Before the duchess left the meeting, the empress whispered to her quietly so that only Norma could hear it.

“Duchess, I will never become your puppet.”

Crash!

A glass vase hit the wall and shattered. Sharp glass pieces, flowers, and water splattered everywhere including the expensive carpet on the floor.

Crash!

This time, a silver candle holder was thrown onto the wall. It became bent and fell onto the floor loudly.

“…!”

Norma panted roughly in anger. She just returned from the castle. After leaving the empress’ room, she checked with others to confirm that what Bina claimed was true.

It was. The emperor indeed planned on changing the law just as Bina said.

Apparently, in the last three months, the emperor had been secretly dealing with other kingdoms and colonies. They agreed on sending princes or noblemen’s sons instead of princesses and noblewomen. These men were to be married to the emperor’s stepsisters and be free to leave as they wished after they had children.

One of the many reasons for this was to reduce the unreasonable number of wives for the emperor. This change could save a lot of money for the royal family and the kingdom. The previous emperor drained the treasury by having so many wives and concubines. Each woman received at least ten servants and maids, and the expense of it was too much. It was a well-known fact that Empress Sa Bina was a frugal woman who tried her best to improve Cransia’s financial state. When the chief of finances heard of this new idea that could save the kingdom a lot of money, he was all for it.

There was a political aspect to this as well, and so the minister of foreign affairs was against the idea, but he was only one person against the rest of the kingdom who loved the idea. Besides, the emperor was determined to make this happen, and that was what really mattered.

What frustrated Norma the most was the fact that she wasn’t informed of this progress earlier. She only heard about it by chance from the empress, and it was after the fact where she started hearing everything more about it.

The duchess was angry at her powerlessness. She had no control over the empress, and she could not involve herself in the political world like her father-in-law did. Her own husband and her heir were both useless and spineless.

If things continued like this, all Norma would have was the name Lonensia. No power, no influence, just a name.

She needed something… Something that would give her power.

“Yulia… Even she didn’t let me know of this change!”

Yulia was close to the empress, which meant she must have known about the change in the emperor’s marital law. However, even she didn’t tell her own aunt about it.

“How dare she…!”

Norma trembled in anger. What’s more, she felt like her previous treatment of Yulia justified her anger.

“I treated her like my own daughter…! This is how she repays me?!”

Just then, the door opened without a knock and a handsome man walked in. Norma’s face softened as she saw who it was.

“Rob.”

“My, my. One of the servants came to me in fear and told me I needed to come and see you right away. Now I see why.”

Norma sighed deeply. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this. I feel better now, so you can go.”

Her son shook his head and took his mother’s hand gently.

“I know you aren’t fine, mother. Tell me what happened.”

She sighed and followed her son to the bed. She sat on it, and her son faced her, making her smile.

“You are the only one who cares about me. The only one who concerned of me.”

“Everyone in this house is worried about you. They are also afraid of you.”

“But they don’t really mean it. Your father would love it if I died. Maybe he will finally come out of his bedroom.”

“Mother…”

Norma replied firmly, “Even Yulia, who I trusted, turned against me. I only have you left.”

Roberto’s eyes widened. “Yulia? No way!”

“It’s true. She rejected all I have planned for her and she stopped talking to me.”

Norma started to explain what had happened so far.

***

“I see.”

“Yes, and now I don’t know what to do.”

Norma massaged her temples. She was getting a headache. Everything she worked for was falling apart.

“But you won’t give up that easy, right?”

Norma smiled. “Of course I will never give up. I won’t let these young girls ruin my life.”

“Of course, mother.”

Norma tapped her lap a few times. Roberto knew what she wanted. He was no longer a child, but he decided to appease her. He placed her head on her lap and she started to pat his hair.

Norma murmured, “I can’t forgive Yulia, but I don’t have an appropriate replacement, so I will have to find a way to make this work. If Evelin was alive, I wouldn’t have to do this.”

Roberto’s sister, Evelin, died at a very young age. When she was alive, she never once disobeyed her mother. Her mother forever remembered her as the perfect daughter.

Norma continued, “Wait a minute. Yulia loves her sister and nieces.”

Yulia’s older sister, Sastia, was married to a family loyal to the Lonensian family. In fact, it was Norma who arranged the marriage. She had complete control over that family.

Roberto nodded and asked a question as if he suddenly remembered something.

“By the way, mother, that empress. Is she really from a faraway land?”

“Who knows. The emperor said she was, so everyone pretended to believe it but… No one really knows where she is from.”

When Norma was about to get angry again, Roberto squeezed her hand and asked smoothly, “Mother, if the emperor and the empress drift apart, do you think it will help your plan?”

Norma seemed confused.

“… I suppose it would.”

Roberto smiled widely and told his mother of his plan.

Soon, Norma’s face turned into a complete shock.