What did the prince mean that he could not have Ines bear the emperors illegitimate child ...

I’m thinking he meant more so unmarried and having a child out of wedlock and virgin is just what he said, cuz it seems affairs aren’t that frowned upon so obvi her being his mistress isn’t a big deal and if he makes her an official mistress/concubine the child is still somewhat legitimate or at least not a true illegitimate child if that makes sense

That makes sense. Make her an “official mistress” instead of just impregnating her. I was like why does it matter. Cuz then his finance was like “he really loves her”, which got me more confused cuz I was like why does it matter if she’s a virgin or not if she’s just gonna be a “‘mistress”. But in his own way he’s still protecting her image instead of raping/impregnating her like his fiancé suggested

He went on and explained it right after that. He needs Ines to be bear an honorable last name and not be associated with Valeztenas—her maiden name will not be able to protect her like when she was an unwed virgin, making her more vulnerable and easier to pull into him; which also goes back to the benefits of being divorced, as Ines continously explain.

I didn’t make that connection. Plus it didn’t make sense to me cuz her family name is literally up there with her husbands. They’re one of the great families of ortegas? (So bad with names) The prince even said it, that the illegimate princess is beneath her in terms of standing. She was the most eligible candidate to be the crown princess cuz of her name & background. I thought he said that cuz he said “annoying valeztena” cuz he doesn’t like her family. I assumed cuz he was mad they let her choose her husband instead of forcing/pushing her to marry the crown prince