I Became the Master of the Empress

310

Terra enters the delivery room, which is not far from her due date.

This is a place for imperial family members who are pregnant or need surgery.

Well… when I had eye surgery, it was a secret, so I couldn’t use this place, but Terra’s pregnancy is…

something that all the people in the empire know about.

I heard she’ll be staying here until she gives birth.

“Are you okay?”

My mother-in-law’s worried gaze.

She must have been so surprised to see my dark circles reaching down to my lips, a result of last night’s exhausting time with Terra.

I replied with an awkward expression.

“Yes? Ah… I’m fine.”

“Is that so? He is Ryan, after all.”

The way she licked her lips made her seem more like Ryan than I did.

“But are you really going to give the child the surname Ryan-Augustus?”

Back when I married her, I combined my surname with the Emperor’s to create a new family, so that Terra’s and my children would belong to it.

But at that time, I had no thought of having children with her; it was purely for my prestige.

If the child were to become Emperor, using the Ryan-Augustus name would undermine the child’s legitimacy.

According to imperial law, only those of the Augustus family can become Emperor.

Whether she knew my thoughts or not, Terra smiled softly.

“Heh… Are you backing out now? Where’s the person who once threatened me to sign?”

Threatened… I felt a bit embarrassed as she pointed out how I had used her family as hostages.

“Well, that’s….”

I hadn’t intended to have children, or rather, I had thought of annulling the marriage.

I never really planned to have a child and live happily with her.

No… Even though I know I’ve fallen in love with her, if asked to choose again, I’d probably include that clause.

Becoming a son-in-law would weaken my political power.

“Threatened? Are you serious?”

Oh no… I forgot my mother-in-law was here.

“Terra? What kind of threat did your husband make?”

“Well… that’s.”

If I were to admit I threatened her using her family as hostages….

I would freeze to death under my mother-in-law’s piercing gaze.

Understanding my worry, she chuckled.

“It’s nothing much. He said he’d kiss me if I didn’t accept his proposal.”

“What?”

“How… romantic.”

—

The mother-in-law blushed at Terra’s lie.

But soon, she looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“You’re so eager to kiss Terra, yet why haven’t you touched her since the wedding?”

“Excuse me?”

A lie creates a bigger lie.

And as if finding this situation amusing, Terra covered her lips with her hand and laughed.

“Hehe, indeed? I wonder why that is? You were certainly manly at first.”

“It’s late, but still, I hope you’ll give birth to Ian and Rene quickly.”

I thought to myself as I looked at my mother-in-law, who was already beaming with a bright smile.

If it’s not a son… what are you expecting so eagerly?

“But mother, what will you do if it’s not a son?”

Terra seemed worried about that part too, asking my mother-in-law, but she only smiled gently.

“Don’t worry, it’s definitely a son. This is a vision shown by your father.”

Looking at my mother-in-law, whose eyes sparkled with a distant gaze, I thought.

If it’s not a son, she looks like she might almost cry, and I fervently wished in my heart.

Please let it be a son…

***

“Your Majesty, how is your health?”

At Sena’s question, Theodora smiled.

“Not bad. I’ve heard that you are also with child. How are you feeling?”

Sena replied with a gentle smile.

“I struggled with morning sickness at first, but now I’m fine.”

Theodora remembered suffering quite a bit from morning sickness in the early stages of her pregnancy.

“I didn’t realize how difficult it is to carry a life. From now on, I will implement many policies for the mothers of the Empire.”

“I am deeply grateful.”

“Am I not the Emperor of all my children and their parents? It’s only natural.”

In fact, Theodora has been focusing on education recently.

Thanks to that, many are suffering, but Debian himself thinks it’s necessary, so he follows along without complaint.

“And you, Sena, must also help me care for and educate the children of this Empire. The expectations that he and I have for you are great.”

Theodora smiled with a kind and gentle expression.

—

Although she may have been a rival in the past, she has already decided to appoint her and entrust her with full authority.

If she doesn’t believe it, that’s one thing, but having resolved to give it a try, she empowers Sena and places her trust in her.

That’s the governance technique she learned from her respected husband.

So, she simply wants to shake off the past and move toward the future.

“I’m worried if I can really do such a thing well.”

However, in stark contrast, the memories of trying to seduce the beloved Debian and the recollections of being a rival weigh heavily on Sena’s heart.

She can’t help but feel guilty.

But does Theodora not understand Sena’s feelings? He nodded vigorously.

“You will do well. I guarantee it.”

Sena thought to herself.

How can the Emperor trust her so much?

If she were in Terra’s position, would she be able to trust her?

‘I’m not sure. It’s my responsibility, but I must do it.’

Feeling awkward, Sena spoke to Terra.

“Oh my… Look at my state. I’ll examine you first.”

Seeing Sena’s slightly flushed face, the Emperor broke into a warm smile.

‘She’s a bit cuter than I expected?’

***

“Ah… Why is it that, even with a court physician, my wife has to examine Your Majesty?”

Müller, beside me, was tearing at his hair.

I patted his shoulder and said, “What can we do? The court physician is a man.”

In this place, a woman’s body is treated with great secrecy.

Even noblewomen are reluctant to be examined by male doctors during childbirth and prefer to be seen by nuns or female physicians.

“Sigh… I don’t understand why Your Majesty is separating us newlyweds.”

Thanks to this, Sena is spending time in Terra’s sickroom, leaving Müller in a state not unlike that of a widower.

“Well, among the people I know, Sena is the only capable physician.”

In reality, Sena is an exceptionally skilled doctor.

Even though she has lost her divine powers, the medical knowledge she possesses is not to be underestimated.

After all, becoming a physician at the Imperial Academy is a mark of true genius.

“Anyway, enough of the chatter… Handle this.”

As I pulled out a thick stack of documents and showed them to Müller, his complexion turned pale, and he spoke in a trembling voice.

“What is that?”

“It’s the final draft of the Education Department’s establishment bill and the bill for the abolition of the poll tax.”

The poll tax is a tax system where everyone pays the same amount.

While it has the advantage of being easy to collect, it places too much burden on the lower classes and has various drawbacks, so we are gradually starting to address this issue.

“The poll tax… abolished?”

Müller looked slightly pale.

“Yeah, don’t worry. There won’t be many people opposing it like last time. The places that still maintain the poll tax are weak.”

Typically, the territories that impose a poll tax are extremely poor, so there shouldn’t be much of a problem.

The real issue is the amount of content we need to review.

“Um… Your Grace? Did you forget that we have to leave by 9 o’clock?”

Müller loosened his tie, struggling to breathe, but I couldn’t help but smile.

“Ha ha, I told Terra, so I got permission to work overtime until he comes out of the hospital. So… get to work!”

“W-What? How can you do that? Breaking imperial law?!”

“If you’re so upset, why don’t you become the Duke or the Emperor yourself!”

“Usurper! Criminal!”

“Ha?! Do you want to go to prison for insulting the royal family?”

Müller shot me a cold glare and replied.

“If I go to jail, do I get to skip work?”

“No? You’ll have to work there. If you’re slacking off, it makes my life too hard!”

“Tch, even the demons would shudder.”

His voice was too quiet, so I asked back.

“Hmm? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Let’s just get to work.”

And so we began to work.

***

– Zzz… Zzz.

I woke up to the sound of Müller snoring.

Could it be that I’ve been working for three days with only short naps?

—

At first, Müller didn’t snore, but soon he was snoring seriously.

Did I push it too far?

Recently, I’ve been feeling physically strained, and I started eating unicorn horns just to hold on…

“Ugh… I really feel like I’m dying.”

I managed to handle some urgent matters, but creating a system for the Ministry of Education, compulsory education, and public education isn’t easy.

Starting from scratch, it’s a system that is far too unfamiliar to these bureaucrats, so it takes a really long time.

Just the materials I’m looking at now involve how to create a curriculum, what to teach in elementary schools, and how much to teach.

In middle schools, what to teach and how far to go, plus the system for selecting teachers to teach that material—there’s really an endless amount to reorganize and create, so there’s a lot to go through.

And… if there are good ideas, I’m making it possible for anyone to suggest them, regardless of rank, so I’m looking into that as well.

It really isn’t easy.

As I was thinking that…

– Tap tap.

I heard footsteps along with a knock.

– Knock knock.

– Your Highness, are you sleeping?!

An urgent voice came from the other side of the door.

“No? What’s going on?”

“Th-the Emperor is about to give birth!”

“Ah…? Got it! I’ll go right now!”

I hurriedly grabbed my coat and stepped out of the Duke’s office.