How To Tame An Empress (BOOK I)

Chapter 38- A Loyal Man

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Leaning against a pillar, I stared out of the open window and down at the garden where my wife was seen talking to her bodyguard, Claudius. I took a sip out of the goblet that was clenched in my hands, the sweet taste of the white wine managing to leave a bitter feeling in my chest at the sight in front of me.

I knew Ria better than anyone else.

She would never cheat on me no matter how much she grew to despise me, she wasn't like that. She wouldn't even fall in love with anyone else, the guilt would never allow her to do so.

But yet, the sight of her entrancing smile and the way she gently placed her hand on another man's cheek; that innocent act made me want to shoot an arrow through Claudius's head. Why is he the one receiving her affection when I'm the one that married her?

This jealousy of mine wasn't going anywhere.

"Now... What am I to do with you, Ria?" I quietly whispered under my breath, my eyes unmoving from her smiling figure in the distance. Raising the goblet up to my lips, I moved my head back to drink the wine but noticed the goblet was empty.

Without a second thought, I threw it away, starting to feel frustrated and turned away from the sight of my wife talking to her annoying bodyguard. From the corner of my eyes, I watched as a slave scurried over to the fallen goblet and picked it up.

I paid her no mind and turned back to look out the window, trying to will the jealousy in my chest to calm down but when it came to Ria, it never worked.

What do I need to do to completely tame her?

And just like the chiming of bells, the idea came to me.

The sound of a slave dropping some goblets on the ground was heard behind me and I turned to look down at the woman.

"I beg your forgiveness, your imperial majesty," The woman quickly got on her knees, her head tilted down as she bit her lip, holding back tears.

I breathed out a light sigh, wondering if I should play out the plan that ran through my mind just now. I faced the slave that was still shaking in fear in front of me and turned my head around to look at my wife outside.

She wasn't near Claud anymore but was continuing in walking down the path. Good.

All this time, she was the one making me jealous, but now it's time I return the favour. Jealousy is poisonous but if taken advantage of and used in a scheming way, it can be forged to become one of the strongest restraints.

And restraint is something that both Ria and I needed right now.

Before I could change my mind, I stepped in front of the slave woman and looked down at her, now realising that she looked similar to my beloved wife from this angle. Although she will never spark a desire in me the way that Ria did, she will have to do.

"Get up," I ordered and with a single breath, she quickly stood up, standing in front of me with her head bowed down, body still shaking in fear.

Hesitantly, I outstretched a hand and grabbed her arm, doing my best to ignore the disgust that was starting to rise within me and moved forward, landing my lips on hers as I kissed her, squeezing my eyes shut and imagining my wife to be the one I was kissing.

All of this for Ria, look at how far I'm willing to go to tame her... This filthy situation better get me some good results or I really will lose my mind.

"Do not even dare of getting the wrong idea, this is all for one woman and I am sure that you are not dense enough to not know who that woman is," I spoke in between kisses, trailing my hand up and slipping off the pieces of scrap she was wearing, something I will never allow the real Ria to wear.

"Yes," She meekly replied, clenching onto my tunic but not liking the feeling, I grabbed her hands and moved them away from me, glancing towards the door to make sure it was closed and securely bolted.

"And do not worry, I will make sure to keep from impregnating you," I mumbled and she squeaked, not being able to reply this time.

Nearly an hour later, I dismissed the woman and she quickly fumbled around to cover herself as best she could before she scrambled away and I didn't even bother looking after her and instead glared down at myself, feeling quite disgusted.

Running a hand through my hair, I moved to leave the room and head to the bathhouse but just as I left the room, I noticed Ambrogio striding towards me, pausing after noticing my presence and then pausing again once he noticed my unkempt appearance.

He put two and two together. The poorly-dressed slave rushing out of the room and then his father... Where no further words were needed for explanation.

Breathing out a heavy sigh at having been caught by him instead of Ria, I ran a hand through my hair and made an attempt to walk past him and to my prior destination, the bathhouse where I was desperately looking forward to washing the cheap scent of that slave off of me.

"I will not say anything to you..." I paused in my steps and turned my head back to look at Ambrogio as he stared right back at me, those eyes which he had inherited from his mother narrowed into slits as he glared daggers at me.

"...But I will at least have the decency to remind you that mother only asked for one thing in a man..." He breathed out each word as if drilling it into my head. "...Loyalty," He said not a second later, in a voice that told me to feel remorseful for my actions.

"Up until now... It seemed that mother was just holding back her frustration, she was keeping herself tame for you in order to protect brother and me... but even mother, who has been able to turn a blind eye to all your wrongdoings, has a limit..."

Unmoving eyes, he walked forward until he was stood beside me but even then, his eyes were still focused forward, his words, however, were wildly flying around me. Like drunken wasps.

"My mother, who deserves so much better, has a line which should not be crossed by anyone... It is now your turn to tell me, father... What do you think will happen to any man who dares to cross that line of hers? And better yet, what do you think will happen... When that man just so happens to be you?"

This time, he finally diverted his eyes from in front of him to look at me.

"A loyal man they said you were... How... utterly... disappointing," Without another word, he turned back to look ahead of him and continued on his way as if he hadn't just completely disrespected his father.

Feeling one of my brows twitch, I clenched my fists and glared at the ground.

Why does it feel as though I have just made an unfixable mistake?

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