@Paramei I'd like to "differ" in the way to see that. In real life, we once had Joan of Arc : self-made woman leading men at war who ended abandoned to her funest fate : literally scammed for petty pretexts (Wikipedia: "In 1456, an inquisitorial court reinvestigated Joan's trial and overturned the verdict, declaring that it was tainted by deceit and procedural errors.") then sentenced to the stake and burned alive (1431), it is said even her own king Charles VII (who trusted her to great extent) had to half "sell" her to Burgundies and Englishes for the sake of putting an end the Hundred Years's War.
What this taught to us from Pauliana's perspective is that : as much as Lucius loves her, he's first of all an emperor and makes decision according both to the necessity and to the extent of his own power. Pauliana becoming an empress with the current political situation equals to her forsaking almost all of her personal power and condemning herself to dependence on others. Add to that the deletion of her name : it equals having no definite family beside her, so that as an emperess it's like cutting even more from "her" power. She'd be at best a happy doll constantly at risk of both mother & son being swept (if not killed) by political shenanigans. As a knight, as the head of imperial guards, as marquese Winter, and now as the emperor lover and mother of a prince, these give her more than one card to play as she weaves her way through the palace intrigues.
So I don't think it's just about respecting her choice/decision, because History teaches us all along that the necessity surpasses any individual and their deepest wishes and regrets. At the surface it may look like a "whim", but deep down it bears far more than just her life style/choice. It's a grave decision, but she made the right decision.
What this taught to us from Pauliana's perspective is that : as much as Lucius loves her, he's first of all an emperor and makes decision according both to the necessity and to the extent of his own power. Pauliana becoming an empress with the current political situation equals to her forsaking almost all of her personal power and condemning herself to dependence on others. Add to that the deletion of her name : it equals having no definite family beside her, so that as an emperess it's like cutting even more from "her" power. She'd be at best a happy doll constantly at risk of both mother & son being swept (if not killed) by political shenanigans. As a knight, as the head of imperial guards, as marquese Winter, and now as the emperor lover and mother of a prince, these give her more than one card to play as she weaves her way through the palace intrigues.
So I don't think it's just about respecting her choice/decision, because History teaches us all along that the necessity surpasses any individual and their deepest wishes and regrets. At the surface it may look like a "whim", but deep down it bears far more than just her life style/choice. It's a grave decision, but she made the right decision.