I Became the Master of the Empress

313

One week later, in the morning.

-Knock, knock!

“Who is it?”

-It’s me, Your Grace.

Hearing Maximilian’s voice, I put down my pen and replied.

“Oh? Come in.”

I smiled at the thought of the baby bottle and milking machine I had requested last time.

With this, I can take care of Ian’s health and also reduce Terra’s irritation.

-Squeak.

As the door opened, the Golden Knights entered, carrying a huge metal object I had never seen before.

What is that…?

It looked about 1 meter wide, 3 meters long, and roughly 1 meter tall—an enormous piece of metal.

What’s peculiar is that there are two large holes at the top.

I tapped the sturdy-looking metal with my hand and asked.

“Maximilian, what is that?”

“That is…”

Maximilian wore a slightly awkward expression.

“This is the milking machine you mentioned.”

“What?”

That thing?

It looked so large and sturdy that a cow could easily climb on top of it.

If I suggested to Terra that we use that to milk,

I’d probably end up executed, led by the Golden Knights.

Could it be… Maximilian’s scheme to have me assassinated?

As I scrutinized his face, he too was sweating profusely as he spoke.

“This is a more complicated magical formula than I expected… It seems impossible to make it smaller with our current technology… I had it made as a trial. It wouldn’t work, would it?”

I nodded.

“Is that even something to say? If we’re not careful, we might both end up beheaded!”

Maximilian’s face turned pale.

“Then I’ll have it removed.”

As he gestured for the knights to take it away, I urgently stopped him.

“Wait, you brought it here after all. Show me how it works.”

Honestly, I was curious about the operating principle since it was a rectangular shape with a hole.

“Shall we? If you place the woman’s breast here to extract the milk…”

He touched somewhere on the metal.

-Whirr! Squeak! Clank! Clank!

The milking machine sprang to life with strange sounds.

No, the milking machine.

I peered inside through the hole, contemplating.

Watching the long mechanical arms move in peculiar shapes, I thought I absolutely couldn’t let Theodora near this.

But… is that guy insane? No matter how much I ordered it, to bring such a monstrosity?

If it wasn’t going to work, he should have just said so; I never imagined he’d bring something so bizarre.

Is it even safe in the first place?

“Maximilian, but this is safe, right?”

At my words, Maximilian scratched the back of his head and replied.

“There are no records of it being used on people… But don’t worry. It’s not that powerful.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

As I inserted the metal ruler into the hole on the desk…

-Click.

With a cheerful sound, the metal ruler snapped in two, and the room fell into silence.

“Is it safe… really?”

“Uh… well…”

Maximilian, who almost became an attempted assassin of the Emperor.

“Maximilian, Technical Advisor! I am placing you under urgent arrest for attempted assassination of the Emperor!”

Suddenly, the golden knights surged forward, trying to apprehend Maximilian.

“Ahhh!”

I wondered why they hadn’t acted sooner.

Before I knew it, a knight had drawn his sword and aimed it at Maximilian’s neck, while another expertly bound his hands.

Maximilian, caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, cried out in tears.

“Please spare me! I didn’t know this would happen! Your Grace?!”

“Follow me!”

Knowing that he was headed for the guillotine, I stepped in.

“Wait, it was unintentional. I will exercise my right of pardon. Let him go.”

“No! Your Grace. We cannot release a serious criminal attempting to assassinate His Majesty. We must behead him immediately as an example.”

“So, I’m saying I’m using my right of pardon?”

Really… what a mess.

Of course, he was the one who caused it. Maximilian, who hadn’t even conducted a safety test before using it on the Emperor, was the real problem.

It couldn’t possibly be my fault for testing it in front of the Emperor’s personal guard, right?

After that, I ordered them to release Maximilian, but the golden knights refused.

They glared at me, insisting they couldn’t let someone who attempted to assassinate the Emperor go, completely disregarding my command.

“Your Grace does not have that authority.”

“Why not? It’s guaranteed by imperial law and approved by the Emperor himself!”

Neither side was willing to back down.

“We only obey the Emperor’s command!”

Feeling that this could go on indefinitely, I called for William, the captain of the Golden Knights.

And…

“Duke… Are you an idiot?! How can you treat the Emperor like a cow, thinking of milking him?! Is this the kind of thing a person with humanity would do? And are you planning to use such a disgusting object on the Emperor, the master of the Empire?!”

The old man’s scolding was so severe that I couldn’t retort.

“It’s…”.

Honestly, I didn’t expect him to bring such a strange thing.

When I felt a bit resentful about being scolded by William, he changed the target of his scolding.

“And Maximilian, you’re also a problem! How can you try to use an untested object on the Emperor?! If something happens to the Emperor, you’ll be the one to die, and it’ll be impossible to recover!”

Maximilian bowed his head in apology at William’s angry words.

“I’m… sorry.”

“Then are you going to let Maximilian off the hook?”

I remained silent to avoid conflict with the Golden Knights.

“The penalty for attempting to assassinate the Emperor is death, but I’ll specially commute it to life imprisonment.”

“What?”

“What?!”

“What are you doing?! Take the criminal away!”

“Please… spare my life, Duke!”

And so, Maximilian was dragged away by the Golden Knights.

Later, I asked Terra for help and rescued Maximilian.

“Are you crazy?! I really can’t live like this!”

She fanned herself with her hand, trying to cool down her flushed face.

“How can you have such a terrible idea?”

I smiled awkwardly at Terra, who was gazing at me with a mixture of anger and disappointment.

“It’s… for Ian’s health?”

“You know that if I had made that thing, my nipple would have been torn off, right?”

“I didn’t know you’d make such a thing. I just wanted a breast pump…”.

I tried to appease her anger with a smile, but…

“Shut up! What do you think people are?! Just attach a wet nurse and it’s done. Why do you have to come up with such nonsense?! And on top of that…!”

My efforts were in vain, and I was tormented by her nagging all night.

But… am I going to give up?

Let’s see…

After that, I secretly designed and built a breast pump in the duke’s office, without Terra knowing.

—

A milking machine crafted over several days and nights.

Not the absurd contraption from before, but a modern design borrowed to create a small, cute, portable version.

That way, I can reduce Terra’s aversion.

Overall, it resembles a spray bottle for milk.

Well, structurally, it is somewhat similar.

By pulling the handle, it utilizes the principle of a spray bottle, increasing pressure to draw the milk in from below.

I plan to dye the end part a pink hue by adding natural coloring to the rubber.

This should prevent Terra from being startled, right?

With that thought, I place the blueprints into an envelope, seal the prepared letter with wax, and imprint it.

—Squeeze!

I hope it goes well.

If I ask Maximilian to make the milking machine, it’s obvious he’ll refuse.

After all, I nearly faced death last time.

“Ah… so this is what it feels like to be powerless.”

Normally, I would have done as I pleased. The pressure from the Golden Knights entering the palace makes me feel this sorrow.

—Knock, knock.

I respond to the timely knock.

“Come in.”

—Creeeak.

“Did you call for me?”

I handed the envelope containing the blueprints to Müller.

“Send this to the workshop and bring back the items.”

He took the letter, looking puzzled.

“Are you referring to the workshop?”

“Yeah.”

Müller, wearing a somewhat skeptical expression, reluctantly nodded.

“Alright. Understood.”

As I watched Müller leave, I anticipated the milking machine.

***

As soon as I returned to the room, I saw Terra nursing Ian on the bed.

Watching my beautiful wife nurse our child feels like a reward for the exhausting day I’ve had.

“Hehe….”

“Why are you laughing like that?”

“Just? It’s so nice to see.”

It’s not an exaggeration; I truly love this peaceful scene.

“Is Ian full now?”

“Uwa?”

Tera asks Ian as she holds him, but of course, the baby can’t answer.

“Gya?”

Ian makes a face as if he doesn’t know what’s going on.

Tera gently cradles him and rubs her face against his.

“Oh, are you full?”

“Whee~”

Seeing Ian smile at such a mother, I said, “I’m going to wash up.”

After washing up, I took out a bottle of wine I had stored in the freezer.

It was a freezer I received for storing breast milk, but if you set the temperature just right, it can also serve as a refrigerator.

“Are you going to drink?”

“Yeah, I’m feeling really good today.”

Recently, various things have been falling into place.

But in contrast… work is piling up, but so what?

The empire is running smoothly.

Thinking that way, I opened a bottle of wine as a reward for myself.

– Pop.

“I want to have a glass too…”

Now that I think about it, Tera used to love wine, didn’t she?

But after getting pregnant, she stopped drinking, and now that she’s given birth, she can’t drink because she’s breastfeeding…

Soon, when the milking machine comes out, that should be somewhat resolved.

Tera licked her lips, looking a bit regretful.

I gently embraced her and said.

—

“Just a little longer, and you can drink, right? Then let’s drink to our heart’s content after a long time.”

If only the milking machine would come out, huff huff…

I think that taking care of Ian’s health and Terra’s hobbies makes me a wonderful husband.

– Smooch.

“Got it. Honey, do you know?”

“Yeah?”

With her red eyes shining, Terra said with a bright smile.

“I think our Ian is a genius.”

“Really?”

I felt a surge of confusion at her sudden declaration of Ian’s genius.

“Out of the blue?”

But she nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world and spoke with a firm tone.

“Yes, today he called me ‘Mom,’ you know?”

No way…

It’s absurd for a baby just a few weeks old to call someone ‘Mom,’ but since Terra is so happy about it, there’s no reason to burst her bubble, right?

I smiled gently.

“Is that so? Must take after me, then, being so smart.”

But Terra slightly frowned.

“That’s not wrong, but doesn’t it feel a bit embarrassing to say it yourself?”

She spoke as if she had seen something annoying, so I shrugged my shoulders.

“I’m pretty smart, don’t you think?”

– Smooch.

Terra kissed Ian’s cheek and said.

“You are smart, but sometimes you come up with the most ridiculous things, and that’s a big problem. Ian, you shouldn’t learn that from your dad, okay?”

“Wah?”