C.C. blinked and said with some reluctance: "Ugh, this is between you and the Emperor — why are you suddenly asking me?"
Rulu said: "Of course I'm asking you. Your thoughts matter to me, C.C. I'd rather trust you than that Emperor."
"Well, since you put it that way... let me think. Actually, I'm not entirely sure myself. I just felt like staying in the Sanctuary was terribly dull, so I left."
Rulu looked somewhat surprised. "That's all? You left simply because you were bored — not because of some falling-out with the Emperor?"
"Oh, there was a falling-out, of course. That Emperor was always forcing me to do things for him without any regard for whether I wanted to or not. If I refused to help him, he'd lose his temper at me. It was truly insufferable."
"I see — so you left the Sanctuary because you didn't want to serve the Emperor." Rulu nodded thoughtfully, then said: "Though I can't say I've treated you much better. I've often lost my temper with you too. So why do you help me? Why haven't you left me?"
"Hmm..." C.C. pressed one finger to her lips, thinking as she spoke. "Probably because you're a bit more interesting, Rulu. The way you look when you're angry is actually quite funny. Your extreme behavior makes it impossible to know what's going on in your head, and I've been very curious to see what kind of result your actions will eventually lead to. Now that the answer is about to be revealed — I'm actually a little excited."
Rulu frowned with mild displeasure. "So C.C., you've just been entertaining yourself at my expense. Is that it?"
"More or less. Do you mind, Rulu?"
Rulu let out a low "hmph" and said: "I won't be toyed with by an infuriating woman like you. Someday I'll make you answer for that."
C.C. said with a look of perfect innocence: "Now that does sound interesting. I shall look forward to that day."
Watching Rulu and C.C. chat as though there were no one else in the room, the Emperor grew increasingly impatient. He spoke again, his tone sharpened: "Rulu — have you made your decision?!"
Rulu turned and looked up at the Emperor on his dais. After a brief pause, he said: "I'm sorry, but I have no intention of accepting your terms."
The Emperor said with surprise: "Why not?"
Rulu said: "Didn't you hear what C.C. just said? She has no wish to assist you. She doesn't want to return to the Sanctuary."
The Emperor said with strained patience: "It doesn't matter whether C.C. is willing to assist me — as long as she is willing to assist you, that is enough. If you return to the Sanctuary, Rulu, she will return as well."
Rulu said: "But I have no interest in returning to the Sanctuary. I have no desire to be dragged back into those tedious power struggles among the imperial family, and I have no wish to serve under you."
The Emperor's brow furrowed, and his previously composed tone began to shift: "Rulu, for such trivial reasons you would give up everything you lost? You would even abandon your own mother and sister?"
Rulu said: "Of course not. If there is ever a chance, I will absolutely save my mother and sister. But I won't betray my friends to save them — and I refuse to let them be used as bargaining chips between us."
The Emperor said: "Rulu, this is not a negotiation. I genuinely want to restore them to true life. Can you not even trust your own father?"
Rulu said: "No, I can't. I still despise you just as much as I always have. The only reason you're willing to let me return to the Sanctuary is because you see value in me. If I were of no value to you whatsoever, you would discard me without a second thought — just as you did seven years ago."
The Emperor's frown deepened. He said with added weight: "Rulu, you are no longer a child. Stop saying such naive things. Everyone has their value. You too saw value in C.C. and that is why you kept her at your side. If C.C. were old and ugly and of no use to you, you would discard her just the same — isn't that right?"
Rulu said: "Perhaps so. But C.C. chooses to stay with me. And there is one thing that sets me apart from you — the way I understand value. That is the biggest reason I find you contemptible."
A dismissive smile appeared on the Emperor's face. "And what objection do you have to that?"
Rulu said: "You judge a person entirely by outcomes and results, never by what is in their heart. You believe those who fail have no value — yet you have no understanding of how heavy the hardships and sufferings of those who fail truly are. You say this world is full of evil, yet you cannot see that you yourself are doing evil. You never punished those who conspired to kill my mother and sister — because the ones who did that were your own children, so you chose to shield and forgive them. When all is said and done, you are nothing more than an ordinary mortal yourself. You have no right to call yourself a god."
The muscles in the Emperor's face twitched slightly. He stared at Rulu with a dark, grim expression and spoke in a low voice edged with anger: "Rulu — you think you can sit in judgment of your father and the Emperor of the Sanctuary? Just who do you think you are?!"
Rulu replied with complete calm: "Who I am is not important. In any case, I have made my decision. If you truly want C.C. that badly, you're welcome to try to take her from me by force. There is no need to continue wasting words."
The Emperor shook his head. "If C.C. is unwilling to assist me of her own volition, there is no point in keeping her here by force. I'll ask you one more time, Rulu — are you certain you want to refuse me?"
Rulu answered with a sardonic smile: "I'll use your own words to answer you. You have no value to me. C.C. considers me of greater value than you."
"Is that so? I don't see it that way." A cold, cunning smile crossed the Emperor's face. He turned to the attendant beside him and said: "Bring those two."
The attendant acknowledged the order, turned, and walked back into the inner hall. A moment later, he returned to the great hall — and now there were two others with him.
The moment Rulu saw who they were, his expression froze. The attendant was escorting two young women with their hands bound behind their backs up toward the Emperor on the dais. Both of them Rulu recognized — for they were none other than Nana and Shari, from whom he had been separated for some time. Upon seeing Rulu, Shari and Nana's faces clearly showed confusion and shock.
"Rulu, why are you here? Who are all these people? What's happening?" Shari stared at Rulu with a look caught between fear and bewilderment, then looked around at the others in the hall.
Nana said in a panic: "Rulu, this is bad — we've been found out! If I'd known it would come to this, I never would have let you come here."
"Shari, Nana — don't panic. Don't say anything more. I'll take care of this." Rulu kept his voice as steady as he could, while his mind raced to figure out what the Emperor intended to do.
The Emperor said: "Rulu, you know these two, I presume? They infiltrated the Sanctuary alongside you and have committed serious crimes. How do you think I should deal with them?"
Rulu said: "What are you trying to do? You plan to use them as leverage against me?"
The Emperor said: "I wouldn't call it leverage. I simply want to know how much these two are worth to you."
Rulu's eyes turned hard and cold. In a low, furious voice, he said: "I'm warning you, Emperor of the Sanctuary — if you dare harm them, I will never let you go."
The Emperor regarded him with complete indifference. "Rulu, let us bring this matter to its conclusion. I'm giving you two choices. If you are truly unwilling to stay in the Sanctuary and assist me, I will not force you — I will even allow you and C.C. to leave together. But if that is your choice, your two friends must remain here as punishment for your intrusion into the Sanctuary."
Rulu said: "And the second choice — you want me to accept the terms you proposed earlier?"
The Emperor said: "That is correct. The terms are now on the table. Make your choice, Rulu. I want to know which matters more to you — that self-righteous conviction of yours, or these two women."