I Became the Master of the Empress

209 – 213

After the commotion settles…

Mother-in-law, her face still flushed, finally speaks.

“Ahem… I’ve seen something I shouldn’t have.”

“Oh… No, you haven’t.”

“Then make sure to keep your promise.”

Trying to console my sobbing mother-in-law, I, as Theodora’s husband, vow to try harder, but it’s to no avail; she only cries more.

-It’s all because Terra wields the whip, you don’t see her as a woman, do you?! Waaah!

I doubt Theodora has such preferences, but that’s not important right now.

-Please… Mother-in-law, calm down. It’s very awkward for me when you cry like this.

I fear someone might see the mother-in-law, practically an imperial elder, breaking down in tears during our conversation.

If word gets out that she cried while talking to me, especially with the empire’s citizens feeling somewhat favorable…

In the worst case, there could be an uprising, and I’d be speechless.

-Ian! Renée!

She wails the names Ian and Renée almost as if cursing, her sobs growing louder.

Watching her nearly choke on her tears, I’m lost in thought.

There’s only one way to stop her crying.

I blurt out a promise I can’t keep.

-I’ll do it! We’ll have a child! So please, stop crying.

At my words, my mother-in-law quickly stops her tears. She looks at me, blinking her blue eyes.

-Really? Sniff… Do you really promise?

Her look suggests she might start crying again if I don’t promise, and I can only nod weakly.

Well… the showdown with the demon worshippers isn’t far off. It’ll all work out somehow, right?

At most, it’ll be a year, or maybe just a few months before it resolves itself.

But it feels like I’ve been had, doesn’t it?

As I think this, looking at my mother-in-law, she tries to cover her face with her hands again, and I can only respond weakly.

“Eh… Ian… Renée, sniff…”

“Yes…”

“Hehe. Thank you, my son-in-law.”

Seeing my mother-in-law’s bright smile, I can only smile back, even more awkwardly.

***

That night.

I wrap up the day’s events quickly, for show, and head to the bridal chamber.

“Huh? You came early today?”

Theodora, clad in a thin robe, sits on the sofa reading a book.

She ponders over a book with a striking blue leather cover.

What book is she reading today?

She often reads books in her room.

Perhaps because this world has less entertaining content compared to Korea where I lived?

The nobles have a great interest in books.

“Yes, I had some tiring work today.”

Tiring work…

It truly was exhausting.

Fooling the mother-in-law with a crying act was the tiring part.

No matter how much I think about it now, it seems I was tricked by the act into making a bizarre promise.

A child with Theodora. What a frightening thought?

“Is that so?”

She closes her book and looks at me.

“What made you so tired?”

“Huh?”

Is it just my imagination? I feel a slight embarrassment at her strangely sticky voice, and I wonder if I should sleep on the sofa today.

Theodora crosses her legs.

Is it because her robe is short? I catch a glimpse of her white underwear beneath the robe.

“Ahem… Just a lot of work?”

Does she not realize her underwear is showing?

With that thought, I head to the bathroom.

I melt away in the hot tub, thinking.

Following Maximilian’s recent experiment, we decided to use rubber.

The plan is to fill that rubber with a third party’s blood, take it near the negotiation site, and then verbally cast a surveillance spell on the third party, claiming it’s for my protection, before agreeing to the contract on my behalf to reassure the Locust.

First of all, I’m not sure what Locust wants? Perhaps the abolition of the Papacy and the dissolution of the Holy Knights?

An institution long prepared to confront the demonkind.

It’s because of these two entities that the demons can’t freely roam around.

The Papacy that governs all churches and the Holy Knights endowed with both martial and divine power.

It’s as if these two places were worshipers of the idol, not different from each other.

As I thought about this for a long time, my head felt a bit dizzy, and I began to clean myself up, change into new clothes, and step out of the bathroom.

Teodora gazes at me with eyes that are slightly drooping.

I cautiously speak to her.

“Teodora, I’m doing well in bed, so I’ll leave now?”

Her face contorts in displeasure.

“What? You’re sitting here?”

-Click.

She taps her hand on the armrest beside her, looking displeased.

“Why? What’s going on again?”

As I sat down beside her, still thinking about the trouble I got into with my mother-in-law today, she glares at me.

“You. You’re not my husband, are you? As the crown prince, you know how important it is to be loyal to the nation and its people?”

“What?”

Teodora openly brings up the topic of the crown prince.

As I look at her, I think back to what happened today.

I was summoned to my mother-in-law’s office in the afternoon, where I was scolded for not doing my duties as the crown prince. I had to calm her down, and she forced me to make a promise to take care of my grandchildren.

So, I was tormented by my mother-in-law during the day… and by Teodora at night.

How terrible is this day?

But as I look at Teodora, who is slowly seducing me, I had predicted that days like this would come.

Duty as the crown prince.

The duty to make a successor as the official wife of the emperor.

I had already anticipated that someone would try to take advantage of this.

And I had prepared myself for this day.

I clench my jaw and speak.

“What’s wrong?! How can you say such lewd words? And as a woman?”

Making one’s desires known is a great sin here.

Of course, a husband and wife’s relationship is not considered a sin, but focusing too much on physical relationships is not encouraged.

Men are socially ostracized for their desires, but women’s desires are a major issue in this era.

It’s a problem from a religious perspective, and socially, it’s not well-received.

It’s especially not noble to seek a physical relationship with one’s husband.

If it’s a small village or town, I might be able to get away with it.

Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to get away with saying something like that about the Emperor, so it’s not a big problem…

Theo’s face turns red at my words.

“What… what do you mean?”

Her red eyes dart around wildly, unable to focus.

“Desire is meaningless in the presence of God! And what’s more, you, as the Emperor, are talking about such lewd and obscene things, as if you’re still a woman!”

“Uh…”

Theo’s face turns red as she trembles with her shoulders, unable to respond.

I start talking about the rumors surrounding her.

“I’ve heard that you recently developed a taste for being beaten, and that’s why there are rumors circulating in the palace about your lewd behavior!”

“There’s no truth to that!”

Theo responds, her face still red.

Of course, there’s no truth to it, but I deliberately speak to her with confidence.

I have to make it seem like I believe it, after all.

“Undoubtedly, there’s a whip under the bed!”

SM is a thing even in the original world. Since I’m familiar with that part, I can talk about it confidently.

But I know that she doesn’t have that kind of taste.

I’m just trying to make her think that I believe it.

“Why are you acting like that?! There’s nothing!”

Of course, there’s nothing, but I deliberately exaggerate and act like there is, just to make her think I’m in danger.

I speak while approaching the bed and looking underneath…

“Ah?”

I feel something cold and metallic in my hand.

What is this?

-Rattle… rattle.

The thing in my hand.

The metallic object produces a clear sound when I shake it, piquing my curiosity.

It’s not a whip, but a pair of handcuffs and a small medicine bottle.

What is this?

The medicine bottle reads “Sedative,” and I feel a sense of unease.

“What… what is this?”

In fact, I was just trying to make up an excuse when the handcuffs popped out, and Theodora’s face turned red as she hurriedly said,

“No! That’s not it.”

As she rushed to take the handcuffs from my hand, I stepped back.

“Was that… for real?”

I felt a pang of confusion and gently distanced myself from her.

Why is this real?

***

(A few hours earlier.)

The next volume of the novel I’ve been keenly following was released.

A risqué yet entertaining book inspired by me and Devian.

Seeing the book placed on one side of my office, I carefully brought it to my room to read.

[As Dora drank the tea laced with a sleeping potion, she felt a deep drowsiness coming over her.]

[In that brief moment, as she looked around to see who had drugged her tea, she saw her husband Devian’s sardonic smile and lost consciousness.]

[Confirming that Dora was asleep, Devian smiled broadly, fastened the prepared handcuffs, and secured her hands to the bed.]

[Slowly, Devian began to change his clothes.]

[But Dora, a superhuman capable of manipulating mana, woke up early from the effects of the sleeping potion.]

[Had it only been about five minutes since she fell asleep?]

[“What are you… trying to do to me?”]

[Dora glared at Devian with a mix of trembling and fear.]

[But Devian looked at her actions as if they were pitiful.]

[He said,]

[“Heh, even you can’t handle mana once you’re cuffed, can you?”]

[Watching Devian’s smug smile, Dora looked at him with cold eyes.]

[“So what can you do about it?”]

[Devian laughed scornfully.]

[“I’ll tie you up like this and go to sleep! I refuse to be squeezed dry every night anymore!”]

[Turning over to sleep, Devian left Dora dumbfounded.]

Handcuffs and a sleeping potion.

Those two things crossed my mind, sparking a brilliant idea.

I couldn’t overpower him with strength, but…

“Really? Even if I take a sleeping pill and fill out the mana constraint, I can’t do anything, right?”

I immediately go out to find Ipa.

“Is Ipa outside?”

When I say that, Ipa’s voice comes from beyond the door.

-“Did you call?

“Can I come in for a minute?”

The door opens and Ipa enters.

I ask her for something simple.

“Ipa, can you bring me the handcuffs and sleeping pills? Handcuffs that can’t be controlled by mana.”

Ipa’s face turns puzzled, but she nods as if she understands and leaves.

“Ha ha… If it doesn’t work today, then…”

I prepare the handcuffs and sleeping pills.

“This will be completely different from usual today. Debiyan.”