Daishoga could see the torrent of emotion in her eyes as he had talked. One of his keenest desires was to see the emotion in her eyes. And of course, his words about her village had brought about anger just as he had intended for them to. In his experience life had taught him to kill or be killed. The strong thrived and the weak perished. But it was not always the case. His mother had been strong but her fault had been caring for the weak. The weak was him and his father. And since that day he had honed his strange abilities that he had been both blessed and cursed with.<br/><br/>The emperor refused to be weak ever again. He would never allow himself to be taken advantage of again. But perhaps in his quest to get rid of his weakness he had become the very thing that had caused him to pursue this path. Perhaps he had become the monster that preyed upon the weak. Perhaps there was some truth to the tales after all. But Daishoga did not regret killing the men that he did because they deserved it. Men like Calbrand were a poison. And he remembered being tormented by men like him.<br/><br/>As for her village, what was the justification there? He he killed both innocent and guilty people when he ordered his forces to burn the village to the ground. The innocent always paid for the crimes of the guilty. That seemed to be a fact of life and this was no different. Such a thing would certainly bring the war towards a fierce climax. And he was eager for the war with the Reltican Republic to be over. Only such a horrific display of violence would make Vaandom and Relica reflect their positions. Only such a display would make them wonder if the war was worth fighting. Daishoga had a reputation and it was sometimes best to play up to that reputation. Any sign of weakness would be a fallacy.<br/><br/>He pushed these thoughts from his mind and watched her expressions some more. There was conflict and confusion in those eyes of hers. He had known his asking for her thoughts would bring about such confusion. But he was surprised by how captivated he was with this female. He found himself gazing into her eyes not as a method of intimidiation but isimply because his eyes were drawn to them. There was something interesting about Sage that he couldn't quite place. He recalled the fire in those eyes just moments previously when he had mentioned the destruction of her village only to watch as it slowly melted away.<br/><br/>Her words soon slipped him out of his reverie. He blinked as her words washed over him. He couldn't help it. Daishoga laughed. It was the sort of laugh that didn't suit the evil stories spread about him. It was an innocent laugh that should have come from somewhere else. How long had it been since he had properly laughed like this? Daishoga couldn't remember. Perhaps he had never laughed like this. He covered his face with his hand and composed himself.<br/><br/>He waited as she finished what she had to say and smiled radiantly at her. It was perhaps the first true smile he'd given someone in a long time. It changed his face radically. It took away the sinister feel to his features and made him look youthful. A boy caught in a man's position.<br/><br/>"Your words have amused me, Sage. You seem to be under the inclination that a virtuous woman is more to my liking, but you're wrong. A virtuous woman would not satisfy me. It is interesting because I want you. I'm captivated by you. You have such gorgeous eyes." He reached out and caressed her cheeks gently in both of his hands. But his hands were suddenly trembling. They were unsure. He was frightened. What was he doing? He didn't know this girl. He had somewhat gloated about the destruction of her village and now his lips were a mere fraction of an inch from her own as if he was going to kiss her. But he had lost himself for a second there. He had fallen under some kind of spell.<br/><br/>Emotions were stirring within him. He was feeling things. Things that confused him. Things he hadn't felt in years and years. Perhaps he hadn't truly felt anything since the day his mother had died in his very arms. Perhaps he had always been fooling himself with the illusion of emotions. But here he was now with his hands on the cheeks of his servant girl. Part of him wanted to throw her to the ground and massacre her on the spot for inflicting him with these feelings. But the more rational side of him argued that she had done nothing. He was simply acting like a fool.<br/><br/>His heart was hammering in his chest. He was uncertain of himself. Could he even hurt this girl? His hands threatened to squeeze her cheeks, but their grip only increased marginally. Not enough to hurt her. He couldn't do it. His conscience would allow him to. After years of killing without a second thought he couldn't bring himself to harm this simple young woman. But she had said she wanted to see if he was beyond the monster that the stories painted him as. She wanted to meet the man behind the myth. It was terrifying. Nobody had ever said such words to him. They always accepted that he was a monster and feared him. Nobody had ever actually tried to get to know him.<br/><br/>Perhaps that was why he was acting so stupid in this momentary spell of complete and utter confusion. And he didn't even realize that he had been standing there with his face just in front of her own for quite some time now. He took a deep breath and pressed his lips against hers softly, his hands still holding her cheeks gently.