"Honestly! I’ve had enough of you, Mother!"
"We’re going back to look after Rest!"
Leaving a trail of angry shouts in their wake, Viola and Primula stormed out of the lounge.
Silence fell over the room as the parents watched them leave. Finally, Albert broke the quiet.
"You’re pushing your agenda quite forcefully today. That’s unusual for you."
The question of whether Rest would take a third wife, or if he would be given mistresses and concubines solely for the sake of his bloodline, remained unsettled. Their heated debate had ended in a stalemate.
While it was officially decided that Viola and Primula would marry Rest, the matter of any additional women was put on hold. For now, Eilische had been forced to accept a compromise: she would not arrange any further marriages for Rest without the sisters' explicit approval.
"It isn’t unusual at all," Eilische replied. "I’ve always been a pushy, dreadful mother."
"That’s not true. It is rare for you to disregard the girls' feelings just to prioritize the house."
Eilische was a strong-willed woman, but she rarely forced her desires upon her children. Despite her formidable exterior, she was an indulgent mother. Under normal circumstances, she never would have tried to foist other women onto the man her daughters intended to marry.
"Does this have anything to do with your health?" Albert asked.
"...Oh? You noticed?"
"I am your husband, Eilische. Did something happen in the neighboring country?"
During the duel between Rest and Eilische, Albert had sensed something amiss with his wife. Her movements had been heavier than usual, and her mana flow strangely stagnant. He had suspected she was suffering from some sort of ailment.
"It seems the world is shifting faster than we anticipated," she said.
"What do you mean?"
"It isn't an immediate threat. However... ten or twenty years from now, our nation and the Empire will surely be at war."
"What...?"
It seemed impossible. Relations between the Aiwood Kingdom and the Geisel Empire were cordial. They were long-standing allies who shared a common enemy in the northern barbarians. The reigning Emperor was known for his moderate temperament and acted as a mediator to maintain peace among the surrounding nations.
"That peace only lasts as long as the current Emperor is alive, doesn't it?"
"Eilische, what are you saying?"
"The Emperor is ill. He has five years left at the absolute most."
Albert’s eyes widened.
"Once he passes, a succession struggle is inevitable. There is no guarantee his successor will be so inclined toward peace."
If a warmonger took the throne, they might very well declare war on their neighbors. The first target would likely be the grasslands inhabited by the northern tribes, but there was no guarantee the Kingdom would be spared.
"Even if the flames of war don't reach us directly, the Empire's weakening will embolden other nations. Our alliance with the Empire is the only thing keeping several of our borders peaceful right now."
"So, our safety is an illusion..."
"The northern barbarians have also become restless of late. Meanwhile, our own country is infested with fools. There are even those trying to install that idiot prince as a figurehead."
"Crisis at home and abroad... I see. So that's why you’re looking to the next generation. That's why you want Rest to have mistresses."
"There is no guarantee a war would end in a decade or two. It is better to have as many heroes of the next generation as possible, wouldn't you agree?"
Albert fell silent.
He didn't necessarily agree with her methods, but there was no denying that the world was moving in an ominous direction. A great storm was gathering, one that might swallow the entire continent.
(The appearance of a boy with such rare magical talent as Rest... perhaps he is a harbinger of what’s to come. The rise of an outlier destined to stand at the heart of a coming age of chaos... No, that's far-fetched, even for me.)
It wasn't as if they were living in a heroic epic.
Albert cast aside the idle thought and began to focus on the cold reality of the path the Marquis Rosemary House would have to take.