Chapter 557: He Won’t Have a Choice, Even If He Refuses

"I know you want to become Empress, but do you really have to go this far?" Katharina was visibly displeased upon hearing her friend's plans. Supporting herself with her arms on either side of Gladys, she raised her body off the princess. "You are the Seventh Princess, after all!"

"But he's a Titan. If we're talking about status and background, I can't compare to him," Gladys replied with a nonchalant smile.

"But..." Katharina furrowed her brows, searching for a reason to oppose the idea. She had little affection for Muria and even doubted his identity, suspecting he might be deceiving her friend.

"No 'buts.' I must choose a partner myself. If I don't, my father will choose someone I barely know. If I can bear a child with him, it won't matter whether it's a son or a daughter. That alone will secure my claim to the throne. After that, no one will be able to constrain me, and I can do whatever I wish."

Gladys's eyes were filled with resolve. In front of her friend, she made no effort to hide her ambition for the empire's supreme power. This was her life's greatest pursuit.

"Will that really work?" Katharina asked, her voice heavy with concern. She reluctantly sat up, crossing her legs on the white bear rug. "Being the partner of a Titan?"

"Impossible. As for a formal relationship, that's out of the question," Gladys also sat up, hugging her slender legs, her golden eyes gleaming. "The Titan race only recognizes Titans as their partners. I only need to have a child with him; that's all."

"Isn't that just like being a noble's mistress?" Katharina's brows knitted as she hugged Gladys tightly. "How can you accept such humiliation?"

"Humiliation? Katharina, do you know how much effort Empress Elizabeth had to put in to bear the 'humiliation' you speak of before she ascended the throne?" Gladys leaned back, settling into a comfortable position with her head nestled against two large, soft cushions.

"Was it really that difficult?" Katharina asked in amazement.

"After Empress Elizabeth, no one else succeeded in bearing a Titan's child. Do you think it wasn't difficult?" Gladys looked upwards, her gaze steady. "I'm not the first princess to try emulating Empress Elizabeth."

"I've heard my father say that every few decades, one or two Titans visit the capital to complete some tasks before leaving. This has been going on for thousands of years. If so many royals have tried, it shouldn't be impossible for only one Empress to have succeeded."

"Do you know what level these Titans who come to the capital are?"

"No, I haven't heard about that."

"They are high-level Legends, preparing to enter the void. They come to the imperial capital primarily to learn how to command armies for void battles."

"Titans need to learn that?"

"Every being aspiring to become an Epic must master void warfare. Despite their power, Titans are no exception. So, they come here to study because we have the world's top void warfare academy," Gladys explained with a calm expression.

"Hmph, Titans may be impressive, but they still need to come to us for help," Katharina said proudly after hearing Gladys's description.

"That's because there are so few of them. When it comes to void warfare experience, they can't compare to our empire. This experience has been amassed at the cost of countless lives."

"Surely they have to pay some price for such knowledge? Our ancestors paid with their lives for this expertise."

"No price is required. They just need to come and show themselves in the capital," Gladys revealed, stating a fact that left Katharina feeling uneasy.

"That's too..." Katharina wanted to say more but held her tongue.

"It's unavoidable. The Titans are just that powerful. Even the opportunity to ingratiate ourselves with them is highly sought after."

"So, you trying to get close to a Titan counts as ingratiation too?" Katharina found it hard to accept that her best friend, whom she saw as the most perfect and exceptional, would make such a choice.

"No, I'm using a Titan," Gladys corrected, her face devoid of emotion. "I'm leveraging a Titan to get what I want. I'm not like those old schemers."

"But you could still vie for the throne without bearing a Titan's child. You don't have to make such a huge sacrifice," Katharina argued, unwilling to let her friend succumb to what she saw as self-degradation.

"Katharina, I am the Seventh Princess, just the seventh, not the first," Gladys closed her eyes, breathing in the faint scent of milk from her friend. "If I had been born twenty years earlier, I wouldn't have made this choice. But there are no 'ifs.' Time is running out. In less than twenty years, my father's four hundred-year reign will end. A new emperor must be chosen by then."

"…I'll help you. I'll always stand by your side," Katharina murmured.

"I know," Gladys smiled. "You're the one I trust most, Katharina. And I must tell you, the Titan we just met isn't as powerful as you think."

"He flicked me away with a single finger, and you say he's not strong?" Katharina replied, still frustrated by the earlier incident.

"No, what I mean is that compared to the Titans who come here to study, he isn't very strong. He's not a high-level Legendary Titan. He's still very young. Do you know what that means?"

"What does it mean?" Katharina had a hunch but asked anyway, understanding the subtlety of their conversation.

"Since Empress Elizabeth, others have approached Titans, but regardless of the methods or artifacts they used, they couldn't conceive a Titan's child. The Titans who come here to study are high-level Legends. It's extremely difficult for beings of their level to leave descendants."

Gladys's face lit up with excitement. "But the Titan we just encountered, although a Legend, is certainly not high-level. The chances of me having a child with him are much higher than those who have tried before me."

"Moreover, this Titan needs my help. This is the perfect opportunity to build a relationship. Once I help him reclaim his dragon, I can directly propose my request. He'll find it hard to refuse."

"Why would he refuse? You're so beautiful, and many young nobles in the empire are vying for your attention."

"Those men are mostly after my power and status," Gladys scoffed, her discerning eye revealing her disdain. "As for Titans, they typically have partners by the time they reach this age. Proposing such a request outright could likely be rejected."

"If you suspect he already has a partner, why would you still want to have his child? Isn't that..."

"Desperate, right?" Gladys unflinchingly used the harsh word.

"No, it's just... If you know he might refuse, why put yourself through that humiliation?"

"Even if he refuses, he won't have a choice. This kind of thing doesn't necessarily require his consent." Gladys clenched her fist, leaving the purple-haired girl beside her speechless.

Katharina stared at Gladys in shock, processing the implications of her friend's determined words.

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