Chapter 106 - You Had One Job (2/2)

Sigmund got far more irritable as time went on and the few occasions she was forced to see him were even more unpleasant than usual. He kept trying to push her for an heir, which she knew she would have to provide eventually in exchange for her title, but these things couldn't be rushed.

He came to her every night and wasn't the slightest bit gentle. But it was a fruitless endeavor. She did not get pregnant.

The king died and Sigmund wasn't immediately able to replace him. The nobles wanted to wait and see if the second prince's child was a boy. Even though it was a fifty-fifty chance, he flew into a rage like nothing Rosenia had ever seen.

She had never cared for her husband much but at least she hadn't been afraid of him until then. Things only got worse when the child was determined to be a boy and Franz was crowned king. They lost everything.

Sigmund lost the role he had been trained for his entire life to his younger brother and Rosenia lost the title and respect she had craved. Even worse, she had lost her sense of safety here.

”This is entirely your fault! You had one job, Rosenia, one! And you could not deliver. You are completely useless,” he roared as he smashed vases around their chambers.

Moving an inch would spell certain doom so she stayed perfectly still. Not that she could move anyway. She was frozen in terror, legitimately fearing for her life.

The worst part was that this was at least partially her fault. If she had not been so determined to enjoy life on her own terms and fulfilled her wifely duty more often earlier on she would have been the first to bear a son and Franz never would have had a chance.

As it was now, Sigmund was second in line for the throne after the infant crown prince and would likely never become king. Franz was young and healthy and that baby had his entire life ahead of him.

Weeks passed like this. She tried appealing to the dowager queen to make her control her son but she shook her head helplessly.

”I am sorry, my dear. Sigmund has always been like that when he is upset. There is nothing I can do to help you but offer my favorite bruise cream. The chief physician is quite familiar with it.”

The way she said it made Rosenia think that the late king had been cut from the same cloth. Rosenia wanted to weep. Franz doted on his wife and that idiot Alpheus followed his wife around like a puppy.

Of course she would be the only one who ended up with a man who did not care for her at all. It had been naïve of her to think she could have a good life with someone who did not love her.

Marrying someone who adored her should have been the top priority on the list she gave Rogan. Unfortunately, it was far too late to change that now.