I Became the Master of the Empress

307

Thus, Zoe and Lucius had come to meet her mother-in-law for their engagement, but…

“What?”

“I said to become a senator of the Roman Empire.”

Roman, as the capital of the empire, elects its senators by vote.

The term is five years, but the symbolic significance of being a senator from the capital makes it difficult to be elected easily.

Furthermore…

The currently vacant seat is that of Senator Pompeius.

Pompeius was a senator who received absolute support from the Roman citizens, but during my military rule, he opposed me and hindered my efforts to eradicate the demon worshippers, leading him to voluntarily resign.

Old man… I really don’t need to worry about him.

Anyway, becoming a senator in Roman is an extremely… extremely difficult task.

But maybe if I support him and throw money at it, it could work?

In that moment of contemplation, her mother-in-law turned to Terra and me.

“Terra and son-in-law.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Did you call for me?”

She spoke while looking at us with a chilling gaze.

“I must say this out of concern, but do not step in to help Lucius.”

“What?”

“Mom! How can you say that? How can Brother Lucius become a councilor all on his own without any support?”

As Joy raised her voice in anger, my mother-in-law shook her head.

“When a son-in-law is given the title of saint, it is easy for him to sway the hearts of the people. That is not fair.”

While my mother-in-law had a point…

I glanced at Lucius and said, “Then wouldn’t it be too hard for Lucius?”

“Didn’t you, at the young age of 23, govern the Empire, restore order to a chaotic realm, win several civil wars, and eliminate the demon race and its worshippers? Compared to that, I think this is a trivial matter.”

Her words left me feeling awkward.

For some reason, I felt like the main culprit for raising the threshold for sons-in-law in this family.

“Ugh! That’s just because my brother-in-law is a workaholic! How can an ordinary person do such things?”

Sister-in-law… I don’t actually enjoy work.

It seems I’ve become rumored to be a work-loving pervert.

To be clear, I don’t want to work at all.

I really, really dislike it.

“No matter what you say, it’s not acceptable! You are the princess of the Empire; you can’t just marry anyone. If someone wants to marry you, they must prove themselves.”

“Ugh!”

Joy’s face turned bright red.

She grabbed Lucius’s wrist and stood up.

“Let’s go, Brother!”

As Joy stormed out with Lucius, my mother-in-law maintained her calm demeanor.

Is she perhaps opposed to them getting together?

Is that why she’s making such unreasonable demands?

To be honest, I don’t quite understand my mother-in-law’s thoughts.

***

“Dear?”

Tera lay on the sofa, reading a prenatal care book.

She sat up slightly and asked,

“How was work today?”

As I took off my coat, I replied,

“Well, it wasn’t bad… but Lucius looked like he was going to die.”

It wasn’t a joke; he really did look unwell.

The suggestion to become an imperial councilor was almost a polite way to refuse.

The imperial councilor for the Roman region is elected.

Elections for the imperial councilor in the Roman region have always been fiercely competitive.

It’s a place where enormous sums of money and lies exchange hands.

The privileges of an imperial councilor are greater than those of the high nobility, so that says it all.

“I didn’t think my mother would bring that up either,” Tera said, slightly frowning.

“Still, it could be that she has her reasons, right?”

Honestly, I don’t know.

My mother-in-law usually has good judgment.

She might be trying to test her real son-in-law, or she might be opposed to it.

“What about your sister-in-law?”

“She’s on a hunger strike right now.”

“What? She’s not a child; what’s that about?”

Thinking of Joy, who would likely engage in a hunger strike like a child…

Well, she does look like a child sometimes, despite being an adult.

She seems to have depth, but acts like a child in moments like that.

“That’s not something to say. Don’t you have any ideas?”

“A way to make Lucius a councilor?”

Tera nodded slightly at my words.

“Even if I had one, my mother-in-law told me not to interfere.”

With a sigh, Tera replied,

“Still, you could help a little, right?”

“To be honest, running for office costs a lot of money, doesn’t it? Where are you going to get that money, and how do you plan to gather votes? Plus, while working at the Grand Academy might give you some advantage, I doubt many people know Lucius.”

Here, there’s no election broadcast to inform us about who did what and what kind of experience they have.

In other words, it’s a situation where you have to build your reputation from the ground up.

It would be tough for someone as young and inexperienced as Lucius, right?

“Ah, it really does seem difficult, doesn’t it?”

I make a light joke to ease the tension as I see Terra’s expression harden.

“Or you could leverage your sister-in-law’s fame?”

“What?”

“You know, your sister-in-law, the idol of the Empire, or rather, the beloved princess of the people? That…”

At my words, Terra’s face turns serious.

“Yes, perhaps…”

“Huh? I was just joking…”

“Alright! I’ll do it your way!”

Saying that, she stands up and looks at me.

“Where are you going?”

“I have something to discuss with Joy, so you get some rest first!”

-Creeeak…

What is that woman up to?

And as time passed… when the election was just around the corner.

I was heading towards the academy for some work.

-Wow!

Just then, a loud noise came from somewhere, leaving me puzzled.

“What’s that?”

As I cracked the window open slightly, I saw a large platform set up in front of the Roman City Hall.

-Ladies and gentlemen! I ask for your precious vote for my beloved brother Lucius~! I love you all!

“Huh?”

-If I get married, I’ll come out with Lucius as often as before! So please, I ask for your precious vote~

I thought… isn’t that a violation of election law? But here, as long as there’s no violence, it seems you won’t get caught…

“Is it really okay for a princess to do that?”

I don’t know.

***

Once again, night has fallen without fail.

“Ugh! I’m going to die.”

With Terra taking a break from work, I was appointed as regent, and the tasks began to overflow once more.

It feels like I’ve returned to the days when I was almost ruling alone, doesn’t it?

Even though the Grand Duke’s Office and the Prime Minister’s Office have been divided, the final decision-maker is still me.

That’s only natural.

Just as I was about to step out of the Grand Duke’s Office…

“Your Highness, the Grand Duke, just a moment.”

Müller called out to me.

“Hmm? What is it?”

He handed me something.

“This is an invitation.”

“An invitation?”

As I gently opened the envelope, inside was…

“Wow, Müller, you’re finally getting married!? Congratulations! Please send my regards to Sena.”

I had known something was brewing between them since they lived in the same house.

I had seen Sena waiting for Müller the last time he came home late.

Hehe.

“Wait, but the date….”

Next week? Isn’t that a bit too soon?

“Isn’t that too fast?”

At my words, Müller snorted.

“Well, since it’s a case of speeding, we had to prepare for the wedding quickly before the belly shows, so I was late in letting you know.”

“Uh, well… okay, I got it.”

In my life, this is the first time I’ve seen someone so confidently admit to a speeding violation.

“I’ll definitely attend with Terra.”

At my words, Müller smiled brightly.

“Thank you, that would be great.”

“Yeah! Congratulations on the wedding.”

As I returned to the room, Terra lay on the sofa, fast asleep.

Perhaps she had fallen asleep while reading, as a book lay open on her chest.

It must hurt her neck to sleep like that.

Thinking this, I carefully lifted her…

Her arms wrapped around my neck.

“Mm… You’re here?”

“Yeah. If you’re sleepy, sleep more.”

As I said this, I gently laid her down on the bed.

“Yawn!”

Covering her mouth with her hand, she spoke in a drowsy voice.

“It’s strange, but I’m really sleepy today.”

Saying this, she lay down on the bed.

“I’ll sleep a bit more.”

“Okay. If you’re sleepy, sleep more. Oh, by the way, are you free next Saturday?”

“I don’t have anything particular planned, why?”

“Oh? They say Müller and Sena are getting married. So I thought we could go together.”

At my words, her red eyes widened.

“Really? That nun is marrying Müller?”

“Yeah. But…”

It’s puzzling to see her face filled with a broad smile.

“Why are you so happy about it?”

“Well, it means a competitor… less chance for a mistress, right?”

– Heh.

“A mistress? You’re saying things you shouldn’t in front of me. And I…”

– Tsk.

“Don’t you know anyone but me? Stop babbling and sleep more.”

After saying this, I went to wash up, and when I came out, Terra was reading the invitation.

“But isn’t it too soon to get married?”

“Oh? They said it’s because of a rush, so they’re preparing quickly.”

She slightly frowned.

“Some people have children before marriage, but does it make sense for us to have one in our fourth year of marriage?”

Confronted with the mistakes of the past, I found myself at a loss for words.

“W-well…”

“It’s no use.”

She approached me with a sly glint in her eyes.

“W-why… why are you acting like this?”

Tera, with both hands raised, crept closer like a predator.

“If you stay quiet, our child won’t be in danger.”

“W-what do you mean by that?”

With those words, she pounced on me.

“What if the baby in my belly gets scared?”

She had been avoiding intimacy since she got pregnant.

They said it was a tradition of the royal family… so I had followed it faithfully.

“It won’t get scared. In fact, it’ll be happy to have loving parents.”

No! I went out of my way to respect your family’s customs?!

And then… that day, I finally intertwined my body with hers after a long time.