The First Night is Still a Distant Story
The husband of the Empire's emperor is a fool.
This was a common perception held by most human nations, except for a certain rural kingdom.
Ah, to preserve the emperor's honor, the emperor is not a homosexual. After all, the current emperor of the empire is a woman.
She is a great woman who entered the history books by drawing her sword for revenge and severing the predecessor emperor's neck with it.
It's just that I'm the only one called a useless husband, so I hope there's no misunderstanding.
“Um, Isaac-nim…”
I was daydreaming about nonsense that didn't even know who I was talking to, so a moment ago, the one I was embracing... what family was it again?
Anyway, the daughter of some house was changing her clothes and staring at me.
Her face was still flushed, the afterglow hadn't faded.
“Then, go back now. As I said earlier, I've prepared a carriage.”
I said that, but it was really trash. But I agreed to do it this way from the beginning.
Therefore, I'm just faithfully carrying out my promise with a woman who is a target for infidelity, meaning I'm an unfaithful man.
Hmm. I'm trash after all.
“Isaac-nim, um, that is, so…”
Of course, if I tell them to go, they won't quietly leave. They aren't really asking for any compensation.
No, compensation is compensation. They want confirmation on when and if they can meet next time.
I handed her the ring I had prepared in advance.
“Be careful on the way.”
“!”
The noble daughter who received the ring kissed my face with satisfaction. It felt good, but I wish she hadn't been so excessive.
My true baby maker was just starting to stir again.
Since it was a bit of a pity to make the summoned coachman wait, I gently pushed her away, and the daughter, surprised by her own actions, hurriedly left the room.
“Hmm. This isn't bad either, but going to the brothel is more convenient after all.”
After confirming the daughter was gone, I took out a new cigarette and lit it. That ring was a valuable item, but one ring doesn't guarantee the next meeting.
Originally, I didn't say anything like “see you next time.” I just gave her the ring.
The women I had slept with in the imperial capital all wanted some kind of memento. So, I went to the jewelry shop and bought a bunch of similar rings or accessories.
If I gave them that, the women would be satisfied and leave. Whether noble daughter, maid, or nun's sister, it was the same.
They got what they wanted and were satisfied, and I didn't have to worry. A win-win happy ending.
“......”
Damn it. Yeah, I'm trash.
Knock knock.
“Excuse me.”
I hadn't given permission to enter, but the door opened on its own, and several palace maids entered the room.
It was a familiar thing, so I had no intention of saying anything. They were also familiar, changing the sheets as if it was routine.
The maids, who quickly cleaned the messy bed including the sheets, took the dirty bedding and went outside.
Except for one. Excluding the woman who was leading the maids, who looked particularly young and inexperienced.
“......”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I thought maybe dirt got on my face, but it didn't seem so. Recalling, my personal maid Haria originally despised me.
It's sad.
“You need a bath, I suppose.”
“You want to bathe me yourself?”
“.........”
“It's fine. I'll do it myself. Thanks for asking.”
I wiped myself with a wet towel earlier, but there's no way the smell and traces would disappear with just that. Besides, if the maids leave, I was planning to bathe anyway.
Indeed. I know well that hygiene is especially important even on the battlefield.
“So, stop looking at me like that. If an odd wall appears on the husband of the female emperor, will you take responsibility?”
“I understand.”
After Haria answered, she tried to leave, but my business wasn't over yet.
“Wait a moment.”
“...... What is the matter?”
Suddenly called, she looked at me with extremely suspicious eyes. If this were the imperial capital streets, that gaze alone would get me arrested by the security forces.
Of course, I knew she was busy, but my business was also very important.
“I'm hungry. Can you bring me something to eat?”
“......”
You'd get hungry after doing it, right? I said with a gaze that said that, the light completely disappeared from Haria's dim eyes.
After a while, Haria returned with a plate full of hardtacks and placed it down, then left again.
I don't know how she knew I like hardtacks, but it's a good thing.
But.
“If I ask for water, you'll get angry...?”
Even I can't eat without water.
--
It was three months ago.
Contrary to the public's prejudiced evaluation, Isaac von Meyer had a polite personality. Despite being royalty, as long as he didn't commit rudeness first, he was kind to everyone.
But to put it another way, if he committed rudeness, he didn't care who the opponent was.
With an extremely optimistic personality that didn't think about the future, he created countless legendary anecdotes that shattered the king's and ministers' facades, but in any case, those who knew him usually praised Isaac von Meyer as a warm person who loved his family.
He tilted his head and asked his father, the King of the Meyer Kingdom.
“I thought you weren't old enough for that yet... Could it be that Father is senile?”
In fact, he loved his family terribly. Isaac was the eldest, and below him were two younger brothers and one youngest sister.
The stories of foreign royal and imperial families poisoning with spices and sending assassins instead of greetings had nothing to do with them.
The second son of the king, who was born right after him, realized that his brother had exceptional intelligence and immediately handed over the crown prince position.
It was possible because of Isaac.
The Meyer Kingdom was the smallest kingdom at the easternmost end of the continent among human nations. In terms of area, it was only a little smaller than the imperial capital, the capital of the strongest empire, Blata Empire.
Despite having such a tiny area, it had no remarkable resources. What it had was only the non-human races that frequently invaded from the far eastern borders beyond the kingdom's eastern edge, where they were killed like weeds.
How much more so, the Meyer Kingdom had no friction with the surrounding nations. From the surrounding nations' perspective, if they ate the Meyer Kingdom, they'd just inherit the war with the non-human races.
Moreover, to fight those crazy bastards who had become battle-hardened due to the non-human races, they themselves had to suffer considerable damage.
And as for Isaac, he had been at the forefront of those crazy bastards throughout his life.
The moment Isaac could wield a sword, he rushed to the battlefield. He wasn't a genius in tactics or strategy, but he was clearly a genius in martial prowess.
Even now, after turning thirty, he had lived on the battlefield.
The royal palace was only a place to stay briefly for special days like family birthdays or national festivals. It hadn't even been over a month before.
The reason he came today was to see off his younger brother who was going a long distance. Who knew when they'd meet again. But his father, the current King of Meyer, instead of a greeting, said something unexpected.
“You are going to the Blata Empire.”
It wasn't even a suggestion or a request. It was just a notification that it had been decided. The dull shock that he hadn't felt even on the battlefield hit him in the back of the head, but Isaac barely held his mind together and asked back.
“Why am I going?”
“The second son is the crown prince. You decided it yourself.”
“No, that's not it... Aren't you going to the empire? I came today to see off the third son, right?”
“I know that too. It was fortunate that you love your siblings so much.”
The story was strange.
If it were the usual Isaac, he would have realized something was wrong and the situation had changed. He would have guessed what that something was.
But perhaps because the shock was too great. When the king asked with Isaac's mind stopped, the Meyer King felt sorry for his first-born son's bewildered expression and sighed.
“... The third son ran away.”
“Where is that bastard now?”
On that day, Isaac felt the need to spank his younger brother for the first time.
--
The Iron-Blooded Empress Marianne King Vlata is a great woman.
Among the royalty, she was someone who no one knew was royalty because she didn't speak, existing outside the power circle. At just 17 years old, she achieved the feat of devouring the continent's strongest empire.
Ah, saying “devouring” sounds a bit vulgar?
After politely parting with the predecessor emperor's neck and body, she massacred the existing royalty from old to young in a just manner, then sat on the throne.
Better now.
Anyway, the predecessor was said to be a mess that even I, who was stuck in continental change, could understand.
It was said that in the process of luxury and indulgence, every day she filled the imperial palace pond with the blood of loyal ministers who died and the unlucky traitors of the day.
People usually get sick when they eat something alone. Whether eating a meal or eating a country.
Thanks to the legendary achievements of the old emperors, the empire still had wealth even in the predecessor emperor's time, but the predecessor emperor stupidly ate it all alone.
Naturally, the various nobles and ministers who couldn't eat together were angry, and eventually decided to depose the predecessor emperor.
“But the one who unified them in an instant by fighting over who would eat how much, proved it with skill, became their leader, cut off the predecessor emperor's neck, and ascended to the throne of emperor — that's just you, whom I know.”
“Exactly. You studied quite a bit.”
Today was the day of the monthly couple's tea party.
Of course, like all things, due to unavoidable circumstances, opportunities were often delayed, so after briefly seeing my wife at the wedding three months ago, today was the first time I could properly see my wife's face.
“However, the emperor's position had many things to worry about. You can rule enemies with violence, but you can't rule the people. Even if you try to dominate with fear, you can't eliminate the resistance deep in their hearts.”
Although she was more than ten years younger than me, her speech was truly old. If I say this, will I get hit?
“Such laws exist.”
“...... Where are you looking?”
“The chest.”
“Raise your head at once.”
Since I still had lingering attachment to my neck, I quickly raised my head. However, my wife looked down on me ridiculously.
Me, Isaac. I may not remember faces well, but I remember bodies well. The voluptuous breasts, hips, and narrow waist were all remembered.
But still.
“You're too much. My husband.”
“I said you could speak without formality, but I didn't say to forget manners.”
With her sharp blue eyes, it seemed the first night was still a distant story.