"You seem rather certain," She remarked blandly. "If you marry me, our children and family will become the new Royal Family as long as I am able to ascend the throne. Is that not an alluring prospect?"

"It sounds like a nightmare," Rui blankly retorted.

For the first time since he had seen her, he saw a hint of emotion on her face. She was rather surprised by his words. It appeared that she was unable to parse why anyone would think negatively of fathering the next Royal family.

Rui, on the other hand, had no intentions of starting a family. Even if he did, he had no intention of ruining any prospects of his children having a normal life. He didn't even know the full extent of what being born with so much wealth and power did to their psychologies. He didn't want to know. He wanted nothing to do with it. That was why he was very firm in his rejection. Copyright by Nôv/elDrama.Org.

Even putting aside the rational reasons to avoid this horrific proposal, the very prospect of the woman before him bearing his children sent shivers down his spine. He could barely see anything resembling a sane human when he looked into her lifeless eyes, even if they were, admittedly, stunningly beautiful.

This…creature raising his children? It sounded like a horror story.

"I see," She simply remarked. "It is rather disappointing that you have rejected me with such firm certainty. It does not appear that there is much of a possibility for me to convince you otherwise."

"There most certainly isn't, Your Highness," Rui heaved an inward sigh when she appeared to be getting the hint.

"I see," She remarked. "That is a shame. My proposal is open at any and all times. Please contact me if you ever reconsider. I am more than willing to accommodate this arrangement at any time."

She paused for a moment before seamlessly continuing. "I would invite you to be a part of the Rafia Faction nonetheless. You surely care about some of the things that wealth can bring, even if you do not care for wealth itself. I am willing to humor your requirements to a substantial degree."

Rui wanted to shut down that offer immediately, yet his rational side intervened, encouraging prudence. "I will consider your offer, Your Highness. However, I maintain the stances I have already conveyed thus far."

"I am pleased to hear that," She remarked. "That brings us to an end of the agendas that I wished to discuss with you. If you have any questions or statements to convey, please do."

Rui stared at her for a few moments. "…Do you really think you can get away with trying to criminalize worker unions? You realize that the Martial Union would never allow you to get away with that, and they most certainly will not allow you to enforce it. Do you really want to trigger a civil war?"

"If I have to," She replied straightforwardly. "The power of the throne is absolute."

"Surely you don't believe that," Rui scoffed openly. "The Kandrian Martial Covenant exists because the first Emperor Ra was unable to control the Martial Union. The Martial Union has only grown astronomically more powerful since then and continued growing stronger."

Definite emotion entered her eyes for the first time since he saw her.

"The Throne's power is absolute," She declared. "It must be. For this nation to thrive economically, I will create a nation where the Martial Union does not have a monopoly over the Martial economy through brokering services. I will create a much more open and free economy where Martial Artists will directly interact with the consumer market at all levels."

Rui raised an eyebrow as he stared at her with narrowed eyes. "The martial Union must go for this nation to thrive?"

"That's right," She remarked. "You may believe that the Martial Union is a force for Martial Artists, but in reality, it is a brokering middleman that increases the cost of services for consumers while decreasing the profits for Martial Artists without offering much in return. Getting rid of this middleman will economically benefit the suppliers, Martial Artists, and the consumer market as well."

Rui heaved a sigh. "It does take a cut of the revenue without a doubt. However, to say that it offers little is disingenuous at best. The Martial Union vastly simplifies the process of finding commissions. If not for the Martial Union, I would have to meet with every single potential customer personally and speak to them individually, most likely in vain because their commission would not suit me. Simply choosing a commission would take days of tedious back and forth. With the Martial Union, that process becomes exponentially easier where I can review dozens of commissions in under an hour and find one that is extremely suited for me."

"That's not all," Rui continued. "The accuracy of the information of the commissions is evaluated by degrees of accuracy certainty by the evaluation department and the intelligence department of the Martial Union, allowing me to weigh the risks of given commissions in a calculated manner. These services make a huge impact on my ability to provide services as a Martial Artist. It allows me to focus on Martial Art and the mission alone while all these bothersome logistical impediments are completely removed.

"And, in turn, it takes a fifty-percent cut of the total revenue," She retorted. "Does that not bother you?"

"It's thirty-seven percent for Martial Seniors," Rui replied. "Let us say the Martial Union did not exist, and I got one hundred percent. What would the cost of the intelligence services and sophisticated and extensive management services that the Martial Union provides cost? Would I be able to purchase all those services from external service providers for thirty-eight percent of my revenue?"

Rui narrowed his eyes. "Most likely not. Purchasing intelligence from information groups is not a cheap expense. Neither is hiring a manager, secretary, or team of assistant staff to gather, manage, and process customer data into simplified information packages. I would have to personally look for and hire competent and qualified people to do all that work, and it would definitely be another expense…"