Ancient Empire Calendar Year 1815
It was noon. Ricardo and his Concubine, Dilara, had slept until midday due to the fatigue of the long night.
Dilara's body was covered in bruises, redness, and bite marks.
Ricardo covered Dilara, got out of bed, and entered the bathroom. The water was hot, and clean clothes were also ready.
After a quick shower, Ricardo dressed and left the room.
An hour later, Dilara also woke up. She was tired, and her body was trembling.
"Leila."
Leila entered the room and took Dilara to the bathroom, placing her in the hot water.
"Ahhh, so warm, it feels so good."
Leila smiled.
"How was your first time?"
Dilara's eyes sparkled like stars.
"It was super, it was magnificent."
"Ohhh, I see it went very well," said Leila.
Dilara was a little embarrassed.
"So, was it big?" Leila asked in a teasing voice.
Dilara shyly averted her eyes.
"Yes, it was very big."
Leila grew curious.
"How big?"
When Dilara showed the size with her hands, Leila was shocked.
"Impossible!"
Leila adopted a jealous expression.
"Wow, I hope my future husband's is that big too."
Dilara burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha!"
Leila also started laughing. The two women gossiped until evening.
Ricardo was walking towards his father's study, thinking about the night.
"How many years has it been? If I add my previous life to this one, I think it's been forty years since I slept with a woman. Wow, it was fun. On the other hand, it was very strange. Although not biologically, sleeping with a woman younger than me in terms of soul and mind. Why am I like this, when I should feel disturbed? I wasn't a pedophile bastard, was I? I hope I'm not. Ahhh, shit."
Ricardo stopped in front of the study door and knocked.
"Come in."
The guards opened the doors. Ricardo entered, bowed his head, and greeted his father.
"I greet the Dynasty Lord."
"Sit, Ricardo."
Ricardo sat directly opposite his father.
"Since we have dealt with one problem, let's move on to the next matter," said Orsman.
"What is the matter, Dynasty Lord?" asked Ricardo.
"Due to the attack at the wedding, people think you did something to anger the spirits, and that's why the attack happened. On the other hand, because of the attack, the people are starting to move away from the Ancestors' Cult faith."
Ricardo didn't understand the last part.
"Why are they moving away?"
Orsman explained.
"In the Ancestors' Cult faith, Spirits are sacred. But after this attack, people have started to question the sanctity of the spirits and drift away from the religion."
"Would that be a problem, Dynasty Lord? Everyone's faith is their own; we can't interfere."
"True, we cannot interfere. But if atheism and different beliefs increase among the people, and if religious and sectarian conflicts rise again, the events of centuries past could repeat themselves."
Some of the former Dynasty Lords had forcibly made the people irreligious, which had led to much bloodshed.
Ricardo brought his hand to his chin.
"Giving religious freedom is problematic, changing the official religion is another problem. Either way, we'll have to work at it a bit."
"Correct, but first we must remove the image that the Spirits hate you," said Orsman.
Ricardo guessed where this was going.
"For that, I need to get married."
Orsman nodded in agreement.
"Correct."
Ricardo more or less guessed who his wife would be but asked to be sure.
"Who will I marry?"
"Xiao Meiran Ashterah, the last living child of the XXI Dynasty Lord Carl, the final Dynasty Lord of the Ashbrum Dynasty."
After the dissolution of the Ashbrum Dynasty and the establishment of the Ashterah Dynasty, the surname of everyone bearing the Ashbrum name had been changed.
"Alright. When is the wedding?" asked Ricardo.
"We will do it at the earliest possible time. Preparations have already begun," answered Orsman.
Ricardo stood up, bowed to his father, and headed for the door to leave the room.
Just as he was about to exit, Orsman called out from behind him.
"Is your mother well?"
Ricardo's face fell. He spoke in a sad tone.
"I don't know. We are doing what we can, but they say there is no hope. Maybe she'll live another year."
"I see. You may go," said Orsman in an emotionless manner.
Ricardo was angered by his father's emotionless attitude but hid his feelings and left the room without a reply.
Ricardo walked through the palace corridors. Those who saw him bowed their heads.
After a while, he arrived at the room where his mother was being treated.
"Mother, I'm here. Are you available?"
A weak voice came from the room.
"Come in, my son."
The guards opened the door. Ricardo entered the room. His soul darkened every time he saw his mother.
"How are you, Mother?" he said with a sad expression.
Next to Seliarnevre were four women assigned to serve her. These women were the daughters born from Orsman's other wives.
Kilda, wife of Terman; Talissa, the widowed wife of Argilac, who died in war; Vanessa, wife of Tyrel; and Lunia, wife of Edmund.
Seeing the sadness on her son's face, Seliarnevre didn't want to upset Ricardo further.
"I am fine, my son. Your sisters are taking good care of me."
Ricardo looked at his sisters. In an emotionless voice, he said,
"Leave us alone."
When the Kislavein princesses bowed their heads and left the room, Ricardo hugged his mother.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."
Seliarnevre hugged her son.
"It would have been a miracle if you could have protected me in that situation."
Ricardo pulled back.
"Why did you take the full force of the attack? You saved Arlek and Arnheid, but if you hadn't done that and all three of you had been injured, it would have reduced the damage significantly. Even if it was a permanent injury, you might have survived."
Seliarnevre grew angry at these words.
"Ricardo, I have already lived long enough."
Ricardo cut off his mother's words.
"You're not even forty yet. What long life are you talking about? You spent your entire youth on a knife's edge. Now, just as the years when you could live comfortably have come..."
Before Ricardo could finish his words, he broke down in tears.
"Damn it. No matter how old I am, the pain of losing my mother is always the same."
Seliarnevre held her son's cheeks and smiled.
"Sooner or later, we will all die, Ricardo. Of the millions of people living now, not a single one will be alive a hundred years from now. Even if we leave early in this life, our Spirits will live forever with our Ancestors."
Ricardo said no more. He stayed by his mother's side until evening.
Seliarnevre noticed how late it was.
"Ricardo, you should return to your room. You shouldn't keep your concubine waiting too long."
Ricardo stood up.
"Alright, Mother."
"I want to see my grandchild before I die."
These words felt like a will to Ricardo.
"You will see them," he said.
Ricardo left the room and walked quickly towards his bedroom. When he arrived in front of his room, he opened the doors before the guards could.
His concubine, Dilara, became excited when she saw Ricardo.
"Ricardo!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Ricardo crashed his lips onto Dilara's.
Dilara closed her eyes and let herself go with the flow of events.