I Will Surrender My Position as the Empress - Chapter 49
“Your Majesty?”
Even as Diane called out to him, her voice trembled with uncertainty, but the emperor remained silent. Slowly, he withdrew his hands from Diane’s stomach and rose to his feet. His demeanor was so indifferent that Diane couldn’t help but feel like she had made a grave mistake.
“Pregnant?”
“…”
“Has your physician confirmed it?”
This was a reaction Diane had never anticipated. The tears that had welled up from her emotional turmoil had dried up, replaced by a chilling sensation creeping down her spine.
“Oh, no. However, given the early signs of pregnancy, take good care of yourself,” she managed to say.
“When did the physician say a definitive diagnosis could be made?”
“In about a month.”
“I see.”
Karl gazed at her, then slowly nodded. But then he began to turn away. Panicking, Diane reached out and grabbed hold of the emperor, who seemed intent on leaving.
“Your Majesty!”
He turned back around, and the face that met her gaze was undoubtedly that of the emperor—the man she loved, the man who loved her.
“Aren’t you happy?”
As that question hung in the air, Diane’s heart threatened to burst from her chest. After an agonizing silence that felt like an eternity, the emperor responded curtly.
“I am glad.”
Diane couldn’t tell if it was the lengthy silence or the tone that lacked sentiment that made her heart ache.
“Take good care of yourself.”
Without hesitation, the emperor turned his back and exited the room. Diane stared at the door he left through, her face reflecting devastation. For some inexplicable reason, she felt like letting out a sob, so she covered her mouth. Her wide, azure eyes brimmed with endless uncertainty. Her heart pounded so violently that it was almost painful. As she gasped for breath and wrestled with her emotions, a sudden realization struck her like a blow to the head. What had the emperor’s biological mother, Lady Beatrice, once said?
“Ah…”
Despite giving birth to her son, her heir, Lady Beatrice, had never been officially acknowledged as the emperor’s mother. Shortly after delivering her child, she had been whisked away by the previous empress, unable to properly see her own son until he turned six. Karl had always sympathized with her mother’s plight, and she had hoped that her treatment would be different. But now, that expression… It hit her like a ton of bricks. Diane had just realized something profoundly important. Even after ascending to the throne, Karl had never rectified the record regarding his biological mother, Lady Beatrice. He continued to be recorded as the adopted son of the previous empress, with no mention of Lady Beatrice. Even though he had the power to change it, he hadn’t. What did it all mean? Why had she only just grasped this now? Had she been seeing only what she wanted to see? As Diane’s breathing grew heavy, Lorraine rushed to her side, providing her with much-needed support.
“Lady, take slow, deep breaths,” Lorraine reassured her, offering a glass of water.
Diane’s chin trembled so violently that water dribbled down her chin and onto the blanket.
“Are you alright? Should I call the physician again?”
She didn’t respond, instead curling up further under the blanket. The possibility Diane couldn’t bear to contemplate loomed in her mind. Could it be that Karl Ulrich didn’t want a child with her? Would he give her child to the Empress, just as the previous emperor had done? And would he erase every trace of her as the biological mother, just like his predecessor had done?
Empress…
He would hand the child over to that woman. Diane’s eyes welled up with tears, and she clung to her belly, curling her body into a fetal position.
“My baby… I will never let them take you away, ever.”
****
Karl emerged from Diane’s room, wearing an inscrutable expression, and immediately summoned his attending physician. Alone in the room, devoid even of his attendants, he tapped his fingers rhythmically on the desk. His brow furrowed in deep thought. One thing was certain: the news Diane had delivered was far from happy. After a while, the attending physician entered, his face marked with nervousness. Karl continued to tap the desk with his index finger, only raising his eyes to acknowledge the doctor’s presence.
Knock, knock, knock—the sound echoed steadily, causing the attending physician to involuntarily swallow, sensing the gravity of the situation. He quickly offered an explanation, as if he had already anticipated why the emperor had summoned him.
“It’s highly unlikely, Your Majesty.”
“…?”
Sweating profusely, the attending physician met the emperor’s cold gaze, as if expecting to be tasked with finding a plausible excuse. Just before being summoned, he had been livid with those who had examined Diane, demanding to know if they had made any mistakes in their diagnosis.
“The odds are truly minuscule. I doubt it will ever come to pass. I meticulously followed the prescribed dosage of that medication. There couldn’t have been an error.”
“So the only error was mine?”
Upon hearing the emperor’s discontented words, the attending physician swiftly knelt and offered an apology.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. However, there is a chance the diagnosis might be inaccurate. Initial diagnoses can be… uncertain.”
Karl’s eyebrows twitched. He fixed his icy gaze on the doctor’s head, letting out an exasperated sigh. He hadn’t anticipated this, and it was certain that this news would eventually become a rumor. It wasn’t something that could be kept under wraps by silencing a few individuals, and if the diagnosis was indeed correct, it would be impossible to conceal in a matter of months. When the Empress found out, how would she react? Karl could vividly picture Adele’s cold, emotionless expression. She would likely say very little, perhaps even feign celebration with a frigid demeanor. Yet, from Adele’s perspective, her already tenuous position would be further destabilized. At that moment, a revelation struck Karl like a bolt of lightning, and his violet eyes narrowed.
“It’s something that could potentially shift our positions significantly…”
The attending physician, still kneeling, cautiously raised his head to steal a glance at the emperor. Karl appeared deep in thought with narrowed eyes, but it was not the expression of a father upon receiving news of his child’s birth.
Lennox, returning to the wizard’s residence, hurried to Duke Despone’s office as summoned. He was still so elated that he struggled to catch his breath, his mouth twitching involuntarily. Lennox entered the office of Duke Despone, who seemed lost in thought.
“Duke, you called for me?”
Duke Despone glanced at Lennox as he entered and gestured toward a chair.
“Please, have a seat.”
Following the Duke’s directive, Lennox calmly settled into the sofa. Duke Despone cast a scrutinizing glance at Lennox. Without the Duke, both Lennox and Diane would have lived entirely different lives. A dozen years ago, the Duke had encountered his future brother and sister for the first time at the estate he had visited to dismantle the tower. By chance, he had witnessed Lennox’s awakening, leading to the Duke adopting the orphaned siblings who had lost their parents. Lennox possessed remarkable wizardry skills but lacked cunning, whereas Diane, devoid of magical abilities, was intelligent and exceptionally attractive. As time passed, Lennox played a pivotal role in managing the wizards, while Diane helped make the temperamental and challenging emperor more amenable to the Duke.
However, it was Diane who had lost her influence first. Just like flowers that bloomed for a season and then withered, the Emperor’s favor for her had recently waned. The plan had been to send Diane away from the palace once her usefulness had expired and persuade the Empress to assume her role. Then, one day, as he struggled to fabricate a counterfeit Empress, the Duke heard a tale about the princess of Gottrov, a distant land across the sea.
The fourteen-year-old Crown Princess had voluntarily surrendered her position as the successor to her four-year-old brother. What kind of concession was that? It was taken from her. At the time, he had no inkling that the timid 14-year-old princess would quarrel with her mother and lose her position. The Duke had tactfully coaxed the Emperor into sending a marriage proposal letter, and the Empress Dowager of Gottrov had reciprocated with a lengthy, detailed response. But…
“The more I think about it, the more preposterous it seems. She’s like a sly old fox. What? The same daughter who was too scared to venture beyond the palace walls? Could such a timid girl single-handedly destroy a tower?” The Duke of Despone muttered in exasperation.
He clicked his tongue and shook his head, lost in thought about what to do next. As he narrowed his eyes, wearing a disapproving expression, Lennox, who sat across from him, grew increasingly self-assured. Lennox swallowed hard as the Duke’s gaze pierced like a razor. When the Duke displayed his displeasure, Lennox felt an abrupt sense of urgency.
“He saved me and brought me here, so I owe him. I must become a valuable asset.”
Diane inwardly scoffed at those words, but Lennox took them to heart. To Lennox, the Duke of Despone’s intervention at a critical juncture had been nothing short of salvation. The day the Duke had called him useless had struck more fear into him than the day he had lost his parents. When Lennox saw the Duke’s irritated expression, he grew restless and anxious, unsure of what to do. His elation had overtaken him so completely that he could barely contain his laughter even before entering the room. It was at that moment that the Duke summoned him.
“Lennox.”
“Yes! Your Majesty the Duke!”
Lennox responded promptly to the summons. Duke Despone’s purple eyes fixed on Lennox intently. A heavy silence settled in.
“Why are you hesitating?”
Unable to contain himself, Lennox inquired, and the Duke replied in a sly tone, “Can you compete with the Empress and win?”
Lennox’s heart plummeted. For a moment, he forgot to breathe and was left speechless. Then, with a pallid face, he urgently answered, “I can!”
“Really? Even though you’re barely level 5, you single-handedly destroyed a level 4 tower. Is it possible? ”
“It’s possible! Your Royal Highness, my name is Lennox Poitiers. If you ask me to fight, I’ll do it right now! Please have faith in me!”
The Duke of Despone clicked his tongue as he watched Lennox raise his eyebrows and vociferously declare his capabilities. What if Lennox rushed in without certainty of victory and ended up losing? If Lennox had been more astute, he might have responded that he would control and manage the wizards regardless of the Empress’s abilities, rather than boldly proclaiming his ability to perform feats like this. Nevertheless, it was easier to deal with Lennox’s somewhat limited intelligence than with cleverness, so the Duke of Despone refrained from chastising him. But Lennox’s anxiety had already swelled and filled his chest.
What should we do? What should I do? What can I possibly do?
Restless and anxious, he naturally turned his thoughts to his newfound salvation. In the face of overwhelming anxiety, Diane’s request to keep their secret vanished without a trace.
“Your Majesty the Duke.”
With a sudden burst of enthusiasm, Lennox, who had been trembling with anxiety, called out to the Duke of Despone, his eyes gleaming. Duke Despone tilted his head inquisitively as Lennox leaned closer.
“I have something to tell you!”
“What’s going on?”
The guy who had been so anxious and clueless suddenly brightened, and the Duke leaned in, equally intrigued. Lennox took a deep breath, exhaling as he spoke with a joyful tone.
“They say Diane is pregnant!”
“What?”
“Diane! They say she’s carrying your Majesty’s child!”
“Diane is pregnant?”
“Yes, that’s right!”
Upon hearing those words, the Duke’s expression underwent a subtle change. Lennox nervously watched the Duke’s reaction. Duke Despone, swiftly calculating something, blinked his wide eyes several times and let out a mild exclamation.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, yes! They’re not certain yet, but it’s definitely happening. Absolutely!”
“Haha, what wonderful news! This is truly fantastic news!”
Eventually, laughter erupted, filling the Duke’s office for a considerable time. Duke Despone, who had muttered several more times about how wonderful the news was, adopted a more subdued tone as he took back what he had said to Lennox earlier.
“You know, now that I think about it, I don’t believe there’s any need for you to compete with Her Majesty. How about I test your abilities instead? Your Majesty might take offense. By the way, what gift should I give to Diane?”
With an air of feigned concern, the Duke slapped his knee.
“Shall she return the Ivory Palace?”
“Your Majesty the Duke!”
When Lennox called him with a heartfelt expression, the Duke chuckled.
“After all, a mother should be comfortable. The place you’re staying in is probably more comfortable.”
“But how…”
“What can I do? Can’t we just pay for it? I’ll support you discreetly.”
“Your Highness the Duke! Thank you so much!”
Besides, the Financial Services Agency is under my control. I can simply allocate the funds.
Duke Despone bit back on his words. Lennox repeatedly expressed his gratitude, bowing his head sincerely.
“Now, don’t let anyone know that I’m giving you money. Even though I’m your uncle, it would greatly disappoint our Empress.”
“Of course, Your Majesty the Duke. Of course.”
“Hehehe. Then, Lennox, go ahead and announce that you’re leasing the entire Ivory Palace.”
“Yes! Absolutely!”
After a while, Lennox left, immersed in joy, and the smile slowly faded from Duke Despone’s face as he was left alone. He mumbled to himself, rubbing his chin.
“Pregnant? That’s odd. I’m aware that the Emperor continues to take that medication. Did he pause it momentarily to bring in the Empress? I haven’t heard anything like that.”
Karl harbored a deep-seated complex about his lineage. As a result, he had no intention of having a child with Diane, a commoner, and was secretly using birth control pills. The only people privy to this information were Karl, his physician, and Duke Despone. Of course, the Emperor was unaware that the Duke knew.
“Hmm. That’s irrelevant. Whether or not a child is on the way, and regardless of whether it’s the Emperor’s offspring or not,”
What mattered was that Diane had triggered the event called ‘pregnancy.’ Duke Despone’s mind was working cunningly.
“It’s already time to temper the Empress’s spirit,” Duke Despone mused. “If I were to reveal that the Emperor’s concubine is expecting a child before her, it might give her a little pause.”
He chuckled to himself and beckoned for an attendant. Quietly, he issued his instructions.
