“…I asked before if you were curious about who you were in your previous life, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Can I ask what you did? Well, I suppose you were probably a mage there too.”

“…Hah. That’s right. I was a… mage.”

Diego picked up a feather and gently rubbed her cl*toris. Siara trembled. When Diego moved the device inside her v*gina while touching her cl*toris, Siara’s toes curled.

“Stop, hnn…! Ahh…!”

Her inner walls contracted, and fluid flowed out. Watching Siara lose strength, Diego moved the device again. The phallus-like object rubbed against her vaginal walls.

“Ah, hnn! Still, nngh. I’m sensitive…!”

“…Are you thinking about going back?”

“What, hnn…!”

“I’m asking if you’ll leave me behind.”

Somehow the device had been removed, and Diego was pressing his c*ck against her entrance. The sensation felt strangely good. But she couldn’t give him the answer he wanted.

“I don’t know….”

“…Is that so?”

Diego’s c*ck filled her completely. Thrust after thrust, he moved his hips mercilessly. The clamps on her br*asts were painfully tight, but he wouldn’t remove them despite her pleas.

“Go slowly…!”

“No.”

Diego did as he pleased. Somehow her legs had been freed from the bed and were now dangling in the air. The shackled legs made jingling sounds, moving wildly with each of Diego’s thrusts.

Siara squeezed her eyes shut. She couldn’t tell how many times they would do it today.

‘He really is a kid… His stamina is incredible…!’

Siara drifted into unconsciousness.

Diego had been in a bad mood for some time. His attendant Peter noticed his mood and tried to handle matters quietly. When Diego was like this, speaking to him would only lead to trouble.

That’s when the Empress appeared in his office.

“Diego! I was thinking Viscount Rogers’ daughter might make a good Crown Princess. I plan to invite her to the upcoming party, so observe her carefully and make your judgment.”

“Why should I observe when you’ve already made the selection, Mother? She’ll be the official consort, and I don’t even get to choose?”

As expected, disagreeable words spilled from Diego’s mouth. Since he never behaved this way toward the Empress, even Peter was surprised.

The Empress silently mouthed a question to Peter.

What’s wrong with him?

Peter had one thing in mind but kept his mouth shut. He simply shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.

The Empress wiped her sweat with a handkerchief and tried to appease her son.

“There seems to be some misunderstanding. Of course you should choose someone you want.”

“I clearly said I would marry Siara… I mean, Annie.”

“Oh my, yes. But shouldn’t you take an official consort before taking a secondary wife?”

“…Secondary wife?”

“?”

Diego’s glare was fierce. The Empress blinked, wondering if she had misunderstood something.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“If I wanted her as a secondary wife, why would I have mentioned it to you, Mother? I would have handled it myself.”

“…Diego, surely you don’t mean…”

“I want to make Annie my Crown Princess.”

The Empress was so shocked her jaw dropped, and she couldn’t say a word. When she staggered, Peter, who had been watching, supported her.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?”

“…I will discuss this matter with your father. This is an important issue for our imperial family!”

Whether commoner blood would mix with royal blood was a significant concern.

After the Empress left, Peter shook his head.

“…Your Highness. Why did you do that? You could have decided such matters after becoming Emperor.”

“Siara…”

“Yes.”

Being close enough to hear their conversations and witness their actions, Peter knew Annie’s real name. Diego had suspected Annie multiple times and eventually discovered that her outer appearance and inner self were different.

Moreover, she had appeared suddenly after the dimensional transfer, yet no one performed the dimensional transfer formula despite knowing it. The formula itself was too complex to activate without considerable knowledge.

“I want to see heirs from her. And the weight of responsibility is completely different between an Empress and a secondary wife.”

“You want to give her responsibility?”

“Yes. …That way she won’t leave me.”

“Isn’t it usually the opposite?”

“Not with Siara. She said she was a mage in her homeland. Judging by her answer when I asked if she would leave me behind, she must have been someone very important there. So… I’ll make her even more important here. Indispensable to this country. For that, Empress is better than secondary wife.”

Diego’s lips curved into a sinister smile. Peter forced himself to smile along.

‘Really? You want to make her Crown Princess for such a reason?’

No one except Diego would understand this logic.

The Emperor summoned Diego.

He was so old that age spots covered his face, and he was often bedridden, unable to walk.

The Empress sat beside him, looking at the Emperor with concerned eyes. The Emperor’s room had the distinctive smell of illness, but no one expressed any displeasure.

“…Diego.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“…I don’t have much time left. The reason I’m rushing your marriage is because my life is… coming to an end.”

“…”

“Karina… I have something to discuss with our son alone. Please leave us.”

The Empress bowed her head and went outside.

The Emperor gestured to his attendant, who helped him sit up in bed. The Emperor smiled at Diego, who looked exactly like him.

“…Do as you wish.”

“Pardon?”

“I too had a first love… She was a maid working in the palace.”

“…Are you talking about the secondary wife?”

It seemed like the story of Isaac’s mother. But the Emperor shook his head.

“She resembled that woman, but no.”

“…”

“I lacked courage and never… approached her. Or rather, should I say I was rejected? I asked her to become my secondary wife, but she refused. She said she wouldn’t accept anything less than being the official consort.”

For a commoner to reject the Emperor for such a reason—she must have been a bold woman. Seeing Diego’s intrigued expression, the Emperor chuckled.

“The man she chose was a fisherman. I heard his boat sank and he died two years after they married… Even then, I couldn’t give her up and went to find her. And I was rejected… again. She was carrying his child and said she wanted to raise it happily.”

“…I see.”

The Emperor fell silent for a moment. He frowned and barely managed to continue.

“I heard she died recently… After hearing that news, I wanted to follow her; I didn’t want to live anymore…”

The Emperor firmly held Diego’s hand and looked into his eyes.

“Live without regrets…”

Diego nodded.

The Emperor seemed tired and called his attendant again, who helped him lie down. Seeing that the Emperor had fallen into a deep sleep, Diego left the room.

When he went to the reception room, the Empress was there. She was sitting on the sofa drinking tea and gestured to the seat opposite her when she saw Diego.

“What did His Majesty say?”

The Empress had married into the imperial palace at a young age and given birth to Diego. She hadn’t married the Emperor out of love. It was due to family orders and her desire for power.

“…He told me to do as I wish.”

“What? That’s…!”

The Empress jumped to her feet. At that moment, the attendant who had been in the Emperor’s room came running, looking for the Empress and Diego. Soon, the bells began to toll, announcing the Emperor’s passing.

The state funeral proceeded for a month. Marquis Marcel’s daughter Samantha and Viscount Rogers’ daughter Melissa attended the funeral. Other nobles believed one of these two women would become the Empress.

However, Annie Light, the illegitimate daughter of Duke Rowan Light who was staying in the Crown Prince’s chambers, had surfaced in public consciousness. During the funeral, nobles gathered and constantly whispered about the Crown Prince’s bedmate.

Marquis Marcel raised this issue during a meeting with the Empress.

“A woman in the Crown Prince’s chambers when he isn’t even married yet? It would be proper to remove that woman before resuming marriage discussions!”

“I agree with Marquis Marcel. Your Majesty, taking a secondary wife first could deeply hurt the future Empress.”

The Empress spoke quietly then.

“But His Majesty the Emperor also took a secondary wife first. That’s how Prince Isaac was born…”

“That’s precisely why it shouldn’t happen! Won’t this just result in another illegitimate child with commoner blood?”

At Marquis Marcel’s words, the ministers whispered among themselves. Though they thought Marcel’s words were harsh, they were all watching the Crown Prince’s reaction.

The Crown Prince, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up.

“Marquis Marcel.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“…Remove that woman? Are you referring to the woman in my chambers?”

“Yes. One with such poor lineage…”

“As I understand it, a Duke’s lineage is superior to a Marquis’s, isn’t it?”

“…Pardon?”

“Even though the Duke’s family has fallen, she still has more noble blood than you.”

“But when commoner blood mixes…”

Marquis Marcel’s eyes wavered. He felt extremely uneasy about why the Crown Prince was speaking this way. Diego looked around at everyone, seeking agreement.

“The Duke’s family is a distant relative of the imperial family. Anyone who insults that bloodline is no different from insulting the imperial family itself.”