How To End This Marriage-Chapter 92: Seeking Heirs

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty!"

"The prince is missing," the attendants hurriedly informed the Emperor.

"What do you mean by ’the prince is missing’? Have you all lost your minds? You can’t even control a single person?" the Emperor shouted in frustration.

"We did our best, my lord. He went to meet Her Majesty, but after that, he’s nowhere to be found. The Duke has also gone missing. His room is filled with empty booze bottles, and it smells like he’s been drinking for a long time," the guards explained.

"A drunk person can’t disappear on his own. Find my son immediately, or I will not spare a single person here. Do you understand?" the Emperor threatened, placing his sword at their necks.

"Yes, Your Majesty," they said, then quickly left the room.

Meanwhile, the dark shadow of the almighty god appeared once again.

"My lord, don’t tell me you have a hand in this," the Emperor inquired with a hint of anger.

"Haha, now you’re showing your fangs, Zudicus? Is this what I’ve been waiting to see? I doubt it. Keep those fangs sheathed. If I see them, I’ll remove them and leave you to rot in a corner," the voice responded coldly.

"I apologize, my lord. I let my anger get the better of me. But I hope you haven’t done anything to Maximus. He’s a good child. He’s so obedient that if I ask him anything, he’ll take it to heart immediately," the Emperor pleaded.

"As I said, I had no role in this. I didn’t do anything to your son. But he got in my way. He’s been investigating the truth behind the Duchess’s disappearance, and he’s on the right track. If he doesn’t stop, I can’t guarantee what I’ll do to him. Then there will be no heir to the throne, and your dynasty will come to an end," the almighty god replied.

"I understand, my lord. I’ll put a stop to it. I’ll do whatever you want," the Emperor promised. Just then, a messenger rushed into the room, causing the shadow to disappear.

"Have you forgotten your manners? Do you not remember whose room you’re entering?" the Emperor scolded.

"I apologize, Your Majesty, but this is urgent."

"The Crown Prince Maximus has been taken away by the tribal empire working for us," the messenger reported, his voice quivering with fear.

"They’ve taken him, and no one has any idea how they entered my empire and did this. Where is the girl who was sent here on a mission? Is she still here?" the Emperor inquired.

"No, she’s also nowhere to be found. If she were here, we could have negotiated, but the negotiation part is no longer relevant to the plan," the minister explained.

"I don’t know what you guys will do. Make plans to get him out of that place. You don’t know what might happen to us. He is the only heir to the throne," the Emperor began to panic.

"Yes, we understand, Your Majesty, but I don’t think there is only one person who has a claim to the throne. You seem to have forgotten a long-forgotten heir who has the strongest right to the throne," the minister said, leaving the Emperor confused.

"What? What are you saying?" he asked.

"Your Majesty, the previous empress gave birth to a child. You must remember this clearly. However, soon after the child’s birth, they disappeared, and everyone forgot about them. But now, the situation has changed. We might still be able to find that child," the minister urged. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"Do you know what you’re saying? There is no such child. The only child I have is Maximus, the Crown Prince," the Emperor replied, rejecting the notion of an alternative heir. However, his mind began to wander, considering a hidden secret that had been concealed for a long time.

---

"Your Majesty, please hold on for a little while. The doctor should be coming to treat you," the attendants’ voices were filled with concern.

"I can’t. My lower half is in so much pain; it feels like it’s about to burst, and I might die. Please make it stop. Call His Majesty. I want to see him. I want to be with him," the previous empress screamed in pain, clutching the bed sheets tightly.

"We’ve informed His Majesty. We told him to come as quickly as possible," the attendants said. However, their exchanged glances hinted at something else.

"Is His Majesty really coming?" one of the attendants asked.

"Not sure, but the head maid informed him. She told him when he was with the concubine. So, I’m not sure if he’s going to come here or if he’ll neglect it, as usual," the other attendant explained.

"Such a terrible thing is happening to the empress. She’s finally giving an heir to the empire, and the Emperor is busy with his concubine. How heartless can he be? Can’t he be here at a time like this?" the attendants whispered, but one quickly covered her mouth in fear.

"How long do I have to endure this pain? I’m dying!" the empress screamed, while the attendants continued to wipe her sweat, and the midwife was still nowhere to be seen.

"Why is she taking so long to arrive? It’s been ages since the head maid went to inform her. Is it normal for it to take this long? No, something feels wrong," the attendants began to mutter, and then the head maid finally arrived, drenched in sweat.

"The midwife refused to come," the head maid reported.

"Refuse to arrive? What are you saying? How could she refuse to come when a royal member is in such a critical condition?" the attendants exclaimed.

"I think the concubine might be behind this," others suggested, but no one was able to get the midwife to help the empress. The empress screamed in pain, her cries echoing through the room, causing fear among those present. She rolled in agony, blood dripping from her lower half as the baby slowly emerged. However, the bleeding didn’t stop. The empress continued to bleed as the baby was born, crying loudly.

"Your Majesty, the baby has been born. You’ve given birth to a baby girl, the first heir of the empire," the maid announced.

"Don’t let them live," a voice spoke from behind.

---

"Your Majesty, what are you thinking? I believe we should go to consult with the ruler of the tribal empire about this," the minister suggested.

"But what about the way? Does anyone know how to enter the tribal empire?" another minister inquired when a voice suddenly appeared, "I know the way to the tribal empire." It was none other than Duke Alexavier Agnes.

"Duke, you are here. Where is the prince? Tell us!" everyone asked, and he approached the emperor, bowing to him, "All hail to the emperor."

His demeanor seemed entirely different.

"His Highness is being held in the tribal empire. I came here to inform you all about this, but I see you’re already aware of the situation," he said.

"Why did you both leave?" the emperor asked.

"I can’t recall, Your Majesty, but I can lead you to the empire whenever you wish. His Highness is not in the right condition, so we need to hurry," he replied.

"Duke, have you received any news about the duchess? You seem so calm," the minister inquired.

"No, I haven’t. But my first priority is the empire and its royal members, and that’s what I’m focused on now. The duchess will be found soon," he stated, as if he had become an entirely different person with altered priorities, leaving everyone feeling puzzled.

"Let’s hurry. I will show you the way. It’s quite a distance, but if we move quickly, we’ll get there faster," he said, running towards the horse he arrived on. He mounted the horse, and others followed suit. His horse rode swiftly, but he had no facial expression. No matter how hard he tried to show concern for Maximus, he remained impassive.

"Duke, how far are we? The horse is exhausted after such a long run," the knights mentioned.

"We need to go a bit farther. Hang on! We’ll be there," he assured, and after much riding, they finally reached a cave with no apparent entrance.

"Duke, it’s a dead end," the knights informed him.

"It’s not," he stated and began pushing aside a large stone blocking the cave entrance with his bare hands, leaving blood stains behind.

"We’ve arrived. Welcome to the tribal empire."

He said, walking inside while holding a torch to illuminate the dark interior. However, as they proceeded further into the cave, a door on the opposite side swung open, revealing the members of the tribal empire standing there, armed and ready to attack at any moment.

"So, you’re the Duke of the North," the ruler stated from the other side.

"Yeah, thanks for not noticing me and allowing your princess to help me escape," the duke replied with a sinister smirk.