The heavy wooden door opened and gave way to a room that was as large and majestic as a room could have been.
People were already present, gathered around a table, with a map and wooden figures on them.

Every single one of them was dressed to impress and outshine one another.

As soon as the door opened their heads turned to look at you.

Gazes darkened.

Interest lit up on faces.

Almost immediately, whispering started to fill the air.

It took you aback to see all of these nobles talk and whisper. Expectations about you were written all over their faces.

You hated it.

Yet you did not drop the mask and politely bowed to them as you entered.

"You have called for me, your majesty.", you said in a smooth voice that didn't give away a single emotion other than studied friendliness.

The emperor sat on a wooden chair on the other side of the table.

One of his arms casually rested on the arm of the chair while he had the other popped on his elbow to give himself some support.

The way he sat made him seem comfortable. He didn't fear an attack nor betrayal in these walls.

You gave each and every one of the nobles a glance from the side.

There were more men than women, yet the women could be recognised to be higher in ranks.

You remembered most of these men to be rich merchants and military followers of the emperor.

The general who went by the name Morvran Voorhis was present as well.

With his arms crossed behind his back and a sceptical look on that pale face of his, he stood the closest to the emperor, at the right side of the table.

The other nobles had taken position on the opposite side of the emperor.

It was clear that they were only here to serve him.

Your gaze returned to the man in the chair.

It took him an awful long time to reply or order you around.

"It is good to see you.", he finally said in the nilfgaardian tongue and rose from his seat to call you to his side with a gesture of his hand. "This an important matter I wanted to share with you."

For a moment, you hesitated.

Unbelievable gasping went through the nobles.

With their heads bowed in respect, they started to whisper to their neighbour.

Only the general remained free from badmouthing and conspiracy.

He was a good man, you noted to yourself. And obviously more loyal than you had expected him to be.

Slowly, you walked around the table to approach the emperor at his request.

"May I ask what you called me for?", you asked, not daring to be bold enough to meet his gaze in front of noble witnesses.

"Take a look.", the emperor demanded and gestured towards the map.

You gave it a glance.

"I am not educated in warfare.", you admitted. "I'm more of a diplomat."

One of the noblewomen audibly huffed.

"Just like the father.", she mumbled in a mocking manner. "He also used his tongue. And where did it get him?"

"To the grave.", a nobleman answered and almost chuckled.

A flinch chased through your body.

Your face turned dark and a fire lit up inside your eyes.

All of your muscles pulled together all at once. It took all your willpower to refrain from shaking.

The emperor noticed.

From the corner of his eyes he glanced at you.

"Silence!", he ordered the room. "I am not interested in your little chit chats."

He gestured towards the map again.

Torn from your thoughts, you blinked and moved to look him in the eyes.

Gasping of disbelief went through the crowd.

"I stand by my answer.", you replied, still keeping the emptiness of emotions in your words.

Displeased, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Take a closer look.", he demanded in a way that made you belief he refused for you to not get this right.

Taking a deep breath, you collected your thoughts and dared to take another, closer, look at the map.

Surprisingly, it wasn't a map of some kingdom far away.

It was a city plan of Vizima and the small city that surrounded it for protection and supply chains.

Intrigued, your eyebrows rose. To see better, you bend down and examined the little statures that were placed in spots that seemed rather important to your eye.

"Riots?", you thought out loud. "Are you putting together a plan to destroy the uprising resistant fighters?"

A shimmer crossed the emperor's eyes.

Was that satisfaction?

Pride?

Either way, it was strong enough to make one corner of his thin lips rise. With his eyes lowered, he gifted you a nod of his head.

"The capital must be protected.", he said and confirmed your thoughts. "If they catch us here, the fundament of the empire will crack."

"We cannot afford to be weakened by peasants.", the general kept on explaining.

The emperor did not silence him.

So this man of the military truly held some privileges, even when other nobles were present.

They must have envied him for that. Or hated him.

You turned your head to meet his gaze.

His eyes were brown as well, just like the ones of the emperor. Yet they were lighted and matched the auburn hair of his.

You gifted him a respectful nod of your head before speaking.

"Are there any plans to involve the military?", you asked.

General Voorhis glanced at the emperor, who did a gesture to allow him to speak freely.

Then he sat down again.

Now, you stood right next to the sitting emperor of Nilfgaard. Right by his side.

It made you feel unsettled.

It felt not right to remain standing next to him as if you were his closest consultant.

Yet, if he didn't order you to move, it was risky to take action on your own.

So you chose to remain motionless and listen to what the general had to say.