“Episode 16”
“Marriage is a partnership, isn’t it? Do I have no obligations as your wife?”
“I left it up to choice. However, tempting you is my prerogative. Winning your heart, making an effort to get closer, it’s all within my freedom.”
Ricar seemed like a man from a world unknown to Aris. The more she thought about it, the more the pain of the past resurfaced. Patrick had done nothing to win her affection. He simply chose Aris as his empress and then burdened her with all the responsibilities.
“So, you’re considering heirs with someone other than me?”
“Now, what…?”
For the first time, Ricar frowned deeply.
“Of course, Your Majesty will need an heir. If I have no obligations as a wife… then perhaps I should impregnate another woman…”
“That’s a dreadful thing to say.”
Ricar’s dark eyes cooled down coldly.
“What do you take me for?”
His low voice was more agitated than usual.
“Would there be a madman willing to play such a despicable game, welcoming an insane villain who treats his wife like a mere object or adornment?”
Aris had experienced it in the past. A monster with a cold heart, treating his wife as nothing more than a thing or piece of jewelry.
“I heard it from your sister. She said I revealed my peculiar nature to you… Surely, that didn’t make me seem like a starved beast in need of warmth, did it?”
Ricar’s face was filled with indignation. As if Aris had uttered words she shouldn’t have.
“That’s not the reason.”
However, Aris did not back down. Patrick, too, had seemed like a tender man at first. He was a man who knew all sorts of sweet stories, a man who cherished his wife.
“Temptation is your freedom? How arrogant.”
Ricar’s eyebrows twitched. Aris spoke calmly as before.
“If you really wanted freedom, didn’t you think about not wanting to fulfill the duties of an ordinary wife?”
Honestly, she didn’t want to be anyone’s woman anymore. At first, she had only hoped not to become an empress, but when Ricar agreed to negotiations, greed took hold of her.
“What’s arrogant about it? I’d prefer it if your heart changed, but I promised not to force or burden you. Or, am I not even allowed to have feelings?”
Ricar’s dark eyes filled with genuine emotion. Aris deliberately avoided his gaze.
“I’m pragmatically asking about the succession of the Duchy. If my feelings remain unchanged until the end, what happens to Your Majesty’s heir?”
The higher the status, the more significant the issue of succession. Aris, even as a Duchess, had married again at a late age to give birth to an heir, as she had no prince.
Ricar cut off Aris’s words sharply.
“If I officially hold a wedding ceremony, the only woman who will be my wife is you.”
His gaze pierced through Aris with intensity.
“Even if that woman, even if she’s not the true companion arranged through negotiation, even if she has no intention of being my wife for life.”
Ricar emphasized his words.
“I would never stoop to such despicable behavior.”
“But, what about the successor of the Duchy?”
“I proposed to the princess with that in mind.”
There was tension in Ricar’s fist resting on the table. Despicable behavior. Thinking of Patrick made Aris’s mouth bitter. Her past self, who had been played with such despicable behavior, seemed pitiful. Therefore, she couldn’t be deceived this time.
“Do you really not want the succession?”
“If you don’t want the succession, that would be a lie. But if it’s based on someone else’s unhappiness, it’s better not to exist. Even if it’s Albertus… he has no right.”
Thump, Aris’s heart beat in a confused rhythm. In this world, it was only natural for nobles to marry each other and have heirs. Yet now, that essence was flowing away from Ricar alone.
“I have two wishes.”
Aris opened her pink lips. If it was this man, she felt like she could tell him her true conditions. Just as long as it was conditions.
“I dislike both the Kingdom of Leon and the Empire. So, please let me leave here. I hope… you won’t ask for reasons.”
“No gentleman asks about a lady’s secrets. Isn’t that a famous saying in the Empire?”
As far as Aris knew, there were no real gentlemen here. Only blind fools driven by desire.
“Even if I marry His Grace, it’s just a formality. I might consider His Grace and the North as a refuge. Would that kind of wife be acceptable to you?”
Ricar nodded calmly.
“That’s much better than the dreadful stories you mentioned earlier.”
Aris pretended to be indifferent, but Ricar could see every subtle gesture and expression. At least he knew what she wanted and what she disliked.
“It seems the princess doesn’t trust men… If that’s the problem, I have a very acceptable proposal.”
Aris’s blue eyes widened ever so slightly at Ricar’s words.
