Daishoga's eyes narrowed briefly as he thought about what she had just said to him. The meaning wasn't lost on him. He knew that she was referring to the destruction of her village. It was so obvious that he would have been a fool to miss it. But there was a certain wisdom in her words that was hard to escape as much as Daishoga wanted to. But the horrifying realization was that she associated his army's destruction of her village with the cruelty of his father. And then an even greater realization dawned on him. As horrible as his father had been to him, it was nothing compared to what she must have endured.<br/><br/>The emperor didn't resist her efforts to clean his face. He merely looked into those eyes. No, he swam in her eyes. They washed over him and consumed him. They thrilled and terrified him at the same time. Such a woman was graced with such intelligence. She had a keen mind. She had said nothing outwardly insulting, but the accusation had been there. He knew it. He would have reacted angrily if it had been almost anyone else. He might have even struck them. But the implication of her statement, whether intended or unintended, left him ashamed.<br/><br/>An even deeper realization was the fact that he knew he didn't want to strike her. She was his servant. She was cleaning his face. She was doing everything he asked of her with almost no doubt or hesitation. Or even if there was, she still did it without question. The emperor felt weak before her ironclad resolve. She had witnessed the destruction of her village, the murder of perhaps nearly everyone she had known in her life, and had been forced to live in his castle as the personal servant of the man that had caused all of this irreparable damage to her. Yet she did as he asked. She even hinted that she tried to see the good in him.<br/><br/>Was there truly any good in him? He wasn't sure anymore. He liked to think the actions he took were out of necessity rather than cruelty, but could he truly say that with utmost certainty? He didn't know anymore. And he also didn't understand the depth of emotions he was burdened with. She had, seemingly effortlessly, made him question his entire life. It was truly astonishing.<br/><br/>Even his own playful suggestion was lost to him now. He knew he had asked her to allow him to clean her back, but she had insisted upon cleaning his face. But her words prior to that had left him in somewhat of a daze. Yet even as his mind twisted and turned, he couldn't find the strength to drag himself from the depth of hter gorgeous eyes. She was far more beautiful than any peasant woman he had ever met before. But there was more to her beauty than physicality. There was something about the way she carried herself and spoke that seemed so refined. If you took her words at face value, you could easily miss something.<br/><br/>But he had had enough of the turmoil raging in his mind. He enjoyed the feeling of her washing his face for a few more moments and then grasped her hand gently. He then slung the wash cloth of his shoulder so that he could reach up and cup both of her cheeks with his hands. He stroked them with his thumbs gently. The feeling of her flesh beneath his fingertips was incredibly arousing. His hands slowly drifted down her face to her shoulders. He lightly turned her around so that her back was to him. He washed over her back with the wash cloth at first and then placed it back on his shoulder so that he could massage her shoulders with his hands gently. Then his hands worked over the whole of her back. He wanted more than this, though.<br/><br/>"Did you ever imagine you would end up in a situation such as this?" Daishoga asked, his hands pausing on her back. It was a silly question. Who imagined becoming the personal servant of one of, if not the most, feared man on the continent? He wanted to hear what she would say particularly because of earlier. The words were still biting at him. He couldn't help but wonder if that bite was as intentional as it seemed or he had merely looked too deeply into it. "Whatever the case may be, I would like for you to dry off and return to my bed. But do not dress."<br/><br/>After saying that, Daishoga dropped his hands and took a few steps back. The water was still bubbling furiiously around them. Now he simply watched her and waited.