Chapter 170 Lady Selyma
"As a prince of the Soth Empire, your title won't clash with Anne's dukedom. Your children can inherit the titles separately. And Friedel, you're the only one who would never betray me no matter what. I believe that with you as Anne's husband, the Soth Empire won't have any problems - it might even become stronger through your union. Friedel, you understand what I mean, right?"
Of course Friedel understood. Though Rolf seemed like a caring older brother, he was also the King of the Soth Empire, and everything he did was to keep the empire moving forward.
So the three-month deadline Rolf gave Anne would ultimately lead to only one outcome - Friedel and Anne getting married. This would fulfill his brother's wish while ensuring Anne's power remained under the king's control.
As for the other men pursuing Anne... Rolf trusted that Friedel would never let those with bad intentions get close to her.
Friedel felt troubled. He felt like Rolf had him completely cornered in this game, with no other solution. Even if he wanted to give Anne her freedom, he couldn't.
Under the night sky, Friedel sighed, and his attendant Lain sighed with him. "Your Highness, what do you think Miss Anne... no, Duke Virlet will do?"
Friedel glanced at Lain. "I understand what my brother means, I just don't know if I should go."
Lain looked at him, confused. "What's there to think about? Your Highness, if you want to go, just go. Compared to the others, Duke Virlet might actually prefer you."
Friedel was silent for a moment.
He hoped Anne would accept him, but after his brother's arrangements, she would probably think any confession was just part of the king's plan to monitor and control her.
What's worse, even if Anne later learned that Friedel truly liked her, she would still remember that their union started as a scheme.
This wasn't the outcome Friedel wanted to see.
As Friedel was thinking this, he suddenly heard Lain take a deep breath, as if remembering something troublesome. "Oh right, Your Highness, there's news from Atarat Manor. Lady Selyma wants to come see you soon."
"Mother wants to see me?"
Friedel frowned. He could clearly feel the vein on his forehead throbbing. "Why so sudden?"
Lain made a pained face. "It's not really sudden. When she heard you were coming back from the eastern battlefield, Lady Selyma made a fuss about coming to celebrate for you. Queen Mother Smith stopped her then, which is why she's waited until now."
"A while ago, Lady Selyma's people sent a letter specifically asking us to prepare the latest jewelry and dresses for her to host a ball at the manor. That gemstone necklace she specifically requested - I asked around, and they won't sell it for less than fifty thousand gold coins."
Friedel's frown deepened. "I can buy her things, but isn't fifty thousand gold coins a bit too expensive?"
As a prince, he wasn't short on money. After the victory in the eastern battlefield, Rolf had given him plenty of rewards. But Friedel had always been used to spending money on practical things, not buying expensive jewelry to show off at a ball.
Friedel knew that even if he satisfied his mother this time, this noblewoman who loved luxury would never understand restraint. Instead, she would make even more excessive demands to satisfy her vanity.
Lady Selyma's position was actually quite awkward. She was Queen Mother Smith's younger sister and was supposed to marry another noble. But once, when Selyma visited her sister at the palace and stayed overnight, the previous king got drunk and mistook her for his wife, taking her to bed for a passionate night.
When he woke up the next day, the queen went to have breakfast with Selyma and walked right into this mess.
The king still had feelings for his wife and naturally didn't want to hurt her over Selyma, so he decided to marry her off to another great noble.
But Selyma was the youngest child in her family and the most spoiled one, raised to be willful and headstrong. She refused to accept that her brother-in-law had slept with her and then wanted to pass her off to another man. She made a huge fuss about it.
Until a few months later, Selyma discovered she was pregnant. The child's father was her brother-in-law, the King of the Soth Empire.
Selyma came to the palace full of pride, demanding the king take responsibility. The king and queen had no choice but to take her into the palace.
But since Soth Empire law stated that everyone - whether king, noble, or commoner - could only have one wife, Selyma brazenly became the king's mistress and gave birth to Friedel.
The law clearly stated that unless the father denied paternity, there were no illegitimate children. As the king's son and the queen's nephew, no one dared exclude or look down on Friedel. At most, some quietly called Selyma a shameless slut who stole her sister's man.Selyma didn't think there was anything to be ashamed of. She felt that while the first time with the king was an accident, getting pregnant again and giving birth to Princess Kalia proved that she was very successful as a woman.
The king didn't have just Selyma as a mistress, so she was arrogant and bossy toward all the other women except her sister. She caused trouble from time to time, but fortunately her good-natured sister the queen smoothed things over for her, preventing bigger problems.
Later, when Rolf took the throne and Friedel was made a prince, Selyma couldn't keep living in the palace. Rolf gave her Atarat Manor as a retirement home, officially to arrange for Friedel's birth mother's care in her old age. In reality, Rolf was fed up with Selyma - this woman still hadn't changed her old habits and acted like she owned the palace. But now the king was him, Rolf!
Friedel's relationship with Selyma was distant. He grew up with Rolf at Queen Mother Smith's side, who felt more like his real mother. Hearing that Selyma wanted to come, Friedel felt no happiness - just faint helplessness and exhaustion.