Author POV

Days dissolved into weeks, and under the constant, vigilant care of Roohi and Diya, Rajmata Leelavathi's health finally stabilized. The heavy fever broke, leaving her weak but conscious of the palace affairs once more.

It was during this period of recovery that a storm hit the royal household. Rani Vaidehi, the cousin sister of Maharaja Veerendra and the beloved granddaughter of Rajmata Leelavathi, arrived at the gates of Vijaygarh under the dark cover of night. She had fled her husband's kingdom, her spirit utterly broken, fed up with a marriage where her husband maintained multiple wives and numerous concubines. To him, she was just another ornament in his harem; to her, the humiliation had become a slow, agonizing poison.

However, when she sought sanctuary in her maternal home, she was met with a cold, shattering reality. Rajmata Leelavathi was not in support of her decision to leave her husband.

These were the 12th-century times—an era where polygamy for men was not only legally permissible but widely accepted as a symbol of royal stature and power. The very concept of a legal divorce did not exist; it was a foreign, unthinkable notion. For Leelavathi, an estranged, runaway granddaughter was a living nightmare, a permanent stain on the family's unblemished reputation. Trapped in her ancient mindset, the Rajmata immediately began plotting to convince Vaidehi to pack her bags and return to her husband's palace, pleading with her to accept her compromise as the ultimate destiny of a woman.

Veer POV

I stood in the Rajmata's private chambers, my chest heaving with a quiet, dangerous fury as I listened to Rajmata trying to rationalize Vaidehi's misery. Vaidehi sat in the corner, her head bowed, her shoulders shaking with silent, suppressed sobs.

I stepped directly between them, my shadow falling protectively over my sister, confronting the Rajmata.

"Enough, Rajmata," I declared, my voice echoing like thunder through the stone walls. "If my sister is not happy in a relationship, then it is entirely right for her to come out of it. We will break the ancient rules and rewrite them from scratch if needed, but I will never sacrifice the lives and happiness of our daughters for the sake of mere traditions and societal gossip!"

I turned to Vaidehi, kneeling slightly to bring myself to her eye level, making sure she heard every word clearly.

"You will not return to that hell, Vaidehi. We will take our sister back into this palace with the utmost pride. From this day forth, you are the royal pearl and the brightest diamond of Vijaygarh. This is your home, and no man will ever have the power to humiliate you again."

Tears spilled over Vaidehi's eyes, thick and heavy, as she looked up at me. The sheer terror of being abandoned vanished from her face, replaced by an overwhelming wave of relief as she realized her brother was standing like an unbreakable shield for her.

Diya POV

Vaidehi looked at me through her tear-blurred vision. Even though she was drowning in her own immense pain, she slowly stood up, walked past the elders, and threw her arms around me, hugging me with a desperate tightness.

"Thank you,Diya..." she whispered brokenly against my shoulder. "Thank you for choosing the 12th century. If you hadn't come to this era, if you hadn't voice out your thoughts, my brother wouldn't realize the necessity of change, things would have never changed for the women here. I would have been sent back to die in that palace."

Hearing her words, a profound sense of relief washed over my soul.

This was how reforms happen, wasn't it? It always starts when someone takes a stand, when a single voice is raised against deeply rooted, cruel customs that society protects under the guise of 'culture.' This was exactly how things were fought for and changed back in the 21st century.

Yet, as I held her, a bittersweet truth tugged at my heart. Even in my modern world, eight hundred years in the future, not everything had changed perfectly. Certain taboos, toxic stereotypes, and patriarchal mindsets still lingered aggressively, proving that oppression doesn't care about centuries. But that didn't mean we stop fighting. We can always strive, in every single era, to make the world a safer, better place for everyone.

I pulled back gently, wiping Vaidehi's tears, and looked her straight in the eyes. "And I am going to use every ounce of the power I have as the Queen to do exactly that for you, Vaidehi."

As I spoke, I felt a heavy gaze on me. I looked up and saw Veer watching me from across the room. His fierce eyes were glowing with an immense, breathtaking pride—he looked at me not just as his wife, but as his equal, his co-ruler.

Empowered by his gaze, I turned back to him, my mind clicking into strategic formatting. "Maharaj, we shouldn't just solve this problem for Vaidehi alone as an exception. Instead, we should institutionalize this change. We need to introduce formal divorce laws and anti-polygamy laws across the entire kingdom of Vijaygarh."

Author POV

The moment the words left Diya's mouth, Rajmata Leelavathi gasped.

"Veer! Have you lost your mind?!" Leelavathi intervened immediately, her voice trembling with anxiety. "We will face deep, catastrophic resentment from our allies and our own people if you implement such radical laws! Almost every king marries more than once to secure political alliances; they maintain multiple wives and concubines as a norm. How can we introduce the literal partition of married couples through some custom called 'divorce'? Marriages are sacred bonds made for seven lifetimes! You cannot dissolve them by signing a piece of paper!"

Veer did not flinch under his mother's panic. He stood tall, his hands resting casually behind his back, his expression cool and calculating.

"Yes, marriages are bound for seven lifetimes, Rajmata—but only when two hearts are truly intertwined in love. When a bond is built on misery and humiliation, it is no longer a sacred vow; it is a cage. And I will not allow my sister to be caged."

"When people see the right changes bring peace and dignity to their own homes, Rajmata, they will slowly realize their mistakes," Veer responded, his tone dangerously calm. "Our laws will influence other kingdoms, forcing them to look into the mirrors of their own households. It does not mean that just because everyone follows a tradition, and just because no one has dared to question it for centuries, it is correct."

He walked over to the grand balcony, looking out at his vast empire. "There are deeply rooted, toxic instincts that treat women like property. They need to be systematically removed for a better, more progressive world. And Vijaygarh will be the one to uproot them."

Diya POV

I stood completely mesmerized, my breath catching in my throat as I stared at the man standing by the balcony.

I was utterly, completely lost in admiration for my husband. The sheer weight of the man he was hit me all over again. In a century where men fought wars to collect women like trophies, here was a King who was willing to alienate his allies, challenge the entire geopolitical structure of his time, and rewrite history just to protect the dignity of a woman. He was a man of unshakeable values, of profound ethics—a man who deserved an immense, roaring respect that no crown could ever fully encapsulate.

Looking at his sharp profile, I felt a familiar, intoxicating warmth bloom in my chest. I had fallen in love with him all over again.

It wasn't his battlefield victories or his physical strength that captivated me tonight; it was his beautiful gentleness. It was his staggering emotional intelligence—his innate ability to look past the ancient conditioning of his era and understand the silent, suffocating pain of a woman's heart. He was an anomaly of time, a progressive soul born in an ancient century, and he belonged entirely to me.

As Veer turned back from the balcony and caught me staring, a soft, private smile touched his lips just for me. I smiled back through my tears, knowing that whatever wars these new laws would bring, I would gladly stand right by his side, fighting them together.

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