7.

It was the morning four days later. At noon, a white lace parasol deflected the summer sun.

Jeanne was taking a walk with her young daughter. She held her daughter’s hand with her lace-gloved hand and took slow steps. Mona, with bonnet ribbons tied under her chin, toddled along waving a small sunflower given to her by the gardener.

“Come here, Mona.”

Jeanne moved her lips toward her daughter who kept trying to shake off her hand. Mona didn’t even look up, apparently absorbed in watching her shadow stuck to the ground. Jeanne stopped walking. Her daughter, shining like a grain of sand under the summer sun, looked up.

“Mona, aren’t you hot?”

She asked her daughter who was holding the sunflower like a doll. Mona looked at her mother with round rabbit-like eyes, then turned her head. Jeanne looked in the direction her child had turned.

A group of noble ladies was walking briskly toward them under parasols. They were the emperor’s concubines. It seemed today was the day they would gather in the main palace garden to prepare for the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration, as she had heard.

“Mona.”

Jeanne turned her gaze to look at her daughter. She reached out her hand once more. Mona, who had been distracted by stepping on her shadow, finally came to take her mother’s hand.

“Shall we go back?”

The sun would grow stronger as the afternoon approached. Although she took Mona out for a walk once a day because the child enjoyed outdoor activities, it would be difficult to even take steps if the sun became stronger than it was now. However, Mona didn’t seem to want to return.

“Oh my, Your Highness the Empress Consort.”

A prim voice called out to her as she finally managed to take her daughter’s hand. It was the Marchioness of Toulouse. The woman with black hair twisted up like a cloud approached, her slate-colored eyes gleaming.

“Marchioness.”

Jeanne smiled faintly at the woman who was performing a courtly curtsy with proper decorum. The Marchioness of Toulouse straightened her posture and looked at her. With her oval face and cat-like upturned eyes, she was a beautiful woman with a tall, stately figure and a haughty impression.

“It’s been a while. Is the preparation for the Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet going well?”

“Yes, Your Highness. Thanks to your help, we are preparing well. I was actually planning to visit you…… Oh my. The Princess has come out for a walk too. Have you been well?”

The woman gracefully smiled and greeted Mona. Mona, who had been staring up at her, blushed and hid behind her mother. Jeanne smiled gently at her daughter.

“Please understand the Princess’s rudeness. She’s still young and hasn’t learned proper etiquette.”

“I understand, Your Highness. She’s still a baby. Besides, a concubine and the emperor’s daughter cannot be on the same level.”

The Marchioness of Toulouse gave a thin smile. Jeanne looked at the woman darkly. The Marchioness of Toulouse was the first concubine her husband had taken. It was around the time she was pregnant with her firstborn. Yes, it must have been around that time. It was summer when she was suffering terribly from morning sickness.

‘Your husband is an Adam, my child. It’s only natural that he should spread his seed widely. It’s too difficult for you to do that alone.’

The Empress Dowager had summoned her to her palace even though she was lying down all day, barely able to drink a sip of water. Jeanne still couldn’t forget that measured, deliberate voice. The Empress Dowager had stared at her belly with a hard gaze, unable to soften her sharp energy.

What she wanted to say was simple. To persuade the emperor, who wouldn’t listen to a word his mother said, to fill the rear palace with concubines. According to her, reviving the concubine system was only natural.

‘I heard from the court physician that your health isn’t good. Your mother also had a very difficult time when she was pregnant with you. A daughter takes after her mother, so your childbirth won’t be easy either. That’s why you need women to help you bear imperial children.’

The Empress Dowager had muttered in a monotone voice after taking a sip of warm tea. Jeanne had touched her belly that was just beginning to swell. She didn’t know how to respond. The Empress Dowager said concubines weren’t enemies but sisters. Friends who could rely on each other in the lonely imperial palace…. Jeanne had clenched her fist discreetly, unable to bite her lip.

Once the Empress Dowager had given such an instruction, there was no way to refuse or avoid it. At that time, Jeanne wasn’t the empress consort. She was the emperor’s wife, but without a title being conferred, she remained in her original status. So….

‘Are you listening?’

‘Yes.’

Jeanne had nodded. But even if she gained some authority, she wouldn’t be able to go against the Empress Dowager. To Jeanne, the Empress Dowager was still like heaven, and her words were no different from a heavenly mandate. Besides, when she thought about it, there wasn’t anything particularly wrong with what she said.

But Jeanne didn’t have the confidence to live as the Empress Dowager said. Because she loved the emperor.

Him keeping women, embracing those women…. And those women becoming pregnant with his lovely children like her. She didn’t want to see Cesare smiling at other women. It was horrifying to see him keeping other women close.

And to call those women “sisters.” To kindly admonish their lonely hearts and immature attitudes and embrace them. It was overwhelming.

‘Indeed, your words are correct, Empress Dowager. Come to think of it, Lady Jeanne is in no different position from a concubine even now. She’s the emperor’s primary wife, but she’s neither an empress nor has she received a separate title…. Perhaps she could share deeper feelings with ladies in the same situation. Or is she in a position worse than a concubine?’

Countess Meteland, who was pouring tea beside the Empress Dowager, smiled smoothly. It was a contemptible provocation. It was a ridiculous and childish taunt that wouldn’t be out of place if she were a court lady rather than one of the Empress Dowager’s confidantes. But her opponent was the Empress Dowager’s close attendant. Jeanne turned her gaze away and swallowed her emotions.

The concubine system was one of the institutions abolished long ago.

The system created for the revival of Adam was deemed meaningless at some point. After Adam disappeared, the imperial family had worked tirelessly for their revival. The concubine system was also part of that effort. The thinking was that the more imperial children were born, the more likely there would be those born with Adam’s traits.

However, it wasn’t true that more imperial children with Adam’s traits would be born just because the emperor impregnated many women. Even the emperor, called the last Adam of the empire, had seen quite a few princes through concubines, but not a single one was an Adam.

For this reason, Maximilian said reviving the concubine system was meaningless. If it had been meaningful, the Empress Dowager would have had to live a court life with concubines whom she called “sisters.”

But Alisandra hadn’t experienced any of the court life difficulties that Jeanne faced. Although her husband had been somewhat dissolute, he never thought of taking concubines. There were women he had briefly dallied with, but he was never shameless enough to openly keep them by his side, and above all, he never officially recognized any of them as his “mistress.”

She had in-laws, but since her father-in-law didn’t take another empress after losing his first wife, she didn’t have to endure harsh treatment from her in-laws. She had never felt the pressure that Jeanne had felt since childhood. But….

‘As you know, your husband doesn’t listen to a word his mother says. That’s why I need your help.’

The Empress Dowager, having emptied her tea, stared at Jeanne. Jeanne nodded, feeling a slight abdominal pain. If that was the Empress Dowager’s will, she had no choice but to obey. Jeanne led her husband to bed after he finished his official duties. The emperor looked at her strangely and kissed her bare br*ast.

His red lips engulfed her er*ect n*pple. His hot breath and warm saliva seemed to suck in her entire being. She felt the love juice instinctively seeping from her v*gina and spread her thighs so he could push into her. Then she gently opened her closed eyes and looked at him. It was time to speak now. She whispered the Empress Dowager’s message while letting out sweet moans.

‘Is that why you’re clinging to me like this?’

The emperor laughed. Jeanne stared at the twisted smile on his handsome face. Cesare looked incredulous.

Suddenly his scent scattered at the tip of her nose. The elegant yet decadent aroma of rich rose water dissolved in the bitter smell of cigarettes. Cesare looked at the woman staring at him blankly. The woman in a translucent negligee was pale as the moon, revealing her swollen belly. He stared at her without distortion.