Men of the Harem - Chapter 8

On the day of the coronation, Latille stood in front of the mirror, donned in the empress regnant’s cape. Waves of emotion hit her.

I feel delighted, sorrowful, overwhelmed, but apprehensive.

‘Governess, do you remember what happened six years ago?’

Latille asked, stroking the soft, red fabric of her cape.

‘I wanted to become the Empress, the Empress Consort of Carrisen.’

‘Of course, I remember everything.’

Her governess looked at Latille with pride, before shedding tears.

‘Why are you crying on such a joyous occasion, Governess?’

‘Oh, I apologise.’

Latille approached the governess and embraced her.

‘If only the Empress was here to witness your coronation…’

‘Governess, if someone else hears this, they would misunderstand. I can show you instead.’

Latille burst into laughter and comforted her.

‘I know, but she can’t see the coronation even though it’s such a special day.’

‘Well, why don’t we recreate the coronation and show it to her, then?’

‘Once you become the empress regnant, you’ll be busier. Your every move will be scrutinised. Would you really be able to go all the way to the temple?’

‘Well, I’ll still have to go there at least once.’

It would be nice if Mother could come in person.

Latille knew that was highly unlikely. The governess wiped her tears with her sleeve and spoke.

‘You will be happy.’

‘Yes.’

She felt touched.

‘My dear governess used to be so much taller than me. You once used to hold me in your arms. But look, you’re the one in my arms now.’

‘Princess…’

‘Thank you for always being there for me.’

Because Latille would slack off whenever the governess was around, the emperor decided to fire her, so she returned to her estate. Thus, she was able to avoid getting killed by Prince Tratala even though he seized the imperial palace for a year.

‘Oh dear, my eyes are becoming red.’

After letting go of the governess, she rubbed her eyes.

Not today, I shouldn’t cry.

Latille pinched her cheeks with both hands.

Don’t cry. You shouldn’t cry. Look who’s the empress regnant; show them how dignified you are.

She was about to leave after getting ready.

‘Your Majesty, His Highness, Prince Lean is here.’

The Commander of the Guards informed them of Lean’s visit.

‘My brother?’

Latille opened the door herself in joy and greeted her brother.

On the day of the coronation, Lean said he wouldn’t attend since it would damage his reputation as the former crown prince, but it feels nice for him to surprise us.

‘Did you change your mind? You came to see your little sister looking wonderful today, didn’t you?’

However, Lean’s expression didn’t look good.

‘What’s wrong?’

When she asked anxiously, Lean finally spoke as he sat on a red chair.

‘Yes, I thought you’d be disappointed if I didn’t come, so I’m here for a little while to say something. Since this isn’t an official visit, I’ll leave soon.’

‘Are you really not going to attend?’

‘I think it’s better this way. Rather than that, I heard you executed Tratala and imprisoned Anakcha.’

‘Oh.’

‘Did you really have to execute Tratala?’

‘Was that what has been bugging you?’

Latille sat opposite to Lean with a sullen face. He sighed and held her hand.

‘Latille, Tratala and I were on bad terms. He took the imperial palace by force and things changed for the worst, but he’s our brother. We share the same blood.’

‘I know.’

‘But did you really have to shed blood? It’s not good to do that in the early stages of your reign. You need to show benevolence.’

‘Because you were the legitimate son of the emperor, you didn’t face much opposition, unlike me. I’ve been compared to Prince Tratala and my siblings for so long, and there were hundreds of aristocrats that wanted to find a better replacement.’

‘!’

‘It wasn’t the time to be kind. I needed to be a strong figure, and…’

Latille whispered in his ear.

‘I would rather spill the blood of my enemies rather than witness the blood of my people getting spilled.’

Latille, who spoke in a chillingly soft voice, smiled brightly. Lean sighed and touched his forehead. It meant that he didn’t disagree with her. He decided that he won’t nag her anymore. It was his sister who was going to become the empress regnant, and it was her who went through many hardships. Lean stood up and embraced her without a word.

♔♔♔

After Lean left, there was hardly any more time to hesitate. Latille went to the banquet hall for the coronation. At the centre, there was a red carpet where many aristocrats stood. On one side, the priests from the temple whispered amongst themselves as they circled around the emperor’s coffin. Latille smiled softly at the sight.

Strangely enough, the tension disappeared. My mouth felt dry during the preparation, but now I feel fine.

When Latille appeared with a loud drum and the sounds of trumpets, everything went silent. The road to the emperor’s seat became clear as people stepped aside. Instead of looking at the nobles, Latille looked at the crown at the end of the red carpet. She then ascended towards it with a relaxed smile.

She approached the crown, then stopped. The high priest carefully lifted the lid off the coffin. Latille set the crown on her head and climbed the small platform.

I hope the crown isn’t crooked.

The nervous woman, who once asked for her governess, was no longer there.

I am the empress regnant.

Standing in front of the throne, a sense of satisfaction filled her. She once stood amongst the nobles, but now those men knelt down in front of her one by one, and lowered their heads as a sign of loyalty. Latille felt joy shooting up her spine.

***

In accordance with Tarium’s custom, Latille hosted the first meeting on the evening of the coronation. The point of the first meeting was to present the overall direction of the state administration, and what the new emperor’s governance would be like. High-ranking government officials were also usually replaced by different people selected by the emperor.

This time, Latille only decided to fill in the vacancies of Prince Tratala’s supporters, and wanted everything to be similar to her father’s rule.

Other than the years she spent in the Melosi estate, she lived as the crown princess for a trifling two years, so she had difficulties making decisions on her own accord. There was also no reason to replace all the ministers and government officials since the pro-emperor faction supported the Duke of Atraxi over Latille herself. Furthermore, her plan was to keep the experienced government officials while she adjusts. So naturally, there was no need to protest and the meeting went smoothly without any conflicts.

As soon as the topic of her spouse and successor came up, the mood began to change, and the aristocrats began to clash with one another. Latille’s expression turned sour. She wasn’t angry at the fact that they mentioned a successor on the first meeting during her reign as the empress regnant, but because of the ulterior motives each aristocrat had.

‘Unlike the previous emperors who were able to gain successors with several concubines, of course, Her Majesty can only have one prince consort.’

‘So we need a successor as soon as possible to stabilise the footing of the imperial family.’

‘For the sake of your health, creating a successor should be your top priority.’

‘You must focus on finding a prince consort.’

Latille tried to catch their attention repeatedly, looked down at her underlings and shook her head.

Just look at these people. They really had to mention a successor quickly even though the discussion could have postponed.

The emperor’s family history was not an individual matter, and this issue was always brought up in the previous emperors’ meetings. There was once a case where an emperor, famous for his short temper, shouted, ‘Do I look like a stallion*?!’

Just because I have no concubines, why do I have to have one prince consort? These people are taking me for granted.

I didn’t become the empress regnant to create a harem, nor did I expect to make one. No, I barely had the time to catch a break since I became the crown princess, so I didn’t even think of such things. It felt too much to not think of Haizens. The question of whether or not he would be a good emperor will soon be answered, but I can’t afford to think about it until I establish a harem. However, they were talking under the premise that I would not bring in any concubines since I’m a woman; they thought they could see it coming.

Latille did her research on these meetings. Each one of them urged monarchs to create an heir, so taking in concubines was heavily encouraged.

Why should I only have one prince consort? Just because I’m the empress regnant, I can’t have concubines? Would it have been different if the officials brought up concubines first? I’m not sure. I’m experiencing this for the first time, but I want to make it happen.

Latille snorted inwardly. She intended to be a strong figure, just as she told Lean earlier. She had no intentions of being swayed by those who constantly compared her to Lean, Tratala, the other princes, and…

Actually, a harem might not be a bad idea. There’s nothing you can’t do as the empress regnant, right? I’m not going to greet the foreign government officials first anyway for several reasons. Firstly, it’ll hurt my pride.

Latille still hasn’t recovered from shock after hearing about Haizens. Despite being able to forget about his existence due to her extensive work, whenever she thought of him being a husband, she remembered the pain she felt back then.

In this situation, I don’t have the desire to marry a real ‘husband’.

Moreover, she hated the fact that the power went into the hands of the government officials before she could solidify her position as the empress regnant. However, if she took in a few concubines and formed a harem, it would lay the groundwork to strengthen her position. It would also stop the aristocrats from bringing up the topic of a successor again. After mulling over it for some time, Latille smiled.

‘I have taken your words into consideration.’

When Latille opened her mouth, the room became almost as silent as death itself. It was satisfying. It felt strange to see such high-ranking nobles go silent.

Haizens, did you abandon me for this feeling?

‘You are right, the stability of the imperial family comes from bearing successors, I understand.’

Duke Atraxi smiled after Latille nodded at him. He had already established himself as the empress regnant’s most loyal retainer due to his early support for her, so he expected Latille to utter his son’s name, Ranamun.

Ranamun was always considered to be the best candidate as the prince consort. No one could rival him in terms of looks, social status, achievements or even age. He would have been the best prince consort, even from an objective point of view. Latille noticed him smiling.

I do feel sorry for the duke for all the help he’s given me, but I have to say what I need to say.

‘So, I’ll start with the concubines’.

*A stallion is a male horse that hasn’t been castrated. That emperor hated the fact that his underlings were treating him like an animal that’s going to be bred.