5.

The darkness of the imperial palace was particularly thick and sticky. Since childhood, Jeanne had feared the coming of night to the imperial palace. No matter how bright the lamps were, they couldn’t protect her from the night that seemed ready to swallow her whole. The one who kept vigil at her bedside as she whimpered and couldn’t fall asleep for a long time was none other than the emperor.

To the young Jeanne, who didn’t know he was her husband even after their royal marriage, he was an incomparably kind and warm protector. And after eight years of separation, their reunion brought a markedly different relationship.

He had grown into a handsome man, and she had finally learned what it meant to be a married couple and what duties were expected of her.

Born as an ‘Eve,’ she could never live a romantic life. At the very least, court life was arduous and exhausting for her. It was an excessively luxurious and extravagant place.

Everywhere the eye could see, even the most trivial things were decorated with melted gold. In this place, Jeanne had not enjoyed a moment’s leisure since her husband’s departure, nor had she ever been respected as a person.

“Jeanne.”

Suddenly, a gentle baritone called to her. She stared at her husband reflected in the mirror. The man wearing a cotton velvet robe traced her round shoulders. His smooth, swollen chest muscles were subtly revealed between the unfastened robe.

His oily fingers moved from her white, beautiful forearm to her neatly rounded, smooth nails. She rolled her eyes, feeling the gentle pressure of his strength. She no longer slept in an egg-shaped bed. Nor did she call him brother or wizard prince while blushing.

“May I kiss your lips?”

He wasn’t a man who asked permission whether he was caressing her chest or stroking between her legs. When had he ever asked permission before getting her pregnant? So all of this was just to see her cheeks flush. He liked seeing her blush and lower her gaze.

“Jeanne.”

“When have you ever asked for permission, Your Majesty?”

“How boring.”

He murmured as if uninterested. She looked at the man biting her nape. The sight of him biting deeply into her white neck as if sucking blood was intensely sensual.

Jeanne gently bit her lower lip to avoid letting out a moan. Cesare, seeing her in the mirror, pulled at his lips. As if curious how long she would endure, his soft tongue licked down her elegant neckline.

“Ah……”

A tingling sensation wrapped around her thighs. Long arms embraced her waist tightly. When Jeanne, unable to bear it, stood up to shake him off, he pressed his body close to hers.

“Your Majesty.”

Hot breath burst out with a nasal sound. The half-wet cry was merely an embarrassing noise, but it didn’t go unheard by him.

“……I want to stop for today.”

Once at noon, once in the afternoon. It had already been twice. After driving away the rushing princes and even having the soundly sleeping princess taken to her governess, he had taken her without hesitation.

She had barely accepted him, feeling irritated by the man who insisted on embracing her despite her objections about the children’s gaze making her uncomfortable. Yet he still wasn’t satisfied?

Jeanne looked at the man who had been pestering her as much as her young baby lately. His seemingly inexhaustible virility was not only tiring but also frightening. Of course, he had always been a passionate man. Since they began spending proper nights together as man and woman, he had never shown any discomfort regarding their relationship.

Are all Adams like this by nature…? Well, he was born remarkably handsome enough to make one’s eyes roll. It would be a sin to practice celibacy with such a face.

However, it wasn’t right to pour all that unquenchable desire onto her.

“Are you tired?”

“You’ve already done it twice. Don’t you really remember what happened during the day?”

She looked back at him with sharp eyes. The touch of his hand digging into the décolleté of her thin chemise was cool and mischievous. He grabbed her full br*asts and traced the mounds with his index finger before stimulating her n*pples. Jeanne gently covered the back of his hand with both of hers. Even the act of removing his hand had to be done tenderly, as if coaxing him.

“No.”

“But……”

“Seeing how often you’re tired, I think you might be pregnant……”

The emperor murmured, touching her forehead. Jeanne pushed his chest away, raising her eyes at his careless murmur. How could he mention pregnancy so casually?

This was the man who said he hated being unable to spend nights together until she stabilized after becoming pregnant…. Yet he continuously got her pregnant and showed little affection for the children born. Jeanne occasionally thought about why their marriage had gone so wrong.

She no longer remembered her childhood. More precisely, she meant that brief honeymoon they had spent together. In her hazy memories, her younger self was always fresh and cheerful. But….

‘It’s just childhood.’

Jeanne soon scoffed.

“I’m not pregnant, just tired.”

She retorted sharply after pulling her chin slightly. He gently grabbed his wife’s hair as she passed by him. Her hair, with curves as beautiful as waves, was refreshing and elegant.

Was it oil made from seven types of roses from an Eastern maharaja’s garden? He kissed her hair, which carried the subtle fragrance of fresh flowers, and embraced his wife’s slender body.

“Don’t be angry. It’s not my fault that I desire you.”

He was speaking of instinct. It was innate for Adam to desire Eve. Just as he was born with superhuman abilities, his physical desire for Eve was natural. So Jeanne had no expectations.

Even his wish to have offspring with her was just part of that desire. It wasn’t any meaningful emotion. After all, lust couldn’t be called love.

Of course, the imperial family’s policy of spreading Adam’s descendants might also be a factor. But weren’t six enough by now? She thought she had done enough. Whether princes or princesses, if their numbers increased any further, there would surely be turmoil over succession.

She didn’t want her children to fight and shed blood among themselves.

They were all precious and lovely children, without exception. Led by her eldest son, now eight years old, her little ones stood in a row like shiny acorns. She recalled babies reaching out with maple leaf-like hands, seeking her br*ast, and remembered words she had heard once.

‘They don’t hurt even when placed in your eyes, do they? This is the best time. If you knew this time would never come again, you’d cherish it even more.’

Those were the words murmured by a woman with an elegant yet neurotic face as she watched children running around the modest courtyard of the villa. She was one of the Empress Dowager’s young ladies-in-waiting.

She had entered the palace last month on the recommendation of her godmother, the Countess of Meteland. So Jeanne wasn’t unable to find a rebuttal, but rather was being cautious and choosing her words carefully.

However, upon reflection, it wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, it wasn’t difficult for imperial descendants to fight to the death, shedding blood until one’s breath ceased…. This was the imperial palace, rife with conspiracies and assassinations.

The emperor’s grown children repeatedly forming and breaking alliances to gain imperial power was so common that everyone who frequented the imperial palace considered it normal. Although it was dangerous enough to lose one’s life if caught, success would bring the highest glory in the empire.

So why would one’s life be too precious to risk? It was strange not to lose one’s life in that slaughter, and arrogant not to stake everything.

However….

‘I don’t want them to grow up like that. For my children, I wish for their health rather than the position of sovereign….’

‘As if such things go according to one’s wishes.’

The woman laughed. Her cold laugh was close to mockery. Suddenly, a needle-like gaze fell on her round belly. It was when she was pregnant with Giuseppe.

‘At least, it’s not for you to decide, Empress Consort. Surely you haven’t forgotten whose seed your offspring carry?’

The woman pulled up her smooth lips. Did she know that jealousy and envy could be read in her attitude? She knew the woman was hovering around her husband. Like a bee circling a flower. She couldn’t help but know that she was doing everything possible to receive his favor and swell her belly.

But she didn’t want to engage in a battle of nerves. She had bitten her lip and stood up. As the woman said, her children’s future wasn’t something she could determine.

At the very least, her children were imperial children, and even if she wasn’t an empress, they were legitimate children born from a lawful relationship. Yes. Even if she was merely the emperor’s surrogate, her children were legitimate.

So all she could do was not give them any more siblings. But even that wasn’t something she could control by her will.

“Today……”

“I understand. I’ll just stay like this. I won’t force you to accept me.”