoration of what is rightfully yours only hours ago!!"
"That was nothing but a political cover for the next step," Renara nodded calmly, her tone steady. "What unfolds behind the curtain —the web of alliances secretly woven to destroy us— remains hidden from my lay people. They are blind to the maneuvering in the shadows. But I am not. And after that speech before my citizens, I made it appear as though I were ready to march forward without hesitation, that nothing could stand in my path."
"...When the time comes for me to announce that I am joining you, under the crushing pressure we face from our enemies that will soon start to appear, my people will not think of me as a traitor, but as someone forced by circumstance, someone sacrificing her crown to protect them. And so, they will merge with the Cradle Empire willingly, with hearts at peace, rather than bitter and resentful as if dragged in chains."
