I Became the Master of the Empress - Chapter 277



281

Recently, I heard that Terra and her husband have been quite passionate in their intimacy.

Oh my… I thought about how the bed sheets must be completely soaked or stained, and it really hit me that Terra has grown up, and I might soon meet my grandchildren.

Yes, it’s late, but I should ignite that fire now.

Even now, I sometimes see Ian and Rene in my dreams.

The thought that I might meet them soon makes my heart swell.

Grandma is making you some clothes.

I’ve heard that all my peers are living for the joy of making clothes for their grandchildren.

Imagining newborn babies wrapped in the clothes and blankets I made, lying in their cradles, makes my heart flutter.

I’ve never made clothes in my life, so I’ve been learning to weave recently.

A tutor comes to help me, but even after the tutor leaves, I practice diligently.

From noble mtl dot com

I’m still quite lacking, but if I work hard now, I think I’ll be able to make a blanket to keep Ian warm by the time he’s born, and maybe even clothes afterward.

“Hoho…”

Though it’s a labor-intensive task, for the sake of my beloved grandchild, this is nothing.

“Ian, Grandma will make you a pretty outfit, so hurry and come to me.”

Thinking of Ian brought an involuntary smile to my face.

As I wove the fabric, imagining Ian’s cute smile.

– Knock, knock.

The sound of a visitor knocking.

It was a time when nothing particular was happening, so I wondered who could be looking for me.

“Who is it?”

– It’s me, Your Majesty, the head maid.

Her urgent voice filled me with curiosity.

“What’s the matter that you look so pale?”

She was also from a noble family and had lived like sisters from a young age, so when we were alone, we could talk freely like this.

“That’s… I found this at the imperial palace… It’s this thing.”

The chief steward handed me a piece of paper.

“What’s this? A scroll? Why is it like this?”

I asked him back, and the chief steward swallowed his saliva and said:

“If you look at the pattern on the seal wrapped around the scroll… this is a birth control magic. It’s a one-month spell.”

“Good grief?! Can… can a child really prepare for birth control? If a child is born, the husband and wife cannot have a relationship!”

The world seemed to be collapsing.

The greatest duty given by God to humans is the duty of reproduction and multiplication.

Even if it’s a newlywed couple and their relationship is good, they still use birth control.

That’s like abandoning one’s duty as an emperor and as a daughter, and abandoning one’s husband and oneself.

I suddenly felt a strange sensation in my head.

And if the Pope’s office knows that the emperor bought birth control for his honeymoon, they might condemn him.

Ah… reckless pleasure without responsibility! The emperor has leapt over the whip and fallen into an even more bizarre taste.

I’m starting to wonder if she’s even my own child.

“Is there anyone else outside?”

I ordered, and the two golden knights standing at the door came in and kneeled down.

“Did you summon me, Your Majesty?”

“No, I need to see the emperor immediately! Hurry!”

I shouted loudly, and the Golden Knights nodded their heads.

***

– Wait a minute.

I felt a vibration in my sensitive area and bit my lip.

-Snap, crackle.

“Oh no… Stop it… I can’t even sign it.”

I begged him, but he just exhaled a hot breath into my ear.

“If you can’t even bear this as an emperor, then what’s the point? Just bear with it a little longer.”

“No! What does this have to do with the emperor? And besides, I already know it’s been an hour.”

The ring that had been strange for an hour kept stimulating me.

Since it’s a day off, I would have gone to bed with him, but now I’m in the middle of a serious task.

—

I bite my lip and hold back, knowing there are things I need to confirm today and relay to each department.

“Are you really going to break your promise?”

“You… really?!”

Just as I was about to snap back.

– Knock, knock.

I heard someone knocking on the door.

“Who is it?!”

– I come bearing the command of Her Majesty, the Empress Dowager.

At the knight’s words, Deviant quickly turned the ring.

“Ahem, come in.”

– Creak.

The door opened, and the golden knight entered, kneeling.

“What is it, Mother?”

“Her Majesty the Empress Dowager says… there is something urgent to discuss with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“My mother?”

She never asks to meet privately when I’m on official duty, so something must have happened.

“I will go right away, and you… you stay here. Don’t go anywhere else.”

As I headed toward my mother’s chamber…

– Knock, knock.

– Is someone outside?!

I flinched at my mother’s voice, filled with anger.

Why is she so upset when she usually doesn’t get angry?

With half fear and half confusion, I replied.

“It’s me, Mother.”

– Come in quickly.

– Creak.

“Did you call for me, Mother?”

The cold gaze of my mother’s blue eyes felt chilling—was it just my imagination?

“Yes, Terra. What is this?”

My mother held a scroll raised above the tea table and spoke.

—

“Contraceptive magic scroll? Is it true that this was in your office?”

Seeing the contraceptive magic scroll in my mother’s hand, I had a feeling about what was going on.

This is ridiculous!

“W-well…”

How should I explain this?

Should I say that I took it because he threatened to cast a contraceptive spell after I made him stop using that bizarre toy he brought?

But… I’m still using that bizarre toy, aren’t I?

“Can’t you explain it properly?! You know this isn’t a trivial matter, right? Terra, as the heir to the Empire, you need to bear an heir quickly…”

Listening to my mother’s long-winded scolding, I felt a sense of injustice.

I didn’t secretly use it; he’s the one who threatened me to take it away.

“But pursuing physical pleasure to bear an heir…”

“Mother, that’s not mine.”

My mother frowned.

“What do you mean? Didn’t the head maid say she found it in your office?”

“That’s his. He said he would use it, so I took it from him.”

“What? Your husband is doing that?! You’ve only just started your married life? A contraceptive spell?”

My mother, looking dizzy, held her forehead and spoke in a voice that sounded like it was about to give out.

“Go call your husband.”

– Yes!

***

I sit in her office, reading.

I’m reading about magic at the right time for my achievements in magic.

But how much energy does it take to use lightning magic?

In the world, there exists a law of conservation of energy.

The theory that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed, according to mathematical formulas.

But here, there exists magic that utilizes a strange entity called mana.

Considering that the magic used by great wizards can kill hundreds, if not thousands, of people with large-scale spells…

I can’t help but wonder about how mana transforms into magic.

Is mana a form of decay like nuclear energy?

Is it really possible for humans to induce the decay of matter through mental abilities?

I feel the need to delve deeper into the incomprehensible phenomenon, so I am researching mana.

– Knock, knock.

“Who is it?”

– Your Highness the Duke, His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress Dowager are looking for you.

“Me? Why?”

Surely Theodora has gone, so why are they looking for me?

It’s quite puzzling.

What could it be?

As I rise from my seat and head toward my mother-in-law’s quarters…

“His Highness the Duke has arrived.”

– Hurry, let him in!

Is it just my imagination, or does that sound colder than usual?

– Creak.

As the door opens, my mother-in-law’s quarters feel uncomfortably chilly.

As if it were winter in here.

Shouldn’t I light the heater, or rather, the firewood in her room?

It’s still late autumn, yet it’s already this cold; I began to worry about my mother-in-law.

“Son-in-law, is this yours?”

My mother-in-law placed something on the tea table.

“Ah? That’s…”

A contraceptive magic scroll…

Why does my mother-in-law have that?

“Why are you silent? I asked if this is indeed yours.”

Now I understand why it’s so cold in here.

“Um… Yes, it is mine.”

– Thud!

“You possess something that defies the will of the gods, and you are the national document of this country?! At a time when we urgently need an heir, contraception?! Contraception?!”

Seeing my mother-in-law, who was now almost in tears after her outburst, I felt a sense of embarrassment.

“Mother-in-law, this is all a misunderstanding.”

“What misunderstanding?! When are you going to give me Ian and Rene?!”

Uh… this is a big deal.

“Now that the two of them are finally sharing a bed… I was making something like this…”

My mother-in-law lifts up the small piece of cloth in front of her.

A very tiny fabric.

It’s just about big enough for my two fists to fit.

“This is…”

“Isn’t it a baby wrap?”

Theodora, as if she knows what it is, gently holds the cloth in front of my mother-in-law and says.

“Ugh… I thought if I worked hard from now on, I could make a wrap for Ian when he is born… Ugh, you bad boy, hurry up and let me hold Ian! Hooong!”

“Uh…?”

Seeing my mother-in-law start to sob uncontrollably, I felt a bit awkward.