NOVEL WEB Chapter 241: [Extra] Aurelia x Iris
The morning court had been urging Queen Aurelia to marry.
With both Prince Pollux’s and Princess Marcia’s engagements announced, the nobles in the court argued that Queen Aurelia should also be getting married. They said that it was very irregular that her younger siblings were to be married before her.
“Your Majesty, it is important to secure your heir.”
“A king needs a queen; a queen needs a consort!”
“Your Majesty, a consort will stabilise the country.”
Aurelia frowned, but before she could say anything, Iris signalled to her with her eyes.
Aurelia gave her a slight nod.
Iris stepped forward and said, “Considering that the court is invested in this matter, please prepare nomination reports for those whom you deem suitable to be Her Majesty’s consort, describing the candidate’s background, wealth, ability, major contributions to the country, and future plans for the country.”
The nobles in the court: “…” They looked at Queen Aurelia.
Aurelia appeared calm. It was a surprise to her too, but she immediately recognised that it was a good idea.
“Are there any questions?” Iris asked.
“My Lady, is there a page requirement or word limit…” one noble tentatively asked.
“No. If your nominated candidate has made many contributions, then feel free to list them thoroughly,” Iris said.
“Is there a deadline…?” another asked.
“We will assess them as they come in and form a shortlist,” Iris said.
“May we hear the required sections again…?”
Iris repeated the sections again. “—Are there any more questions? No? Then, let us move onto the next agenda item.”
The nobles had been unconsciously well-trained. They formatted their nomination reports following the style of all the past reports they had to submit. There was an executive summary and a contents page.
Iris developed a marking rubric. The junior members of the Queen’s Board went through the nominations as they were submitted and marked them based on categories including handsomeness, self-made wealth, farming ability, management ability, and so forth.
Only nominations that received “above average” in all categories could enter the shortlist.
When the nobles heard about the marking rubric, there was an uproar in the morning court.
“These are impossible conditions to fulfil!”
“I wish to impeach Lady Helios! She is maliciously blocking Her Majesty from marriage!”
One of the young noblemen who had been nominated added, “I believe that Lady Helios has secret designs on Your Majesty! I second the impeachment!”
“Your impeachment request is denied,” Aurelia said. “Consider what Marquis Rosewood of Sedaveria has done in one year and consider what you have done in ten years and reflect.”
The young nobleman was hit were it hurt. “That’s not a fair comparison—!”
“Marquis Rosewood is to be Prince Rian’s consort. Are you saying that my consort can only be worse? Are you saying that Angio has no person with the same or greater ability than Marquis Rosewood?”
The young nobleman faltered. “No, Your Majesty.”
“Lady Helios, what’s next on the agenda?” Aurelia asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Iris’s gaze swept the court, pausing briefly on a certain young nobleman, before returning to the prepared agenda in front of her.
The court reluctantly settled down.
Aurelia was now seriously considering marriage. It was a combination of the court’s urging and the fact that more urgent things had been or were being dealt with, now that she had been ruling for several years.
Marriage with the appropriate person would help stabilise the country, establish stronger ties between her and relevant aristocratic family, and temporarily suppress the aristocracy’s rebellious thoughts.
Promoting someone to become her consort would also allow her to share the workload. It was crucial that a competent person was chosen.
As for love? Aurelia had already disregarded that possibility. As long as she and her future consort could be on cordial terms, that would be enough. The ability, capability and usefulness of the future consort was more important.
Although the morning court had decried that Iris’s marking rubric was too strict, several nomination reports had already passed the conditions and made it onto Aurelia’s desk.
Among these nominations, none were currently suitable. Perhaps in a year or two, these men could make more achievements.
Nevertheless, some had good potential, personality and countenance. They might be suitable for some of her unmarried ladies-in-waiting instead.
Though, they definitely weren’t suitable for Lady Iris Helios. Aurelia suspected that Iris had intimidated all of these men at least once before.
Iris…
Iris’s steadfast loyalty and contributions needed to be rewarded.
And to be clinical about it, rewarding Iris would tether her more firmly to Aurelia’s cause.
Aurelia wanted to keep Iris by her side, as Iris’s skills and competency were unmatched. She wanted to bind Iris’s interests to the country. Traditionally, this could be done via marriage to the royal family.
However, Marcus and Pollux were both unavailable.
Marcia was unavailable too, Aurelia suddenly realised. In the framing of political marriages, provided that children were not necessary (and even if they were…), the new provisions for same-gender marriage meant that there could also be some male/male or female/female political marriages, regardless of the individuals’ inclinations.
Ariadne was too young.
The royal relatives were disregarded.
There was only Aurelia left.
Aurelia felt a tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach.
She analysed the idea critically.
If she wanted Iris to marry into the Lūpiter family, she was the only suitable option.
If Iris married her, that would form the strongest bond to keep Iris by her side, to keep Iris loyal to her and to the country.
Under the categories of handsomeness, self-made wealth, farming ability, management ability, and so forth, Iris was indeed considered beautiful and handsome, and her management ability was the best. Her self-made wealth was perhaps the only matter that was barely passable, because she was working for Aurelia rather than for her own fief or company.
They already had a good friendship and an established working relationship. Iris already knew all the administrative and managerial aspects of running the country and was competent in assisting Aurelia.
And Aurelia trusted her.
Among all the shortlisted nominations thus far, Iris was the best candidate. Aurelia couldn’t think of any eligible person who could be better.
Even the matter of children and heirs wouldn’t be a problem, if Pollux’s words about Ayden’s ideas were to be believed. They wouldn’t even need to find a surrogate, as they could both carry a child.
Aurelia frowned. Public acceptance may be an issue.
However, the aristocracy could not deny that Iris was capable. Lady Iris Helios was also the daughter of Duke Helios, which meant her position was relatively high. A marriage with the daughter of Duke Helios would force Duke Helios to align with her, Queen Aurelia, and force him to break his old remnant allegiances to King Augustus. Such a marriage alliance would contribute to the stability of the country.
Next, Aurelia thought about their hypothetical married lives.
They would appear at events, side by side. Iris would move into her quarters. They would share Aurelia’s private living space. After their late-night meeting, they would go to bed together, rather than parting.
They would lie in bed together, and they might even touch…
The idea didn’t repulse Aurelia. Instead, it made her…faintly excited.
From many angles, Iris was a suitable candidate. But was Iris willing? An unwanted marriage would be a punishment rather than a reward.
The tightness in Aurelia’s stomach spread up her chest, to her heart.
Lady Iris Helios wasn’t feeling well. It wasn’t a physical matter, it was psychological.
She was repulsed at the thought of Aurelia being intimate with another person. No one could support Aurelia better than her.
There was a reason why Iris had made a rubric and had the other ladies-in-waiting mark the nominations—it was so that she didn’t have to look at them herself.
Yet, she was still thinking about it.
Over the last few years, Iris had been deepening her relationship with Aurelia and increasing her standing.
She had been working hard, made as few mistakes as possible, and fully admitted when mistakes occurred to beg forgiveness. When they worked, sometimes it was necessary for Iris to lean closer, so that they could look over the same report or document or map. Iris was slowly moving closer, monitoring Aurelia’s comfortableness.
She had frequent private meetings with Aurelia, mixing work and leisure. The two of them secretly tried out table-top duelling, just to see what was so interesting about it. Aurelia had even served her tea once! They had also made several private trips together to surprise unsuspecting nobles.
And yet…and yet, Aurelia’s heart did not move and her eyes remained clear.
Iris was torn between whether she should accept that Aurelia was not attracted to women, or whether she should do something more drastic, such as change her attire to men’s clothing like that Lady Hespera Umber for a day, or whether she should wear a lower-cut dress and lean in…
In the end, reason prevailed, and Iris dressed normally for their next late-night meeting.
“I’ve examined the short-listed nominations thus far,” Aurelia said.
Iris felt a pain in her chest. “Have you found anyone suitable?”
“I had some thoughts. When we made the call for nominations, there were no requirements on the gender of the nominees. I’m considering making that explicit at the next morning court, so that we can receive a wider range of nominations,” Aurelia said. “Women nominees would be marked against the same rubric that you have created.”
Iris froze as her mind analysed several thoughts and ideas at the same time.
—Yes, Aurelia was correct, they hadn’t restricted nominations to men!
—Should she submit a self-nomination?
—No, why was Aurelia telling her this? Was Aurelia signalling that she would willingly marry a woman?
—Was she signalling to Iris that she wanted Iris to nominate herself?
——Did that mean she was interested in Iris?
If so, why go through the farce of nomination when they were sitting across from each other, in private, right now?
Aurelia’s eyes were direct, but there was a hint of hesitancy.
Iris’s chest tightened. She swallowed, and said, “Forgive me, Your Majesty, but there is no need to make such an announcement. As, among all suitable female candidates, there is no doubt that I am the best.”
The silence grew as Iris and Aurelia looked at each other.
There was something in Iris’s gaze. It made Aurelia feel a pang in her chest.
“Do you want to marry me as your reward?” Aurelia asked slowly.
“Is that a reward that you can give?” Iris said. She couldn’t help the sardonic edge in her voice.
“Yes.”
Iris’s heart thumped. “You—Your Majesty—Are you willing—”
Aurelia stood up, stretching to her full, domineering height. She gazed downwards at Iris. “Lady Iris Helios, for your services to the country and to me, I would like to offer you the opportunity to marry me. Do you accept?”
Iris’s throat became tight. “I—I accept.”
Aurelia extended her hand. After a beat, Iris accepted it, following Aurelia’s lead to stand up and move away from the table and chairs and to an open space.
Iris knelt. “Your Majesty, I will never let you down.”
“I know,” Aurelia said, her voice soft. “Stand, Iris.”
Then, Aurelia pulled Iris into a deep hug. Iris closed her eyes and hugged back tightly.
Neither had hugged anyone for a very long time. They felt a deep physical connection. They could feel the other’s body, their hands, their breath, their being.
There was relief, tentative joy, and a bittersweetness in Iris’s heart. She couldn’t entirely believe it. She wondered if Aurelia liked her or was merely choosing her as the best candidate. But regardless, this was an opportunity for her to make Aurelia like her.
In Aurelia’s heart, there was a feeling of melancholy, acceptance, and that things were falling into place. She suspected that Iris had liked her for a while. Finally, she had determined the reward that Iris had wanted in her heart. And she could already imagine their future together. There was no other person she would rather marry.
Neither let go for a long time.
Eventually, they separated. They discussed the logistics of marriage, about how it would be organised, when they would announce matters, when they would be married, and how they would have children. They also discussed whether they would continue to accept nominations.
“It would be wasteful for them to write these reports and for the ladies to read them,” Aurelia said.
“I believe that we should continue to accept them,” Iris said. “If there are suitable people, they can be promoted or hired. The nomination process also incentivises those noblemen to work harder.”
“Very well.”
They also made plans for the next few days. Iris wanted them to leave on a secret trip to scare some nobles again.
Aurelia understood it as an excuse to spend time in private, including sleeping in the same tent if necessary on the journey. She agreed.
Parting felt painful. Aurelia touched Iris’s hand, and then tucked away a stray strand of hair behind Iris’s ear.
Iris’s heart fluttered.
“Good night, Iris.”
“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” Iris suddenly said. She stepped back, pressing her back against the wall for support, and abruptly pulled Aurelia towards her.
Aurelia had to extend her arms out in order to stabilise herself. Her hands pressed against the wall with a don sound by Iris’s head.
Iris placed one arm around Aurelia’s waist, and the other hand behind Aurelia’s head, and pulled her down.
Ba-dump, ba-dump—!
Iris’s lips captured Aurelia’s.
Firm, soft, faintly moist, determined, warm. Heat rushed through Iris’s body, she didn’t know whether to continue or to let go—
But Aurelia deepened the kiss, and something in Iris’s heart loosened.
Both had heavy breaths upon separating.
“No need for forgiveness,” Aurelia said. She smiled wryly. “The night deepens, and we both need sleep.”
“Yes.”
Reluctantly, they parted, promising to see each other again tomorrow morning.
The next morning, the servants at the castle felt that something had subtly changed about Queen Aurelia and Lady Helios.
The morning court the next day was ‘lively’ as always. The nobles attending felt that Lady Iris Helios was in a slightly better mood than usual, and so tried to request a bit more than usual. They were sorely disappointed. A noble made a cry to impeach Lady Helios again. Queen Aurelia denied the request.
At the conclusion of the morning court, Aurelia dismissed the nobles. She and Iris shared a glance. Together, they descended the main stage and walked out of the court hall, side by side.
Various staff, and servants and nobles followed behind them.
Queen Aurelia allowing Lady Helios to walk next to her, rather than behind her, was a mark of her approval of Lady Helios. Those nobles who called to impeach Lady Iris Helios every day were asking for trouble. Lady Iris Helios worked with Queen Aurelia, and what Lady Helios did, Queen Aurelia implicitly approved.
One could say that Lady Helios’s true power was only second to Queen Aurelia.
Seeing the backs of these two powerful women, some of those following had the inexplicable feeling that Queen Aurelia and Lady Helios were well matched. Their strides were in tune, their gazes forward, sharp, and clear.
Angio would have a big shock in the future.
In the future, when the announcement is made—
Young nobleman: I was right! I was right!
Ex-king Augustus and Duke Helios: $@#%&*!!!
Rian: 👀 Interesting~!
Ren Xiyang: Oh, you want to have a double date with them in the future.
Rian: 😇😇😇
By the way, lazy cat Kohaku suggested a kabedon 😆🤭
tumblr | email newsletter | website | twitter