Gwendolyn covered her mouth with both hands, her bright blue eyes drenched in tears. No one had ever said anything like that to her or about her before.
It sounded like it was supposed to be for someone else more worthy. She was just boring old Gwendolyn who didn't even have the advantage of youth on her side.
The Grand Duke Erden reached out and pulled her into his arms.
"Hush. Your eyes are too pretty to be so sad." He murmured into her ear. "I only ever want your eyes to cry because you're laughing too hard."
"Why are you crying?" The Emperor turned and scowled at Gwendolyn. "You act as if I've never told you I loved you!"
"You haven't, Rex." Gwendolyn turned back to face the Emperor. She wiped the tears that was threatening to fall from her eyes once again.
"You've never told me I was your EVERYTHING!!!" She held out her arms in the same manner that the Grand Duke Erden had done.
Erden reached out and pulled her back into his protective embrace.
"Go home, Rex. Your EVERYTHING is waiting for you to return to her in Erenveil." He intoned at the Emperor.
Rex ignored Erden, turning back to Gwendolyn.
"Gwen. You don't need to be jealous of the relationship I have with Anastasia—"
"I'm not!" Gwendolyn laughed. "Not any more. I have nothing but the best wishes for you. I hope you and Anastasia have a wonderful life together from this point forward."
She sighed and beamed a smile at Erden, her heart light and joyful for the very first time.
"I will come back to Erenveil and visit everyone when I've finished wandering around the stars with Erden, if he'll come with me."
"Try to keep me away." He responded gently even as she continued
"For now, I ask that you let me go so I can live my life the way I want to live. I've spent my life taking care of you and the children, but the kids are mostly grown and I can finally live for myself."
Gwendolyn sniffed as more tears sprang from her eyes.
"It's finally my turn."
Erden gathered the small thin woman and hugged her with his fierce warrior arms.
"Emperor Rex, I think it's time for you to return to Erenveil. Gwen does not want to return with you."
"Even if she does not want to return to Erenveil with me, you will never be able to marry her!" Emperor Rex insisted. "I will not grant her a divorce. Royal Consorts cannot get divorced."
"Then just marry a second husband." Candace thew out.
"What?" Rex's eyes bulged. What the hell was this girl saying?"
Candace reached out and wound her arms around Jason's and Jared's waists. They turned to her and planted a kiss on her cheeks.
"I have more than one husband, Mother Gwen." Candace gave a cheeky grin to Gwendolyn.
"Not only is Slate my husband, so are Jason and Jared. If I can do it, so can you."
"More than—more than one husband? At the same time?" Gwen gasped.
This sounded so—forbidden, so—decadent…was it possible? Could she actually do something like this? What would Erden think? What would the world think?
"Absolutely!" Candace nodded. "Yesterday, I became legally married to Dante, Byron, and Lucas."
She turned and smiled at the twins with barely concealed excitement.
"Within the next few days, I will also be legally married to Jason, Jared, Leonardo, and Slate."
"How is this possible?" Gwendolyn breathed.
Jared laughed. "This was something that was set up by Father himself when he amended the laws so that Candace could have three husbands."
Jason raised his eyebrows with delight. "That's right, Mother Gwen. According to the new laws that have just been drawn up, it is now legal for a woman to have as many as seven husbands."
"Seven???" Emperor Rex was apoplectic. "Since when did I say she could have seven?"
"Father," Candace smiled. "Have you forgotten the conversation we had where I specifically told you that Leonardo, Jason, Jared, and Slate also needed to be added to the marriage document?"
The Emperor's face twisted with distaste. Of course he remembered. The girl had threatened to depose him from the throne if he didn't.
"Don't be upset, Father," Jason smiled. "Mother Gwen won't have seven husbands. I think the Duke will be the only other husband she will have, right Mother Gwen."
Gwendolyn looked over at Jason and gave a vague nod, her blue eyes slightly wild. She had not even had the chance to respond to any of the Duke's claims of love yet. She was still trying to deal with the Emperor's tantrums.
Emperor Rex was incensed but in Candace's case, there was nothing he could do. In this situation with his wife, there was also nothing he could do.
Once there was a precedence of a woman being married to more than one man, if another woman were to do the same, there would be nothing that could stop her. The courts would agree that it was lawful.
Duke Erden chuckled. His chuckle turned into a gentle laugh. The Crown Princess Candace Farrah and her seven grooms were a Godsend!
He turned to the Emperor with a triumphant grin.
"Rex. Either you grant Gwendolyn the divorce decree or I will fly all over the galaxy with my new bride, proudly announcing the fact that she has two husbands and one of them is the Emperor of Erenveil." Erden's grey eyes lit up.
This would not affect Erden personally at all since he was just a dragon Prime Warrior for Avalia. For the Emperor of the galaxy however, it would be highly embarrassing, not to mention completely unacceptable! The Emperor would be the laughing stock of the galaxy!
Rex sighed. He knew when to fold. He had lost this battle.
But there was still the matter of his daughter!
"I cannot return without Lyra. She is a Princess of Erenveil and needs to continue her schooling and training."
"We've taken all her teachers along. They are training her well enough." Gwendolyn retorted
Emperor Rex shook his head. "No matter what happens between me and you, she is still my underage daughter. She needs to return home and finish her education to learn how to be a Princess of Erenveil."
"Why don't you ask her what she wants to do instead of dragging her all over the galaxy?" Gwendolyn suggested.
"Oh, like you've been doing you mean? Where is she, Gwen?" Emperor Rex's eyes narrowed.
"She is with the Crown Prince of Avalia at this time."
"And you think that is acceptable?" He scowled. "Underaged children need to be with their family. She is only fifteen. She shouldn't be with a full-grown man who is engaged with another woman!"