Chapter 22: The Prince’s Wife

The next day was the Emperor’s birthday. Afrosa, who had a father who was the Emperor and a half-brother who was also the Emperor, couldn’t celebrate the holiday as joyfully as she had in previous years.

She felt uneasy, perhaps because of the nausea she had experienced while kissing her husband, or perhaps because she now knew he was of royal blood. It had become difficult and awkward to face him. No matter how much she tried not to show it, from the moment she woke up and he lowered his head to kiss her, she was acutely aware of him.

However, despite everything, they were still husband and wife. At least, for now. Yes, for now they were still married. As his lips approached to kiss her, she tilted her chin away but suddenly thought to herself and kissed him first. Thankfully, the nausea didn’t come. Afrosa gently wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him and then opened her eyes.

Alec’s steely eyes didn’t close, instead, they remained fixed on her. Afrosa pulled away from the kiss, gazed at him awkwardly, and got up from her seat. Her husband’s maternal uncle, Orchen, was nowhere to be seen, as he had likely gone out early in the morning.

“I don’t see Lord Orchen. Did he go for a walk?” Afrosa glanced back at Alec, who had just gotten out of bed. He responded indifferently, “I suppose so.” Then, as usual, the morning continued.

As always, Alec headed to the forest to check the traps for game. He said he’d be back by 3 o’clock, and Afrosa nodded in acknowledgment. As soon as he left, Afrosa began cleaning the house and preparing for the feast that evening, decorating it in accordance with the holiday.

‘My father is Leodegrance the 7th, and I am his only legitimate heir, born from the union with Eloise of the Castro family.’

When she brought a laurel sapling, symbolizing the Emperor, from the shed into the house, Alec’s words from last night suddenly echoed in her mind. She froze in place, staring blankly at the wall as the sapling stood in the center of the room.

Alec was of royal blood. Not a distant relative, but the Emperor’s biological son. Even though distant royal blood might seem far away to Afrosa, the Emperor’s direct son… it felt too distant to be real.

She thought about her husband, who had claimed to be of such noble birth, going out to check on a trap, and about Orchen, the man who had left the house before him. Orchen was her husband’s maternal uncle, the younger brother of his late mother, meaning he was very close family. He, too, would be noble, no doubt…

Afrosa’s eyes narrowed in understanding. She understood now why Orchen had looked at her that way—the way his gaze had swept over her, sizing her up like she was something to be judged. The moment his round eyes had gleamed sharply…

“Oops.”

As Afrosa tried to move the pot containing the laurel sapling into the center of the room, a large hand reached out in front of her. Surprised, Afrosa turned to see Orchen, whom she hadn’t realized had entered the house.

“Please, let me take that.”

He took the pot from her hands. Afrosa stood awkwardly aside, watching him. Upon closer inspection, despite being her husband’s uncle, Orchen still looked young. Perhaps he was the youngest in his family. He didn’t seem to be much older than Afrosa.

“It seems you were preparing for His Majesty’s birthday celebration,” he said.

Afrosa nodded quietly in response, her eyes dim as she glanced at him. Orchen, as before, looked at her as though she was beneath his notice.

He didn’t scrutinize her or check her from top to bottom, but there was no mistaking the disapproval in his eyes. The hostility he felt for her gleamed within his cold blue gaze. Afrosa, feeling tense under his stare, blurted out in frustration.

“I know you don’t like me.”

Orchen was Alec’s maternal uncle, and Alec was a prince. It was likely unthinkable for someone like him, the wife of a prince, to come from such a humble village. Perhaps the person who had come to find Alec, but had failed to do so, was the same person Orchen had just mentioned. They had been looking for the prince, but all they found was a hunter from the remote countryside…

“What do you mean by that?”

“You know, Alec… Alec is from the capital.”

Afrosa’s mind went blank at his indifferent question. She tried to speak but her voice was so small, as if it would disappear. Her gaze, which had been fixed on the laurel sapling, slowly rose.

“Alec is a prince… Is that why you don’t like me?”

---

The woman who was taken in as the prince’s wife had round shoulders and a small face.

Her hair, the color of walnuts—or even a lighter golden hue—was wavy and sparkled like sand under the summer sun. Her skin was fair and pristine. The blue eyes set beneath neatly shaped eyebrows were pale, pure, and sorrowful.

She wasn’t an extraordinary beauty. In a great city like Travis, such women were common. Especially the noble young women from institutions who took great care of their appearance, their beauty far surpassing that of any rustic beauty from a secluded village.

Women who had been refined through strict decorum were not only beautiful but exuded an elegance that seemed almost unnatural, as if they were not quite human. The daughter of Marquis Offrezé, Valerie, for instance, boasted an elegance with her flawless manners and perfect appearance that was almost eerie.

In her case, her perfection made her almost unsettling, but the prince’s wife…

‘There’s something strange about her. She must have used that to seduce the prince.’

Orchen sensed a strange aura in the woman’s beautiful face, an aura that stirred the desire of men. Such women were common among the mistresses of noblemen. Even if they weren’t perfectly beautiful, they often enticed men with their innate charm and allure.

‘This woman must be one of those types.’

Orchen narrowed his eyes as he observed her. The woman, however, seemed frozen, her expression stiff.

“Did you know?”

“I heard yesterday.”

Her eyes were full of fear. Though she kept her posture rigid, she seemed unable to suppress the fear that welled up in her gaze. Orchen sighed and turned his head.

“You came to find your husband, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Orchen didn’t bother lying. Given that he had told the innocent woman the truth last night, it seemed that the prince had some plan in mind. Since the woman had approached him first, knowing the truth, there was no reason to deny it.

“Does Alec need to return…?”

“…What would you do if he did?”

Orchen turned his gaze back toward her. He had expected tears or some kind of emotional outburst, but to his surprise, she was calm. Without responding, she turned her back to him. After a brief pause, Orchen spoke again.

“What are you planning to do? The prince will find it difficult if he does not return to the capital.”

He asked directly. The woman only glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her face dark. Orchen bit his dry lips, hesitating before getting to the point.

“And you are different from the prince.”

The gaze that had lingered on him slowly dropped, like silk sliced by a blade, falling softly to the ground. Her eyes, though not red, looked pained, as if deeply carved, though only for a brief moment. She quickly returned to her usual composure and met his gaze again.

“Don’t worry. When the time comes, I will act according to the natural course of things.”

He wanted to ask what that meant, but it seemed like she was on the verge of tears. Orchen felt he might have been too harsh with her words. If her feelings got twisted and she went running to the prince, it would be troublesome.

However, the woman didn’t show any sign of being affected. If anything, she looked stubbornly resolute. He didn’t want to speak with her further and stepped out of the hut. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag, feeling a tightness in his chest.

‘This situation is laughably absurd.’

He stifled a hollow laugh. He had heard that the prince married three years ago. Though she was said to be the adopted daughter of a noble family, she was actually a runaway slave. In that case, according to imperial law, the marriage would not be recognized. So, calling her his wife seemed inappropriate. Even though the prince called her his wife, they were simply two people living together, not legally married.

Yet, Orchen still respected her because of the prince. He couldn’t treat her with more dignity than that; he had his own pride. A marriage between royalty and a slave—if anything, he’d rather call her a concubine he took after one night of passion.

Yes, if they were to return to Travis, it might be better to introduce her as a concubine, not a wife… Even though her lowly status as a slave would prevent her from even being the prince’s concubine, there had been cases where common women of exceptional beauty became the mistresses of nobles. Though those women’s endings were often tragic and meaningless, they had enjoyed luxuries beyond their station, and perhaps they didn’t regret it.

But this woman…

“It’s a headache,” Orchen muttered to himself, thinking about the prince’s grim expression. There were many slaves who had children by royal blood. Usually, these children lived short lives as concubines before being sent away to monasteries or receiving some property and being exiled abroad.

Children born of slaves and royalty never enjoyed the privileges of royalty. Even if they were recognized by their fathers, they remained wealthy commoners; if not, they lived as slaves alongside their mothers.

If the father wanted to hide the birth of his illegitimate child, they might be sent to an orphanage, or, if lucky, adopted by a noble family.

The lives of noblewomen as concubines were a world apart. Noble children born from such affairs were typically recognized as legitimate heirs, but for commoners or slaves, there was no real opportunity for recognition. They couldn’t marry into noble families, and they were merely objects of ridicule in high society.

“If I leave things like this, it’ll be a problem.”

Orchen didn’t want to see her become a subject of mockery in the court of Travis. To be ridiculed for having an affair with a man beyond her reach, and to see the perfect son of his sister’s born child tarnished—that was unthinkable. But if she stayed in Travis and was known as the prince’s woman, it was inevitable.

No matter how she positioned herself by his side, whether as his wife or otherwise, the mockery would follow. Even if she were granted freedom and adopted into a noble family, the ridicule would likely continue, albeit less intense.

“The prince is royalty. He can’t stand on the same level as a slave.”

Orchen exhaled a deep breath as he let the smoke out. Alec returned precisely at three o’clock. Before preparing dinner, Afrosa gave him some snacks to tide him over. She had also told her father that she would inform him of her pregnancy.

Originally, she had planned to tell him at the evening meal. Since it was a special day, they would all drink apple wine together, and when she declined, her father would ask why. Then, she would blush and confess her pregnancy. Her father would likely tear up and bless both her and Alec. Though he hadn’t been thrilled about Alec becoming his son-in-law, in that moment, he would surely bless them both wholeheartedly.

That was her plan for the evening meal. But Orchen joined them at the table. Now that he knew Orchen was Alec’s maternal uncle, it would be impossible to eat dinner without him. It would be a meal with everyone present, and Afrosa didn’t want to reveal her pregnancy in front of him.

She just… felt like she wanted to keep it a secret. She hadn’t even decided when to tell everyone, and she didn’t want to tell her father just yet. Though having a child with her husband wasn’t wrong, why did it feel like she had done something so wrong?