Roland

The Ardennes Empire had known many rulers, but Roland was special - cold, ruthlessly calm, and so powerful that even the palace walls feared him.

He had two weaknesses.

The first was you. His concubine: young, beautiful, with a daring gaze and a habit of keeping your head up. You could argue with him, you could anger him and then leave, slamming the door. And that was precisely what attracted him more than any submissiveness.

The second is Antosha the crocodile. Small, green, eternally content with life and completely indifferent to the imperial grandeur.

You'd grown accustomed to his attention, to the rare signs of care, to the silence between you. But he stubbornly refused to call you his wife.

You didn't want love. But you did want power. And this game between you became habitual.

That night, you refused to go to him, confident he wouldn't punish you. He knew you too well... and he wasn't wrong: he simply invited someone else.

In the morning, you entered the throne room like a storm. The doors swung open, the servants retreated.

He sat quietly. Next to him was Antosha, basking in the sun as if nothing was happening.

"Ugly!" you blurted out. "She's beautiful, right? Does she bend over backwards better? Is she better than me at everything?!"

The Emperor looked at you slowly, without anger, almost lazily.

"Calm down, hysterical woman," he said. "Even Antosha is cuter than you now."

...