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"Hang on! The fuck are you talking about?!" she states in a shocked tone.
Gertrude smiles wryly upon hearing Empress Urduja swearing. "His Imperial Majesty will visit—"
"I know! I know! Alistair will visit my chamber. You already said that. What do I want to know as to why? Why the heck would he visit and sleep here with me in my chamber?!"
'Why did the real Urduja not mention this thing in her journal?' She wonders, frustrated being clueless about this matter.
She tries to stay away from that emperor as much as possible yet fate wants to hold them up close. Urduja is not liking it. She is not liking it at all.
"Because…" Gertrude starts explaining.
From the past, upon knowing of Emperor Alistair that she has low mana, he decided not to visit her chamber anymore. But the imperial court has demanded the emperor to visit her as she and Emperor Alistair need an heir who will succeed the emperor's throne in the future. If there will be no legitimate heir born by Empress Urduja, the succession of the throne will be passed on to Emperor Alistair's third brother, Prince Spencer of Whist regardless of Emperor Alistair has children from his consorts. The children that will bear by Noble Consort Tatiana, Consort Eleanore, and Consort Odette in the near future are considered illegitimate children of the emperor and cannot have succession in the throne.
But they can still be considered princes and princesses of the empire.
That is why the imperial court and Emperor Alistair have made an agreement.
Emperor Alistair will visit her chamber every three months and will try to make her conceive a child of their own. This is the reason why the emperor is visiting her tonight. This is the month he has to see her.
He has to come and visit her or else, the imperial court will communicate to the Prince of Whist to return to the palace immediately.
"Why can't Alistair divorce me so he can have a new empress?" Urduja frowns and crosses her arms over her chest.
"Empress! Don't say that!" Gertrude looks at me, horrified at my words. "Do not be so absurd!"
Urduja stays silent. Of course, these people didn't know that the real Urduja had already planned to divorce Alistair. It was all written on her stationary. Soon, the moment she dies, historians will see the real Urduja's dark thoughts about her marriage to the 35th Emperor once they read her journal.
"Gertrude, Alistair and I are not happy anymore. He could have decided to conduct the divorce instead. But why is he not doing it?" she asks earnestly.
Although Urduja knows the answer already, she wants to ask Gertrude to challenge her and also her other ladies-in-waiting. Alistair was not pushing the divorce because she still has a good use to the imperial court regardless of whether she has a tongue-tied condition or is low in mana.
"He still loves you for sure, Your Imperial Majesty!"
She turns her head at Polly. "This is a marriage for convenience. If he loves me, why does he keep on treating me like shit? Why is he taking me for granted by taking in some consorts?" Tilting her head a little, she draws a forced smile. "That is not how you treat a person you love, Polly."
She castigates herself as to where this shallow emotion comes from. Perhaps, this reminds her about her mother in her past life as Corinne Fallen. How she was being treated was the same thing as Alistair treated the past Urduja.
She turns her head at them and sees how they fell silent. Urduja snickers and stands up, clapping her hands. "Am I going to dine with that emperor or am I going to dine alone here? Or is he going to dine with his consorts?" she asks cheerfully.
But there is one thing that slides on her mind. They are about to do 'it' tonight. She has to do something to make her pregnant even though this is not part of her plan to bear the emperor's child at this timeline. She still needs to build and enhance her mana and her aura element.
Though she is not afraid to have intercourse with the emperor.
'It's not like this will be the first time I've experienced this…' She scoffs silently.
In her past life, Urduja living as Corinne, she used to be in a relationship in the past. She had three boyfriends. One was from her high school, the other two were from her college days. The first time she had 'done' it was with her second past boyfriend in her first year of college. Then her third and last relationship in her third year was the last man she had intercourse with.
So, this will not surprise her if ever something happens between Alistair and her later tonight.
"You will dine with him, Your Imperial Majesty," Gertrude answers.
Urduja huffs. "Alright! I want to get dressed then." She claps her hands. "Pronto!"
A casual Victorian dress has been prepared by Ingrid and Polly while Camila and Gertrude secure her corset.
"Gertrude, please! Not so tight!" Urduja gasps when Gertrude tightens it more.
"Just a moment, Your Imperial Majesty. Please endure it. Camila, hold this string for me."
"Of course."
She huffs and frowns. 'This damn corset is a freaking hindrance to my movements… I need to change this insane clothing in this empire!' She tightens her hold to the wall as she hisses. She also swears on her mind and promises herself that she will make a big change to this empire.
"And we are done," Gertrude and Camila announce.
Urduja slumps her shoulders and frowns again, looking at Gertrude. "I am not liking it after all…" she says in a dejected tone and pivots around as soon as Polly and Ingrid approach them with her dress.
They dress her up and arrange her hair in a braided bun. Light makeup is colored on her face. Jewelry accessories like a ruby necklace and earrings are decorated with her.
"You are beautiful as always, Your Imperial Majesty!" Polly exclaims, clapping her hands.
Urduja draws a small smile and eyes herself at her whole body vanity mirror. "For dining with an emperor, I need to freaking dress up so elegantly… Can't I just wear something simpler than this?" She can't help complaining. "I am not there to impress that jerk," she adds.
Her four ladies-in-waiting exchange glances at her remarks. They simply shrug their shoulders as they don't know what to say.
Urduja remembers something. Just in time that she needs to speak with Alistair. She is going to give her proposal to him for taking Diamond Moon Knights as her elite knights.
'What a perfect timing!'
"You are just in time for dining with Emperor Alistair, Your Imperial Majesty," Gertrude says as she looks at her pocket watch.
Urduja yawns and nods. "I guess I have no choice but to go there, haven't I?" Gertrude nods with a wry smile. Urduja sighs from her answer. "I must go then." She bids farewell to them.
She takes strides to go to the dining hall alone. As soon as she walks to the hallway, she comes to meet the concubines of the emperor.
"Your Imperial Majesty," the three of them greet her with a scornful smile while bowing before her.
"You are well-dressed tonight, Empress Urduja," Eleanore says with a smirk.
"I heard tonight is the night His Imperial Majesty will visit your chamber," Odette says. "After three months, huh. How sad this is, Your Imperial Majesty," she adds in a mockery.
Tatiana laughs sardonically. "Three months… How ironic," she says with a satisfying smile.
Urduja purses her lips into a thin line, thinking it is a cliché scene from one of the royalty dramas on the television she had watched. The part where these bitches are going to oppress and bully the protagonist. She crosses her arms over her chest. "Oh, let me guess. Are you all threatened that I am going to dine and sleep with Alistair?"
"Threatened?" Tatiana smirks. "Such a proud thing to say, Your Imperial Majesty. We are not threatened by your presence."
Urduja twitches her lips. "Or maybe, you are going to ruin my night with him," she suggests with a smile. "That is why you are all coming here to the Clair de Lune Palace tonight even though it is not allowed for you three to come here tonight. I know you three are threatened," she says in a sing-song tone.
'So much cliché. I can sense their bitchiness and their envy towards me.' Urduja laughs mentally. 'They are really trying to ruin my night with him,' she confidently says in her mind.
They are not allowed to come here in the Clair de Lune Palace and wander around when it is the time that Alistair and Urduja are going to be with each other for tonight. That is why Urduja is being sarcastic right now. It is a good thing that Gertrude briefly told her some information about the planning scheme of the concubines.
She really wants her night with him will be ruined. She is hoping for the intervention of the consorts after all but since they are acting spiteful and unpleasant towards her, Urduja changes her mind.
"I must tell the imperial court tomorrow about meeting the concubines of the emperor," Urduja says with a smile.
That halted Tatiana, Odette, and Eleanore. They exchanged glances before they glared at her.
"We are going to leave," Odette says through gritted teeth.
"And we are not threatened just because we are leaving, Your Imperial Majesty," Eleanore says, rolling her eyes. Then she gently tugs Tatiana's hand. "Your Highness, we must go."
Urduja arches her eyebrow seeing the dark expression from Tatiana. "Shouldn't you be going, Lady Tatiana? Or I must inform the imperial court tomorrow about wandering around here without Alistair's or my permission," she threatens.
Tatiana narrows her eyes. "This is not over, Your Imperial Majesty. You will pay the price for provoking us…" She pivots around and walks away.
Urduja watches them in an earnest look. 'That threatening glare and words… I know that action.' She exhales sharply. "I must be careful then," she murmurs. Urduja thinks that the concubines are planning to have her downfall just as they did to the past Urduja.
Also, this is a familiar scene she always watched from all the drama series. 'Antagonists are going to avenge themselves once they think they have been humiliated by the main protagonist,' Urduja says on her mind.
"So cliche," she murmurs and shakes her head.
She looks down at her skirt and flattens them with her hands as soon as she sees a little wrinkle in them. She continues taking her strides to the dining hall.
The two palace guards, who are guarding the door of the dining hall, greet her. Urduja nods her head at them.
"Announce my arrival," she orders.
"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."
They slowly open the threshold of the two-way door. "Her Imperial Majesty has arrived!"
Urduja raises her chin and confidently enters the hall. Her eyes came to meet the icy blue eyes of the emperor who had just stood up and was approaching her. She spots Maximus at the corner.
Urduja approaches Alistair and meets each other halfway. They look at each other with the same stony expression before they scrutinize each other.
Alistair is looking so dashing and luxurious in his rococo clothing. The 18th-century men's clothing Urduja sees in the history book when she was Corinne. His icy cold demeanor has added spices making him look so good and handsome.
'This is so fucking unfair! Why the fuck he looked so hot on that clothing?!' Urduja is starting to get annoyed just eyeing Alistair over and over.
Alistair bows his head. "Empress," he greets her in his cold tone.
Urduja snaps back and curtseys in front of him. "Emperor," Urduja greets him back with the same intensity of glare and tone.
That makes Alistair twitch on his ground by hearing Urduja addressed him as Emperor, not as His Imperial Majesty. 'That is pretty annoying to hear…' Alistair offers his hand which Urduja gladly obliges.
He kisses the back of her palm and smells how she smelled so good just by smelling her palm. It makes him want to smell her more and runs his nose to the slender of her neck.
'Damn it!' Alistair immediately castigates himself and focuses his eyes on the purple eyes of his empress.
Urduja inhales sharply from the tingles she feels as Alistair is touching her hand. She calms herself. Why does she find that hot when he kisses the back of her palm?
"After you," Alistair says as he motions his hand to tell her that she needs to sit.
"Of course."
Both of them take a sigh and are perplexed. Why do they feel a little nervous with each other?
They are just going to dine and sleep with each other, right? Then why are their hands profusely sweating for some reason?