Two men walked down the pompous path towards the Conference Room. Red carpet stretched as far as they could see, flanked by Sorovian Guards, who remained impassible as they walked side by side. If anyone was surprised by this, it didn't show in their stone-like faces. The Tardineanni Emperor, Jasemir, was a tad younger than his colleague Klaiden, the Acting Prime Minister, and wasn't as outstanding as one could suppose so. Jasemir was dressed rather simply and, some would say, even annoyed at the crowd as he wore a mohair wool coat that covered most of his body, with black pants and a scarf with the Tardineanni flag colors. His counterpart, however, could pretend he was the emperor and fool anyone dumb enough to fall for it. He was dressed in a light colored leather jacket and a floral shirt, better suited for a day on the beach rather than a professional meeting.
"I still can't believe you're wearing this." Jasemir whispered to Klaiden, while covering his mouth so that no one could overhear their conversation. "It is highly unprofessional of you."
"Do you think you're being professional
wearing this grumpy face, Your Greatness?" Klaiden's sarcastic tone didn't go unnoticed by the Emperor, but he pretended not to care.
"It's too cold here." The Emperor said while adjusting his scarf. "Almost makes me wanna go home."
"Unfortunately, you can't, as you're the Emperor and the face of our nation." Klaiden raised his tone a bit, but when he remembered where they were, he got silent.
"Okay, just try not to mess this up." Jasemir replied as they got closer to their final destination.
The Prime Minister chuckled while shrugging. "What could I possibly do to mess this up?"
"For starters, you could present yourself as Klaiden Risvie." Klaiden abruptly stopped laughing. "That alone would make everyone go in a bad mood."
"We've grow apart from
those ideas decades ago, Jasemir." He replied with a cold tone and a sour face."
"Yet it is still remembered, specially now that we just got rid of Werdoi and his outdated ideas." Jasemir said while reminscing of the lost ones, his entire family, who died to fulfill an old man's megalomania. "We need to make them forget the past and look forward to build a new future together, with us."
"The Prime Minister nodded in agreement them spoke. "Yes, we need to do all that, Emperor.", he then completed his speech saying. "To achieve our goals, the nation need to look its best. So you gotta put on your best smile and pretend you do not have stage fright and severe anxiety."
Jasemir raised his eyebrows in surprise. "How did you k-", he was interrupted by Klaiden.
"Of course I would know something like that." He smiled and said, "We're family, after all."
"So we are." They finally reached their end point and, as the Tardineanni tradition, together they greeted the Sorovian President, half-bowing in reverence. The meeting would soon begin and it seemed like they were the last ones to arrive, so Jasemir blurted without realizing a pun.
"Please forgive us for our tardiness." Everyone laughed in unison, leaving Jasemir dumbfounded, until he understood that what he said in Mercanti could be taken as a joke. At least it seemed that they liked him for that. He only hoped that he could make it out of there without messing everything. So he stood up and put on his best face. "It is an honor to meet you again, Mister President."