Imperial Household confirms rumors Empress dating naval officer
36-year old Lieutenant Commander Xiyāōtl is himself a minor celebrity
The Imperial Household of Xiomera has confirmed what has lately become the most ill-kept secret in the Empire: the Empress has a new romantic partner.
Rumors had been circulating in the past few weeks that the Empress had taken a new romantic partner. In a brief statement to the media, Xiuhcatli, the calpixqui (steward) of the Imperial Household, confirmed the rumors and stated that the Empress had begun dating Xiyāōtl, a 36-year-old lieutenant commander in the Imperial Navy. "The Empress and the Lieutenant Commander have been dating for some time, and we believe it is now time to make this known to the Xiomeran people," the Steward said in his remarks. He further added that the relationship "is quite serious".
In their own brief remarks to reporters outside the Palace of Flowers today, the Empress and Xiyāōtl also confirmed the rumors. "The two of us met at a ceremony right after the cease-fire at Zapotlán took effect, at a ceremony where I was awarding medals to our brave naval defenders. Xiyāōtl was one of those brave sailors, and I will admit, I was quite taken with him even then," Calhualyana said, which earned her a broad smile from her new suitor. "I definitely felt the same way, but how in the world do you approach an Empress when you're just a lieutenant commander? Luckily for me, Calhualyana was far braver than I was," Xiyāōtl said, adding that the Empress later invited him to dinner at the Palace of Flowers, "and things just kind of took off from there."
Despite his description of himself as "just a lieutenant commander," Xiyāōtl is himself no stranger to celebrity. As the face of the Imperial Navy in a series of recruiting ads both before and during the recent Xiomeran conflict, Xiyāōtl is a recognizable figure throughout the nation. He is also well-known for appearances on television, on shows such as Pyramid of Misfortune, and for the broad social media following he has in Xiomera. His participation at the Battle of Zapotlán, in which he earned the Order of the Golden Sun for helping rescue Imperial sailors from a sinking cruiser, has caused his online popularity to soar even more due to his war hero status.
Xiomeran tabloids and social media, even before today's announcement, could not get enough of Xiyāōtl. But with today's announcement that he is dating the Empress of Xiomera, many more Xiomerans are eagerly embracing the new power couple, and hoping that the match may lead to a marriage and the full establishment of the dynastic line that the Empress has promised the nation.
Comments