Page 235 of Remarried Empress

As if he had heard something unexpected, Heinley tilted his head and asked, “A baby?”

I nodded and caressed his lips with one finger.

I wanted to have a baby not because I liked the idea of it, but for the imperial family, as the successor was very important.

Not only because the stability of the country was at stake, but also because if the line of succession went awry, nobles or even royalty from another country could take the throne out of nowhere.

The latter as a result of marriage between members of different royal families.

In fact there was just such an emblematic case.

The third prince of Ahslan married a princess of the Northern Kingdom, but both died of a plague.

The right of succession belonged to the third prince, so eventually Ahslan was absorbed into the Northern Kingdom.

Even in the Western Kingdom, no, in the Western Empire, the right of succession passed to Heinley because his brother had no sons.

“Yes. My Queen, our baby will be really lovely if it looks like you .”

I smiled and replied, “But I wish it to look like you.”

However, a slight feeling of uneasiness arose within me.

Sovieshu had said that I could not have a baby.

Of course, I thought it was nonsense, but now I am worried.

What if... what if it’s true?

While I was lost in thought, Heinley got out of bed first.

What is he going to do?

He then hurried back and forth from his room to the bedroom, approaching me with small pancakes and a glass of milk on a plate.

The pancakes were topped with sweet syrup and whipped cream.

“Thank you.”

“My Queen, do you mind if I feed you now?”

“...”

Why was he so obsessed with feeding me? Maybe it’s because he’s a bird.

Eventually, Heinley started feeding me pancakes straight to my mouth.

It was nice. However, in the middle of the meal Heinley started to tell me something unbelievable.

“My Queen. In fact, the bed we are in now is made entirely of mana stone.”

I stopped eating and my eyes opened wide.

Mana stone? Isn’t that extremely expensive?

When I looked up in surprise, Heinley smiled and continued,

“The King of the Western Kingdom has been a mage for generations. And under a special environment, also his wife becomes a mage.”

“Becomes... a mage?”

Is that even possible?

What Heinley said was shocking and amazing!

Even I, who didn’t know much about magic, was clear that for magic one required a special kind of talent.

I couldn’t believe that an ordinary person could become a mage!

If so, not only the Magic Academy, but also the association, would be brought down.

“But the method is a little embarrassing... and it’s absolutely secret, My Queen.”

“What’s the secret?”

“Uh...”

Heinley was very embarrassed to explain it, but it was only after hearing it that I realized why he was so embarrassed to say it.

When a mage and a mana stone are connected the mana circulates between the two.

Naturally, once the mage lies down on the mana stone bed, the mana circulates between the mana stone and the mage.

The principle is the same... even if there was an ordinary person between the mage and the bed.

If the mage did not accept the mana that flowed to him from the mana stone, the mana flowed into the ordinary person’s body in the process of return, and thus the mana continued to accumulate in the ordinary person’s body...

“Really?”

When I asked, perplexed, Heinley replied, “Yes,” with great embarrassment.

“But if that were all, it would be known to other countries.”

“Sounds easy, but it’s hard to create an environment like this.”

“You mean the mana stone bed?”

“Even a nail-sized mana stone is very expensive. Also, most mana stones are small to be carried around, so it’s inefficient to make a bed. As well, there must be a mage in the couple.”

“Ah...”

I see. It certainly could be difficult for all those conditions to come together. Also, it was a very embarrassing method.

While stunned, Heinley added with a smile.

“What I meant was that the body becomes very healthy as it gets used to mana. So you don’t have to worry so much about a baby.”

I said I was hoping to have a baby ‘this time’. He seemed to notice my concern. His thoughtful consideration made me feel a tickle around my heart.

But soon I had a strange thought.

“So is Christa a mage too?”

I hadn’t heard anything about that.

Besides, didn’t Heinley’s brother die early because he was weak?

Heinley shook his head with a grim face.

“There is a drawback to this method.”

“Drawback?”

“If one cannot handle a mana stone of this size, rather...”

...Rather?

However, Heinley said nothing more.

“Heinley?”

“Don’t worry. We won’t have any problems.”

...We?

***

After that, Heinley didn’t give me any more details.

He had a very grim expression, so I didn’t insist any more.

It seemed to be related to his brother’s cause of death.

However, I was curious about what he didn’t finish saying.

If one could not handle the mana stone, would one die?

Christa looked healthy, so is it the mage who takes all the risks?

Will Heinley be alright?

Even after attending the reception, this thought kept coming to my mind.

At least Heinley looked very lively on the outside.

Besides, although Heinley’s brother had a short life, that was not the case for all the Kings of the Western Kingdom.

In fact, there were some very long-lived kings...

While absorbed in my thoughts, I suddenly saw Sovieshu in a corner.

He was drinking wine with a pale complexion just like yesterday. He was alone again today.

Looking at his face, I didn’t think he should drink anymore.

What on earth were his subordinates doing that had not yet taken Sovieshu away?

But upon closer inspection, I saw his secretaries and knights not far away, looking anxiously at Sovieshu.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to take Sovieshu away, rather it seemed that he had driven them all away so that he could be alone.

What about Rashta?

Shouldn’t Rashta step in and intervene at a time like this?

She was not even... close to Sovieshu.

Looking across the way, I saw Rashta sitting near the piano, surrounded by men, while laughing happily.

Yesterday, she was running around to avoid Nian. She was probably relaxed today because Nian was not in attendance.

Still, why weren’t they together if they were newlyweds?

The emperor and the empress had to show in front of people that they had a good relationship, even if it was false.

However, it’s none of my business now.

I sighed and was about to turn my head when my eyes met Rashta’s eyes.

Instead of turning her head, Rashta stared at me.

But at my wedding reception I didn’t want to have a confrontation with my ex-husband’s wife to avoid any remarks, so I turned my head after flashing a smile.

Just then, Grand Duke Kapmen approached and asked Heinley to speak alone.

“May I have a moment of your time, Your Majesty?”

Once Heinley left to talk to Grand Duke Kapmen, I had some round sugar-coated snacks while chatting with Mastas.

But I barely ate a couple of snacks. Rashta, who was far away, approached me.

At this point, I let out a sigh. I thought she would keep her distance after what happened yesterday.

What is she up to?

Still, I felt lucky that this happened when Heinley was not present. Rashta approached me and said in a friendly voice.

“Congratulations on your marriage, sister.”

... sister.

Why was she so obsessed with it?

I managed to manage my expression when I was about to frown naturally. But Rashta continued,

“You used to say that you couldn’t be a sister to a concubine of low status, but... now that we are both empresses, and it has been revealed that my status is that of a true noblewoman, can we be like sisters? I’m qualified, right?”

Oh, she doesn’t call herself in the third person anymore?

That’s unbelievable.

I don’t know if I was hallucinating, but the way Rashta spoke was somewhat similar to mine.

As I thought about it, I heard murmurs all around me. I also realized that the eyes of those present were on us.

The confrontation between the ex-wife and the current wife.

It was certainly interesting.

Besides, we are both empresses.

Rashta blushed, heat rising in her cheeks as if she was happy to attract the attention.

Blushing, she looked like a cute doll, but....

I smiled and helped her cool off,

“If you want a sister so badly, you can be the sister of Sovieshu’s next concubine since you would have the same husband.”

It worked. Immediately, the blush disappeared from her face.

Rashta asked as if she had become the protagonist of a tragedy.

“Are you saying that His Majesty will have an affair with another woman?”

But I wasn’t interested in playing along.

“Don’t even ask me, that’s your business.”

At my blunt response, Rashta raised her eyebrows, looking quite angry. I wondered if this would cause her to cross the line.

“It’s true. Your Majesty Navier is infertile, so you don’t have time to worry about anything else.”