Published: January 4, 2026
“Older sister! I heard you’ve been bedridden due to illness!?”
When I saw Rain being led into the reception room, I was the most surprised I’d been in a while.
Rain, the first princess, nearly the same age as Mother.
A princess known for her bold personality and her proficiency in martial arts—a rare thing for a woman.
I had only recently been informed that she was suffering from a serious illness, so seeing her like this shocked me.
After all, the Rain who came to visit was full of energy and hardly looked like a patient.
“I can’t just lie down at a time like this.”
“Huh?”
“Thank you, Noah. I came to express my gratitude.”
“Gratitude?”
I tilted my head, wondering what she meant.
“I heard what you did for Arlene.”
“Oh.”
“And just a little while ago, I kicked out all those women that that scoundrel was keeping.”
“Scoundrel… Ah.”
Only now did the picture start to become clear.
Rain’s husband, Alan.
In some ways, the most decent man among the husbands of the royal family’s princesses.
Princesses’ husbands are generally treated as subjects unless something extraordinary happens.
And since they are princesses, there isn’t much pressure to produce heirs.
If there are none, so be it—the attitude is rather indifferent.
Therefore, many of these husbands keep concubines instead of being devoted solely to the princesses.
This is semi-officially accepted.
It’s better for them to satisfy their desires with other women than to be unfaithful to the princesses.
As quasi-royal family members, these husbands hold a certain status, so having one or two concubines is considered normal.
For the men, dealing with concubines they can control is easier on their pride than being with a princess who outranks them.
It’s rare for a man like Angus to say he genuinely wants to be with Arlene forever.
“Thank you, Noah. Because of you, I can openly fight those homewreckers now.”
“I see.”
I let out a small laugh.
That doesn’t mean I’m not jealous of the princesses—it’s just that showing jealousy toward subjects is unbecoming.
So instead, they do nothing openly—not because they want to secretly, but because even that would be more shameful.
Now that “permission” for jealousy has been granted, Rain has taken action immediately.
What I did for Arlene, though different in meaning, apparently helped Rain as well.
“That’s good, but older sister, don’t overdo it. I’ve read the medical reports; the illness—”
“Then it’s cured.”
“Huh?”
“After kicking out those homewreckers, I feel unbelievably lighter.”
“...I see.”
They say illness can come from the mind.
And there are also mental illnesses.
I don’t know which it was for Rain, but it seems that sincerely doing that cured her.
“Thank you so much, Noah.”
“You’re welcome. So, older sister, what are you going to do now?”
“Now?”
“After kicking out the concubines.”
“Well...”
Huh?
What’s with that reaction?
Rain, who’s quite mature in age, suddenly flushed and squirmed.
“Older sister?”
“I remembered what he said to me on our wedding night.”
“Ah.”
I was curious about what those words were.
A memory between the two of them, probably from their first night together.
I thought it best not to pry too deeply.
“So... now that the homewreckers are gone, maybe I can forgive him.”
“I see. Well then, do your best, older sister. If there’s anything I can do, just say the word.”
“Yes. Thank you, Noah.”
☆
There’s a word for something happening unintentionally.
That perfectly describes Noah’s series of actions.
Until now, the lifespan of princesses in the empire was significantly shorter than that of princes.
In hundreds of years of history, only two had lived past 60.
However, starting with Noah’s reforms, the lifespans of the empire’s princesses greatly increased.
At the time, it wasn’t immediately clear, but later generations revealed that freeing princesses from binding customs dramatically extended their lives.
This became a subtle yet undeniable achievement in Noah I’s reign.