Rui's head fell back as he stared at the ceiling.
He had gone back to Raul, looking for hope that he may have missed last time. But it was entirely pointless.
This fool of a saint was even more irrational than Rui had realized initially.
"You seem distressed." Prince Raul smiled. "Are you in such a dire need of a royal?"
"…Yes," Rui heaved a sigh.
"I don't quite understand," Prince Raul replied as he gazed into Rui's eyes with interest. "Why would a Martial Senior feel so pressured to find an emperor candidate that has earned his approval? What will happen if you don't find someone you approve of? Will something of note happen? Do you possess the power to make them Emperor or Empress?"
For some reason, Raul's sincerity seemed to coax a somewhat truthful answer from Rui.
"…I have much to offer," Rui replied, heaving a sigh. "It may not change the course of the Kandrian Throne War, but it can be impactful."
"So I've heard," Prince Raul smiled knowingly. "What kind of ruler do you seek?"
"…Someone who understands the importance of balance," Rui replied. "That has been the greatest shortcoming among you seven. There is no balance in your visions of the future. You cannot disenfranchise the greatest forces of Kandria for the power that is backing you in your faction. Kandria is built upon a delicate balance between all its stakeholders and power blocs."
didn't understand the destruction awaited Kandria should the balance
because a war would be waged
Raul smiled. "Speaking of which, did you know that he's woken
raised an eyebrow. "But
father is more clever than any of the seven of us. It took a
this point, can he?" Rui remarked
to say that," Prince Raul cautiously remarked. "My father…is not a
but since his disease is certainly bound to kill him at this point, what can he do?" Rui raised
his head. "As I said,
at him
an emperor who was inching closer to death by
time in a single stretch. In fact, Rui was pretty certain he had been in a slumber since before he returned
limits because he had yet to be able to stop his own death, nor could he stop his children from preparing for war. He also couldn't change the political system of
a political move would require the unanimous alignment of all power blocs
nobody would be receptive to the
has lost tremendous amounts of
dire circumstances," said Prince Raul. "As far as raw competence goes, he has reached what many would consider the pinnacle of statesmanship. Did you know that
Rui raised
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