Chapter 7.
Cassielope coldly ignored Regis’s urgent call for her. Everyone stared at her in shock.
It was, after all, practically the same as declaring she would lay down her own power — the very power that ensured her place as empress.
“As you all know, I’ve fought in many wars, and my body is no longer in good condition.”
“Cassielope!”
Regis’s voice rose.
It wasn’t anger — it was desperation, an attempt to stop her.
But Cassielope didn’t spare him a single glance.
“I’ve even been pierced through the abdomen once. To put it simply, I may not be able to conceive. Therefore, I will proceed with the selection of imperial concubines. I made a vow to do everything in my power to ensure the continuation of the imperial line.”
“……Your, Your Majesty the Empress, such words are…”
“Did my vow ever state that I must be the one to bear the heir, Elder?”
“……That… no.”
There was no such clause.
The reason the empress’s vow included the phrase ‘to make every effort to continue the imperial line’ was simple.
Even if a woman became empress, if she was incapable of conceiving, she was expected — pressured, even — to accept a consort or concubine for the emperor.
Cassielope understood perfectly well.
If her position as empress was secure because of Regis, the nobles would surely find any other excuse to drag her down.
And the most certain way to do that would be if another woman bore Regis’s child.
She knew it was inevitable.
So Cassielope decided to use it — before it was used against her.
The selection of concubines fell solely under the empress’s authority.
Not even the emperor — nor the most prestigious noble family — could interfere.
That was the law of the Clemens Empire.
“Did you say concubines…?”
Not consorts — concubines.
A mistress of the emperor without even the title of consort.
To the proud daughters of noble houses, it was a deeply humiliating position.
And yet, many would still send their daughters.
If they refused out of pride, another house might produce the emperor’s child instead.
And since Cassielope herself had declared that she might be unable to conceive, it was only natural that the nobles would fall straight into the trap.
If my daughter bears the emperor’s child…
If my grandchild becomes the imperial heir…
The nobles’ gazes darted about the room, the air thick with unease and calculation.
Cassielope seized that moment to cast out one more lure.
“Personal feelings will not influence the concubine selection. I will choose the most exceptional woman — one that none of you can dispute.”
The invisible threads binding the nobles together — snapped, just like that.
Though none of them showed it outwardly, Cassielope could feel the shift in the atmosphere. She smiled, satisfied.
“Lope, wait just a moment…”
“Why do you make such a face, Your Majesty?”
Still smiling, she turned to Regis.
He had bitten his lip so hard that blood beaded on its surface.
Ignoring it completely, Cassielope spoke gently.
“I only did what an Empress must do. So please, don’t look at me like that.”
This is the price for stealing my throne, Regis.
She deliberately emphasized the word Empress, as if to say that none of this would have happened if he hadn’t taken that seat from her.
Because she knew him so well — because of all the years they had spent together — Cassielope also knew that this moment was agony for him.
And though she still loved Regis deeply, watching him like this wasn’t entirely easy.
Even so, Cassielope smiled her brightest smile.
Because that would make him suffer more.
Regis Euriel.
That man deserved to hurt. To be miserable.
When he took everything from her, he should have been prepared for this.
She would take everything from him in return. She would destroy Regis Euriel.
And because she knew she was his everything — she would take herself away from him.
“Um… may I ask who you are, to be seeking me out like this?”
Helena, eldest daughter of the Viscount Blettin family, asked with a wary expression.
The stranger’s face was hidden under a hood, but her bearing, her posture — everything about her spoke of high nobility.
Few people of such status ever came in person to visit the daughter of a mere viscount. Suspicion was natural.
When the woman across from her pulled back her hood, Helena’s eyes widened in shock.
For a brief moment her mind went blank — then she hastily rose and bowed deeply.
“Y-your Majesty the Empress!”
Cassielope raised a hand lightly, indicating that it was fine, that Helena could relax.
As though her body had registered the command directly, Helena obeyed awkwardly, her movements stiff and unnatural.
“Why did you come yourself, without summoning me instead…?”
“Because no one must know I’m meeting you. Forgive me, if this was presumptuous.”
“F-forgive you? Impossible! Such words, Your Majesty—!”
Helena waved her hands frantically, then pulled them back, embarrassed.
“May I ask… what brings Your Majesty to me?”
“Have you heard that I’m holding a concubine selection?”
“Ah… yes. I’ve heard.”
“I’d like you to enter it, Lady Helena Blettin.”
At those unexpected words, Helena’s pupils trembled.
But after a brief pause, she steadied herself — and her expression turned firm.
“I must apologize, but I must refuse Your Majesty’s request.”
Few people in the empire could so directly refuse the empress — much less one who had once been the emperor herself.
As expected of the head of a trading house, Cassielope thought, a faint chuckle escaping her lips.
She hadn’t expected an immediate yes anyway.
Helena was the eldest child of the Blettin family. Among her siblings, she was by far the most exceptional — and the most likely successor.
As head of her merchant guild, she had rapidly expanded its reach, and every venture she touched turned to profit.
Her business acumen was nothing short of genius.
But the obstacle standing in her way was her family’s strict male-preference succession.
Since marrying into another family would make her an outsider, her father had refused to name her heir — and so Helena declared she would never marry.
That was how desperately she desired the position of family head.
To someone like her, Cassielope’s request wasn’t even worth considering.
Helena sought not borrowed power — but power that was entirely her own.
“I can help you become the head of your house.”
“……What?”
“It’s not a bad offer. Though I call it a concubine selection, what I truly intend is to entrust you with the imperial commercial network.”
“The imperial… business?”
At the mention of trade, Helena’s eyes changed instantly.
The firm refusal vanished, replaced by curiosity and sharp calculation.
“I know your family favors its sons. No matter how talented you are, if you leave things as they are, your younger brother will inherit the title.”
“……”
“So take me as your backer. In business, the most important thing is your investor, isn’t it? With my support, even your father will have no choice but to make you his heir. He’ll realize he can only secure my patronage by naming you his successor.”
Indeed — the fact that the viscount had entrusted Helena with the management of the trading guild showed how highly he valued commerce.
It was a tempting offer. Helena’s expression flickered with hesitation. Cassielope didn’t miss it.
“As a concubine, you wouldn’t even need to marry. I’ll make sure everything remains clean and uncomplicated until you become head of your family.”
“……And if my father still refuses to name me heir on that basis?”
“Then you’ll simply make the imperial business flourish. A title higher than viscount will naturally follow. Who says it has to be the Blettin family? What you truly want is a title, isn’t it? Oh, and of course — the Blettin trading guild would become yours. After all, any guild leader who’s managed it for more than three years has the right to claim ownership.”
“……”
“Naturally, that’s on the condition that I grant you a noble title allowing you to lead it. If you fail to become the Blettin heir, you wouldn’t be able to claim ownership — unless you hold a title yourself.”
It seemed, no matter how she turned it, the offer was entirely in her favor.
If she accepted, she would secure both a noble title and full ownership of the guild — Blettin family or not.
Helena looked at Cassielope with suspicion.
“Then… what is it that Your Majesty wants from me in return?”
At that decisive question, Cassielope’s eyes curved into a smile.
“Become my person, Lady Helena Blettin.”
