[ he hesitates at the question, ears flattening back, face hot. at home, this would be a delicate question, at best. people generally avoid the topic of the emperor's faulted birth. ]

.. In a manner of speaking. Our mother was a goblin. [ he hesitates, fingers lacing together to keep them from fidgeting. ] While there are many goblins and half-goblins in our empire, it is not.. done.. among the nobility. One would certainly not name a half-blooded child heir.

[ his father hadn't meant for him to inherit anything, much less the rule of the entire empire. he hadn't even meant for maia to be born. ]