Saigo's eyes widened slightly, not from fear from pure astonishment. 'She's completely and utterly insane, her mind has fully snapped from power.'
But outwardly, he only tensed his jaw, feeling the blue substance constrict his chest in response to his accelerated heartbeat.
The situation was a chessboard where Katarina had put him in a deadly checkmate, perfectly aware that the clan meant everything to him.
And someone else was... waiting for him. The image of a pretty blonde with kind eyes flashed before his mind's eye. 'I promised I'd return, and I will. Even if... a little later.' The bitterness of that thought was sharper than any sword.
"What do you want from me?" his voice sounded hoarse but without hesitation. Readiness to negotiate was evident in every muscle of his face, even though it was constrained by the blue goo.
Katarina lit up with a perky, almost childish smirk. She extended her hand not to touch him, but as if offering an invisible contract.
"Oh, nothing much! Become the Emperor. And... love me, and only me." Her eyes burned with a fanatical gleam. "In return, I promise: power your pathetic clan couldn't even dream of. Wealth that overshadows dragon hoards. And power..." she clenched her fist, and tiny tongues of flame danced on her knuckles, "...that will make you a demigod among mortals."
"I've heard that before," Saigo parried dryly, not looking away. The sweet poison of her promises made him feel nauseous.
"Excellent!" Katarina clapped her hands like a girl who'd received a desired doll. "So, you agree?"
"No." The refusal sounded like a stone hitting glass. "I'm married."
The joy on Katarina's face vanished instantly. Her lips compressed into a thin scarlet line; tiny sparks of anger danced at their corners, hissing in the cool air of the cell. "I don't think a divorce will be such a big problem," she hissed, and steel rang in her voice.
Saigo inwardly flinched. "You think too highly of yourself, Empress."
"Ai!" It wasn't a scream, but a sharp exhale escaped him as Katarina's palm landed flat on his stomach, just above the level of the blue goo.
Unbearable heat, like from a red-hot plate, pierced his skin, flesh, reaching down to the bone. The blue substance around the point of contact hissed and rippled, emitting acrid steam.
"And I have every right to, my dear," her whisper was scorchingly tender, while her gaze was icy. "And regarding your beloved... Surely you don't love her enough to sacrifice the lives of your entire clan for her?"
Love? A complicated question, even for himself. His feelings for Mari were a quiet harbor, built entirely on respect... But was it the insane inferno Katarina was hinting at? Definitely not, or...?
"I respect her very much," he squeezed out honestly, through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the burning pain in his stomach.
Katarina covered her mouth with a graceful hand in silent, exaggerated astonishment. "Oh! You respect her? How charming!" Her eyes held a mix of mockery and genuine curiosity. "And what must I do, dear Saigo, for you to... start respecting me as well?"
"In your case?" He met her gaze without a trace of fear, only weary bitterness. "Die."
"Ha!" Her laughter echoed loudly off the stone walls. "But I'd just be reborn, as always. But since you're so unkind..." The heat under her palm intensified, making his muscles involuntarily shudder. The blue goo around her hand bubbled.
"But I am willing... to think about it," he exhaled, feeling the granite pedestal beneath him growing hot. 'Need to buy time.' "With conditions."
The fire in Katarina's eyes flared brighter. Interest overcame anger. "Hmm... Interesting. Go on, my stubborn one, lay them out."
Saigo paused, gathering his thoughts, each word like a forged blade:
"First:" – "You immediately release all captured members of the Cotto clan and let them return home. No tails, no surveillance а clean exit."
"Second:" – "You withdraw your troops from the walls of Sen-Baza and swear on your Imperial blood and the power of the Phoenix not to attack my clan's fortress. Not now, not ever."
"And third:" – he glared with hatred at the blue goo restraining him.
"You release me from this... puddle. As long as I'm stuck here like a pickle in a jar, you certainly won't earn my respect."
Katarina froze. Her gaze slid over his face, studying, weighing. Then her lips twitched in a strange half-smile.
"What an insolent..." she whispered, but her voice held not irritation, but... admiration? "But you know? I even like it. The fire in your spirit is so exciting... Very well." She removed her hand from his stomach the heat vanished instantly, leaving only a dull ache.
"But!" her finger rose. "I will have one small condition. You won't do anything stupid. To start... you'll just live here, in the mansion, for a couple of days. As... an honored guest. Look around, contemplate the prospects."
She leaned in, and her next whisper was colder than the winter wind: "And remember, my dear. If you break our agreement... all my promises will vanish like smoke, and the Cotto clan will become ashes, your beloved fortress a pile of stones. And for your chosen one... we will find a very quick replacement."
"Agreed," Saigo rasped. Inside, everything screamed with rage and humiliation.
'Have to play the prisoner, the honored guest in a gilded cage. For now, the situation requires flexibility and... instructions from above... Just need to get out of this blue prison.'
He clung to that hope mentally. 'Out on the streets... I'll find my people. I'll definitely find them. The Cotto Network was an omnipresent web; I'll never believe they managed to purge everyone. And there... there's the Old Man, his cold, impenetrable mind. He'll devise a plan, weigh the risks, find a way out of this trap.'
In this, Saigo was as sure as his own breath. This certainty was his last shield against Katarina's all-consuming plan.