Chapter 1: The Princess's Dream
Sienna's eyes widened.
"It's too soon for that."
"What do you mean? I was pregnant with you when I was twenty-one."
"But it's too soon for me."
"I only said he's a candidate. We don't know much about him yet."
One's gender didn't matter when it came to the succession of the throne. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon for a princess to inherit the throne of the emperor.
In kingdoms, the men usually sat on the throne, so their spouses would be called 'queens'. However, the Holy Empire was different. Depending on who the emperor was, the spouse could either be a man or a woman.
The spouse of the emperor was granted the title of 'king'. A wife would become the Red King and a husband would become the Blue King. This title couldn't be passed on, and they had no claim to any territory or subjects. It was in name only.
However, they still had more power than the king of a kingdom. On top of that, Patricia was Princess Sienna's biological mother. According to the Holy Empire's history, there weren't many instances where the biological mother of the future emperor was also the Red King. Just from that fact alone, Patricia's power was unshakeable.
"Princess, it is your duty to produce progeny."
"I understand."
Sienna was a difficult daughter to handle, but Patricia knew how to get through to her.
"I'll take care of matters dealing with the Blue King. I'll make sure to select those that aren't lacking in anything. Of course, the final decision will be yours. All you have to do is pick one from among the candidates."
"..."
"Please say something. Don't you trust me?"
"It's not that..."
"No mother would do something to harm their child. Sienna, you are the child I gave birth to. A mother is someone who would die for her child. You know that, right?"
"...Yes, Mother."
Satisfied with Sienna's answer, Patricia laughed. Sienna, who called the Emperor 'Your Majesty' without fail, had called her 'Mother'. Patricia's efforts to get closer to her daughter were not in vain.
"Didn't you have something to discuss with me?"
"Yes, I heard that you have taken an interest in my birthday banquet."
"Yes. Is something the matter? You usually don't care about something like this."
"The scale of the banquet is too large."
Patricia's smile froze.
"I feel that we're wasting too much money..."
"We're not."
At Patricia's sullen expression, Sienna closed her mouth shut.
"This birthday marks your coming-of-age. We need to expand the budget to express its importance. Must you call a mother's efforts to raise her daughter's prestige a waste?"
Unable to respond, Sienna lowered her gaze. She was always weak to Patricia's way of bringing up their relationship.
Patricia always brought this up. 'My daughter, my lovable daughter, my amazing daughter. Mother loves you. There's nothing I won't do for you.' Shackled by Patricia's sweet whispers, Sienna was unable to fight back.
Sienna knew how much power she held. The people around her were like beasts swarming around a piece of meat. They all wanted a piece of her influence. She could see the hidden desires of those who bowed their heads to her. She began to keep an eye on those who told her what she wanted to hear.
Sienna was all alone. She had no one to confide in. Patricia was Sienna's only ally. Because she was her mother. Because she would never harm her.
Whenever Sienna called Patricia 'Mother', she felt as if they were just a normal mother-daughter pair, and she didn't hate the feeling.
"To think that the Princess is now an adult... I'm deeply moved. You've grown so much, and I want to show you off to the world. Are you still going to say that I'm being too immodest?"
"No."
Patricia relaxed her expression and spoke softly.
"I've received a carte blanche from the Emperor himself. Mother will take care of it, so don't worry about anything. Understand?"
Sienna let out a small sigh and replied.
"Yes, I understand."
Sienna's heart felt heavy as she left. She wasn't able to solve the problem she had come here to discuss and only left with one more thing to worry about: having to meet the many husband candidates.
Why did she have to do this? It wouldn't matter in the end. They would all be the same anyway.
Everyone lost their minds in front of Sienna, no matter their gender or age. Sienna wasn't happy at the thought that her future husband wouldn't even be able to properly look her in the eye.
A young man was walking in her direction. When he saw Sienna, he became startled and quickly stopped and lowered his head. After walking past him, Sienna turned to look at him. This was the hallway leading to the Red King's palace. She watched the fading back of the young man. She had never seen him before.
"Who is that?"
"That is Baron Alphon."
The lady-in-waiting replied after a moment's hesitation. Sienna narrowed her eyes. She had never heard of that family. At this hour, all alone, a young man from a humble family was going to meet the Red King.
"What about Viscount Herrings?"
Cold sweat began to form on the lady's forehead.
"I haven't seen him...for a while now."
Sienna observed the frightened lady's reaction with little regard.
"He did last for a while."
Sienna turned back and continued on her way. That young man was the Red King's lover, and it hadn't been long since he began warming the Red King's bed. For as long as she could remember, the Red King had lovers.
Her father the Emperor also had many women. Between the Imperial couple, it was considered an open secret. They knew about the other's infidelities but turned a blind eye to it.
For the sake of producing well-born progeny, they entered into marriage. However, other than that, they lived their own lives separately. They had never run into a problem. They completed all the duties required of them, but still enjoyed the pleasures of extramarital relationships.
It was cold and logical, and they were the only example of a married couple that Sienna had.
Chapter 1: The Princess's Dream
Sienna's eyes widened.
"It's too soon for that."
"What do you mean? I was pregnant with you when I was twenty-one."
"But it's too soon for me."
"I only said he's a candidate. We don't know much about him yet."
One's gender didn't matter when it came to the succession of the throne. Therefore, it wasn't uncommon for a princess to inherit the throne of the emperor.
In kingdoms, the men usually sat on the throne, so their spouses would be called 'queens'. However, the Holy Empire was different. Depending on who the emperor was, the spouse could either be a man or a woman.
The spouse of the emperor was granted the title of 'king'. A wife would become the Red King and a husband would become the Blue King. This title couldn't be passed on, and they had no claim to any territory or subjects. It was in name only.
However, they still had more power than the king of a kingdom. On top of that, Patricia was Princess Sienna's biological mother. According to the Holy Empire's history, there weren't many instances where the biological mother of the future emperor was also the Red King. Just from that fact alone, Patricia's power was unshakeable.
"Princess, it is your duty to produce progeny."
"I understand."
Sienna was a difficult daughter to handle, but Patricia knew how to get through to her.
"I'll take care of matters dealing with the Blue King. I'll make sure to select those that aren't lacking in anything. Of course, the final decision will be yours. All you have to do is pick one from among the candidates."
"..."
"Please say something. Don't you trust me?"
"It's not that..."
"No mother would do something to harm their child. Sienna, you are the child I gave birth to. A mother is someone who would die for her child. You know that, right?"
"...Yes, Mother."
Satisfied with Sienna's answer, Patricia laughed. Sienna, who called the Emperor 'Your Majesty' without fail, had called her 'Mother'. Patricia's efforts to get closer to her daughter were not in vain.
"Didn't you have something to discuss with me?"
"Yes, I heard that you have taken an interest in my birthday banquet."
"Yes. Is something the matter? You usually don't care about something like this."
"The scale of the banquet is too large."
Patricia's smile froze.
"I feel that we're wasting too much money..."
"We're not."
At Patricia's sullen expression, Sienna closed her mouth shut.
"This birthday marks your coming-of-age. We need to expand the budget to express its importance. Must you call a mother's efforts to raise her daughter's prestige a waste?"
Unable to respond, Sienna lowered her gaze. She was always weak to Patricia's way of bringing up their relationship.
Patricia always brought this up. 'My daughter, my lovable daughter, my amazing daughter. Mother loves you. There's nothing I won't do for you.' Shackled by Patricia's sweet whispers, Sienna was unable to fight back.
Sienna knew how much power she held. The people around her were like beasts swarming around a piece of meat. They all wanted a piece of her influence. She could see the hidden desires of those who bowed their heads to her. She began to keep an eye on those who told her what she wanted to hear.
Sienna was all alone. She had no one to confide in. Patricia was Sienna's only ally. Because she was her mother. Because she would never harm her.
Whenever Sienna called Patricia 'Mother', she felt as if they were just a normal mother-daughter pair, and she didn't hate the feeling.
"To think that the Princess is now an adult... I'm deeply moved. You've grown so much, and I want to show you off to the world. Are you still going to say that I'm being too immodest?"
"No."
Patricia relaxed her expression and spoke softly.
"I've received a carte blanche from the Emperor himself. Mother will take care of it, so don't worry about anything. Understand?"
Sienna let out a small sigh and replied.
"Yes, I understand."
Sienna's heart felt heavy as she left. She wasn't able to solve the problem she had come here to discuss and only left with one more thing to worry about: having to meet the many husband candidates.
Why did she have to do this? It wouldn't matter in the end. They would all be the same anyway.
Everyone lost their minds in front of Sienna, no matter their gender or age. Sienna wasn't happy at the thought that her future husband wouldn't even be able to properly look her in the eye.
A young man was walking in her direction. When he saw Sienna, he became startled and quickly stopped and lowered his head. After walking past him, Sienna turned to look at him. This was the hallway leading to the Red King's palace. She watched the fading back of the young man. She had never seen him before.
"Who is that?"
"That is Baron Alphon."
The lady-in-waiting replied after a moment's hesitation. Sienna narrowed her eyes. She had never heard of that family. At this hour, all alone, a young man from a humble family was going to meet the Red King.
"What about Viscount Herrings?"
Cold sweat began to form on the lady's forehead.
"I haven't seen him...for a while now."
Sienna observed the frightened lady's reaction with little regard.
"He did last for a while."
Sienna turned back and continued on her way. That young man was the Red King's lover, and it hadn't been long since he began warming the Red King's bed. For as long as she could remember, the Red King had lovers.
Her father the Emperor also had many women. Between the Imperial couple, it was considered an open secret. They knew about the other's infidelities but turned a blind eye to it.
For the sake of producing well-born progeny, they entered into marriage. However, other than that, they lived their own lives separately. They had never run into a problem. They completed all the duties required of them, but still enjoyed the pleasures of extramarital relationships.
It was cold and logical, and they were the only example of a married couple that Sienna had.
