Ch.BONUSOutside. First Wedding Anniversary

The Hero Erick Wellesley’s first anniversary of ascending to the Empty Throne had arrived.

The imperial capital was quiet as usual.

It was a monumental day when a man born as a commoner had taken control of the Empire, yet not even a modest celebration was held.

Officials had briefly stirred with a sense of obligation to do something, but even that was canceled by the Empty King’s command. The prevailing theory was that they were quietly letting the day pass since the blood spilled in the banquet hall had barely dried.

Regardless of any formal celebration, the Empty King’s residence had been bustling since morning.

“Please-! Allow me to meet with the Second Queen for just a moment! I only want to deliver one item and I’ll leave immediately!”

“…She is still recovering from childbirth.”

“Oh come now, I know she resumed her duties at the Security Ministry a week ago. I have no intention of making any requests, so please just relay my message.”

Nobles were crowding around, pleading with a mere servant of the Empty King’s household.

Though each had come with different purposes, they shared one thing in common—they all carried modest gifts.

Medicinal tonics for health, jewels, art pieces, and so on.

It was a scene that demonstrated the prestige of young Queen Ember, who controlled the Empire’s politics from behind the scenes.

However, no one was granted an audience. Ember had anticipated that people would use the first anniversary as an excuse to offer bribes and had blocked them in advance. It was as if she refused to leave any opening for those who might become targets of purges at any moment.

Meanwhile, an unfamiliar sound was coming from a corner room on the second floor of the massive mansion.

Clack-clack! Thump-thump!

The sound of a loom in operation.

What was even more unusual was that the person sitting at the loom was Saintess Hannah.

The wife of the most powerful figure in the continent, the only one connected to the Godess, was weaving fabric herself. And with rather clumsy skill at that.

“I still can’t get the hang of this.”

Hannah sighed as she paused her work, tapping the shuttle—a key component of the loom—with a perplexed expression.

Since yesterday afternoon, Hannah had been studying a loom she had brought in.

This wasn’t about finding a new hobby. She wasn’t leisurely enough to need a pastime.

Her goal was to create a flying shuttle, or at least provide the concept for technicians to develop one.

But perhaps her thinking was still insufficient. Or maybe she had rushed into this project with only vague memories of videos she had seen during her time on Earth.

She couldn’t quite figure out how to implement the image in her mind into reality.

Just as she unconsciously let out another sigh, a blonde beauty opened the door and entered. It was Ember, who served the same husband as Hannah. She seemed quite curious about Hannah’s activity.

“What have you been doing since yesterday? Why the loom?”

“…Haha. It’s still in the conceptual stage, so it’s hard to explain. I don’t even know if it will work.”

“I don’t mind if it’s just conceptual, tell me. Actually, our servants are quite anxious. They’re worried that you might be protesting because you’re dissatisfied with the clothes or bedding… Though I know you’re not that type of person.”

Seeing no reason to hide it, Hannah readily opened up.

“The device that holds the weft thread during weaving is called a shuttle. If we use springs to semi-automate its movement, work efficiency would greatly improve.”

“How much improvement are we talking about?”

“Well, at least three or four times better?”

Upon hearing this, Ember pondered briefly before her eyes lit up in just three seconds.

Being quite perceptive, she seemed to grasp the significance of improving weaving efficiency three or four times over.

She realized this wasn’t just about weaving fabric faster, but would have cascading effects throughout the entire textile industry.

“Ah, I see. That would mean even commoners could afford to buy three or four sets of clothes a year. It might even be worth establishing new factories.”

“Yes, Ember. That’s exactly what I’m aiming for.”

“…My goodness.”

“Don’t be impressed yet. I don’t know exactly when it will be possible. I’ll probably need to enlist the help of technicians.”

Hannah maintained a modest tone, but Ember was already looking at her with wonder, as if asking how she knew such things.

Hannah kept quiet. She could hardly tell that serious face, “I suddenly remembered knowledge I picked up while mindlessly browsing Wikipedia during my senior year of high school.”

If successful, it would certainly bring revolutionary change. Along with other initiatives currently underway, it would greatly contribute to the Empire’s growth.

Naturally, Hannah wasn’t doing this for herself.

It was more about supporting her husband, who hadn’t yet returned home, and Ember, who couldn’t stop working even when she was heavily pregnant.

Between the two, she was more conscious of Ember.

‘I can’t fall behind. Ember works so hard.’

It wasn’t simple jealousy.

After all, they had shared a bed since their wedding night last year, showing each other all sorts of embarrassing sides. In fact, they still shared a bed occasionally.

While nobles referred to Hannah and Ember as First Queen and Second Queen, carefully calculating who to curry favor with, the bond between the two women was solid. So much so that one might wonder if it was appropriate to be this close while serving the same man.

Hannah simply wanted to lighten Ember’s burden, even if just a little.

It was loyalty to a friend with whom she would need to rely on for decades to come.

*

Erick is truly blessed.

That was what Ember thought as she gazed warmly at Hannah.

To be honest, she often felt like she had gained a younger sister. Hannah was actually a few years younger than Ember and had a petite build.

Though Hannah had certain notably mature aspects compared to Ember herself, she was fundamentally a kind and adorable friend. Her desire to use knowledge from her original world to help Erick was also admirable.

‘If Hannah’s concept works, the world will change dramatically.’

In a way, it was just changing one part of a loom—no, it wouldn’t be that simple. Anyway, it seemed like a not-too-difficult task, but the difference in productivity would be substantial.

This was particularly welcome news for Ember, who had been experiencing emotional strain lately.

“…Hannah. Actually, I decided to dissolve a domain yesterday. It wasn’t an impulsive decision; I’ve been working behind the scenes for nearly half a year.”

“Which domain are you referring to?”

“The Gascoigne Duchy. After the Duke and his direct line died, we placed a distant relative as temporary administrator to control the area. We plan to divide the territory into several pieces and either distribute them to cooperative nobles in the vicinity or incorporate them into direct imperial control.”

“Won’t there be strong resistance to forced dissolution?”

“That’s why I’ve been diligently working for six months to establish justification. Needless to say, not all of my actions during that time were honorable.”

“……”

A confession of having orchestrated the dissolution of a domain with population and territory rivaling a small country.

Honestly, it hadn’t been pleasant work.

While the domain was targeted for dissolution due to its uncooperative stance toward the Empty King’s directives, that didn’t completely justify the underhanded political machinations. Especially since the targets were relatives of those who had perished during the Bloody Banquet.

Hannah’s project had provided some comfort when Ember was already feeling gloomy.

‘I never expected us to become this close at first.’

Before formally meeting Hannah last year, Ember had prepared for the worst.

She had imagined a life where she would have to serve the revered Saintess like a superior, or perhaps arrange separate quarters for the Saintess and allow her to spend only a couple of days a week with Erick. Back then, she hadn’t known Hannah would be such a kind-hearted girl.

But now, approaching their first wedding anniversary, there was no better ally.

Though it felt odd to call it a reward, she wanted to give Hannah something in return.

Money or gifts would be meaningless. So what could she do? After a moment’s thought, something came to mind.

“Oh, Hannah. I heard Erick will be visiting the Grand Duchy soon.”

“He’ll probably just hop on a wyvern and be back before we know it. It’s nothing unusual.”

“What if we go with him? It coincides with our first wedding anniversary. If we play our cards right, we could take three or four days off and rest. What do you think?”

“You mean the Grand Duchy of Microssia. Come to think of it, I’ve never been there.”

“I’ll convince Erick… No, what am I saying? I’ll arrange the schedule myself and inform Erick. After all we’ve been through, if he can’t readily agree to this much, what kind of husband would he be?”

“……”

After a moment’s consideration, Hannah smiled. Ember tapped her shoulder and nodded, as if to say she understood completely.

The source of their overwork soon made his appearance.

“So you’re both here. …Wait, why is there a loom here?”

His personality never changed. Erick’s eyes lit up with interest at the sight of machinery that seemed out of place in the lavish mansion.

If left alone, they would end up talking about work as usual. Ember winked at Erick, silently pressuring him.

A plea to pretend he hadn’t noticed the loom and not bring it up.

Fortunately, Erick understood perfectly and kept quiet. It was a relief that he wasn’t an insensitive man.

…Of course, he wasn’t just perceptive. He was also the wealthiest man on the continent, the best fighter, and a husband who showed remarkably equal affection to his two wives. The last virtue seemed to come naturally to him, without conscious effort.

‘This is happiness, isn’t it?’

Ember found herself smiling as she looked at Erick.

A husband who was mostly lovable and occasionally pitiable.

To the nobles lingering outside the mansion, he might be an object of fear, but to her, he was someone who stirred deep affection. That had been true until now and would remain so in the future.