Ram and he believed in the same things: righteousness and the sacred responsibility of kingship. For the sake of these, Ram had been willing to let me throw myself into fire. For the sake of these, Vibheeshan had told Ram how to kill his only son Taranisen, who would have been too strong to defeat otherwise. They’d both wept bitter tears afterwards, but faced with the same choice, they’d act in the same way again. The thought filled me with admiration—but admiration laced with anxiety. Such rulers were adored by the citizens they protected, but often their families had to bear the brunt of
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