A Mother-in-Law's Intervention
As I left my office and made my way toward the Empress Dowager's quarters...
"Oh? Brother-in-law?"
I ran into Joy, who was just coming out of the imperial sector.
"Joy? Where are you headed?"
At my question, she gave me a bubbly, mischievous grin.
"Just going for a little stroll! Want to come with me, Brother-in-law?"
"Haha, no. I'm actually on my way to see your mother."
At my words, her face lit up with a knowing, radiant smile.
"Ahhh~ Mother is in her room."
I leaned in and asked her in a hushed, cautious voice.
"Uh... by any chance, do you know what she wants to talk to me about?"
Joy looked around to make sure no one was listening before whispering conspiratorially.
Gulp.
A wave of anxiety washed over me as I watched her approach with an unusually grave expression.
"Well... Mother heard a rumor that you've been neglecting Sister in bed and making her work all night long."
I couldn't find a single word to refute that.
I mean, technically I wasn't neglecting her in the traditional sense, but... it was absolutely true that I was making her study and work through the night.
Sigh. I knew it...
I had a bad feeling ever since Agrippa brought it up yesterday. Living in the Imperial Palace was proving to be far more complicated than I'd anticipated.
"So I think that's why she wanted to see you today."
I nodded slowly.
"I suppose so. From her perspective, hearing that her daughter is pulling all-nighters doing overtime would naturally make her worry."
Joy glanced left and right again, then leaned in even closer.
"But... is it true? Are you really neglecting her?"
Neglecting her? How could I neglect someone when we were a married couple in name only? We hadn't even consummated the marriage. Under imperial law, a marriage without a consummated first night was legally void. If I went to the Pope right now and declared that we hadn't spent our first night together, he would declare the marriage null and void after a simple examination. In other words, we were in this bizarre gray area where we were officially married but legally single.
I wanted to explain all of this, but of course, I couldn't. Instead, I shook my head with an awkward, strained smile.
"No, of course not. I... I love Theodora."
Joy nodded, her expression saying she had expected nothing less.
"I knew it! I've been telling Mother all about how much you adore Sister!"
"Huh?"
How much I adore her? I didn't even like her that way to begin with. I couldn't quite follow Joy's train of thought.
"Anyway, I'll be on my way now! Good luck, Brother-in-law! You can do it!"
My sister-in-law pumped her fist in encouragement, her face flushing red, before turning and scurrying down the corridor.
She's quite cute...
With that passing thought, I finally arrived at the Empress Dowager's quarters.
"Your Imperial Majesty, His Grace the Grand Duke has arrived."
The voice drifting from inside sounded unusually chilling today.
Creak.
The heavy doors swung open, and I stepped inside.
"Ah, you have arrived. Sooner than I expected."
I bowed my head respectfully.
"Yes, Mother. I was worried I might keep you waiting, so I wrapped up my duties as quickly as possible."
"You always speak so formally. I know well enough how busy you are. Come, sit."
I took a seat across from her.
"I hear you are fond of coffee?"
The Empress Dowager gently lifted a porcelain teapot adorned with delicate blue patterns, poured a dark liquid into a cup, and handed it to me.
"My family has always preferred tea over coffee, so I am not sure if this will suit your palate."
I smiled warmly in response.
"Anything you offer me is a privilege, Mother."
"Is that so? I am glad to hear it, then..."
I took a gentle sip of the coffee she had poured.
"The reason I summoned you today is simple. I have heard rumors that you do not share a bed with my daughter."
Just as I thought...
Recalling the excuse I had desperately cobbled together after running into Joy, I gave my answer.
"There is no point in hiding the truth from you, Mother. The rumors are correct."
Her brow furrowed slightly.
"Did you not say you loved my daughter? Why, then, do you subject her to such humiliation?"
"I do love her. And it is precisely because I love her that I wish to show her consideration."
I packed a multitude of unspoken meanings into that brief sentence.
Did she manage to read between the lines?
"I think I understand what you are trying to say. However, your actions are only wounding her pride."
I gave a faint, solemn nod.
"You are right. Perhaps I am indeed hurting her. But... she despises me. If I were to force myself upon her, I fear it would leave a deep, permanent scar on the woman I love."
Love, my foot. Honestly, just thinking about the vengeance of the highly ambitious Theodora made my skin crawl. But if I told her mother the raw truth, she would probably have my head. So, I spun this elaborate, romantic lie.
The Empress Dowager let out a soft sigh.
"Sigh... You truly do not understand women, do you?"
"What do you mean by that, Mother?"
She closed her eyes gently, lost in thought.
"The late Emperor and I had a love match—a rarity in our circles."
A nostalgic warmth softened her features as she reminisced.
"He had a grand dream. A dream of bringing peace and prosperity to all the citizens of the Empire."
Was she lost in her memories?
"It was beautiful. Perhaps it was because of that dream, but in my eyes, he was a man who shone with a brilliant, radiant light."
I listened intently, taking another sip of my coffee.
"I adored him. Watching him shine so brightly, I did everything in my power to fulfill my duty as the Mother of the Empire."
What was she trying to get at? Was she telling me that Theodora and I should strive to be a harmonious couple like them?
Slurp.
I savored the rich aroma of the hot coffee, waiting for her next words.
"The way my daughter looks at you now... it is identical to the way I used to look at him."
Pffft!
"Cough, cough!"
The utterly unexpected statement caught me completely off guard, and I choked, spraying coffee.
"I... I am so sorry, Mother."
I couldn't believe I had just done that. No matter how absurd her words sounded, spitting coffee in the middle of a conversation with an elder—especially the Empress Dowager—was a terrible breach of etiquette.
"Hehe... So you are human after all. Did you not expect me to say such a thing?"
Instead of scolding me, she chuckled, clearly amused. Feeling the tension in my shoulders ease slightly, I spoke up.
"Mother, you tease me too much. Theodora is a proud woman. How could she possibly view me in such a light?"
Right now, she was merely biding her time, absorbing everything she could learn from me. She was waiting for the moment I faltered, keeping quiet only until she could strike.
But the Empress Dowager simply shook her head, disagreeing.
"No. Theodora likes you. She is my daughter; I know her better than anyone."
Sigh... If only that were true.
I knew the original story. Her mother had no idea how ruthless and cold-blooded Theodora was in the original novel where I didn't exist. But since I couldn't exactly tell her she was wrong, I could only offer a hollow smile.
"If that is indeed the case, then I am relieved..."
But she seemed to see right through my facade.
"You do not believe me, do you? Whenever I have tea with Theodora lately, she talks of nothing but you. She speaks of how wisely and diligently you lead the Empire, and how incredible you are."
No way. Theodora praising me like that? It was hard to believe. I paused, debating how to respond. Since she had been so candid with me, it would be rude of me to keep hiding behind platitudes. Having made up my mind, I decided to speak my true thoughts.
"To be frank, it is hard to believe. She possesses the qualities of a supreme ruler, after all."
A supreme ruler can never tolerate anyone standing above them. That is the path of absolute dominion. In the novel, she never tolerated anyone defying her. Even when she swallowed her pride and entered the Hero's harem, it was purely a calculated move to achieve her goals. She was a woman who would weaponize her own body for her ambitions. She terrified me. That was why I refused to give her any leverage. If we were to have a child, it would give her the perfect opportunity to eliminate me.
"Fufu... Why are you so afraid of her? In my eyes, she is nothing but a sweet, lovely child."
She was undeniably beautiful. Having lived in both Korea and this world, I had never seen a woman as breathtaking as Theodora. Her porcelain skin, her cascading, lustrous grey hair, her ruby-red eyes, her exquisite face, and a body that could drive any man wild with desire—everything about her was stunning. But yielding to her beauty would only pave my way to the grave, so I fought to keep my distance. Knowing there was no point in telling her mother how cruel she could be, I offered another excuse.
"She is indeed beautiful and lovely. I simply do not wish to do anything that might displease her."
"You say that, yet I hear you make her work through the night?"
I was momentarily speechless. To be fair, it was a secret that even last night, I had forced her to study imperial administration until dawn and badgered her to come up with ways to improve the empire's finances.
I had coaxed her into studying by telling her that she needed to be capable of passing the imperial civil service exam if she wanted to be a proper Empress. At first, Theodora had vehemently resisted, but...
"You are the Empress, after all. Shouldn't you at least know how the empire's administrative data is compiled and what the indicators actually mean?"
Unable to argue with that, she had ended up assisting me with my duties by day and studying public administration step-by-step by night. My conscience pricked me slightly.
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager had no intention of pressing the matter further and smoothly changed the subject.
"Fufu... My daughter mentioned to me that the two of you have yet to spend your first night together. Is that true?"
Was it because they were mother and daughter? I was astonished that they could discuss things that even a father and son would find awkward, but I nodded nonetheless.
"You have shown her more than enough consideration. Everyone knows how difficult it is for a man to restrain his desires. You have done your part. Or... do you have no intention of giving me a grandchild?"
My face went pale.
M-Mother... if I were to give you a grandchild, I might very well end up departing this world via poison.
I couldn't let her know that I had already signed away the Grand Duchy's succession rights for any unborn children of mine. The variables that truth would introduce were far too complex. In the worst-case scenario, treasonous factions within the Grand Duchy might target Mary, or even Agrippa. Until Agrippa firmly established his position as the Grand Duke's brother-in-law, this truth had to remain buried.
"What is the matter? You look terribly pale."
I offered an awkward, strained laugh.
"Haha... Well, I suppose the lack of sleep lately is finally catching up to me."
"Oh dear... In that case, you should retire to your chambers early today and rest with Theodora."
She looked at me with genuine concern, yet her words were incredibly dangerous.
"Pardon? Ah... well..."
My mind raced as I desperately searched for a way out of this trap.
Tink.
Before I could utter another word, she rang a small bell on the table. Almost immediately, the door opened, and an elderly head maid stepped inside.
"You summoned me, Your Imperial Majesty?"
"Yes. My son-in-law will be retiring to his chambers early to rest today. Go and ensure everything is prepared perfectly for him."
Oh... there's no escaping this...
I let out a silent, heavy sigh, realizing I was about to be escorted straight to the bedchamber she had personally ordered to be prepared.
Watching the Empress Dowager beam with satisfaction as the head maid departed, I found it impossible to back out now.
"Indeed, I truly have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law."
"Haha... Is that so, Mother?"
I could only offer a helpless, awkward smile.