"I can smell your fear from here. Stop trembling already. Aysling didn’t accept the blood, did she?"

The Emperor put down the document he was reading and looked at the servant, who wore an expression of pure panic.

He didn’t even bother to get upset. He knew perfectly well she must be furious; he could still remember the look of disappointment in her eyes. Truth be told, it felt like his heart had been clenched in a fist.

"Please, Your Majesty, have mercy on your poor servants. No matter how mu