“Of course, dear. Say whatever it is,” the old queen said.

Esther let out a shaky breath, and only then did the older royals realize the seriousness of the situation. They patiently waited for Esther to compose her thoughts.

“You two know that it’s been more than a year since Theron and I have been married,” Esther said. King Esteban and Queen Theodora stiffened, and it could be seen in their eyes that they were well aware of the topic she was about to bring up.

Esther continued. “I-I do not wish to wait another year, and have Theron remain childless…”

Though it was hurting her, she had a solution for the lack of a descendant and decided she could not let her family suffer together with her.

“It’s fine, dear…”

“Mother, I know you don’t have any objection over it, but I have. I can’t let Theron suffer because of my inability.”

“Oh dear, don’t think like that. You will definitely be able to have a child. Did Theron say something to you?”

“No, Mother. It’s just me who has decided on a solution.”

“What is it?” she asked worriedly.

Esther closed her eyes for a moment, and then she stared at her husband’s parents with a determined face. “Mother, Father, I want…I want you to help me convince Theron to have a concubine.”

The elderly couple was stunned. It was nothing new for kings to have concubines but knowing Theron, it was something his parents knew was an impossible feat. They were the people who raised him, and they knew him well enough to confidently say that he would never agree to it.

“Concubine…Did you talk to Theron about this? How did he respond?” Queen Theodora asked.

Esther shook her head. “I have yet to tell him about this. I wish to consult Mother and Father first before bringing this up to him.”

The old king, who had remained silent so far, opened his mouth. “My son will never agree to it.”

Queen Theodora agreed. The moment their son chose Esther, they were absolutely sure Theron would never marry another woman.

“Father, we have to make it happen,” Esther said. “The Ivanovs need an heir. The kingdom needs a royal heir. My husband…although he’s not saying it for my benefit, I know how much he wants to have an heir. Theron will only suffer if he remains childless, and I don’t want him to struggle when there’s an obvious solution to the problem.”

His parents fell into silence as they watched the torn expression on their daughter-in-law’s face. For a wife to willingly raise the option of her husband getting a concubine on her own, how long had she struggled in silent pain? Yet here she was, swallowing her pride, her eyes filled with determination, asking her husband’s parents to help convince him.

Neither the old king nor queen wanted to undermine the courage it took Esther to bring this up.

“You will break his heart,” Queen Theodora managed to say after a while.

Esther let out a pained smile. “I know… but there is no other way. I want him to have children. Like what Mother said last time, he might get to experience his lost childhood days once he has children of his own. I do not want to rob him of that happiness.”

The older royals stayed silent for a while.

“If that is what you think is best, you have our full support,” the older lady said with a sigh. “Talk to Theron first and let us know how he responds. We will try to convince him too, but we cannot promise you we will succeed.”

“Thank you, Mother. That is enough. I will talk to him soon,” Esther smiled.

After spending time with them, Esther bid them farewell. Her mother-in-law offered to accompany her towards the boat tied to the small dock just outside the Crystal Palace.

“Esther?”

“Yes, mother?”

As they strolled around the stone-paved paths of the hanging garden leading towards the lake, Queen Theodora gently squeezed her hand.

“Thank you. I know it must have been a tough decision for you to take but you had to because you cared for Theron,” she smiled. “My son is really fortunate to have a woman who thinks about him before herself.”

“No, mother. In fact, I am fortunate to have him. I only want him to be a great king to the kingdom and a happy man who lacks nothing.”

The older woman nodded. “Esteban and I had known each other since childhood. When he learned that I was chosen to become his queen, he told me he was really happy because he had liked me ever since young. We have a happy married life, and that’s why when we had Theron, we decided to break convention and let him choose his own wife, so that he could experience the happiness Esteban and I have.

“But Esteban had to get concubines, not because his feelings for me changed, but because it was out of his duty towards the kingdom. At that time, Thevailes was already in a hostile relationship with Megaris. The royal family was many times weaker than it is now, and to protect Megaris, he needed to get the full support from the territory lords to make up the numbers of the soldiers and strengthen the kingdom’s army. He had to make political decisions and marry the daughters of a duke and a marquis, as well as the princess from a smaller kingdom that was now absorbed by Megaris. Though he didn’t wish to, he had to because of his responsibility towards the kingdom.”

“Didn’t you feel bad, mother?” Esther softly asked.

“Of course, which sane woman would want to share her husband with another woman? But as a daughter from a noble family, I have been raised with all these things in mind and it’s nothing shocking for me,” she replied. “Moreover, as the then Queen of Megaris, I too had to think about how to make it strong. What’s the use of protecting my heart when it means the people I should be protecting will suffer? So what if I were to share my husband with another if it means keeping my husband and my kingdom safe? If the royal family remained weak, the first to die would be my husband. Wasn’t the choice easy to make if I think of things that way? As I had promised during our wedding, I chose to support my husband.”

Esther let out a shaky breath. “But I see Father still loves you a lot.”

“His love for me never changed. He had to honour his marriages with them but he was still the same with me. He loved me, cared for me and never ignored me. I know Theron will be the same,” she assured.

“I know, mother. As long as he loves me, even a little, that is enough.”

Esther left the Crystal Palace after getting permission and support from her in-laws about what she planned to do. She felt heavy in her heart, but after hearing Queen Theodora’s parting words, she felt her will renewed—that what she was doing was the right thing to do.

She looked up at the cloudy sky, wondering how she would face her husband’s incoming anger and disappointment once she brought up this topic to him.

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