Emhyr Var Emreis x Reader

Nineteen

From the corner of your eyes you watched as the group of nobles left the room.

With grim faces they eyed you over their shoulders. There was so much envy in their eyes, so much annoyance about the fact that they just had lost their places to a noble fallen from grace.

As the door fell shut, you managed to catch a last glimpse at the nobleman who had so generously shared the information needed to finally kill the roots of the evil.

Yet it was quite suspicious.

Only the general remained in the room with you and the emperor.

As soon as the door was fully shut, both of their eyes fell onto you.

You didn't turn to look at them.

Instead, you remained staring at the door.

"He's lying.", you said without skipping a beat.

"Of course he does.", the emperor agreed.

"And what do you wish to do about it?", general Voorhis asked. "We don't have anything besides his word."

"A bit unsatisfactory, don't you think?", you threw a glance over your shoulder to meet the emperor's gaze once again.

"You agreed that it was good news.", he reminded you.

"What else was I supposed to do? Call him a liar right in front of you? It would have ruined your reputation right away."

"Which is why I chose not to do it.", you turned on your heel to finally face the two men fully. "Tell me, is he of importance to your empire?"

"He holds a lot of wealth.", general Voorhis noted and looked at his master to seek permission to speak once again freely.

With a gesture, the emperor allowed him but kept his eyes on you.

You met his gaze, not hostile nor friendly, just to make clear that his sudden interest in you annoyed a little.

"How much wealth are we talking?", you asked, assuming the general felt talked to.

"About a third of all the imperial merchant routes. He also controls a lot of the smaller businesses."

"Shady ones?"

Unsure, the geredal glanced at his emperor.

So it was true what people whispered about him.

He was as loyal as a dog and a man with tactical abilities like no other yet he kept his head low and his tail pulled in because he didn't know how to rule himself.

He really lacked in politics and the knowledge of when it was appropriate to speak and when silence turned to be a disadvantage.

With a sigh and a slight roll of his eyes, the emperor dismissed Voorhis.

"We shall not assume anything.", the emperor said. "But it would be of great value to the empire to have some dirt on him."

"He's getting on your nerves.", you noted with a soft smirk. "What did he do that made him fall from your grace?"

"He sold the empire weapons of low quality."

"Since when does Nilfgaard worry about money?"

He shook his head.

"It doesn't. But it does care about a loss of men.", the brown eyes moved to catch a glimpse at the general. "Leave us."

With a bow of his head, Voorhis turned to walk towards the door, yet stopped as he touched shoulders with you.

"I appreciate new faces.", he said in such a sincere way that it caught you by surprise. "Prove yourself trustworthy and this can become a stable alliance."

For a moment, you eyed him and finally bowed your head with a smile.

"I honour your attitude, general.", you said and stepped aside to let him go his way. "Good men are rare to find inside these walls."

The words brought a smirk to his face.

With another nod, he walked past you to disappear as well.

The emperor watched and only started to move as the sound of the heavy wood being closer reached his ears.

In one swift movement he got up from his chair, crossed his arms behind his back and walked around the table to meet you face to face.

Turned sideways towards him, you glanced slightly over your shoulder to meet his gaze.

As expected, he still looked so reserved and cold.

But you noticed something else in those brown eyes.

He didn't seem as distant anymore.

Taking a deep breath, you dared to turn to fully face him and put on a smile to show him that there were no hard feelings.

You wanted to show that this was a matter you deemed serious and there were no intentions to pick a fight on a personal level in this very moment.

His eyes wandered over your face.

Somehow, that was enough to make the hair in the back of your neck stand up straight.

"I must admit, you presented yourself rather well in this situation.", the emperor said in his low voice and pulled out a small box from his pocket to place it on the table. "This should be a proper reward for now."

Your eyes lingered on the surface of the wooden lid.

"What's that?"

"An emblem ring.", he opened the box to reveal a piece of jewellery, small and simple, that would only fit on your pinky finger.

Confused, you eyed the emblem that was engraved on the top of the polished metal.

"That is my mother's house.", you noted and took the ring without permission.

"Once you do a better job, I'll hand you one with the emblem of your father as well. For the other hand."

With sarcastic eyes, you put the ring back.

"How kind of you, however, only legitimate nobles are allowed to wear their emblems on their bodies."

A slight nod made his head move.

"I restored your title.", he said all of a sudden.

Struck by surprise, your head snapped up to look at him in utter disbelief.

"Pardon?", you frowned, taking it as a sick joke.

Not paying attention to your restless state of mind, the emperor took the ring and offered it in a way that made clear he wanted to put it on you.

Hesitantly, you offered him your left hand.

The ring slid on like a glove.

"I cannot rely on nobles who's names are laying in dust.", the emperor said and locked eyes with you. "From now on, you hold the same title again that your mother, countess Helia, has passed down to you through birth. Her land will return to you once you've done your part of the agreement."