A Mother's Desperate Prayer
“I really had no idea the Assembly could be so foolish.”
Hmm... would it be best to structure the investment fund like this?
“I mean, how could they even think of declaring a loyal subject of the Empire an Enemy of the State?”
If there's a return on investment, we should distribute it fairly among the investors...
“And in the first place, isn't it only natural for the Emperor's army to step in to suppress the Anti-Emperor Faction?”
Watching Theodora chatter away endlessly beside me, a sigh escapes my lips before I can stop it.
“Haa...”
“You find it absurd too, don't you?”
Is she looking for my agreement?
“No, the Assembly's actions were perfectly rational.”
Perhaps she hadn't expected me to say that, because she snatches the paper I was writing on, her eyes flashing sharply.
“What?! How is it rational to brand you—a loyal subject—as an Enemy of the State?!”
I speak as I meet Theodora's burning gaze. Anyone watching would think I was the one who had asked to be designated an Enemy of the State.
“I fully expected this level of backlash the moment we mobilized the Golden Knights.”
It was as obvious as one plus one equaling two. By turning the Empress—who was supposed to remain strictly neutral among the nobility—into a puppet and mobilizing the imperial army, we had posed a direct threat to every political faction outside of my own.
To begin with, the Empire was not a system where the Emperor could rule absolutely on a whim. In the early history of the Empire, the monarchy was so weak that one Emperor, after pushing things too far, was dragged out like a dog by the citizens of Roman and slaughtered. Granted, forcing the Assembly to pass the droit de seigneur made that a well-deserved end.
“But still... they were only catching rebels...”
I cut Theodora off.
“I am the leader of those rebels.”
The Anti-Emperor Faction. They weren't actually plotting a rebellion; they were simply a faction that valued aristocratic privileges and traditions. However, because they clashed with successive Emperors who sought absolute power, they were merely labeled as 'anti-emperor.'
Left speechless by my words, she blinks her red eyes, rolling her beautiful pupils before replying in a tiny, crawling voice.
“But... you're actually a loyal subject, aren't you?”
Pfft.
Am I really a loyal subject?
“I didn't realize that turning the Empress into a puppet to manipulate the state made someone a loyal subject.”
At my self-deprecating remark, Theodora raises her eyebrows and glares at me. Then, cupping both of my cheeks in her hands, she brings her beautiful face close. Standing mere inches from me, she speaks.
“You are a loyal subject. Don't you ever say that again! Do you think I don't know how much you blame yourself when you talk like that?”
Flustered by her sudden action, I try to turn my head away, but her hands holding my cheeks firmly prevent me from doing so. This is... way too close. Her sweet breath and the scent of rosemary tickle my nose.
“W-wait! This is too close.”
Thinking that if I can't dodge left or right, I should just retreat backward, I lean back to escape her grasp. Lately, she has been wearing increasingly revealing clothes as if she wants to catch a cold in the dead of winter, and though I try to distance myself from her... the sofa behind my back blocks my escape route.
Pfft.
“Pfft... haha! What is that reaction? Anyone watching would think I'm trying to eat you alive.”
I calm my racing heart as she steps back slightly with a chuckle.
“A-anyway, you should go to sleep. Don't go whining tomorrow about being tired.”
At my words, she sticks her tongue out slightly.
“Hmph, I was going to sleep even if you didn't tell me to.”
Watching Theodora head toward the bed, I soon begin sketching out my future plans on the paper resting on the table.
It had been a while since she had enjoyed tea time with her mother. They chatted about how Joy was currently being tutored by Lucius at the Grand Duke's Office, and how she felt relieved because Deviang's mood seemed to have improved lately... when her mother asked with a cautious expression.
“Ahem... By the way, did you finish reading the book I gave you last time?”
At her mother's question, her face flushed slightly.
“Well... I mean... I did look through it, but...”
She felt incredibly embarrassed, as she wasn't used to discussing such matters with her mother.
“Good, I'm glad to hear that. Rather than tormenting Deviang, showing him that kind of affection is what real love is.”
At those words, she spoke up as if to complain.
“But... Mother... the thing is...”
How was she supposed to say it? That Deviang hadn't even laid a finger on her? It wounded her pride. To think that she, widely considered one of the most beautiful women in the Empire, couldn't even seduce her own husband. It made her feel as if she were the one at fault.
“At the very least, I was delighted to hear that you two stayed up all night together recently. Still, I was quite worried about your health, so try not to stay up too late.”
Realizing her mother was completely misunderstanding the situation, she quickly corrected her.
“Mother, our staying up all night was... to take care of state affairs...”
Embarrassed to speak of such things directly, her voice trailed off into a whisper, but her mother only frowned slightly, looking utterly confused.
“Huh? Taking care of state affairs all night? Surely you don't mean even in the bedroom...?”
She nodded.
“T-then... don't tell me you still haven't... consummated your marriage?!”
She nodded again.
As she nodded in confirmation, her mother froze like a stone statue. Seeing this, she spoke up cautiously.
“Well... he has been incredibly busy lately.”
She hurriedly made excuses for him as she watched her shocked, speechless mother, but...
“No matter how busy he is, this is unacceptable! As the Prince Consort, he has duties to fulfill!”
She squeezed her eyes shut at her mother's rising fury. Ah... once she gets angry, it's no joke...
Just as they say the gentlest people are the most terrifying when angered, her mother was normally mild-mannered, but her wrath, once unleashed, was a force of nature. She quickly stepped in to placate her.
“W-we are... trying our best too...”
At her words, her mother tightly grasped her hands.
“I understand how Deviang must feel. Since you demanded that kind of thing on your wedding night, it's only natural that the innocent boy would be terrified. I completely understand.”
“Excuse me?”
What on earth was she talking about? What did she mean by demanding that kind of thing? In the first place, Deviang was anything but innocent. He was as cunning and experienced as a seasoned, battle-hardened politician, so what was her mother even saying?
“But even so, this cannot go on. For the sake of the imperial succession, you have already made an effort, so now it is Deviang's turn to step up.”
“B-but... for me to go up to Deviang and ask him to hold me...”
She would rather die than do that. She had her pride as the Empress and a member of the imperial family; how could she utter words fit only for a wanton woman?
At her words, her mother spoke with a resolute gaze.
“Do not worry, my child. I shall take care of everything.”
As her mother squeezed her hands tightly, was it just her imagination that her mother's blue eyes looked unusually chilling today?
After returning to her quarters, Thera fell deep into thought.
The wedding night. What on earth could have happened that night to make a grown man avoid the marriage bed so desperately?
Had Theodora prepared a leather whip?
Or perhaps she had prepared a hideous collar fit for a wild beast?
Or was there still something bizarre and grotesque hidden beneath the bed?
“Sigh, where on earth did those girls learn such bizarre things...”
Until now, she had believed she had raised lovely daughters she could be proud of. But recently, discovering her daughters' secret tastes had plunged her into utter despair. Thinking of her eldest daughter Theodora's bizarre, twisted preferences and her second daughter Joy's scandalous, shameful hobbies made her feel embarrassed of her own children for the first time in her life.
Theodora brandishing a whip at her husband, and Joy writing bizarre novels starring her brother-in-law and his friend. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over her. How could they both be so... like that?
When she first found out, she had wondered about her late husband's sexual preferences, but he had possessed no such strange inclinations. On the contrary... remembering how he had always cherished and cared for her even as they grew older, she found her daughters' tastes utterly incomprehensible.
And besides... I am perfectly normal too, aren't I? She could not understand why anyone would enjoy scandalous relations between men, or why someone would strike the person they loved.
Had she failed in raising them? But no matter how flawed her parenting might have been, she could not fathom where on earth such grotesque and bizarre tastes could have sprung from.
To be perfectly honest... she was terrified of her own daughters. If they weren't the Empress and Princess of the Empire, one of them would have been thrown in prison for assault, while the other would have been tortured in the dungeons of the Holy See for blasphemy. The sheer thought of it brought tears to her eyes.
My love... what did I do so wrong for our children to grow up like this?
But she could not simply sit back and do nothing in her weakness. She was the elder of the imperial family. She had to fulfill her duty as an elder.
“Still, I cannot just stand by.”
An ordinary housewife would have no need to know about her children's marital relations, let alone interfere, but she had ceased to be a mere housewife the moment she married into the Augustus family. She was the elder of this Empire, and if the Empress was straying from the right path, it was her duty to correct her and ensure the imperial lineage continued.
Moreover, her greatest fear was that her children, who carried the blood of her beloved husband, would all perish, leaving none of his flesh and blood behind in this world. Nothing terrified her more than that.
Even now... her heart still ached whenever she thought of her late husband and the child she had lost before him. If even Theodora and Joy died without leaving any descendants... how could she ever face her husband in the afterlife?
The bloodline of her husband vanishing from this world—that, she could never allow.
With that resolve, she began to ponder how she could make the traumatized Deviang show interest in Theodora.
Anyone could see that Theodora, who had inherited her blood so strongly, deserved her reputation as the most beautiful woman in the Empire. When she herself had heard such praise in her youth, she hadn't thought much of it, but she had been overjoyed when her lovely daughter, Theodora, inherited that very title. After all, being called the most beautiful woman in the Empire was not a title easily earned.
But why didn't Deviang harbor any lustful thoughts toward Theodora? Even if a man suffered a shock once, he ought to overcome it. Could he... be impotent? The moment that thought crossed her mind, despair filled her head.
“N-no... then my grandchildren...”
She could hear the cracking of her ideal retirement plans, which she had painted by imagining the adorable grandchildren that would be born between the breathtakingly beautiful Theodora and her handsome son-in-law.
“No, that can't be it.”
It was said that the Lion family had always possessed a robust libido, so it was highly unlikely he had any physical issues.
She tried to put herself in Deviang's shoes to understand why he wouldn't embrace Theodora, but no clear answer came to mind.
“Once... once they get past the first time...”
She was certain that after that, the two of them would burn with passion. At that moment, a brilliant idea struck her.
She lightly rang the bell on the table to summon the head chamberlain.
Tinkle.
“Chamberlain, are you there?”
Creak.
“Did you summon me, Your Imperial Highness?”
She spoke to the head chamberlain as he approached and bowed deeply.
“Starting with tomorrow's meals, make sure to serve the Grand Duke an abundance of foods that boost a man's stamina and libido.”
The head chamberlain nodded slightly at her command.
“I shall obey your command.”
Still, something is missing.
“And prepare some... ahem... lingerie that men like, the kind that Theodora might wear.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Highness. It shall be done.”
Watching the head chamberlain withdraw, she offered a silent prayer in her heart.
“Oh... my love... please, from the heavens, help our lovely grandchildren be born.”
Clasping her hands together in earnest, she prayed to her late husband, who had always been her pillar of support.