Leroy's patience was wearing thin with each time he got mocked. He wanted to snap back, defend himself, and show them his might. But… an entire nation depended on him. His little wife depended on him.
He could endure it. He would endure it.
Every mocking word, every sneer, every laugh at his expense…he bore it all, because he knew the alternative. If he rebelled, if he gave the Emperor the excuse he wanted, he would never again see the one person who mattered.
Lorraine.
Her name was the anchor in his storm. The thought of her, the way her scent curled like soft ribbons around him, the way her hand fit perfectly in his, dulled the sting of mockery. They could strip him of pride, but not of her. She was all that lived in his mind, all that made this humiliation bearable.
After all, she was living for him, and so he should live for her.
