The emperor is the worst character here. I have more sympathy for Rashta than for him.
Also I laughed at Das Kapital. If Rashta became a revolutionary fellow worker, this would be the most intense soap opera.
For those who may not know, the book with the reversed cover is “De l'esprit des lois,” or “The Spirit of the Laws,” by Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu. It was published in 1748 and then in English in 1750, and banned by the Catholic Church in 1751. It was a hugely influential work that argued for things like constitutional governments, the separation of powers, and the abolition of slavery. You might see why this is relevant to Rashta.