Swear Fealty To Me, My Subjects!

Chapter 77.2: Thea, Do You Want to Be the Empress of Haines? (2)

Constance shook her head gently and said in a serious manner, "Everything is under your control, Your Highness."

She was not lying.

The Empress heaved a sigh of relief. "Is that so? That's good. With Rayne taking over for me, I can feel at ease…"

However, at the mention of succession...

Suddenly, the Empress thought of something and her tone turned grim.

"Right, Thea… do you know? When Edaline returned yesterday, she and I almost quarreled because of Rayne again.

"I know that she doesn't want her brother to ascend to the crystal throne at all because the curse of the crystal throne will kill Rayne."

No one knew better than Empress Cassius about the disadvantages of becoming the Emperor of Haines.

What Edaline knew, she naturally knew as well.

However…

Someone had to be the Emperor.

Someone had to maintain the stability of the mortal world in place of the goddess.

If someone had to shoulder this calling and curse...

Despite her helplessness and heartache, Rayne was the best choice for Cassius.

However, the current Rayne was not perfect as the Emperor of Haines.

If there was anything lacking about Rayne, it was that the current him did not know how to get along with the Imperial Guards.

However, this could not be rushed. The Empress had to nurture the relationship between him and the Imperial Guards slowly and build trust between them.

I hope...

I've got time to see this through.

The Empress sighed and looked at Constance beside her with a grim expression.

"Speaking of which… Thea."

"Your Majesty?"

"There's something I want to ask you."

"Your Majesty, please speak."

"Thea, do you want to be the Empress of Rayne?"

"!!!"

Constance's gaze quivered as she looked at the Empress in surprise.

"Your Majesty, please don't joke…"

"I'm not joking. I really want to entrust Rayne to you."

The Empress had a bitter smile on her face as she caressed Constance's cheek.

"After I die, Rayne will have no relatives. Apart from Edaline, you're the only one he can rely on."

Avoiding the Empress's gaze, Constance uttered softly.

"I've already made a vow… to maintain my chastity."

The Empress smiled. "It's fine. You and Rayne have grown up. There are some things for which you can make your own decisions."

After saying that, the Empress sighed worriedly.

"Rayne is a good child, but his personal life is a little messy… Yes, let me count. The three daughters of Duke Antoinette, the widow of the Robbins family, the lady boss of the Ello Chamber of Commerce and… Ah, sorry, Thea. My child is absolutely filthy."

The Empress counted with her fingers and counted the female friends that Rayne made. However, she realized that she could not finish counting all of them!

The Empress covered her face in despair.

Right now, she was too embarrassed to continue promoting this unfilial, promiscuous son of hers to Thea.

However, the only thing that comforted the Empress was Rayne's recent performance.

"Thankfully, he's been much more decent recently and hasn't brought anyone back to the palace. He's probably finally enlightened."

That's right.

Constance echoed internally.

His Highness was indeed much more restrained and did not fool around everywhere.

However, in the past month...

He was practically almost feasting Hela dry.

However, actually…

Constance did not mind Rayne's flirtatious behavior.

There were some things that Thea did not want to say… but she knew that she was probably the reason why Rayne became like this.

In the past, Rayne was an almost perfect prince.

However, ever since Constance rejected Rayne in order to join the Imperial Guards...

He was despondent for the longest time.

Thereafter, he became as such.

As the Shield of the Empire, Constance had the privilege of staying in the capital for a long time.

That also meant that she could see Rayne everyday.

Constance watched Rayne fool around and flirt with different women daily, whispering sweet nothings to them.

However, towards her, he refused to speak a single extra word. Although it hurt her, it was... fine.

As someone who had once rejected His Highness's confession, she had brought this upon herself and naturally could not ask for anything more.

Nothing mattered as long as he was happy.

However, what Constance did not expect was…

Recently, Rayne seemed to have changed.

The turning point of everything happened that day when Rayne talked to Constance about his dream.

From then on, Rayne completely broke away from his image as a playboy prince. He made a contract with the Dragon of Lust, suppressed Obadiah, snatched the relic of the ancient gods and repelled evil gods… Every step he took was calculated and unfathomably precise.

It was as though Rayne had matured overnight, seen through the secular world and finally became a saint.

From his aura to his thoughts, he had become extremely… awe-inspiring.

Apart from that…

Constance could also sense that Rayne's attitude towards her had changed.

Finally, the avoidance and coldness in his eyes vanished.

Now, Rayne was finally willing to look at her directly.

Furthermore, in Rayne's eyes, Constance saw a warm and long-lasting tenderness.

It was like an old man on the brink of death staring at his wife who had accompanied him for his entire life.

This sincere love made Constance feel flattered and almost moved to tears. More than once, she even wondered if she was dreaming and would be jolted awake the next moment.

However…

Apart from that love, Rayne seemed to have a conflicted expression when he looked at her.

That conflicted emotion was especially puzzling for Constance.

There was a hint of worry in Constance's tone. "I feel that His Highness seems to be different from before when he is facing me recently."

When the Empress heard that, she revealed a knowing smile. "It seems my child has finally discovered who the most outstanding girl around him is?"

No… that's not the case.

Constance lamented internally.

Recently, Rayne's eyes had been filled with restless desires and as well as seemingly intensifying resentment. This gave Constance a mysterious feeling.

Is he constantly thinking about how to... backstab me?