“Erika, I heard you’re pursuing Miona Draco.”
Erika had thought there was no wind of this, but it had already spread far and wide. What was meant to come had finally arrived. The girl felt a chill running down her spine, entirely different from the cold she had felt when confronting the evil black mage Galier, raising goosebumps all over her neck. Evelyn had finally asked this question, the one Erika least wanted to hear. She had been tense about it ever since lunch, thinking that Evelyn would just laugh it off and not bring it up, hoping to get away with it. But that was not to be. Concealing her inner turmoil with practiced acting skills, Erika asked nonchalantly, “Where did you hear that from?”
“A queen like me can even catch the whispers carried on the wind.” Evelyn’s voice was quite calm. Erika found it hard to determine the intent behind the question and what attitude she should adopt in response. “Did you really confess your love to Miss Miona?” In Erika’s mind, as she tried to think calmly, two options seemed to appear.
1. Tell the truth.
2. Lie.
To deal with the immediate situation, choosing the second option—lying—seemed more straightforward, but if she lied to Evelyn and got caught, it would easily lead to overwhelming fury. Evelyn hated liars, just as she detested the hypocrites in the court. So what about choosing the first option? If she told the truth—”Yes, I confessed my love to Miss Miona and hope for a long and happy life together”—what would happen? Evelyn did show a sense of possessiveness toward her. However, as she had said before, it felt more like looking at a cute pet than romantic feelings between lovers. If she found a soulmate and spent her life with that person, how would Evelyn react? From the perspective of an owner and a pet, if one’s pet found a suitable mate and gave birth to a litter of cute cubs, wouldn’t the owner naturally be happy? Leaving aside the matter of life and death for now.
“Erika, answer your queen. I want to confirm whether the rumor I heard is true. I won’t repeat my words a third time, so answer carefully.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. The rumor Lady Evelyn heard…”
“The rumor?”
“The rumor is true, though there are some complicated circumstances involved.” Erika closed her bright red eyes tightly and said.
It’s better to tell the truth than to lie. For Evelyn, lying is a great sin. But as for her falling in love with someone else, the outcome is still unknown. This way, the chances of survival are greater.
“Then, what was Miss Draco’s response?” Evelyn’s voice was very calm. Erika was still behind her, untying the collar. Though she regretted not being able to see her expression, she also felt relieved.
“Miss Draco rejected my advances. After all, I am just a slave of humble birth, while Miona Draco is a descendant of a distinguished family—our stations are mismatched.”
“Hmm…”
What did that “Hmm…” mean? Was it a hint? Erika’s mind raced, trying to discern whether there was any hidden meaning behind Evelyn’s every move. The last time she had racked her brains like this was when she was desperately thinking of ways to keep Count Qiaonov from being killed by Evelyn. Indeed, it could be said that the current situation was no less dangerous, if not more critical, than that moment when Evelyn might awaken as the “Murder Queen.” From the perspective that her life could be under immediate threat of death, it was even worse.
“…” No more words came from Evelyn’s mouth. What did the silence mean? Though she didn’t know the exact meaning, it was clearly not a good thing.
Erika was desperately trying to find a suitable countermeasure.
“Erika, you are the wisest person in the Kingdom of Noel after me, but your taste in lovers is surprisingly poor.”
“What… do you mean?” Normally, she would have roughly understood Evelyn’s words, but now she was too curious and flustered, so she could only ask sincerely. However, the wise Queen Evelyn did not blame her foolish subject and kindly explained:
“Erika, even if you like women, I fully support you, but Miss Miona is not suitable as your partner. She is a two-faced woman, fickle, one could even say she has two souls.”
Indeed, one could say there were two people; they were just such capricious women—this was the story running through Miona and her twin sister Vivian. Did Evelyn know that Vivian and Miona shared one body? No, that couldn’t be possible, could it?
“You say she is fickle? Why would you say that?”
“Erika, all those despicable women are like that. On the surface, they pretend to be noble, but behind the scenes, they are more insidious and cunning, full of wicked schemes. Miona must be the same.”
“…Oh, I never thought of it that way.”
“It’s okay. It’s actually a good thing that Miona rejected you out of vanity. But don’t be discouraged, Erika. I will personally find a suitable partner for you.”
“Lady Evelyn, you…”
“That’s right. As your master, it is my duty to find you a suitable woman to marry.”
Why did she already default to a woman? Did she think Erika was beyond hope? And what kind of duty was that?
“Furthermore, it is also my duty to have you and your descendants serve me forever. This is the honor I bestow upon you.”
She and her descendants would serve Evelyn for generations? How terrifying, how insidious. Though the execution ending was also frightening, she wanted to avoid the future Evelyn described. So she tried to change the subject and asked Evelyn, “Then what kind of partner should I look for? Count Kumisi’s son…”
Erika threw out a few smoke bombs first, and finally mentioned, “If it’s a woman, how about Lady… Emil? After all, Miss Emil is also from a distinguished family.”
“Emil? Don’t even mention that one.”
“Huh?”
“Although she is my cousin, she has always deliberately kept her distance from marriage and the concept of femininity. If there’s any feminine trait about her, it’s probably only those vulgar breasts.”
“I see.”
“People are easily attracted by her blonde hair, blue eyes, and ample bosom, but if a woman like Emil becomes your partner, Erika, you would probably spend your entire life being beaten.”
“And in the future, it’s better not to think about adopting children. Emil wouldn’t take care of them either—all the burden would fall on you.”
“That makes sense… So what should I do?” Evelyn said to the flustered Erika.
“Erika, you need to find an ideal and perfect woman. For example, one of high status but with wisdom and humility, hair as black as the night, a slender figure, and a neck as slim and elegant as a swan’s. Try to find such a woman around you.”
After hearing Evelyn’s description, only one image came to Erika’s mind. “You mean I should find a woman like Queen Evelyn…”
“Exactly. In truth, only by meeting someone like me can one build a happy family. But thinking about it now, there probably isn’t a second woman like me in the world.”
“Of—of course. Queen Evelyn is a unique, unparalleled sovereign…” Evelyn let out a “Heh heh heh” laugh.
“This is troublesome, Erika. Even if you find a woman only slightly inferior to me, you probably wouldn’t settle for her.”
At that moment, a commotion arose around them—many people were pouring out of the training grounds. While they were chatting, the next class period had unknowingly arrived. “Then, I’ll escort you back to your dormitory.”
“Then, don’t forget your appointed task as an investigator, Erika. It’s fine to think about love, but don’t neglect the important mission you carry.”
“I understand.”
After saying this, Evelyn lay down on her bed and resumed her lazy demeanor. As Erika walked out of her room, she felt like a bee that had escaped from a spider’s web—her feelings were complicated. In any case, she had survived. It seemed Evelyn didn’t have strong feelings about her love life. She had worried that Evelyn would get angry and say, “Erika, how dare you go see other women without my permission?” But Evelyn surprisingly didn’t care much that Erika held other women in high regard; she even volunteered to help her find a partner. It was a relief nothing went wrong.
However, when she returned to the dormitory, she found that things weren’t over yet. At the entrance of the dorm, her roommates Axis and Lisette were waiting for her, trembling. When they saw the girl return, their faces finally showed expressions of relief.
“Sis, something huge happened!”
Without needing to hear it, she knew what had occurred. “Lady Emil has come, hasn’t she?”