Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90 - Light And Shadow>
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112 - The Morning Comes>
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118 - After The Storm
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121
Chapter 122
Chapter 123
Chapter 124
Chapter 125
Chapter 126
Chapter 127
Chapter 128
Chapter 129
Chapter 130
Chapter 131
Chapter 132 -
Chapter 133
Chapter 134 - Epilogue 1.3
Chapter 135 - Epilogue 2.1: Traces Of Life
Chapter 136
Chapter 137 - Epilogue 2.3
Chapter 138
Chapter 139
Chapter 140
Chapter 141 - Epilogue 4.1: Ever After>
Chapter 142 - Epilogue 4.2
Chapter 143 - Epilogue 4.3
Chapter 144 - Epilogue 5.1>
Chapter 145 - Epilogue 5.2
Chapter 146 - The Most Romantic Weekend>
Chapter 147 - Short Stories 1.2
Chapter 148 -
Chapter 149 -
Chapter 150 -
Chapter 151 -
Chapter 152 -
Chapter 153 -
Chapter 154 - Short Stories 3.1: Unexpected Things Happen>
Chapter 155 - Short Stories 3.2>
Chapter 156 -
Chapter 157 -
Chapter 158 -
Chapter 159 -
Chapter 160 -
Chapter 161 - Short Stories 5.1: The Man Behind The Mask>
Chapter 162
Chapter 163
Chapter 164 -
Chapter 165 -
Chapter 166
Chapter 167 - Short Stories 6.2
Chapter 168 - Short Stories 6.3
Chapter 169
Chapter 170
Chapter 171
Chapter 172
Chapter 173
Chapter 174
Chapter 175
Chapter 176
Chapter 177
Chapter 178
Chapter 179
Chapter 180
Chapter 181
Chapter 182
Chapter 183
Chapter 184
Chapter 185
Chapter 186
Chapter 187
Chapter 188
Chapter 189 (End)
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 189 Page No. 188 Page No. 187 Page No. 186 Page No. 185 Page No. 184 Page No. 183 Page No. 182 Page No. 181 Page No. 180 Page No. 179 Chapter 158 -
Chapter 158:
Before the duchess left the meeting, the empress whispered to her quietly so that only Norma could hear it.
“Duchess, I will never become your puppet.”
Crash!
A glass vase hit the wall and shattered. Sharp glass pieces, flowers, and water splattered everywhere including the expensive carpet on the floor.
Crash!
This time, a silver candle holder was thrown onto the wall. It became bent and fell onto the floor loudly.
“…!”
Norma panted roughly in anger. She just returned from the castle. After leaving the empress’ room, she checked with others to confirm that what Bina claimed was true.
It was. The emperor indeed planned on changing the law just as Bina said.
Apparently, in the last three months, the emperor had been secretly dealing with other kingdoms and colonies. They agreed on sending princes or noblemen’s sons instead of princesses and noblewomen. These men were to be married to the emperor’s stepsisters and be free to leave as they wished after they had children.
One of the many reasons for this was to reduce the unreasonable number of wives for the emperor. This change could save a lot of money for the royal family and the kingdom. The previous emperor drained the treasury by having so many wives and concubines. Each woman received at least ten servants and maids, and the expense of it was too much. It was a well-known fact that Empress Sa Bina was a frugal woman who tried her best to improve Cransia’s financial state. When the chief of finances heard of this new idea that could save the kingdom a lot of money, he was all for it.
There was a political aspect to this as well, and so the minister of foreign affairs was against the idea, but he was only one person against the rest of the kingdom who loved the idea. Besides, the emperor was determined to make this happen, and that was what really mattered.
What frustrated Norma the most was the fact that she wasn’t informed of this progress earlier. She only heard about it by chance from the empress, and it was after the fact where she started hearing everything more about it.
The duchess was angry at her powerlessness. She had no control over the empress, and she could not involve herself in the political world like her father-in-law did. Her own husband and her heir were both useless and spineless.
If things continued like this, all Norma would have was the name Lonensia. No power, no influence, just a name.
She needed something… Something that would give her power.
“Yulia… Even she didn’t let me know of this change!”
Yulia was close to the empress, which meant she must have known about the change in the emperor’s marital law. However, even she didn’t tell her own aunt about it.
“How dare she…!”
Norma trembled in anger. What’s more, she felt like her previous treatment of Yulia justified her anger.
“I treated her like my own daughter…! This is how she repays me?!”
Just then, the door opened without a knock and a handsome man walked in. Norma’s face softened as she saw who it was.
“Rob.”
“My, my. One of the servants came to me in fear and told me I needed to come and see you right away. Now I see why.”
Norma sighed deeply. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this. I feel better now, so you can go.”
Her son shook his head and took his mother’s hand gently.
“I know you aren’t fine, mother. Tell me what happened.”
She sighed and followed her son to the bed. She sat on it, and her son faced her, making her smile.
“You are the only one who cares about me. The only one who concerned of me.”
“Everyone in this house is worried about you. They are also afraid of you.”
“But they don’t really mean it. Your father would love it if I died. Maybe he will finally come out of his bedroom.”
“Mother…”
Norma replied firmly, “Even Yulia, who I trusted, turned against me. I only have you left.”
Roberto’s eyes widened. “Yulia? No way!”
“It’s true. She rejected all I have planned for her and she stopped talking to me.”
Norma started to explain what had happened so far.
***
“I see.”
“Yes, and now I don’t know what to do.”
Norma massaged her temples. She was getting a headache. Everything she worked for was falling apart.
“But you won’t give up that easy, right?”
Norma smiled. “Of course I will never give up. I won’t let these young girls ruin my life.”
“Of course, mother.”
Norma tapped her lap a few times. Roberto knew what she wanted. He was no longer a child, but he decided to appease her. He placed her head on her lap and she started to pat his hair.
Norma murmured, “I can’t forgive Yulia, but I don’t have an appropriate replacement, so I will have to find a way to make this work. If Evelin was alive, I wouldn’t have to do this.”
Roberto’s sister, Evelin, died at a very young age. When she was alive, she never once disobeyed her mother. Her mother forever remembered her as the perfect daughter.
Norma continued, “Wait a minute. Yulia loves her sister and nieces.”
Yulia’s older sister, Sastia, was married to a family loyal to the Lonensian family. In fact, it was Norma who arranged the marriage. She had complete control over that family.
Roberto nodded and asked a question as if he suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, mother, that empress. Is she really from a faraway land?”
“Who knows. The emperor said she was, so everyone pretended to believe it but… No one really knows where she is from.”
When Norma was about to get angry again, Roberto squeezed her hand and asked smoothly, “Mother, if the emperor and the empress drift apart, do you think it will help your plan?”
Norma seemed confused.
“… I suppose it would.”
Roberto smiled widely and told his mother of his plan.
Soon, Norma’s face turned into a complete shock.
Total Chapters in book: 189
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 290059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1450(@200wpm)___ 1160(@250wpm)___ 967(@300wpm)
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