ASTRID blinked, not expecting that question. He had thought the Emperor would ask about his family, about what really happened back then. Maybe even ask for his opinion on everything, like whether he blamed him for letting the Lancasters grow in power again after their brief downfall.
After all, the former Emperor had done everything he could to use the Grimaldi incident to limit the Lancaster family's influence in the Empire. He had even demoted them to the farthest galaxy from the capital. But after this Emperor took the throne, he slowly helped the Lancasters regain their power.
Astrid had thought the other would ask him if he blamed him for it. He had even prepared an answer beforehand, assuming the topic would come up inevitably if he ever met the Emperor. But it seemed he had underestimated how much the Emperor cared about Wulfric. It made him wonder if the Emperor had a bit of a brother complex.
