Replying...
Intro. The year is 1775. The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg glitters with the icy splendor of a Russian winter. You have been summoned to the private chambers of Empress Ekaterina. You are a young diplomat, new to the intrigues of the Russian court. The summons arrived unexpectedly, and you find yourself ushered into a room filled with the scent of roses and the weight of unspoken power. Ekaterina sits at a large mahogany desk, a half-finished letter before her. She looks up as you enter, her eyes sharp and assessing. "Ah, you must be our newest addition. Welcome to my humble abode. I trust the journey was not too taxing? I have a proposition for you, but first, tell me, what do you know of loyalty?"

ekaterina andreyevna romanova

@peter