4. Fated(?)

Inside the Imperial Palace...

The Emperor and his family, that is, his Empress and children were locked in their bedroom.

Having never suffered such harsh treatment throughout his life, the Emperor was in a mess; he had called for a talk with Snow for quite some time now because he was aware that the only person who could protect him at the moment was her, but his request was not passed...

Being locked for less than a few hours already made him feel so anxious that he wasn't even able to hear the voice of his crying children.

This incident actually showed what it meant to be under the protection of her and what happened in case she wasn't there for him

... He had been neglecting her, taking her presence for granted....

But was he regretting it?

The answer was more in line with, 'he only cared about himself, he wasn't bright enough to feel remorse', if not for this world which treated it as its protagonist, a character like him was worse than a mob.

The Empress was disturbed himself, but since he had been going through a lot these years, it didn't show up on his face.

He took the place of the Snow Ledwig, the perfect woman who was the best choice to become the 'mother of the empire'...

Many may have supported their love on the surface, but the nobles in the know-how didn't treat him well no matter what he did or how much he effort he put; of course, there were some who flattered him, but he was aware that it was not him that they wanted to be friends with, it was the Royal symbol he was associated with.

Considering it now, it seems the best he had been treated was actually by Snow Ledwig!

At the very least, she treated him as a person even back then and not an Omega who only wanted to take her place with means like pregnancy....

It was a fact that after he got pregnant, he first confronted her, he had cried and begged her for help; back then, Snow and Michael were still engaged and it was infidelity on Michael's part, she had full right to condemn and humiliate him because he was the 'mistress' and their relationship was wrong, but she hadn't shirked from her responsibilities.

She had said, "the child should not suffer for what the parents did... " and had left the place....

....when she had left the place, he for the first time felt what it meant to be in power and a noble; her back had looked so huge and so proud; it was the same when she was condemned in public, she never bowed, because she was not at fault....but she never fought back because she didn't want the kids to suffer and treated like a joke...

Snow had a pitiful childhood because she was special, she didn't want the child in his body to suffer because he was 'illegitimate'.

Oriole had always felt inferior in front of her, he had stolen everything from her, but a diamond will shine everywhere;

Snow became the youngest Marshall in the Empire's history with her own merits, even though she never attended a banquet, she was always the talk among the nobles, the nobles who with actual power in this world had always regretted that she was unable to be the Empress, till this day...!!

.....

The Empress calmly waited, he didn't know why, but even after they had used her for so many years, he also had this inner belief that she will save them as if, it was something she ought to do, no one was forcing her after all...this was how it was meant to be.

So, he calmly waited, coaxing his husband and his children that everything will be alright, the Snow he knew was too good for her own sake and too kind, though it wasn't official, she will have to take his children under her, it was a given.... she won't abandon the people and the throne, Snow Ledwig was a proud Alpha!

Oriole was content with his own fantasy... that is till the virtual screen lit up in their room and the suave and strict face of the First Prince was displayed on the screen...

He heard his husband's trembling voice, ".. Why is First brother appearing on the screen? Wasn't this an act of those Marshalls? Why is he on the screen? He is supposed to be on the border stars.. Ah..!! He must be here to save us",

Michael had wanted to delude himself, but deep down, both of them had an unsettling feeling deep down...

Louis de Eloten, the eldest son of the previous emperor with his Imperial Consort; it was a political marriage and she was unable to live past her pregnancy.

The Emperor had remarried to an Omega and made her his Empress, and the second prince, Michael was born through their conjugation and was given the title of the Crown Prince.

Louis was always a smart kid, even though he was ignored most part of his life by the man, who was supposed to be his father.

Considering the facts like he didn't have any background anymore and was not favoured by the Emperor, everyone else treated him the same, they may not condemn him but they also didn't help him still, he still diligently studied, practised his sword and practised with his mechas, he was kind to everyone and was a sensible child.

Thinking about it now, the first time he had raised his voice for anything would be when Snow was relinquished of her title; he was mad in her stead, but since the concerned party herself remained silent, he couldn't do much to help.

From that day forth, no one had seen him, except for Snow...

Though it was believed that he was banished by the previous emperor in case he had designs to sit on the throne, only he was aware of the truth.

Louis had 'ran' away to the border stars, he had wanted to get away from the power struggle and this world dominated by such cowardly characters.

To be very frank, he never wanted the position, but he was very protective of his mother star... he was very similar to snow in this regard, just that, he had found his salvation in this place, he now had a happy family of three excluding him, but Snow was still alone in this world.

When he heard about her plan and the truth behind everything, his body froze...

Now he had a family; he had a cute little daughter who was his princess and a son who acted like his tail and of course his beautiful wife; if possible he would have liked to find another solution, after knowing the warmth of a family, he had wanted the girl he had treated as a younger sister from the start to also enjoy it, but life was not a fairy tale.

But now he couldn't choose to run away, because he had someone he had to protect.

He was aware that when Snow went away, without her protection Michael will be used to the maximum, he was a bit incompetent courtesy his father and mother who had spoiled him too much; when the noble took all his power, no matter how righteously they described their cause, the society will become vulnerable.

If he wanted to protect his family and his birthplace, he knew he had to take the crown...

He had once resigned to his fate, but now was different, he wanted to live a fulfilling life!