BXBX NOVEL Chapter 223 The Lonely Back
Queen Tehila painfully watched Emperor Valentin's solitary back. She saw how disheartened the Emperor was in the past few days.
She couldn't think of anything to cheer him up other than to stay and watch over him.
Watching him accept the painful truth about the inevitable conflict among his beloved sons was a heartbreaking experience for her too.
Memories flooded her mind as she watched her beloved succumb again to a similar state he was in during his first years as an Emperor.
Queen Tehila knew more than anyone how devastating it was for Emperor Valentin to realize what abominable thing he did on his very own wedding night.
That thing was something that he didn't even have the will nor courage to do to others as the Crown Prince of the Empire back then.
It took him years to even have the courage to show himself in front of her, whom he thought he betrayed.
What's more, he never intended to ruin any woman like that, may it be Lucia or even Carolina, who was the perpetrator.
The disgust, remorse, guilt, and blame weighed down on his battered body, which was still recovering after being in a coma for a few months. Add to the fact that he cannot leave the throne vacant for too long.
Queen Tehila knew how Emperor Valentin dragged his body up and faced his responsibilities to revive the Empire that had been devastated by the war.
He held on as long as he could, bearing all the sins he did, as well as the gravity of his position, not even having time to mourn for the fall of his father. He was not even able to go out to recover his father's body!
Slowly his health declined because he did not allow his body to fully recover when the curse damaged his body a lot.
In just two months of holding the ground for the Empire, he finally collapsed, dropping cold and shivering on the floor.
Everyone in the Empire panicked and became uneasy.
With the fall of the late Emperor and his declining health, chaos immediately ensued on who would be the one to be treated as an heir to the throne when the Empress and the First Queen were pregnant at the same time.
This was also the start of the intense, never-ending power struggle between the Vesala and Astaze.
The equilibrium started to collapse and no one could stand to lead the Empire because no one would allow the other to do so.
But hope arrived when the news of Emperor Idelfonso surviving the war spread. Although severely injured, he was brought back with the help of his two friends Andvari and Reuben.
With the sight of the grandmasters coming back, the power-hungry nobles stepped back with tails between their legs.
Queen Tehila could not forget the late Emperor Idelfonso's piercing blue eyes glaring at the noblemen while shouting,
"Bunch of fools! In the absence of the Emperor, none of the wives could take over even if they are bearing an heir! What made you think that it was easy to wipe the Imperial Family down? The fact that my son brought multiple wives invalidates ALL of them to the political struggle! Drill that on your brains!"
This was when the noblemen, especially Maxim, realized how scheming Emperor Valentin was even though he had prematurely ascended to the throne.
They did not know that the gravity of taking multiple wives would cripple their very chance to seize this rare moment and take advantage of the throne's instability.
What can they do? Even the Temple released the written Imperial law written back on the establishment of the Seirende Empire:
"When the current Emperor failed to accomplish his duties in any way and had an heir of age, the crown prince, or in his absence, the eldest child, would immediately take over. However, if he had multiple wives and offsprings, without a conferred crown prince, the role must be assumed by the eldest sibling or the closest ascendant of the current Emperor!"
It was a great and unexpected move from Valentin at that time. When all the people thought that he was just pressured by the two big factions, he got back at them this way.
Only then did everybody realize that his move was intended to buy himself enough time to establish his power and compensate for his inexperience. He knew that by the time his successor grew, he had already established his power in the Empire.
The only unplanned thing for him was the incident on the wedding night. For he had long planned to only fulfill his duty as a husband with Queen Tehila and no more. The only heir that he planned to bear was his beloved, Tehila.
But the schemes of Carolina took those away, thus creating this mess.
In Emperor Valentin's bedroom, Emperor Idelfonso stood at his bedside with a trembling body and bloodshot eyes as he listened to Queen Tehila's recount of everything that happened.
"How brazen and disgusting! How could that kind of creature even stay here in the palace?! Drag her and I'll kill her on the spot!" He shouted with a hoarse voice as he bellowed full of angst and injustice for his poor son.
"Ide, calm down! Even if you want to punish her now, she was already carrying the blood and flesh of the Seirende! Do not stain your hands that way!" Reuben held Idelfonso down as he knew his friend's temper.
"Old Ben is right, what your son needs now is a chance to get some peace to fully recover for the resumption of his responsibilities." Andi also helped the still gravely injured Idelfonso as he was escorted back to his seat.
There was a long silence in the bedroom which was filled with a medicinal aroma that could aid Valentin's recovery.
Idelfonso was still unsatisfied as he clenched his fist really hard.
He had just lost his wife a few months ago. He also watched as his men fell down one by one in a war that seemed to have no hope of winning.
Now he crawled to the gates of hell as he was immediately rescued by his two good friends who were actually traveling around the Empire to live a carefree life.
But who would have thought that he would go home to see both the Empire and his beloved son in a severely bad state?!
"Just wait! She will get her retribution! She will surely get it!" He softly declared with a voice full of wrath. He was gritting his teeth to contain the overwhelming anger in his heart.
However, in the past few days, there were no signs of hope in Valentin's body. Signs of life being exhausted appeared rapidly, causing Idelfonso to panic and almost go crazy.
He was full of grievance as to why the Creator who had blessed his family from generation to generation suddenly turned away at this moment.
Kneeling on the bedside, he held his son, who could have been in his prime enjoying his young life but was slowly approaching his death.
"Oh Creator, please… You have taken away one… Please do not take another…" He sobbed like a child who was ruthlessly abandoned by his parents.
Queen Tehila also sobbed on the side, as she was also as hopeless as her father-in-law.
Suddenly, a gentle and ancient voice sounded from the door of the bedroom. "There's a way to save him.."
"H-high Priest!" Queen Tehila quickly greeted the High Priest.
"Hmm.." He nodded in acknowledgment and looked at Emperor Idelfonso with a serious expression.
Feeling the mood, Queen Tehila excused herself and let the two elders converse in the room.
She didn't know what things the two esteemed men talked about. But since then, there has been a change in the situation.
The current Emperor, Valentin, finally showed signs of recovery. While Emperor Idelfonso temporarily held the post, announcing that he would immediately retire once Valentin fully recovered.
Only after three days, Valentin regained consciousness and was able to get back to his optimal condition after a week.
Shortly after Valentin resumed his responsibilities, Emperor Idelfonso retired to the northern plains, intending to spend his life there until he died.
He did not appear in the capital after doing so. In the future, the only thing that Emperor Valentin could do was to bring his three sons to visit him once in a while to pay respects.
As for Valentin, although his health recovered, his heart and mind did not.
He was greatly relieved to know that his father was alive.
But the seed of self-hatred already took a deep root in his heart.
There were moments when he was smiling at the people yet his eyes were full of despair. He was deeply trapped in the unending abyss of guilt, unwillingness, and shame.
He found himself dirty, unworthy, and full of defects.
He also hid away from his people, especially Tehila. How could the two even see each other eye to eye now?
Everything completely changed, their love was no longer as pretty as butterflies and as lovely as flowers.
And with his young yet lonely back, he carried it all until a certain time arrived.