He knows the answer, but he can't think of the words to articulate it. Or maybe he just doesn't want to, because he suspects if he says it out loud—and the alcohol is making it feel so easy to say out loud—it would sound pathetic. Because of course it doesn't make him happy. There's never been anything that makes him happy. But his empire satisfies the things the younger Luo Binghe wanted. Until he was twenty-two, he had never in his life slept in a real bed. His palaces, lands and wives are there to compensate for that, not to make him happy.

If he were talking to Nina, he would find a way to express this. But he's starting to suspect that he might regret being so free with his thoughts later, when he stops suppressing his powers. "You are a monarch yourself. Could you give up your kingdom for one person?" He laughs bleakly. "I'm sure you've guessed who it is. His charm and beauty outshine anyone else here."