After the bodyguards pulled their swords out of the marquess's body, the chamber fell into a quiet stupor, with only the newborn baby's wails and the fireplace's soft crackling filling the wintry, senseless gaps. Nobody else moved or spoke for what seemed like an hour, except once when the ladies-in-waiting slowly sank by my older sister's bedside.
Too many things happened. My older sister did not survive childbirth, and the marquess is dead. Therefore, the child is the new emperor. Although he is illegitimate, has a servant for a father, and is ineligible for the throne in normal circumstances, he is my older sister's only son. However, he cannot even speak or comprehend anything yet, so I will rule in his stead until he turns eighteen.
In short, I will be princess regent - almost tantamount to being an empress.
Honestly, I could make my situation easier for me. I could get rid of the child. I could slowly poison him to death, for example. After all, entrusting the empire to an infant meant precarious times ahead. Since the baby emperor is weaker and more vulnerable, countless devils would try to come after him. It does not help that he was born with a physical handicap which meant he could not produce heirs for the throne. He could also be the subject of tremendous ridicule because society despised the atypical.
In short, my being an empress would spare the both of us from more damage.
However, what would be the cost of bending the child's prophecy to my will? Throughout history, numerous royals attempted this, but they eventually needed to confront the foretold. Otherwise, they faced worse fates. Therefore, if I tried to do the same by disposing of the baby, the baby could still survive and become emperor. Furthermore, I could die due to my attempts to transgress fate. After all, nowhere in my prophecy was it stated or insinuated that I would be empress:
This princess shall be the most trusted shield of three majesties. Her incisive logic and creativity with the materials shall be her other legacies, yet the number and weight of her secrets shall haunt her to her demise.
If anything, it implied that I would be at the mercy of Father, my older sister, and now, the new emperor. If the new emperor is the third majesty, I should perhaps not marry. I will act as princess regent, so I shall not move to a new, foreign man's house anytime soon. I am not in the perfect headspace to marry anyone in the empire. After all that happened, allowing another member into the royal family is a risk I could not bear to take.
This turn of events is funny, in a way. While I did my best to serve Father and my older sister, I also wanted and prepared for my future husband. It would be more satisfactory if I finally understood what freedom was, even if not in its absolute sense as I formerly posited.
Except now, I only understand what freedom is not. In my context, being a princess regent is not my freedom.
I never wanted to be here. I never wished to be front and center. The thought is beyond appalling. My older sister committed many errors, but at least she had nerves of steel. Father, too.
Meanwhile, I can barely move now. I cower in the presence of conflict and danger.
If I will be princess regent, how will I endure hereon?
"Your Highness, My Ladies, and Doctor, how are you?" my older sister's bodyguard finally spoke, her voice barely resounding. She knelt in front of me, and I beheld her red eyes.
Did she cry?
"I do not know," I whispered. I was surprised by how indistinct my voice was.
...I want out...
YOU ARE READING
Classified (COMPLETED)
RomanceShe is undoubtedly one of the most memorable historical figures in her empire. During her time, she had the loveliest face, possessed the most impressive prowess in battle, donned the finest dresses, wore the most jewelry, garnered the most friends...
