Sovieshu left and took a stroll through the gardens on the way back to the eastern palace. When he returned to his bedroom, he called for Marquis Karl.

  The marquis, who had been waiting for Sovieshu’s return, quickly arrived. He was tense, as he knew Rashta’s secret along with the Emperor.

  “Welcome back, Your Majesty.”


  “Any news on Koshar?”


  “Lord Koshar quietly remained in the mansion.”


  “.……”


  “The problem with Miss Rashta is……”


  “I’m considering divorce.”


  “You wish to end Miss Rashta’s concubine contract?”


  “No. I mean with the Empress.”


  Sovieshu’s words blindsided Marquis Karl. The marquis expected that Sovieshu would want to remove Rashta as concubine, or perhaps that he would take out his anger against Koshar. He had no clue why the Emperor’s ire was directed towards the Empress.

  “Why the Empress so suddenly……?”


  “The Empress cannot control that unruly Koshar.”


  “Ah.”


  “It is already the second time Koshar has caused an incident. It hasn’t even been that long after the poisoning incident.”


  “Miss Rashta is……”


  Sovieshu rubbed his forehead as if he had a headache.

  “Although I am disappointed with Rashta, she is already pregnant with my baby. Attacking her would be like attacking my baby.”


  “But Your Majesty, divorce……”


  Marquis Karl looked devastated. Empress Navier did not have the image of a loving and benevolent monarch, but she was admired by the public for her sword-like practicality and regal bearing.

  But divorce.

  “It may not be my place to say this, but divorce is extreme, Your Majesty. Please reconsider.”


  Marquis Karl spoke honestly at risk of the Emperor’s wrath.

  “If Lord Koshar is the problem, then you only need punish him.”


  The marquis was so concerned that he felt it was his duty to prevent divorce between the Emperor and Empress.

  “Isn’t Koshar the queen’s brother and successor to the Troby family?”


  “But it’s not fair to place Lord Koshar’s guilt on the Empress……it truly isn’t.”


  Sovieshu breathed a sigh.

  “If Koshar—the only successor to the Troby family—is punished, the position of the family will be shaken. The Empress will also be put in an embarrassing position.”


  He sat in a chair and spoke in a somber voice.

  “If the Empress is disgraced, no matter how hard she works, there will be people who will be spiteful towards her.”


  Marquis Carl did not immediately understand Sovieshu’s words and blinked.

  “Yes?”


  Sovieshu said he was going to divorce the Empress. His line of thinking was incomprehensible to Marquis Karl.

  “This is the only way to protect the Empress from the fallout. I have considered other ways, but this is the best path.”


  “You want a divorce to protect Her Majesty?”


  “I will punish that criminal Koshar without fail. But if I do nothing about the Empress while I punish him, her image will be harmed.”


  “?”


  “But think of it the other way. If I divorce the empress while punishing Koshar, everyone will think it’s too heavy a punishment. As you do now.”


  “Is that so?”


  “Even if she was divorced, she would not remarry by convention, and she will stay alone. Sympathy will go to the Empress.”


  Sovieshu stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes.

  “In the meantime, I will raise Rashta to the position of empress.”


  It was a series of shocking statements. Marquis Karl nearly fainted.

  “Your—Your Majesty!”


  “I will have Rashta act as empress when the baby is born and until the point the baby is a year old. That way, the child will have legitimacy as a royalty.”


  “No way! Miss Rashta……I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but Miss Rashta is not the type of person who can fulfill the duties of the position!”


  “She will be a new mother after giving birth. She just needs to sit in the seat for a year, and do some basic work.”


  “She still won’t be able to. She may be lovely and beautiful, but national affairs aren’t something you do with your face!”


  “Yes. Everyone will think so.”


  “What?”


  Marquis Karl looked at Sovieshu with a bewildered expression.

  “Even if she is competent, everyone will compare her to the Empress and they will miss her. Naturally, public opinion to shift to reinstate the former Empress……”


  “Surely……Your Majesty?”


  “Then I will put the Empress back on the throne.”


  Sovieshu closed his eyes, his brows knitted together.

  “It will take about two years. If the Empress doesn’t accept the divorce, it will be longer because of the trial.”


  Marquis Karl was stunned by Sovieshu’s long game. The marquis barely managed to stammer out the words he wanted to say.

  “But……Your Majesty, ah, the Empress may have a baby at a later date.”


  Sovieshu’s expression darkened.

  “.……The Empress is infertile. She can’t.”


  He spoke in a low voice, but his words were firm. Marquis Karl didn’t understand why Sovieshu was so sure that the Empress couldn’t bear children. Although they had been married for a long time, they were both still relatively young and healthy.

  “But Your Majesty—”


  Sovieshu interrupted.

  “It’s no use trying to change my mind. I’m going to protect my baby, and I won’t leave Koshar unpunished.”


  Marquis Karl leaned against a table next to him. Sovieshu, meanwhile, looked downwards at the floor, and did not say any more words to Marquis Karl.

  Sovieshu had made a difficult decision on his own. Moreover, he seemed unwilling to reverse the decision.

  “So, Your Majesty, do you want to bury Miss Rashta’s past?”


  Marquis Karl suppressed his desire to run home immediately and take a bath in hot water.

  “I don’t plan to raise a baby that was conceived in the past, but I don’t want to hunt it down and kill it either. The child has no relation to me.”


  Lovers would ordinarily feel betrayed or jealous if their partner had such a past. Sovieshu was being rather light.

  “Your Majesty. Wouldn’t there be great opposition in seating a commoner as an empress? If it’s for the sake of the baby, why not have Rashta marry into a noble family?”


  “If a woman from a good family rises to the position of empress, public sentiment wouldn’t be so eager for Navier. It would be harder to reinstate her.”


  “!”


  “There will be opposition, but Rashta has my baby. It’s not without precedent. If it doesn’t work out, then she can become part of an adequately fallen noble family.”


  “But what about Miss Rashta? After she becomes empress, do you think she’ll give up her position so easily?”


  “I know that she is not greedy. She’s kind and smart. She knows it’s not the place for her.”


  “Her greed may develop while she is in the empress’ seat.”

  “If she doesn’t want to step down, I can make her.”


  Sovieshu folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.

  “There was the incident where Rashta conspired with Viscount Roteschu to destroy Duchess Tuania. That’s enough to force her.”


  “!”


  Marquis Karl stared at Sovieshu’s face. The Emperor hadn’t thrown away Viscount Langdel’s report and had instead kept it. The marquis wondered if Sovieshu had planned this since then.

  A storm would surely come.

  Marquis Karl sighed and looked at Sovieshu with a complicated stare but he knew he could not do anything to change the Emperor’s mind otherwise. Finally, he gave a slow nod of agreement.