With the proposal accepted, the delegation from Hatha bringing the first batch of food supply soon reached the capital city of Megaris. The head of the delegation was a pretty young woman that gave off the manner of a quiet and virtuous noble lady. It was Lady Yahvi of the House of Edin, the first daughter of the Minister of Commerce serving the Kingdom of Hatha.
Shortly after she entered the royal palace, a small private wedding ceremony was held between King Theron and Lady Yahvi.
On the night of the wedding, King Theron was forced by tradition to visit his new bride. The already drunk king went to the Vermillion Palace with only Sir Galien to escort him to the entrance.
Entering the chamber of his second concubine, he had a strange feeling of incompatibility. It was a different chamber, yet when he saw her sitting at the edge of the bed in that well-decorated chamber, waiting for his arrival, he remembered that night he married Lady Clarisa. A bitter feeling erupted within his chest.
King Theron closed the door but instead of going to her, he went towards the table where celebratory wine and fruits were placed. His sight was only fixed on the bottle of the liquor at the centre. He took it and sat on the chair leisurely.
“I should be a good husband to you, but I am afraid I cannot consummate this marriage.”
The bride, Lady Yahvi, heard the King of Megaris say something any bride should not hear on her wedding night. She only looked at him in disbelief. During the wedding ceremony, not even once did he look at her but she thought it was because this was a political marriage. Not showing affection towards a woman who’s a complete stranger was understandable.
But to deny the needs of the flesh? Like any other young lady raised by a noble family, Lady Yahvi was confident with her appearance. In fact, she thought it natural that a lady of her pedigree could only be wedded to a duke or a king. That was why she accepted her fate when her father ordered her to join the royal harem of the current King of Megaris.
Of course, before coming here, Lady Yahvi already ordered her subordinates to investigate the situation of the kingdom and the royal family, thus she had an idea of what to expect in the future.
Only now on her wedding night did she realize the rumours she heard were the truth.
The King of Megaris loved only the Queen, his first wife, and he never spared a single glance to any other beauties. Even the First Concubine was nothing but a tool to produce an heir for the throne.
She heard the handsome young man continue speaking at a leisurely pace, “This is a transaction between your father, Marquis Edin, and I, and we have both fulfilled our obligations written in the contract. Lady Yahvi, the royal family will not mistreat you. You will be provided with everything you need, and if you need more, you just have to ask. You are free to do anything that will not sully the name of the Ivanov Family. That is all I ask.”
His words were cruel to her but she calmed herself and asked, “May I know if I lack—”
His chuckle interrupted her and heard his languid voice say, “Not you, my lady, but it is I. I lack as a husband. It has nothing to do with you. If you ever need anything, you can always ask for it, everything except asking me to do the duties of a husband with you.”
She had nothing to say and there was nothing she could do. Although this was a political marriage, to be not acknowledged by her husband made her feel hurt and bitter. It was a strange feeling since she also told herself to have no expectations since she’s marrying a man as his third wife.
“You must be tired. Sleep.”
“Your Majesty will not rest?”
“I am fine, Lady Yahvi,” he said, sounding distant and polite, and continued drinking while sitting idly in the chair. This time, King Theron did not have an obligation to produce an heir, nor was this a requirement to fulfil the wish of his beloved. In the first place, if it was not for Esther’s sake, he would have never even thought of having an heir. He had many competent brothers and nephews who could be made Crown Prince.
He was only in this chamber to protect his concubine’s honour. He could do at least this much for her. If he did not come or stay for some time, she would have been the core of palace gossip. He didn’t wish an innocent woman to suffer due to his own issues.
When Lady Yahvi woke up by dawn, the King was already gone. By now, she understood her fate that her husband would never love her, and her marriage was something that was only real on paper. However, it made her smile. It wasn’t such a bad future, living a carefree lifestyle without worrying about politics or producing a child.
Though, it made her curious. She could not wait to see this particular Queen who held so much power over her husband that he saw no one but her.
———
The days and months swiftly passed by. With the harsh winter gone and the kingdom fully experiencing the beauty of spring, Esther’s belly continued to grow at a noticeable rate.
Meanwhile, the face of King Theron was barely seen by the people of the palace.
Most of the time, he wasn’t even in the City of Blackhelm. He used this chance to visit and inspect the various territories in the kingdom to personally see the development of the affected areas.
The young king became extremely busy setting up his kingdom back on track, paving way for it to resume its previous glory, but it was not something that will finish in a matter of months. Fortunately, things were moving in a favourable direction.
During these busy months, sudden news struck Megaris. The former King, Esteban Ivanov, passed away, which left the kingdom mourning for a month.
Due to all this, no one ever questioned why King Theron didn’t go to his wife often. People applauded and were somehow sorry how their king felt responsible towards his kingdom and neglected his expecting wife. However, the result of his efforts was showing up and everyone felt gratitude towards their king. Historians and scholars were even hailing him as the Wise King of Megaris, the best king the kingdom had ever had aside from the founding king. While all the descendants of Ivanov started their rule with a golden spoon in their mouths, King Theron rebuilt everything from the ground up. He basically performed a miracle of his own.
The King and Queen of Megaris saw each other for the first time in a while thanks to Great Lady Theodora’s invitation. The previous queen called for them to the Crystal Palace as she wanted to celebrate the birthday of her dead husband with her family.
At that point, Esther was heavy with the child, expecting to give birth within the next few weeks. Normally, the royal physician would advise her to remain in her residence and not move about, but thanks to her non-human constitution, she was not as delicate as human females and had no problems following her routine as Queen.
When Esther reached the lake gazebo, she found King Theron’s carriage by the lakeside. She found his tall figure standing inside the gazebo, seemingly about to ride his boat.
Hearing the sound of people approaching, King Theron turned to look at her, his gaze widening a bit after not seeing her for months. Her long honey blond hair was pulled up in a bun, causing her to look more mature, and under the sunlight, her fair complexion looked flushed pink, causing him to forget how to breathe. Her belly was round and big, but he found her more beautiful in his eyes.
There were moments when he thought Esther should not go through the pain of giving birth when he had heard the loud cries of Lady Clarisa while giving birth. Though it was a joyous occasion, at that moment he felt glad that it was not Esther who was in pain and he didn’t mind if they could not have a child but…but she would go through that pain soon. He could not imagine her in pain but there was nothing he could do.
