She gazed at him in silence with a complicated expression.
Rui huffed. "Speak freely. I'm not going to punish you for impudence or insolence towards royalty, or whatever. I've made you an offer for a position that generally requires great trust and harmony between us. If you can't speak your mind freely, then there was no point in ever having made the offer in the first place."
She heaved a deep breath as she felt her nerves tingle.
But she resolved herself, nonetheless.
Countless thoughts flooded her mind, but there was one that surfaced above all of them. One that demanded clarification more than any other.
"If you truly do intend to ascend upon the throne for real this time, then… what is your vision for the nation?"
She moved to the heart of the issue.
She could overlook everything else, including her emotions of resentment for him within her. But if his vision was incompatible with that of the Emperor of Harmony's, then there was simply no question.
