“Anita? Have you forgotten?”
A crooked smile tugged at Cedric’s lips, he had regained the upper hand with just a few words. The insolence his wife had shown him just moments earlier still lingered in his mind. He had no wish to forgive her, nor any intention of yielding to her pleas.
“You’re the empress now. You got exactly what you wanted. Then shouldn’t you fulfil the duties that come with it?”
“..…”
“You may be the princess’s mother, but you’re also the mother of all Laxion. Instead of clinging sentimentally to the child you bore, you should focus on the responsibilities that truly belong to you.”
“…..”
“Of course, if the child had been a prince, a future heir, that would be another matter entirely. A prince is the future of the empire.”
He paused briefly, his words slicing through the air like frost.
“But Félicité is only a princess. For her, a wet nurse will suffice.”
Every word Cedric spoke cut Anita to pieces.
She had tried to pull away from him, but now she clung to the hem of his robe, trembling. Tears welled in her eyes as she whispered, barely audibly.
“Please… no. Félicité still needs me. Her mother—”
“Enough.”
“…”
“It isn’t that she needs you, it’s that you need her, isn’t it?”
“…”
“Don’t be foolish. Why do you think wet nurses exist? Your duties are far greater than just nursing a child.”
“..…”
“Think of your proper place. You’ve borne a child, yet you whine like one. It’s pathetic.”
He still held her tightly, his grip relentless, but his rejection was merciless, like a sword cloaked in restraint.
“I told you before to stay quiet, as if you were dead.”
But Anita could not give up. Never seeing Félicité again was unthinkable. Trembling in his arms, she forced her voice to steady.
“Didn’t you say so yourself? That I should stay still and silent and not go against you?”
“..…”
Wasn’t that what you wanted from me? To do nothing and exist as if I were dead? I have no authority to act otherwise anyway.”
“..…”
“I’m telling you, I’ll do just that. I’ll live quietly. But only let me keep Félicité with me.”
He had indeed said those very words once before. Cedric glanced at the hand gripping his robe; it was small, pale, and trembling far too much. For a moment, he remembered that her body hadn’t fully recovered yet, and this thought softened him ever so slightly.
“I won’t trouble Your Majesty. Unless you summon me, I won’t set foot in the Palace of Glory. Just… please, let me stay with my child.”
But it was her final sentence that undid everything: “I won’t set foot in the Palace of Glory.”
Cedric’s face darkened at once.
Why had he come here in the first place? Because her defiance and distance had unsettled him.
His mood darkened and he cut her off sharply.
“That was then, but things have changed, Anita. Your place is not the same anymore.”
“…..”
“How many times do I have to tell you? You are the Empress now! What do you think the greatest duty of the Empress is?”
“…”
“You must bear my heir. You failed this time, but it’s something you must accomplish soon.”
Was the matter of succession truly so urgent? Those words were merciless especially from a husband whose wife had given birth barely a month and ten days ago.
‘An heir?’
Anita had no intention of bearing Cedric’s child. In fact, she was actively avoiding the thought. Félicité was undeniably precious, but how had her life begun? Anita could not help but recall the horror Cedric had inflicted upon her. The mere thought turned her stomach and made her skin crawl.
Her love for Félicité was neither pure nor simple; sometimes she wondered if it was a gift from the gods. She had never once considered having a second child.
Cedric noticed the shifting expressions on his wife’s face, and a blue vein stood out on his temple.
“If you can’t even do that, then you’re the problem. An empress who cannot bear an heir might very well be replaced.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It may disappoint the princess to have a younger half-sibling, but an heir is necessary.”
Why had those words shattered her composure?
When he saw the look on Anita’s face, Cedric felt the last of his restraint snap.
Something darker rose unbidden to the surface, something he had buried for months.
The truth was that he had been tormented by unbearable frustration for the past several months. Even in his most volatile years, he had never felt such hunger; he had never desired a woman so persistently.
If only it had been any other woman, it wouldn’t have mattered. One word from him and he would have had no shortage of willing companions throwing themselves at his feet.
Some had even encouraged him to do so. But something strange had happened. Ever since he shared a bed with Anita — or rather, ever since the day she arrived in Laxion, he had been incapable of desiring anyone else.
Was it her beauty that had trapped him?
Or was it the softness of her body that he could never forget?
He didn’t know.
Then she became pregnant.
For almost a year, Cedric lived like a priest bound to a goddess, not by choice but by circumstance.
Although he had not been forced by any decree, he was infuriated by his own body’s disobedience. On more than one occasion, he had considered asking the palace physician for permission to sleep with her again.
But her fragile state during her pregnancy stopped him each time. It wasn’t as though carrying a child was her responsibility alone, yet she remained weak and fragile.
And he despised that weakness.
“I’ll say it again: I want an heir. I need a prince. As things stand, I am the only male heir to the throne. You understand what that means, don’t you?”
But his patience, what little remained had already reached its limit. Cedric lowered his gaze, tracing the lines of his wife’s body.
Why should he restrain himself any longer?
The child had been safely born, and his wife could now get out of bed and walk unaided.
Judging by the way she had dared to defy him, her body had clearly recovered well. She still looked pale and fragile, but Cedric forced himself to ignore it.
Anita understood perfectly what he was demanding. The moment she realized what he wanted, she instinctively tried to pull away, slipping her hands from his grasp.
But it was useless. Cedric’s arms remained locked firmly around her.
He stared straight into her trembling eyes.
“Anita.”
What did he see in her wavering blue eyes? He could clearly see rejection reflected there.
Yet, as always, Anita’s will meant little to him. Her refusal was nothing more than an obstacle to be ignored.
He wanted his wife.
He wanted her now.
And that was all that mattered.
It had always only been Anita who gave consent between them.
Cedric was not a husband who asked; he was a ruler who took.
“What could you possibly do without my permission?”
Reaching out with both hands, he stroked his wife’s nape, then trailed down to the area beneath her shoulders, near her shoulder blades. Then, he unfastened the buttons below the loosely undone knot, one by one. His eyes, clouded by l*st, were as murky as ash.
The fabric near her shoulder slipped, revealing a portion of her rounded br*ast. Along with his wife’s familiar scent, a sweet, milky fragrance wafted towards him. Cedric felt a throbbing in his throat and a faint tremor in his fingertips. He leaned deeply towards his wife.
“You must know by now. Even if you bore the princess, even if you became empress, you can do nothing at all.”
His white teeth nipped her round earlobe. He sneered at her and she winced at the stinging sensation. He made a loud sucking noise as he licked her flushed, red ear.
“You won’t be able to see the child you bore whenever you want. Not without my permission.”
Her sorrowfully gleaming, platinum-blonde hair lightly scraped his cheek. This sensitivity only served to make him slowly slip his hand into the opening of her clothes, starting from the back of her neck. His long fingers glided like a snake, passing her shoulder blades and tracing her spine, lingering on her pale skin.
By that time, Anita was standing silently. She found the hands that wantonly pawed at her body repugnant, but she made no resistance. The decision had already been made. As long as Cedric invoked Félicité’s name, the helpless woman had no choice but to stand there.
“And is that all? Isn’t there one more princess you need to worry about?”
“…”
“Have you forgotten all about your niece, who is still just a princess, simply because you now have the new princess in your arms?”
But Cedric still seemed uneasy. He needed to confirm just how secure the leash around his wife’s neck was. He needed to see for himself that the noose he had placed there would never break, ensuring that his wife would never escape him.
“Isabelle. A pitiful child who lost her parents and whose life is now in danger.”
When he mentioned her niece, Isabelle, who was alone in Callithea, Anita closed her eyes. The tightly pulled leash was choking her, but she desperately tried not to show it. Instead, she leaned her body against Cedric, signaling her willingness to submit to his will.
‘Could anything be more satisfying than this?’
Having seized what he wanted, Cedric whispered.
“Such a good girl.”
The humiliating words fell upon the crown of Anita’s head. She felt wretched and insignificant. Yet there were several reasons why she had to endure it. So, she obediently dragged her feet, following wherever he led her.
Translator
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Ozelizm
I think I will drop this one soon. I can not take it anymore. Maybe if he had more internal conflicts or regrets i would try to endure but right now i am getting tortured with her.