The Bride He Hates-Chapter 129: Trying For Children

Lyanna immediately went to Azrael’s study.

"We need to talk." She said, closing the door.

"About the council agenda?" Azrael said, gesturing to his own copy. "I saw it."

"Cassius is weaponizing the succession question and he’s not wrong to raise it. Most vampire royal couples would have at least one child by now. We have none."

"Because we’ve been dealing with other political matters." Azrael replied. "Alliance building, political crisis...."

"But no heirs." Lyanna cut him off and sat opposite him. "Azrael, do you want children?"

Azrael was quiet for a moment.

"Of course. But we don’t have to rush. We have centuries ahead of us."

"But if something happened to both of us tomorrow, there would be a succession crisis and potential civil war between factions trying to claim the throne."

"Nothing will happen to us."

"You almost died a few weeks ago." Lyanna replied. "We need to address the council regarding this matter."

"What do you suggest then?" He asked.

"Either we tell them we are trying for children or we formally name an heir from existing bloodlines."

"You sound like you’re preparing for a political negotiation."

"Because tomorrow Cassius will accuse us of failing our duties. We need to have an answer,"

"I don’t want Cassius dictating when we have children. I don’t want him using succession as a weapon to control us."

"Neither do I." Lyanna replied. "But we can’t avoid this topic forever."

"Do you want children, Lyanna?" Azrael asked.

Do I want children?

She couldn’t feel any maternal instinct or any soft emotion towards children. But she thought about it strategically. Having a child would secure succession and they’d be able to fulfill their royal duty. Most importantly, she had time now.

"I think we should try." She said. "It’s not because of Cassius but because it’s our responsibility as king and queen."

Azreal wanted to say that having children out of responsibility was a terrible idea. She needed to have emotions for it. But he also knew she had no emotions left, so he didn’t drag the topic and agreed with her. He didn’t want her to pity herself.

Lyanna and Azrael entered the council chamber together the next afternoon. Cassius stood up immediately as they entered.

"Your Majesties." He said. "We have several things on today’s agenda, but we’ll start with addressing the succession planning."

"Proceed." Azrael said.

"King Azrael and Queen Lyanna have been married for almost two years and there has been no succession plan beyond vague future intentions." He paused. "This is concerning. Vampire reproduction is difficult, especially for a human turned vampire. But it’s not impossible. So I want to ask why our king and queen aren’t interested in providing an heir?"

"Don’t worry, Lord Cassius, we have no intention of dying without heirs." Lyanna replied.

"Your Majesties, I’m not attacking you personally. I’m just raising the council concern. The succession cannot be indefinitely postponed."

"What exactly do you want?" Victor asked.

"I want the council to request a formal timeline." Cassius replied. "Either King Azrael and Queen Lyanna commit to producing heirs within a reasonable timeframe or they formally designate succession from existing bloodlines."

The chamber fell silent. Everyone looked at Azreal and Lyanna, waiting for their answer.

"His Majesty and I will begin actively trying for children because it’s our responsibility." Lyanna replied. "We commit to making succession a priority."

"What if you’re unsuccessful?" Cassius asked.

"Then we reassess and will consider alternative succession plans. But we will try for our own children first." Azrael replied.

Cassius looked frustrated. This wasn’t the outcome he had wanted. He had hoped to create a crisis.

"The council accepts Their Majesties’ commitment to actively pursue succession. We’ll revisit this matter in one year to assess the progress." Cassius said.

"Fine." Lyanna said before Azrael could argue about the timeline. "We’ll provide an update in one year."

After the session, Lyanna and Azrael returned to their chambers. Once the door closed, Azrael turned to her.

"You committed us to trying for children without discussing it with me first."

"I discussed it with you yesterday."

"We discussed it as a possibility but you made it a formal commitment in front of the entire council."

"It is politics, Azrael. Succession is part of royal duty." Lyanna argued.

"So now we’ll have children because the council wants that?" He asked in disbelief. "I wanted to build our family because we wanted to, not because we were politically obligated."

"I know." Lyanna said. "And I’m sorry that I can’t feel about this topic the way you do but we need to do this."

Azrael looked at her and noticed how vulnerable she was. He pulled her into his arms, his frustration melting away.

"We’ll try for children, if this is what you want. We’ll fulfill this duty."

And maybe if we actually have children, you might get some of your emotions back.

While Lyanna and Azrael navigated their new commitment, Cassius met with his faction in private.

"She agreed!" He said, pacing furiously. "I set up the perfect trap and she just agreed without hesitation."

"Didn’t you want her to address this issue?"

"Yes but not this easily. This is not the ruthless queen she used to be after the attack."

"Well...we have no other option but to wait now."

"What if she fails?" Cassius said "Vampire fertility declines with stress, trauma, and age. Queen Lyanna has been through tremendous stress recently. It all could have impacted her fertility."

"You’re going to blame her if she can’t have children?" One of the members asked, looking disgusted.

"I’m just telling you about the consequences of her choices." Cassius replied. "She chose to prioritize her personal life over succession. If that choice now becomes the reason for her infertility, then she’s at fault."

"You’re sick. You’re obsessed with Queen Lyanna."

"Yes. I am. I want the best for Thornfield and if Queen Lyanna can’t fulfill her basic duty as a queen then I’ll make sure she no longer sits on the throne."

"And you think His Majesty would let that happen?" One of them laughed.

"He would have to...unless he doesn’t want to be king either."