Chapter 4 True Feelings

"Your majesty?" Lady Delphine was surprised when Elpis came into her quarters. She was struggling to get up when the empress stopped her from moving too much.

"I'm not that cruel to let a woman who just had a child get up to greet me. Stay on your bed, Delphine." Lady Delphine nodded with a smile. She watches as the empress removed her formal coat and placed them on a table nearby.

"Did you have dinner?" Delphine nodded.

"What about you, your majesty? You seemed a bit tired. It must be a long day at court." Elpis smiled.

"It's normal. Since the war is over, there is a lot of things that need my attention. Enough talking about my day. I would like to spend a night here. Do you mind?" Lady Delphine shake her head no.

"Your majesty. To be honest, I didn't expect you to come to see me. You know, after what I did. But since you're here, I would like to say thank you for letting my child to be born. I'm grateful." Elpis didn't react much when Delphine was thanking her.

"Just remember to never betray me ever again in the future. I might not be that kind-hearted anymore." Lady Delphine nodded.

"About the minister, did any of your sisters told you about his fate?" Lady Delphine nodded.

"Noble consort Grace did come to see me earlier and told me about his punishment. I ..." Elpis was waiting for her concubine to come clean about her feelings.

"I did love him, your majesty. But he's not the man I thought he was. His words tricked me. It felt genuine at the time, and I was weak." Elpis laid next to her concubine.

"So, do you still love him now?" Lady Delphine didn't respond.

"He was such a smooth talker. I didn't even realise that most of my jewellery was gone. It was Sister Celestia who told me that my prized ruby necklace wasn't at the place it should be." Elpis scoffed.

"The minister took my gift that I had bestowed to you? What other things did you find missing from your treasury?" Lady Delphine listed a few more jewellery and priceless gifts that were missing from her collection.

"I see. I will ask the palace guard to ransack his home tomorrow. You don't have to worry about it. I could always reward you more gifts in the future." Elpis smiled. She was getting herself settle in when she realised something.

"Did you and the minister had sex on this bed?" Lady Delphine didn't say anything.

"I'll ask the craftsmen to build you a new ivory and gold bed. We can ask the maid to remove this filthy thing tomorrow. Just thinking about him on this bed made me sick." Lady Delphine apologised for her action.

"Stop apologising. I understand that you against our union in the first place. So it was predicted that you might betray me. Do you know why your parents decided to give you to me instead of my brother?" Lady Delphine nodded.

"Because you hold power in the empire. We cannot question your decision. It also means my father's position in the court shall be higher than the rest." Elpis chuckled.

"You are indeed the prime minister's daughter." Delphine slowly rested her back on the headboard.

"But you didn't promote my father. He still held the position as the prime minister." Elpis nodded.

"That is true. And now your father has the guts to demand more power now that you produced an heir. I should teach that man a lesson or two." Elpis smiled when she saw Lady Delphine's eyes widened.

"What did my father did in court today?" Elpis shrugged.

"He asked to see you in Galatea Palace. But Virtra forbid him from doing so. I have a feeling tomorrow your mother will try to coax the empress dowager. And if she fails, she will ask Sophia for help." Lady Delphine sighed.

"Not only that, but he's also been spreading rumours about me forcing a minister to sleep with you. He will do anything to keep his position intact. Your father doesn't care even if it means that his action will ruin mine." Lady Delphine pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I shouldn't talk about this with you. You just had a rough experience. Your body isn't healing yet. I'm sorry." Lady Delphine grabbed Elpis's hand.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry that you have to deal with such travesty. Once I'm capable of walking on my own, I'll deal with my father myself. He's been such pain in the ass after I came to the palace." Elpis laughed.

"Do what you must. You're a member of my household now. Whatever you do, you will have my support. Anyway, where is that child of yours? I haven't heard him crying since I came into your quarters. Did the maid took him away?" Elpis asked while getting on a sitting position, looking for the child.

"I asked the maid to take the baby away. I thought you must be tired from your work. You don't need to hear a child crying at night." Her concubine's action touched the empress.

"Nonsense. I would like to see your child, Delphine. Asked the maid to bring him in." Delphine nodded before she asked the maid to bring her child to her. It didn't take long for the maid to carried Delphine's newborn baby to greet the empress.

"Do you have experience holding a child, your highness?" The maid asked. Elpis shakes her head no.

"It's easy. Make sure that you support the head since it's still a newborn and he doesn't have the strength to keep his head steady yet. You just have to make sure you hold the body just like this. Now, if your highnesses need anything, just call. I'll be just outside the door." The maid bow before leaving Elpis with her concubine together with a child.

"He's perfect. Just like his mother." Delphine sheepishly smile.

"Did you pick out a name, Delphine?" The concubine shakes her head no.

"I was hoping that your majesty would like to name him. After what I've done, it's only fair for me to do so." Elpis thinks for a moment before coming out with a perfect name for a perfect boy.

"What do you think of Malin? It means strong, little warrior. I have a feeling that he will grow up to be a strong little warrior that will protect this empire and his mothers'." Lady Delphine smiled from ear to ear.

"I think that's a perfect name, your majesty."

***

"Sister Virtra. Have you ever thought of bearing a child?" Noble consort Grace asked as she makes some tea for the imperial consort and the other two consorts, Elena and Margaux.

"No. Why do you think I married Elpis instead of a man? The idea of me pushing another human being is out of the question." Virtra answered nonchalantly.

"But ... don't you want to experience it? I mean, don't you want a legacy of yourself after you died?" Virtra looked up from reading a report and face noble consort Grace.

"Sister Grace, what's going on? You never ask such a question before." The noble consort sighed.

"It's just I saw Elpis holding the newborn baby this morning when I went to visit sister Delphine. Elpis looked so close with that child. It seemed like she had forgotten how sister Delphine betrayed her trust and love." The imperial consort was sceptical by her claimed.

"Are you sure it's Elpis and not that minister she cheated her with?" The noble consort sighed.

"Sister Virtra, That minister is locked up in the dungeon, waiting for his trial. I'm not blind. Elpis did hold that baby in her arms while I helped sister Delphine to clean herself. Do you think ... Elpis would even let any of her concubine to have a child?" Virtra can't believe her ears.

"And how do you think the concubines will do that? Sister Grace, you know how jealous Elpiscan be. Do you wish to face death that much?" The noble consort sighed.

"But sister Delphine did it, and she lives! Don't you want to experience the journey of motherhood?" As the noble consort speaks, consort Elena noticed a familiar figure standing by the door, listening in. Elpis placed a finger on her lips to keep Elena from saying anything.

"Sister Grace! Have you lost your mind?! If you even think of finding a man and betray Elpis, I'm afraid I won't be so nice like I did with sister Delphine!" The noble consort suddenly turned to consort Elena and Margaux.

"What about you two? Don't you want to experience the journey of becoming a mother? You have my permission to speak freely." Consort Elena immediately shake her head while consort Margaux seemed to be contemplating.

"I actually wouldn't mind experiencing the journey to become a mother. It's just ... the pain of birthing another human. That's the only thing I'm worried about." Consort Elena faced palm herself when she heard Margaux.

"You see Sister Virtra. And I bet the other concubines would share the same thought as well. It's normal for us to think that way." The imperial consort suddenly slammed the material she was reading on the table.

"If that's so, why did you agreed to be the empress concubine? You all are fully aware that she's not capable of giving you that kind of experience! If you speak of this one more time, I won't be so nice, sister Grace. Elpis just came back from war! She's tired, and she has to deal with A CONCUBINE WHO CAN'T KEEP HER CHASITY TO HERSELF!" The imperial consort suddenly lost her temper.

The noble consort apologised for her rudeness and decided to talk about something else. Consort Elena peek at the door once again, but the empress seemed to be missing. She wonders where did Elpis go. Elena suddenly felt pity that even the noble consort was beginning to have thoughts of having a child.

Consort Elena decided to excuse herself to find the empress. When she can't find Elpis where she usually hangs around, she decided to look for her in the garden instead. It's a long shot, but it's worth it because she could see the empress is currently admiring the morning sun while playing with a flower she plucked from the garden.

"Your majesty." Elpis turned to see who it was.

"Elena ... come .. join me. It's such a lovely morning." The consort nodded.

"Your majesty ... I'm sorry for what you've heard. Noble consort was just being ...," Elpis stopped her concubine from explaining the things she heard.

"I understand. It was foolish of me to think that I would ... managed to make a woman happy with just being myself." Elpis gave out a bitter chuckle.

"But your majesty ... I ..." The consort stopped talking when Elpis finally showed her true feelings. She felt heartbroken when the strong and confident woman they all know showed such a sorrowful expression that only the imperial consort ever seen.

"Elena ... I'm sorry that I'm not capable of giving you what you want. I know ... deep down, you wish to be a mother." Elena couldn't help but to pull Elpis closer to her and let her expressed her feelings.

"Your majesty ... that's not true. Don't you remember why I agreed to be your consort? I was in love, and you love me. No man could ever sway my heart as you did. The imperial consort had given us a stern order, never to mention it ever again. Trust me, your majesty. All of us wish nothing but to be here for you." Elpis finally let go of the consort.

"Elena ... let's go to the vault. I want to pick out rewards for my concubines. I've travelled to a lot of places while I was away. I bought a lot of gifts for my beloved." The consort nodded while wiping away the tears on the empress's face.

"Sure. I'll accompany you for today, your majesty."