The Cursed Tyrant and His Reluctant Queen

I haven't found a way to stop all these ladies from looking for trouble. Unmarried maidens are the first to offer, but I can't say those already married are any different. Aren't their husbands concerned when they act like this?

Oh, but I guess politics is more powerful than love.

It took them more than I thought it would, but they have finally realised I won't accept anyone to do my job while I'm indisposed. Especially since I'm not really indisposed. I'm a hundred per cent all right! I can do it on my own!

Now, they all study how to meet the King by chance, show their prowesses and attempt their luck. Since I won't be the one choosing, they stopped trying to look less charming than me. Now, they're doing their best.

«How unacceptable,» I murmur, seeing how Ignis is stopped several times before reaching me.

Today, I've spent the whole day in the garden. I finished the Queen's tasks early this morning. Someone alerted my husband, and he's coming here to check.

If I knew it would be like this, I would have waited somewhere else.

What do they want from my husband? Don't they really have anyone else to attract?

And why in the world does Ignis stop to reply to them?

«My dear,» he says when he can finally talk to me. «How are you feeling?»

«Fine,» I mutter.

He's taking a break, and he came here just to see me. Yet, I can't help but feel sore about how the other women approach him. My lungs hurt from this spectacle, and my stomach turns so many times that I start worrying about the baby.

If only I could make sure that he's not losing interest in me... But, maybe, he is.

«You don't look fine, though. Are you worried because of something?»

I nod, accepting his arm.

«I need to rest. Would you mind accompanying me to my chambers?»

It's time I confirm him once and for all.

«Of course. Does it hurt anywhere?»

I almost touch my chest to tell him my heart hurts, but it's not the best thing to do right now. Better explain when I understand what's the matter. Like this, I only risk making things even more complicated.

We walk away under the gaze of all the ladies starting to get new and crazier ideas. I can see it in their eyes. I need to find a solution before I lose any trace of control.

«Here, lie down. Or sit for a bit,» Ignis says, guiding me to a sofa.

I don't really need to rest. I've done nothing for the whole day. Still, if he sits next to me...

«Come here,» I murmur, pulling him to a sofa. «And leave us alone. Everyone!»

I hide in his arms, and Ignis comforts me even though there's nothing wrong. Why am I even feeling like this? I'd cry and laugh at the same time.

«What is going on?» he asks, in fact.

«I don't know. I just can't think any more about all those ladies,» I complain.

«Which ladies?»

«Are you blind, Ignis? How many stopped you in the garden? What do you think they wanted with their shoulders uncovered and their chests bare for you to see?»

«Chests bare?» he murmurs, confused. He takes a look at my own cleavage, chaste and proper, and he tilts his head. «Oh, yes... Now that you said it, their dresses were a little light for autumn.»

Oh, goodness. How am I even supposed to suspect him?

«They were offering to become your mistresses,» I point out. «Because I can't do it anymore.»

He hasn't understood yet. I can read it in his relaxed expression.

«Just because you're my wife, it doesn't mean you can't be my lover as well.»

«Uh?»

«You said they want to become my mistresses because you can't. And you can't just because you're my wife. But I don't need a mistress, Veronica. I will be a loyal husband.»

«Then, why do you refuse to touch me?» I whisper while tears fill my eyes. «Is it because I'm not pretty anymore? Those thin ladies are more appealing now that I'm pregnant. Is that so? But I will return like I was soon. It's just a few months more.»

Five or six. Not much time, is it?

«Veronica, what in the world are you talking about?»

«They came to me and told me to choose the mistress by myself,» I sigh. «Because the King is a busy person, and he can't afford to waste time by trying different options. It's also better if the Queen takes care of the selection because, apparently, I know your tastes and the political situation well enough.»

«I see.»

He doesn't understand yet. But I don't, either.

«Do you want to hear a story?» he says. «Something that will ease your worries, I promise.»

«Yes, sure.»

«The Queen Dowager used to select my father's mistresses. It's how royal marriages work. When an alliance is at stake, a Queen doesn't care about how many women the King sleeps with. Or, rather, she cares but not in the way you would think.»

«I see.»

How is this supposed to make me feel better? Is he hinting to just accept my fate?

«Our marriage was made because of love and not for an alliance.»

«For both,» I point out. It's not like having Duke Bursio on his side brings zero advantage.

«Well, all right. But we are still together because we love each other, right? I am so happy by your side that I can't even imagine looking for other women.»

This makes me feel a little better. Just a little, though.

«Why don't you touch me, then?»

«Because you're pregnant, Veronica.»

«So what?»

He swallows, collecting his thoughts.

«I don't want to hurt you. Even just sleeping by your side makes me sweat like an idiot. What if I turn in my sleep and hit you? What if you need air, but I continue clinging on to you?»

So, is this why he doesn't want to make love? Seriously?

«We can do it gently,» I point out. «So that no one gets hurt.»

«I haven't finished the story!» he remembers, wiping the sweat from his forehead. «May I continue.»

«Yes, my King,» I sigh, rolling my eyes.

I move closer to him until I can sit on his lap and place my head on his shoulder. Like this, I can both listen to his story and touch his chest.

«Well, I was talking about the late King and the Queen Dowager. They followed the customs, and everything went flawlessly during the first two years of their marriage. They also had a son during that period.»

«And then?»

Because that harmony must have been disrupted. There wouldn't have been any reason to tell me this if not.

«One day, the King betrayed his Queen. He chose a mistress without telling her... It was just a swing. He spent a single night with a maid of his. One with red hair and a cute face, apparently.»

«By betrayed, you mean that the Queen hadn't approved? That she was not the one selecting her?»

«Yes, exactly,» Ignis sighs. «My mother didn't have any choice, actually. Who could refuse a King? But she broke a taboo. Moreover, she gave birth to a child soon after.»

So, this is how it all started.

«My father has the same eyes, so there was no doubt I was his bastard son. It's not even too grave. Royal Courts are often full of bastard princes. Still, the Queen didn't take it lightly. She argued with the King because of this, and she also poisoned my mother. The King did everything in his power to earn her forgiveness, including sending me away while she was pregnant with Gratia.»

«No.»

«No, what?» Ignis chuckles.

«That's not really what happened.»

I wasn't there. I can't know what happened.

Yet, even after putting together everything, it doesn't make sense. Starting from what I found out from the Marchioness and ending with the Queen Dowager's refusal to kill.

«I think things were more complicated. The King felt guilty for his betrayal and, to regain the Queen's trust, he killed his own mistress. Or, maybe, he tried to kill you but failed.»

If what I've heard from many sources is accurate, then Ignis's number one enemy was his father. He tried killing him for no other reason than a peaceful marriage. And he failed, taking the life of an innocent woman.

«I can understand why you don't feel sad about your father's death,» I add. «He was a jerk! How could he think to take a life for a mistake he was responsible for? There were so many options! Sending you away, for example.»

«He told me he would send me away to save my life. And to protect his pregnant wife from my cursed presence.»

«He told that to a twelve-year-old boy?»

Oh, my.. And here I am, doubting Ignis.