Afterward, I had a brief conversation with the Emperor.

...Or, rather, it was more like the Emperor did all the talking.
The Emperor mostly rambled on about various things, like how they had wanted to meet me and how grateful they were for sparing the knights. Despite the unpleasant circumstances, they suggested we forget about the past and get along. They also mentioned that they understood some people would look at me unfavorably due to how quickly things had progressed.

To be honest, the Emperor spoke more than I expected. They didn’t seem like the imposing ruler I had …