Strictly speaking, this was actually a marriage between the "Smiling Bird Knight"—now the "War God of Terra"—and "Yvenya," not between Yu Lian and Brunhild.
Brunhild merely responded with a nonchalant "Heh," then added, "Besides, for the sake of the country's stability, we still need an heir."
The empire didn't pass power from father to son. Did they really need children to keep the political factions stable? Yu Lian was about to argue, but then realized that "Yvenya" hadn't taken the throne yet. As far as the official line from the Celestial Domain went, they were still just a "rebel faction."
"Besides, after King Vellent died, I had Duke Belairos take a detached force and capture his Feishan. The people of King Vellent's family all said they weren't in any hurry to choose a new feudal king. They're all unworthy, they said; the throne should go to someone virtuous. Anyway, the throne of the Great Elector has gone unoccupied before. At its longest, it's been vacant for more than three years."
"...And the virtuous person you're talking about is your child?"
"I just suddenly thought it'd be fun if our child became King Vellent. Then that guy wouldn't show up again, would he?"
Yu Lian didn't need to think twice to know that the "guy" she meant could only be his old friend King Vellent, Jiert, from their era.
He had never quite understood why she disliked King Vellent so much. In his previous life, King Vellent had played the role of the perfect Keeper of the Privy Seal and veteran royal counselor during Empress Brunhild's reign. They hadn't shared any particularly deep personal affection, but at least they had worked well together.
Still, he had never found a chance to ask.
"So, can you have children in this virtual game,