A Prophecy of Marriage
As the meal drew to a close, the servants brought out an exquisite tea set. It was made of white porcelain, beautifully painted with vibrant blue flowers. Though I was no connoisseur of tea, even a layman like me could tell it was incredibly expensive.
Theodora measured tea leaves into the porcelain teapot and poured hot water over them. "Do you enjoy tea?" she asked.
I nodded in response. "I cannot claim to be an expert, but I do enjoy it."
In truth, I preferred coffee to tea, but I wasn't so tactless as to say that to someone who was graciously preparing a cup for me.
Theodora replied in a dry, flat tone. "How fortunate."
She poured the tea into a cup and set it before me. Then, pouring a cup for herself, she spoke again. "I was told that you wish to marry me."
Did Speaker Charles tell her? Well, it didn't matter. She was bound to find out sooner or later anyway. Lifting the warm teacup, I replied, "Yes, that is correct."
One of her eyebrows twitched. "Grand Duke, you almost had to call me your stepmother at one point. And yet, you still wish to marry me?"
It was true. Valorang had tried to force her into marriage to turn her into a puppet empress. The first step of his plan had been marrying Theodora. Because of that, I had indeed briefly referred to her as my stepmother.
"Well... it is not as if you actually went through with the marriage, is it?"
Even under the laws of this land, marrying one's stepmother was a highly condemned act. But strictly speaking, she had only been betrothed to Valorang, never officially married, so it wasn't a major issue. In fact, it was quite common for a younger brother to take over a betrothal if his older brother died before an arranged marriage could take place.
Finding herself without a counterargument, she quickly shifted the subject. "Then, do you intend to enter the imperial family as a matrilocal husband?"
Had she not heard what I told Speaker Charles? Or perhaps she already knew and was simply testing me. "No. I want us to establish a new house when we marry."
A faint, mocking smirk played on Theodora's lips. "That is impossible under Imperial Law. I intend for my children to succeed me as Emperor."
Imperial Law—the very code that defined the political structure of the Empire. In truth, I was currently the most powerful political force in Roman. Throughout history, the one who controlled the military was always the strongest. The day the late Emperor was captured, all the troops stationed in Roman had been expelled from the city.
Therefore, if I wanted to, I could easily ignore such laws and force my way. But that was a foolish move—one that would easily brand me as a usurper or a rebel. If I wanted to secure the long-term support of the nobility, the citizens, and the other races, I had to play along with the formalities. A lone tyrant never lasted long. Thus, I decided to indulge her little game for a bit.
"That is a matter for the Supreme Court to decide."
She scoffed at my words. "Do you have any idea how long it takes for the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling? Before they do, the Emperor Faction will have already arrived in Roman."
She took a slow sip of her tea before continuing. "And when they do, your neck will hang from the gallows."
I was well aware. Normally, a Supreme Court ruling took anywhere from three to seven years. However, I had already concluded backroom negotiations with them. The ruling was scheduled to be announced tomorrow morning. But there was no need for her to know that just yet, so I simply shrugged nonchalantly. "Well... we shall have to wait and see, won't we?"
Her eyes narrowed, clearly displeased by my relaxed demeanor. She forced herself to speak. "If you do not leave now, you will soon lose everything."
Did she even realize? If I were to leave, the power vacuum left by the Emperor and myself would trigger a brutal civil war among the Emperor Faction as they fought to claim her and the Empire. With the right moves, they could swallow this two-thousand-year-old empire whole. To me, her provocations seemed like nothing more than childish tantrums. I replied casually to her childish threat. "That is my concern, not yours."
My attitude seemed to grate on her nerves. She glared at me with her beautiful crimson eyes before slowly closing them and taking another sip of her tea. "I see. The only reason I asked to meet you today was to formally reject this marriage."
"Sigh..." I let out a heavy sigh. I was busy enough to die, yet here I was, wasting precious time on something so unproductive. I had harbored a sliver of anticipation, wondering what urgent matter she could possibly have to summon me when my schedule was so packed. But that anticipation vanished, leaving only a cold chill in my chest.
Right now, she had neither the authority nor the ability to refuse. A miserable empress with absolutely no power—that was her reality. In the novel, Theodora had been brilliant and sharp-witted. Was it because she was still too young? She fell somewhat short of my expectations. Then again, the original story began three years from now. She was indeed younger than she had been during her first appearance in the novel. She was only twenty.
Her real problem wasn't me. Even if I were to leave, could she truly stand on her own as an empress? Without a doubt, another powerful minister like me would rise to turn her into a puppet. In other words, the issue wasn't whether she married me or not; she should be focusing on how to recall the exiled military back to Roman, or at least secure a minimum force to defend the capital. If she could somehow hold Roman, she could stabilize the political situation using her imperial legitimacy and the authority of the Imperial Parliament.
But she failed to grasp the complexity of the current political landscape. A pretty, idealistic girl living in the illusion that everyone would bow and obey at the mere mention of the Emperor's name—that was my assessment of Theodora. Talking to her any further was a waste of time. Feeling that any more discussion was pointless, I rose from my seat. She couldn't avoid marrying me anyway. Whether she liked it or not, if we didn't wed, Roman would burn to ashes. The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"I see. I understand your intentions, Your Imperial Highness." I stared at her for a moment before speaking again. "But let me make a prediction."
Theodora frowned. "A prediction of what?"
"We will end up married. Now, if you will excuse me, I am quite busy." With those parting words, I turned and left the room.
After the dinner with that insolent Grand Duke ended, I lay in bed, tossing and turning. Sleep eluded me. The sheer humiliation Deviang had subjected me to kept me wide awake, my anger simmering.
"I see. The only reason I asked to meet you today was to formally reject this marriage." At my words, the Grand Duke had let out a deep sigh. "I see. I understand your intentions, Your Imperial Highness." He had looked at me with utter indifference.
"But let me make a prediction." He had stared at me with cold, lifeless eyes, as if my opinion didn't matter in the slightest—as if I were nothing more than a pebble on the side of the road.
"A prediction of what?""We will end up married. Now, if you will excuse me, I am quite busy." The Grand Duke had simply walked out after saying that. For a moment, I had stood there in a daze, unable to process his words. But when the true meaning finally sank in...
I gritted my teeth. A profound rage welled up inside me. "How dare he... How dare that insolent brute treat me this way!"
I was the Crown Princess—the future Empress. The ruler of all, the master of the Empire. Yet that arrogant Grand Duke dared to threaten me. When my father was still alive, I could never have dreamed such a thing would happen. The despicable Valorang... he was the one who ruined everything. In the glorious two-thousand-year history of the Empire, there had never been such a humiliation.
There had been conflicts between the Emperor and the Parliament, and clashes between the Pope and the Emperor. There had been countless incidents, big and small... but never had there been an Emperor persecuted by a mere subject. Valorang, who used to look at me with those filthy, lustful eyes, had coerced me into a betrothal by threatening to slaughter my family. I had agreed only because he promised to spare my father and brothers if I did.
And yet... Valorang had broken his promise the moment he secured the betrothal. My father and family had their heads brutally severed. And now, the son of that wretched enemy—a man I could tear to pieces and still not be satisfied—was coveting me.
I gritted my teeth again. It was insulting. I had never suffered such an indignity in my entire life. "Grand Duke... things will not go as you wish."
Indeed, the laws of the Empire stood in his way; such an absurdity could never happen. Just as Speaker Charles had said, the Grand Duke was still young and ignorant of politics, making preposterous demands. I agreed with that assessment. From what I understood, it would take years for the Supreme Court to hand down a ruling.
"Foolish bastard... I will send you to the gallows soon enough." The loyalist Emperor Faction's army would arrive shortly, and the moment they did, his head would roll. Enjoy this moment while you can... For the crime of mocking and coveting the Crown Princess, you will pay with your life. I would see if he could maintain that smug, relaxed attitude then. We would see.