I Thought I Had Married A Poor Knight, But…! - Chapter 21.5

Chapter 2 The Crown Princess Who Broke the Code

Episode 21: The Fearsome Crown Princess Consort When She Loses Her Temper (5)

Flowers? Flowers often symbolize women, so is it referring to me? Red birds? I’ve heard of that too. The symbol color of the Emperor is blue, representing the Empire itself, and the symbol color of the Crown Prince is red or pink. Birds sometimes represent men, so in this case, the red bird would refer to the Crown Prince, which is likely Cermiane.

I don’t understand the rest. Nectar? It seems to have some meaning, but it’s new to me, and I don’t quite get it. As I stood frozen with a forced smile, contemplating, Her Majesty the Empress spoke directly in a way that didn’t seem very aristocratic, as if she had given up on speaking subtlety.

“It means that recently, um, you haven’t been having marital relations.”

…Marital relations?… Oh, I see. That’s it. Yeah, well, it has been quite a while, hasn’t it? Probably since we moved to the palace, we haven’t done it even once. Wait, was it even before that? …Wait a moment?

“…w-why does Her Majesty the Empress know about this?”

Her Majesty the Empress unusually frowned and said something outrageous with an angry face.

“Because I have received a report from the chief maid of the detached palace.”

“…why does the chief maid of the imperial palace know about it?”

“That’s because it was reported by the night attendants,”

Her Majesty the Empress explained to me, noticing my lack of understanding. The night attendants were essentially the maids who guards the entrance of our bedroom while we sleep. They sit on chairs outside the door all night (or take turns), so they can immediately know if anything unusual happens inside the room and respond promptly to the master’s call. Oh, I see. So there were people like that. I’m glad they didn’t notice during my escape.

And one of the important tasks of these night attendants who guard the Crown Prince and Princess’s bedroom is to record and report whether the Crown Prince and Princess had marital relations that night.

‘…Huh? Gah! What is this?!’

“W-We have to record marital relations?! What is this! Why do we have to do such a thing? It’s terrible!”

I protested, abandoning all pretense of noble behavior, but Her Majesty the Empress glared at me and scolded me.

“Be quiet! We do it because it’s necessary!”

Apparently, there can be no doubt about the lineage of the imperial family. Therefore, if a pregnancy is discovered among the imperial family, the exact timing of the act is investigated to confirm without a doubt whether the child is of imperial lineage.

To accomplish this, the night attendants record whether the act took place on that night. This applies not only if the Emperor or Crown Prince were involved in an affair but also if the Empress or Crown Princess were involved in infidelity. It is done for reference when a child is born and their parentage needs to be determined.

Ignoring my stunned silence after hearing such an outrageous thing, Her Majesty the Empress posed another question to me, her expression slightly stern.

“Why aren’t you living as a married couple? It’s been three months since you entered the detached palace, hasn’t it?

“Well, that’s right, but…”

“Why? It’s not like Cermiane is sexually impotent, right?”

Oh, no, Cermiane is perfectly fine. Yes, it was tough during our early days of marriage.

“Or perhaps you’re refusing?”

“N-No, it’s not like that…”

“Then why? There must be a reason. If there are difficulties in your marital relations, you should consider allowing Cermiane to take a mistress.”

Huh? I stared at the Empress in disbelief, but her expression was deadly serious. Still, to suggest that Cermiane should have an affair right in front of his wife…

“Don’t misunderstand, Ralphine. The most important duty of the Crown Prince is to father many children to continue the imperial lineage. If the Crown Princess is not enough, the Crown Prince should have as many mistresses as necessary to produce heirs.”

I was dumbfounded by the Empress’s words. I was in awe of her resolve as the Empress. I had never deeply considered the fact that the Empress had accepted Cermiane, who is the child of the Emperor’s mistress, as the Crown Prince. It was rooted in this very resolve. It wasn’t because Cermaine’s mother was her dear friend, Féliane-sama, that she welcomed Cermiane.

No, no, it’s impossible. I couldn’t do something like that. There’s no way I could accept Cermiane having an affair, acknowledging a child born from it, and becoming a stepmother to that child while supporting them as the Crown Prince. Besides, I couldn’t even imagine tolerating an affair in the first place. I would probably kick Cermiane and throw his lover aside.

If I don’t want Cermiane to have an affair, then I have no choice but to do my best. I need to bear many children for Cermaine.

“I-I understand. I understand, I will do it. I will bear children. We will have marital relations properly!”

In the first place, there wasn’t a specific reason for our lack of intimacy. It was just that after entering the palace and becoming the Crown Prince and Princess, we both became exhausted and didn’t feel that way. Yes, that’s it. If that’s the case, let’s do it. Let’s start from today. I’ll do my best.

…Or so I thought, but then I realized something. If that’s the case…

“…Do we absolutely have to have a lady-in-waiting?”

“Isn’t that obvious? I mentioned there is a reason, didn’t I?”

“It’s embarrassing…”

“Endure it. It’s a path that all members of the imperial family must go through. Don’t worry. They won’t be watching, and at most they will only know how many times you’ve done it today.”

“They keep a record of how many times we do it?”

What kind of embarrassing play is this? Blushing with embarrassment and despair, I slumped onto the table.

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