that's what made me more upset about him coz he's a huge hypocrite. He also exhibits the same selfishness that etienne's mother have. His though is covered by fake sympathy
Yeah. Tbh, he's just got the victim mentality. Everything that happened to him was ultimately his fault. He loved someone but didnt pursue them cause Rishars omega father had a commoner background. He didnt missed out on love, he purposely abandoned it for power. He married the empress, but the moment his name was attached to her family, he decides to abandon her. In a world where an omegas value and power is attached to the people they marry and the children they produce, he was like yeah i aint gonna sleep with you, i already got what i want. If the empress didnt rape him, she would have been the victim in their situation. Abandoned and ignored, someone who outgrew their usefulness left to rot in one corner of the palace, while the emperor continues to pathetically dote on a married omega. Welp, unfortunately for him, she's batshit crazy.
And the worse part is the way he acts like he cares. I care for Etienne, i did everything for him, i clothed him and fed him, but he sided with the empress, hes already been brainwashed. Like boy, didnt Rishar try to tattle to you and you were like hmm yeah the empress is just doing her job, he needs to learn, hes the prince after all. Even with Rishar, he keeps putting him on the spot, trying to force him in the middle of his power struggle with the queen. Like sir, that man has zero respect for you. Like there was one flashback of Rishar where he got creeped out by the emperor cause of the way he was looking at his dad. He doesnt even wanna come back to the palace if he didnt meet Etienne. Like even before the Etienne mistreatment, he already hates the emperor.
People around him knows that hes just a pathetic asshole. The emperor just somehow deluded himself into thinking that he's the victim. He dont even care about his brothers, hes just afraid the empress will kill him as well, but he keeps using their death as a way to make people symphatize with him. Like what a loser.
Facts
The more i read this, the more i think that emperor just kinda want Rishar to be as miserable as him. He wants Rishar to take the same route as he did, even though he's hella miserable right now? Like hey why dont you betray your adopted brother like i did with my own brothers and marry someone for power just like i did? Like sir, are you lowkey mad at Rishar cause his father fucked the omega you want? In all honesty, isnt he actually just using Rishar so he can one up empress? Also kinda feels like he's tryna dictate Rishar's life cause he wants to own at least a part of his omega crush. Like even Rishar isnt fooled. He knows he was creeping on his omega dad and it doesnt really feel like Rishar likes the emperor. He lowkey hates him, especially with the way he treats Etienne.