CH 28

“Your highness……”

Renato’s violet eyes staring at Khalid’s darkened face were filled with pity. In his previous life, the man also struggled with his sister Maryam’s change of heart and the restraints resulting from that.

But Khalid remained loyal to his sister to the end. To avenge Maryam and protect her child, he sat on a blood-stained throne while being stigmatized as a tyrant.

“I heard that the Queen Consort of the Khan Kingdom is currently pregnant. I think it’s the main reason for the change in Her Majesty Queen Maryam’s attitude.” ( Eve’s note : As it might be confusing I’ll state it right now: ‘Queen Consort’ is the title for Maryam’s consort. It’s Maryam’s spouse; Maryam isn’t the one pregnant.)

“You really know everything.”

Khalid bitterly agreed. Unlike him who was still alone, Maryam had a new family.

She had a beloved companion and a soon-to-be successor. The presence of the two created a crack in Maryam’s affection. She became unable to ignore the words of those who drove a wedge between her and Khalid.

“Noonim will continue to doubt me from now on. She has already been shaken once, so…… It will be easier next time.”

Khalid smiled bitterly. Maryam herself had to compete with her uncle, Duke Abadan, over the throne, so he understood her worries and anxiety, but he still felt sad.

In any case, Maryam would no longer be able to cast aside her vigilance toward Khalid. When the child was born, it would probably get worse.

Khalid knew how strong and overwhelming a parent’s love for their children could be, and how far a parent could go for their children. Because his mother, Jamila, taught him about that.

‘My child, this will protect you.’

When Jamila found out that she had a deadly disease, she was worried about Khalid who would be left alone. Therefore, she burned the rest of her life to create a protective spell to protect her son before passing away.

His red eyes deeply sank when he recalled his mother who sacrificed herself for him. The watch in his shirt pocket felt heavy today.

Can he really solve my problems?

Khalid looked at Renato while half in doubt. He wondered what kind of solution Renato would come up with. Khalid opened his mouth as if grasping at straws.

“If noonim is shaken again, the relationship between me and her will be even more distanced than it is now. So I wish to hear it. The solution that you are talking about, Your Imperial Highness.”

The red eyes with a light as sharp as the tip of a sword stared at Renato as if penetrating him. His gaze was a mixture of vigilance and expectation.

“All you have to do is to come to me as the imperial family’s matrilocal son-in-law, your highness.”

Renato unknowingly gulped, then moved his lips without delay. He was waiting for Khalid to ask this question, so it wasn’t difficult to answer.

“……Excuse me?”

Khalid’s face momentarily went blank because of Renato’s reply that seemed as if he was waiting for that question. Matrilocal son-in-law? He pondered over what Renato had said to him.

Matrilocal son-in-law was the word describing when an Alpha or a man came into their Omega or woman companion’s family and followed their surname. That meant……

“If you marry me, you will become the 1st Prince’s companion, your highness. As a result, you will be granted an Empire’s title.”

Renato quickly spoke, not giving Khalid time to think calmly. He had to continue pushing him so as not to miss this hard-earned opportunity.

“When you legally become an Empire’s citizen, your right of succession to the throne will disappear as soon as the marriage becomes valid. Unless it’s a very special case, that right will never come back again.”

“Ah.”

“I think that if you leave the kingdom and settle in the Empire, Her Majesty will be able to relax a little too.”

“……But on the contrary, she may misunderstand that I am trying to devour the kingdom with the imperial family on my back.”

“It’s not impossible, but even if she does think so, she won’t be able to hastily take action. Through the marriage with the imperial family, the kingdom will benefit enormously, and Her Majesty’s power will become stronger.”

At Renato’s words, the eyes that resembled flames gleamed. If the kingdom’s problems were resolved thanks to their marriage, the people’s support for the royal family would grow, and the merchant guilds would also try to tie up with the royal family.

It would soon lead to the consolidation of Maryam’s power. With her quick calculations, it was likely that she would take every chance to gain the upper hand in the fight against the noble faction.

“After that, I think time will take care of it. Even if it’s hard for you to go back like before…… when Her Majesty’s foundation is solid and the successor’s position is established, she won’t be checking on you anymore, your highness.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes. And in addition, the marriage between your highness and I is a ‘union of Alpha and Beta’ of the same sex. This alone won’t cause Her Majesty to misunderstand anything else.”

Union of Alpha and Beta. After realizing the meaning of those words, Khalid’s body stiffened.

‘An Alpha and a Beta of the same sex cannot have children.’

Even a dominant Alpha was no exception. Unlike a dominant Omega that could have children regardless of the other person’s trait, a dominant Alpha could only have children with an Omega.

In particular, with a Beta male, it was impossible even if the sky collapsed. Even a dominant Alpha could not impregnate someone who didn’t have a womb in the first place.

Since the imperial family and nobles had a duty to give birth to descendants to pass on their noble blood, the unions between sexes and traits that couldn’t have children were criticized a lot.

However, sometimes marriages between Betas of the same genders or between Alphas and Betas also occurred. In some cases, it was because they loved each other, but most of them were for political reasons.

“I think Her Majesty Queen Maryam will welcome our union…… What do you think, your highness?”

“Hmm.”

Khalid softly sighed. He wanted to counter that it was too optimistic, but what he just heard made sense.

A family could last for hundreds of years because of the people who inherited its name and blood. No matter how great a family was, if there was no one to continue it, it had no choice but to disappear.

To prevent this, the monarchs and nobles of each country were obsessed with giving birth to successors. The fact that the imperial family recognized a second companion as the Imperial Consort, and that Khalid, who used to be persecuted for being an illegitimate child, was eventually recognized as a prince, was ultimately because of bloodlines.

But sometimes, there were necessary unions even if they could not have children. They were marriages that were arranged for the benefit of the families. They usually took place among those who were defeated in the family’s inheritance fights.

A Prince who couldn’t become the Crown Prince, an eldest son expelled from his position as the heir, an illegitimate child who was not recognized as a member of the family, and so on.

Seeds that could cause riots at any time were bound together and expelled through political marriages, and at the same time, the families benefited from each other.

Those who were forced to marry like that couldn’t have children, so they could never challenge the families’ heads again. It was the union of Alpha and Beta that Renato spoke of.

If Khalid married Renato, he would never have a child that had his blood. After Khalid, there would no longer be anyone who could threaten Maryam and her child. For Maryam, it was definitely something to welcome.

“What if I don’t have a family for the rest of my life? If I don’t get married, there will still be a way……”

“Then how about the marriage offers that will come your way, your highness? Will declaring celibacy really solve that problem?”

Renato asked, gently interrupting his words. Momentarily rendered speechless, Khalid then closed his mouth.

“Unlike the Khan Kingdom, the Empire is tolerant of illegitimate children. As a dominant Alpha and the royal prince of a country, you are a very good groom for the imperial nobles, your highness. Perhaps sooner or later, several families will send you marriage offers.”

“How can you be so sure……?”

“Because there are many people in the world who don’t want to see that the seat next to someone with noble blood is still empty. Even if you refuse, there will still be people trying to find a way. When the situation repeats itself over and over again, Her Majesty Queen Maryam will never be able to relax.”

Khalid’s lips quietly closed because of those irrefutable words. He recalled that when he was in the kingdom, he had been saying that he had no intention of getting married, but marriage offers still came in. Renato seized the victory of the conversation and slowly curled up the corners of his eyes.

“If you marry me, that problem will be resolved naturally. How is it? That’s all I can give you in return.”

“……It’s not bad.”

After hesitating for a while, Khalid honestly answered. At this point, he had no choice but to admit it. All that Renato offered in exchange for the marriage was beneficial to the kingdom and himself.

“I’m glad it’s not bad. Then I will ask you again.”

Renato cautiously began to talk when Khalid’s reaction was more positive than expected. Feeling his throat burn, he picked up the cup again.

“Your highness, grand prince Khalid Nur Hakan.”

Renato, having drunk all of his tea, put down the teacup and made eye contact with Khalid. He had thought the second marriage proposal would be easy, but he was just as nervous and anxious as the first. Even though he had wet his throat just before, his mouth still felt dry.

“Will you marry me?”

The eyes that were similar to amethysts painstakingly carved by a craftsman clearly looked at Khalid’s face. Then, a faint trembling voice permeated into his ear.

For a moment, Khalid felt the tips of his ears tingle. His skin burned like fire. Unknowingly, he clenched his fists and secretly avoided Renato’s gaze.