Sen took his ti getting changed into the ornate robes he’d worn when entering the city. Misty Peak called them his imperial garb. He just thought of them as not especially comfortable. Not that anything was truly uncomfortable anymore, but they didn’t move as cleanly as his usual robes. It made him worry that he might rip them if he moved too fast.
“I swear that I’m going to burn these,” he said.
“Don’t do that,” said Misty Peak from the chair where she’d been shalessly watching.
“Why not? I’m the emperor. I can wear what I want.”
Misty Peak shrugged and said, “Sothing about dignity, I expect. Besides, if you destroy those, soone will just get sothing even more ornate made for you.”
Sen shuddered at the thought of that.
“Fine. I won’t burn them. But I think we need to find sothing a little less ornate that I can wear when I’m not laying claim to a new city.”
“I’m sure soone can take care of that for you.”
“I should hope so,” muttered Sen. “Is there anything I need to know before I go talk to these nobles?”
“They all think you kept them alive for a particularly extravagant and painful execution,” she said with a bright smile.
Sen rolled his eyes and asked, “And is that because you told them that?”
“I didn’t say anything to them.”
“Did you tell soone to say that to them?”
“You shouldn’t worry about these little details.”
“Why would you do that?”
She blinked at him a few tis in confusion before she said, “Fun, of course.”
Sen stared at her before he sighed and said, “I forget sotis that you’re a nine-tail fox. However, that seems a bit crueler than usual, even for you.”
“No, it would have been cruel if it was true. I just got to watch them panic for a few days, but imagine how relieved they’ll be when you don’t execute them!”
“I feel like I should take you to task for that, but I doubt it would do any good.”
“It definitely wouldn’t. Besides, with them panicking about their upcoming executions, they won’t have dread up as many sches.”
“If only that were true,” complained Sen. “They’re nobles. That ans that they’ll have sches ready to go just in case I don’t execute them.”
“That’s probably true.”
Sen considered the fox-woman for a long mont before he asked a question that had been on his mind for a while.
“Why did you co along? I’d intended to leave you back at the capital to be in charge of the other foxes.”
Her amused expression vanished, and a grimace crossed her face for a mont.
“You really don’t know why?”
He thought he might know, but it seed like a bad idea to just take that as a truth without confirmation.
“Let’s assu I don’t.”
“That woman doesn’t like or trust . There would have been a constant struggle between us if I stayed. It wasn’t in anyone’s best interest.”
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“I suspect that you and Lo ifeng could have worked out so kind of viable arrangent,” said Sen, not surprised that his suspicion was confird.
“Maybe, but it would have taken a long ti and been unbelievably irritating. I decided that I didn’t want to put up with that much irritation. Be honest, though. If I had decided to stay behind, wouldn’t you just have fretted constantly about what I might be doing?”
Sen had to really think about how to answer that question. There was so truth to it. He didn’t really trust any of the nine-tail foxes. At best, he trusted their motivations. They wanted to live, and that wasn’t going to happen if the spirit beasts won. The problem was that their being against the spirit beasts was a very different thing from their being actively on his side.
“Yes. I would have worried about it.”
“Because you don’t trust ?”
“Would you trust you?”
“Not in your position. I’m a fox. We’re devious and unreliable, as a rule, but I do want to live.”
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t assu that you’re actively plotting my death.”
“Do you assu I’m actively plotting other things?”
“Aren’t you?”
“Naturally, but that doesn’t make them things that are bad for you.”
“There are a great many things that might not be bad for that could still be bad for my empire or the people around ,” observed Sen.
“That is true. So, how will you ensure that I’m not plotting wicked things? Will you tie up?” she asked, holding her hands out toward him with her wrists pressed together.
“Would that actually work?”
“No, but it might be fun,” she added with a smile that made so many promises.
“Stop that,” said Sen. “I have to go do emperor things.”
“What could be more imperial than making people wait while you ravage a helpless maiden?”
“Do you have a helpless maiden handy?” asked Sen, peering around the room like he was looking for soone else.
He had to dodge the pillow she threw at him.
“That wasn’t very nice,” she said with a pout.
“I’ve heard that I’m not very nice.”
“Well, you heard right.”
She turned her head away in a very good approximation of an aggrieved noblewoman.
“You need a little more sharpness in that head turn,” suggested Sen. “It’ll help sell the anger better.”
“Yeah?” she asked, the feigned displeasure disappearing entirely. “I thought it felt a little off. So postures are harder to fake than others. It’s not the kind of thing you can practice well in a mirror.”
“I’m sure,” said Sen, before bracing himself a little. “Let’s go talk to the nobles.”
Misty Peak disappeared behind her illusion. Sen had to admit that it was getting better and better. He could still tell where she was, but only because he knew precisely what to look for. He doubted anyone who wasn’t another nine-tail fox or nascent soul cultivator would stand a chance at picking her out in a room where there were other people to draw their attention. He left the room that he’d been given. He wasn’t sure who had occupied that room before him because anything that might have given away their identity had been thoroughly removed. There weren’t even any lingering scents. He’d always found those to be the most difficult thing to get rid of in a room.
A pair of honor guards were waiting in the hall and proceeded ahead of him. They didn’t precisely nace anyone who got near them, but they weren’t shy about directing hostile glares. A few people who looked like they were probably servants took one look at the guards and fled down the nearest available hallway. That caused Sen to lift an eyebrow. Maybe the guards were nacing people when he wasn’t there to watch them. He hoped not. Those poor mortals looked on the verge of terror. Unless it was that they were terrified of, he thought and felt imdiately disheartened. It was probably .
He did his best to treat the mortals as gently as he could, but he was the one who brought an army to their city. He was the one who had a bunch of nobles executed. The sects were suppressed at his command. Given all of that, it would probably be more surprising if they weren’t terrified by his very presence. Sen added that to the list of problems he’d never considered before this war started. After allowing himself a mont or two to wish that things were different, he set it aside. What was one more cost on the pile? It wasn’t even the most painful thing he had to put up with. It had just caught him off guard.
The guards took him to the throne room, where two more of his honor guard were waiting at the doors. They turned and, in perfect lockstep, opened the door. The guard who had led him to the throne room took up position to either side of the doors just inside the room. Sen glanced around. He spotted a few familiar generals giving orders to their subordinates. There were several more of his honor guard stationed in conspicuous places. He also noticed the very small group of nobles who had been brought there. They were being guarded by mortal soldiers. Everyone stopped what they were doing and bowed to him.
He just waved a dismissive hand. His people, used to his disdain for that kind of formality, imdiately went back to what they were doing. The nobles took a mont before they straightened up. Their gazes were locked on him as he crossed the room and settled himself on the throne. Misty Peak’s attempt to frighten them had seemingly worked. Their faces were so pale that, if they hadn’t been standing there and breathing, he could have mistaken them for corpses.
“Well now,” said Sen. “I suppose it’s finally ti to decide what I’m going to do with all of you.”
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