I looked around in panic. The chancellor and the priestess looked at me and the emperor with gentle smiles. The dowager empress was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me right here.
The emperor and the dowager empress were forcing me into giving an answer. Whichever response I give, one of them will never forgive me.
The dowager empress asked again,
What would you like to do?
I looked at the emperor and the dowager empress again. I had no choice but to turn one of them into my enemy. No matter what, I was now in the middle of their fight.
In reality, there was nothing for me to decide. There was only one right answer.
I opened my mouth slowly.
Your Highness, I… accept your proposal.
The game now began. I knew exactly who my enemy was. However, I wasn’t sure if my ally was truly on my side.
The first wife.
This was a position of unusual status in Cransia empire.
In this world, the emperor could have more than one legal wife. The Empress, on the other hand, was not only the emperor’s wife but his partner as well. She had the same ruling authority as her husband.
The first wife was in control of all of the emperor’s women other than the Empress.
Obviously, the empress was not to be chosen for love. It had to be a calculated political move. A daughter of an influential family often was chosen. The power she wielded was too great to be given to just anyone. It had to be someone the emperor could trust with absolute certainty.
When the empress was chosen, the first wife was often selected at the same time. The first wife was usually chosen from the same family as the empress, so that the two women in power, the empress and the first wife, would work in harmony and with absolute power. Therefore, it wasn’t uncommon for the sisters or the cousins of the same family to marry the emperor at the same time.
If the empress became ill or couldn’t perform her duties for whatever reasons, the first wife took over the position of power.
Of course, there were exceptions.
The first wife didn’t always turn out to be the empress’s ally. For example, the dowager empress was originally the former emperor’s first wife. She plotted against the previous empress and was able to dethrone her. That was how Katleyanira became the Empress herself.
On the other hand, there were also plenty of first wives in history who cared for and protected all of the emperor’s wives, concubines, and children.
It was a fair statement to say that the first wife set the tone of the royal family.
Therefore, this was a very important position. I had to ask.
Why did you appoint me as your first wife?
Gorgeous murderous emperor.
My husband Lucretius.
He was giving me a description of what my position entailed on our wedding night.
I felt like screaming as he answered nonchalantly,
Just because.
Oh, I was going crazy.
Are you nuts?!
I screamed without thinking. Suddenly I realized how loud I was and looked around nervously.
Thankfully, we were in the bedroom prepared for the first wife of the emperor. In this room were just me and the emperor. It wasn’t as big as the emperor’s room, but it was still huge. There was no way people could hear me from outside.
The emperor sat on a sofa and watched me with a blank expression. I shrieked.
Just say something!
What would you like me to say?
An excuse. An explanation, Anything!
He frowned and placed his metal cup on the table loudly. He looked angry.
I got scared suddenly.
He stood up and walked towards me slowly. Every time he took a step, I took a step backward involuntarily. Soon, I could feel the wall against my back.
I was sweating again. I was so stupid!
This man in front of me killed his own father, and he became the new emperor of this world. It would be so easy for him to shut me up.
When I looked up nervously, Lucretius grinned in satisfaction.
Oh! I had to admit he was the most gorgeous guy I had ever met. I would have fallen for him except for the fact that I remembered the feeling of his dagger against my neck last night.
I blurted out whatever was on my mind without thinking.
E, even if you smile like that, I won’t fall for you.
…
…what the hell did I just say? Have I finally gone crazy? Did I lose my mind?
What the hell!
Hahahahaha!!!
He laughed loudly.
He laughed for a long time. Even his laugh was beautiful. I gawked at him in shock.
He was laughing so hard he started to cry a little. Wiping away his tears, he said to me.
You are very good at surprising me.
I’m glad you find me funny.
I see you are good at sarcasm too.
What did he want from me? I just couldn’t tell.
With his laugh, I regained my courage. I had to get as much information as possible. I lowered my voice and complained again.
What’s with getting me to be your first wife?
…shouldn’t you thank me first?
What? Why?
I saved you from the empress, I mean, the dowager empress. You were about to be sent to hell, but I pulled you out to heaven. Of course, you should thank me.
What?
He returned to the sofa and sat down again. He picked up the cup again and drank from it.
His behavior was very similar to that of the former emperor last night. Like father like son. The only difference was that the former emperor was a pig, while this guy was stunning.
Oh, the power of beauty.
He explained to me.
You were about to become the fifteenth concubine to a 70-year-old man, but now, you are the first wife of this young handsome emperor. On top of that, I don’t have an empress yet. You are the only wife so far. Of course, you should be on your knees thanking me.
And this is the reward you promised me?
He nodded. My anger rose.
I walked towards him. I grabbed the cup away from his hand and gulped it down.
I placed the cup down on the table loudly and continued,
When you give someone a reward, you should at least ask the recipient if she or he wants it! WHO SAID I WANTED THIS STUPID REWARD!
He looked genuinely surprised.
Oh, it felt good to yell at him. Finally, I got him!
I poured another drink from the silver flask. Golden liquid filled the cup quickly. It was strong, but it tasted amazingly sweet and fragrant.
You! You’ve never had to work on building a proper [human relationship], have you?
What? [Human relationship]? What’s that?
Don’t people tell you that you are rude and selfish? If you acted like that, you would be [bullied] if you went to [my high school.] Well, maybe not since you are good looking.
I continued to drink. Lucretius seemed confused at the use of my old language.
As I drank, my tongue started to feel uncontrollably heavy.
