Chapter 7
The Avery couple did not relax their guard and kept a humble posture.
Beatrice lifted her teacup. She took a sip of the tea that had long gone cold, then continued speaking.
“The physician says that Logan will still be able to function as a man. Of course, we’ll have to observe his condition over time to be certain.”
The air in the drawing room grew even heavier. If he were merely a farmer’s son, that kind of issue would mean little, but he was a prince. Leaving behind strong heirs was also a virtue of a great ruler. As if to prove it, Beatrice herself had given birth to four sons. Considering that she had only married after seizing the throne at the end of a bloody power struggle, it was a truly remarkable achievement.
The queen took another sip of tea. Having several young consorts and bearing four sons had been a very wise decision. Because of that, regardless of the pain she felt as a mother, she had little reason to worry about succession. Even if Logan could not produce a biological child, he could simply adopt a nephew born later.
More important than that was making the best possible use of what had already happened. With the face of a benevolent queen, she continued.
“Children often cause accidents. Sometimes they get hurt, and sometimes they hurt others… I don’t wish to punish a young girl for something like that. All the more so if that child is the daughter of a meritorious family I hold dear.”
At words that clearly implied forgiveness, the duke and duchess looked up. Even they had not expected complete absolution. That would have been truly unthinkable.
If the situation were reversed, and someone had injured their young daughter, they would never have forgiven the culprit. Even if the offender were a child, or a prince.
However, despite bringing it up so easily, Beatrice continued with an ambiguous tone.
“Still, I am concerned. If it becomes known that the heir’s body is half crippled, what will become of the kingdom’s future…?”
This time she put on an exaggeratedly sorrowful expression. The Avery couple could not respond. A ruptured t******e was certainly a serious injury. But calling him half crippled was somewhat excessive. Even so, they could not point that out.
What was the queen’s intention? Was the woman sitting before them a mother grieving the permanent wound left on her son, or a seasoned politician? The latter began to seem far more likely. If it had been the former, anyone bearing the name Avery would already have lost their head by now.
Beatrice gently swirled her teacup. The tea gathered at the bottom rippled in small circles. Lowering her head, she spoke in a mournful voice.
“And… will there truly be a kind woman willing to embrace a child with such a flaw…?”
Russell Avery bit his lower lip. At last, he understood the queen’s meaning.
Beatrice raised her eyes. Unlike her carefully sorrowful expression, her gaze shone with expectation. As if driving in a final nail, she spoke her true proposal.
“What if House Avery’s daughter were to take on that role? Then the prince’s condition would never leak beyond the royal palace.”
Catherine quickly covered her mouth. Let the one who caused the problem resolve it. Because your daughter has made my son’s marriage uncertain, you must take responsibility. In a way, it was an extremely generous measure. That is, if the other party had been anyone but an Avery.
There was a reason House Avery was treated differently from other noble houses. Since the founding of the kingdom, the Averys had never once formed a marital tie with the royal family. The founding king had prepared several measures to check the royal house, in case a greedy tyrant ever ascended the throne in the distant future. Certain families were instructed to keep their distance from the royal family and never become royal in-laws.
But over the long passage of time, that pledge had long since faded. Now only the Averys remained. Even in an age of peace, it was natural for Russell Avery to take pride in his family’s honor. If he yielded, royal authority would become far stronger than before. And that would remain as an achievement of Queen Beatrice.
Even with his youngest daughter’s life at stake, he could not easily abandon his family’s pride. Yet if he refused the queen’s proposal, the destruction of his house would be inevitable anyway. Above all, he had already sworn to God. If this was the fate of the Averys, then he had no choice but to accept it.
Russell Avery opened his mouth with difficulty.
“With gratitude… we accept.”
Beatrice broke into a bright smile. No matter how one looked at her, she did not appear to be someone who had nearly lost her son just yesterday. Catherine Avery, who understood her husband’s anguish, repressed the tears welling up in her eyes.
* * *
A few months later, a grand engagement ceremony was held in the palace chapel. And the incident in which Prince Logan went into convulsions the moment he saw his fiancée, Anne Agnes Avery, remained a long-standing topic of conversation in high society.
For a very, very long time.
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