Not a Good Father

Rui sharpened his eyes at the Emperor's ruthless eyes. 

The Emperor shared a nuance that he hadn't considered before. In hindsight, Rui wasn't surprised that part of the grooming, education, and raising of royals included instilling a drive to inherit the throne.

In that case, it was true that the royals who had still failed to retain a drive for the throne simply were not temperamentally inclined towards inheriting the throne. In that case, Rui understood why the Emperor had simply dismissed them as candidates for being his heir.

"Regardless of the reason, the fact of the matter is that I do not desire the throne in any way," Rui narrowed his eyes. "You, who claims to know me better than myself, still chose to name me as your unofficial heir. What am I to infer from that?"

"You can infer what you want, my son," The Emperor replied. 

The air grew electric.