Chapter 261: Side Story 1: Reactions to the New Children

Looking at himself in the mirror, Ivan fixed his clothing carefully. Everything had to be perfect. Slicking his hair, he flashed a perfectly white smile at himself and left. In the halls, he gave polite nods to all the servants and walked into Alexei’s office.

"Father." Spreading his hands wide, he waited for a hug that never came. Shrugging, he took a seat and poured himself a drink.

"You’ve heard?" Raising an eyebrow, he looked at his son with worried eyes. Kissing his lips, he swirled the drink and scoffed, shaking his head.

"Dimitri is a funny guy. Two imperial bastards." Taking a sip, he hid his chuckle. "It’s quite a good joke."

"He doesn’t lie, Ivan. Not about these things and not to me." Alexei seriously said. Ivan smiled strangely and brushed the hair that fell over his eye. "Do you." Pausing, Alexei licked his lip and sighed. "Do you think he played us? Offloading a cripple onto us?"

"Cripple, bastard. Is there much difference?"

"Ivan. I need you to be serious." Enough was enough, and Alexei’s voice went hard. Ivan looked at him and playfully smiled, downing the rest of the drink.

"What there to discuss? I mean, how old are these kids? It seems we made our alliance before they were even born." Ivan shrugged and poured himself enough.

"But to have a mistress. He should have told us."

"Father." Ivan cut in and shook his finger. "Dimitri doesn’t lie to you, does he?" Alexei nodded and leaned back into his chair. "Well, if that woman was a mistress, it seems a bit excessive to stab her for so long and then burn her body. Lovers usually break things off quietly."

"Maybe he doesn’t like getting used." To his words, Ivan choked on his drink and tried not to laugh.

"Well, if what Dimitri insinuated, yeah, he doesn’t like being used, even for pleasure." As if a dam broke, Ivan burst into laughter and had to rest the glass on his lips to stop. "I didn’t know men could get, you know. I mean, how does it even happen."

"Have some respect, son. He is still an Emporer." Narrowing his eyes, he pulled the bottle away from Ivan. "If what Dimitri thinks is true, he didn’t try to snake us."

Ivan took a deep breath and stopped himself laughing. Fixing his collar, he nodded and returned to normal. "Well, it would explain a lot. I mean, such a... passionate reunion could only be explained that way." 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Enough of this. What I’m trying to get at is, do you want Anastasia to marry the cripple now other options are available?"

"That is a possible alternative." Ivan scratched his neck and exhaled. Licking his teeth, he clicked his tongue and shook his head. "No. It doesn’t feel wise. We are their closest ally and are following them into a schism. Saying I won’t marry my daughter to his heir is a slap in the face, and quite frankly, I don’t want my daughter to marry a bastard whose father carved their mother up like cattle. It insults both of us and, most importantly, my daughter."

"So nothing changed?"

"Oh no, no, no. Everything has. He has more kids. If Edward can’t have children, we have others who can now. I’ll marry my son to his bastard daughter. That way, the bloodline of the Blessed One is secured. And if things go well, maybe she will take the throne, and the old Empire will get some new land in the future. He wants a reason, and we can say it’s to strengthen our alliance."

Alexei smirked and nodded. "Don’t do it too early. Give it a year or so. We rush this, and it looks like we have no faith in the Crown Prince’s ability to have a child." Ivan nodded and raised his drink, downing it afterwards.

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Henrich stared coldly at the letter Reinhard had sent. "That bastard."

"Father, is it really such a bad thing? I mean, offering a bastard to marry one of my baby siblings is worse than marrying the prime minister. Besides, Johanna seems happy." The Slathan Crown Prince, Otto, looked at the letter and paid no mind to it.

"It’s just the matter that he didn’t disclose they existed. He thinks that little of us." Henrich scoffed and fell back into his chair. "Have we really fallen this far, son?"

Sighing, Otto fell into his hands and shook his head. "We know we have, father. The Principality gets stronger each year, and their alliance with the Empire is tight. Maybe these bastards make relations worse, but I doubt it."

"What makes you think that? I mean, marrying a cripple is worst than a bastard."

"Yeah, but it’s Prince Ivan we are talking about. He’s a weird guy. I doubt something like this would even bother him."

Henrich huffed at his son’s words and scratched his beard. But seeing a chance, he squinted deeply and smiled. Seeing it, Otto looked at him in anticipation. Although his father liked to play the kind grandfather in his later years, he still occasionally showed his best moments.

"How desperate do you think the Ammarys are to get us on their side?" Otto shrugged, not having had much input in dealing with the empire. "Son. My desire is for you to take the throne in the future. I know you and your brothers have your little squabbles going on, but everyone knows my desire. The future with the Empire and, by extension, Vladmire will become a massive part of this. Your children have not got spouses yet?" Seeing his smile, Otto sighed and shook his head.

"You want my kid to marry a bastard. Father, you can’t be serious."

"Think about it. The cripple most likely won’t have children, so who does the throne go to next. This is a chance to secure your children’s seat on the throne. Lucky for us, he has a daughter and son, so you have a choice. Secure an easy alliance or be the father-in-law to the future Ammary Emporer."

"Others will be thinking this already." Henrich smiled and got up. Going next to his son, he towered over him and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Do what you have to do? As a ruler, you have hard choices to make. This is one of them. After all, do you think I wanted to marry your sister abroad?" Henrich patted his shoulder once more and walked out, leaving Otto alone.

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"You should be resting," Issac said with an annoyed tone as he took Johanna’s hand and led her to the sofa. Despite rolling her eyes, she didn’t reject Issac’s worries and let herself be sat down. Issac made sure to make every pillow perfectly comfortable for her before resting his hand on her stomach and smiling.

"I still need to do things. The doctors say I will get ill if I don’t."

"I know. But I worry. Okay? " Johanna sighed, nodded, and grabbed his hand.

"You say this every time. You can get away with that excuse a few more times." Issac chuckled and bent down, kissing her forehead.

"I have a good reason today. My sister is back, and I need to talk with her a little before she meets you."

"The dreaded sister." Johanna scoffed and laid down on the sofa grabbing her book on the table. "Everything you have said makes me worried."

"Don’t be. Despite all I say, she is lovely. Just a headache." Issac smiled, and seeing Johanna waving him off, he turned around and left. It didn’t take long for him to get to the sitting room where Elizabeth sat, quietly reading through documents. Hearing the door open behind her, she threw them away and got up with a wide smile.

"Brother." Running over, she lept in for a deep hug. "I’ve heard so many interesting things." Issac’s lip twitched, and walking past her, he took a seat.

"It’s good to see you, Elizabeth." Looking at the papers spread on the table, he squinted and looked at her with a questioning gaze. "Where did you get them? You don’t have access to the family books."

"Oh, that. It’s old documents. Father gave them to me after I asked. He knows I want to work for the Empress, and I persuaded him that it would be good training to look through them."

"Right." Issac slapped his legs and looked at her, Elizabeth only smiling in return. "Why are you here, sister? You never popped in before."

"Well, my brother not only has a wife but is also having a child. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t check that she was good enough?" It was the thing Issac had been dreading to hear. He knew Elizabeth was protective of him and the family name, but he hoped she wouldn’t do anything crazy.

"Yes. She’s resting right now, so let’s not bother her."

"Sure. But you know, you don’t get much news at the university. However, recently, we have been flooded with things, well, one thing, to be precise." Leaning in, Elizbeth mischievously smiled. "Is it true the Emporer has more kids?"

"Elizabeth." Issac pulled back and looked at her seriously with a flash of anger. "This isn’t something you should be talking about."

"Come on. You can trust me." Smiling at him, Issac took a couple of deep breaths and sighed.

"Yeah, it’s true but I’ll warn you now: if you wish to work for the Empress, never bring this up to her, never ask, probe, whatever. She might kill you if you did." Elizabeth smiled and clasped her hands together happily.

"So. My future little niece or nephew. You think you’ll marry them to one."

"No. Don’t even suggest something so dangerous." Issac stood up and paced around the room nervously. Looking at the drink cabinet, he quickly poured himself one and downed it. "I am loyal to His Majesty, okay? Marrying one of his bastards is the one thing that not only ruins my position near him but threatens the entire existence of our house, Elizabeth. They are dangerous to get close to."

Elizabeth wished to speak, but Issac raised his hand and shook his head. "You don’t know the Imperial court right now, but when you enter, you’ll understand. You work for the Empress, and those bastards are your enemies. You understand."

"Fine." Elizabeth folded her arms and frowned. "You managed to ruin this somehow." Despite her attitude, Issac could see she understood the gravity of his words and nodded in satisfaction.

"As long as you understand."