His Highness's Second Wife
His Highness’s Second Wife Chapter 52

Tassia growled in annoyance as she barged inside her bedroom, ignoring the bowing servants who quickly stepped out of her way. She snatched the tiara off her head and threw it at the wall, but felt no relief as she watched the priceless stones scatter while the beautiful golden ornament clanked pitifully on the floor.

She took a deep, calming breath, trying to rein in her anger. She had been so close. So damn close! A few more seconds and that damn brat would have lost her credibility, and with it – all chances of sneaking into the good graces of her husband in case she got scared of her own allies.

Was she born under a lucky star or something?

What was with that perfect timing?

“Your Majesty.” Miriam’s voice came from the door and Tassia turned, locking her eyes on the short, dark-haired woman. She had sent Miriam to replace out what had happened with Madam Lydia after she disappeared in the commotion, wondering it she had the balls to stay in the ballroom or if she would flee like the little coward she was. Tassia still couldn’t swallow the humiliation of having that pathetic little girl threaten her in her own house.

“Everybody out!” Tassia snapped, and the servants moved as one, stepping into a line and exiting the room. When the last one closed the door, Miriam raised her head and looked at her. “So?”

“She left the Imperial Palace with her escort, Count Marden Robick, right after the third prince’s wife collapsed. This is the man I mentioned before the one that owns the brothel next to the restaurant,” she paused, checking fora reaction, and when Tassia said nothing, she continued. “I sent guards to follow them, but they’re yet to return. I also enquired about princess Sarea’s condition – apparently, they managed to resuscitate her so she isn’t dead yet. They moved her into a quest room here in the Imperial Palace and she will stay the night under heavy guard so the Imperial doctor could monitor her condition. The third prince left for his residence – a servant overheard him telling his aide to stay here and keep an eye on Sarea while he goes back and checks on his second wife”

“Idiot” she sighed, shaking her head.

“She doesn’t have much time left. At this point, they’ll just try to keep her comfortable,” Miriam said readily. “The symptoms are lack of appetite, loss of hair and brittle nails and teeth as well as coughing out b***d, “

“It was about time!” the Empress sighed, rubbing her forehead. “When she dies and we get rid of the other one, Kassian would be in an extremely unfavorable position. Without Sarea’s father and the Prime Minister’s support and with the mistrust and resentment the Emperor is treating him, he will be easy to deal with, because nobody would dare stand beside him – war hero or no war hero. Once we get him out of the way, Yulien will be next”

A knock came on the door and the two women turned. Tassia nodded, and Miriam rushed to open it, letting Rissen in. He stomped past Miriam, glaring at his mother.

“Why didn’t you send someone after her? She was literally holding her veil to her face!” he snarled in frustration, stopping in front of Tassia. “One second, that’s all it was going to take! One second and she’d be exposed in front of all nobles. It was going to be such a big scandal, she would have become a pariah in an instant! And that idiot Kassian would have been humiliated as a bonus.”

“We can’t show any hostility toward her yet,” Tassia said, trying to hold back her sigh. She loved Rissen with all her heart, but sometimes she really regretted going through eighteen hours of labor for him. Why did he have to inherit his father’s impatience and short-sightedness? “We need to appear to be supporting her, that we were completely fooled by her lies and deceit. If we show hostility and she slanders us, people would start questioning if there is some reason for her actions. But if we had been nothing but good to her, they would see her act as a desperate way to try and drag her benefactors down. Don’t worry too much, son, it seems we won’t have to wait long until we get rid of her.”

“You’ve said that before!” Rissen grumbled.

“Kassian’s first wife will be dead soon. We will use this opportunity to kill a few birds with one stone. No more accidents. We take her out and her accomplices. From the information we received from one of our friends, her closest people are the brothel owner and her personal maid.” Tassia looked at Miriam and her lady-in-waiting nodded.

“I had the count followed, and I have prepared a report on his usual routine. “I’ll bring you both a copy tomorrow,” Miriam said. “As for the maid, I believe she should be taken care of tonight.”

“So after Raena and her degenerate friend are dead, we are in the clear?” Rissen asked, raising eyebrow. “Are you sure she doesn’t have letters prepared to be sent in case of her death? She does seem like the vindictive type.”

“I have accounted for that.” Tassia smiled. “Even if she does have such letters prepared, they will soon become useless. We won’t be the ones taking the fall for it.” She stepped toward her son, reaching out and caressing his cheek. “You know the saying ‘Like mother, like son’? Well, in Kassian’s case, that is not a good thing.”

“Your Highness?” The we*t nurse gasped in surprise. She glanced over her shoulder to the room behind her, then opened the door wider. Yulien glanced at his guards and they nodded, moving to the two opposite sides of the corridor and going to check for anyone that shouldn’t be there.

The door closed with a soft click and the we*t nurse strode to the opposite side of the room, where a solid rocking chair was tilting back and forth in a slow, steady rhythm. A soft humming was coming from the chair and in a few seconds, Yulien recognized the voice.

He stopped by the empty crib, turning his head to look at the person in the chair. His first wife stared at him with a raised eyebrow, her hands gently cradling the small child that was sleeping in embrace. The boy’s face was calm and serene and he was svcking on his finger, his nose wheezing softly. Yulien just stared at them, the edges of his l!ps curving upward. Arina sighed, then turned her head toward the we*t nurse, nodding.

The older woman stepped toward her, gently taking the child and carrying it to its crib.

Arina rose to her feet, closing her night robe and tying it before nodding for Yulien to follow her.

He glanced back at the crib where the we*t nurse was just covering the sleeping child with a thin blanket, then followed his wife to the opposite side of the room. She stopped by a couch that held a handful of stuffed animals but didn’t sit down.

“To what do I owe this unexpected visit?” she asked in a low voice, crossing her arms. He had forgotten how tiny she was. She had lost most of the baby weight, but her cheeks were still round and rosy, which actually suited her better. Her eyes looked tired and her shoulders heavy. Her hair was so out of order that he wasn’t sure her maid even tried to brush it. She seemed so refreshingly different from the perfect woman he married ten years ago. She must have noticed his distraction, because a smirk appeared on her face. “Is His Highness missing me?”

“Of course.” Yulien smiled back. “You haven’t shared my bed since before the baby was born. A year and a half is a lot of time to ignore your husband.”

“We both know you have plenty of people to keep the loneliness at bay.”

“Yes, but only one of you.”

“Enough with the jesting, I am tired,” she sighed. “Just tell me why you really are here. Elian has been sick for the past four days and I have barely slept. He keeps asking for me and refuses everyone else. I have no patience for your flirting.”

“There is something I needed to talk to you about, but you weren’t in your chambers,” Yulien said, his playful smile dropping.

“And it couldn’t wait until morning?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, because you’ll be leaving in the morning.” he replied, holding her gaze. She frowned, raising her chin in defiance. Yulien glanced at the we*t nurse, then put a hand on Arina’s waist, pulling her further away. “I have ordered preparations to be made already. I’m sending you and the child to your family. And before you ask, no, I am not divorcing you.”

So it’s the other thing” she whispered with bitter smile. “I would have preferred for you to get sick of me rather than for me to be on the lookout for my life again. Or Elian’s.”

“You knew that was the life you chose as the future Empress.” Yulien smiled for a moment, c@ressing her cheek. “I have been corresponding with your father, but I didn’t think it was necessary until now. Considering that our son might become the future Emperor one day, I’d rather not take chances.”

“What changed?” she asked in a serious tone.” Is it the Empress?” Yulien didn’t have to answer the last one. Ariana sighed.

“Sarea is dying and tonight that became public knowledge,” Yulien said quietly, keeping the we*t nurse in his field of vision. “l have my suspicions about what the Empress’s next move would be and if she is successful, Kassian is going to be put in danger, and I won’t be able to rely on him. You and the child are a liability, I can’t move freely with you here unless you want to end up dead.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked, biting her lower l!p.

“This depends on how my brother handles his own affairs.” Yulien shrugged. “We have run into someone new who might turn into a great asset or formidable foe. She already has my brother running in circles around her.” Yulien smiled for a second, thinking of Kassian’s face every time his new wife was brought up, but then he remembered he wasn’t alone. “Get some rest. I’ll have your maids wake you up in a few hours. You can sleep in the carriage. Take with you only people you trust. I’m sending one of my guards along, just in case.”

“No. You’ll need them more than us,” Arina said stubbornly, her eyebrows knitting together. “If anything, you need four or five more now.”

Don’t think about useless things.” Yulien chuckled.

“What about your other wife?” Arina frowned. Yulien grimaced before he could stop himself.

“I’m sure the Empress instructed her to stick to my side even if I am dead, so there is probably nothing l can do or say to make her leave,” he whispered, scratching his nose. “But I wouldn’t worry about her that much, she is here to watch me and report on me. She doesn’t have the guts to do anything.” He placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her eyes again. “Take care of yourself and our son. Once things are resolved, I’ll send word to your father to bring you back. It might be a while, so don’t spoil the little thing. If you do, you’ll have to give birth to another one to replace him as Emperor.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be nothing like you!” she smirked, but then her smile quickly dropped. “Don’t you dare die, Yulien Etrobia.”

“Not if I can help it” Yulien replied, placing a quick k!ss on the top of her head before walking out of the baby’s room.