"I have a question. Do any of you, trust in your Empress?" I glowered, The nobles gulped as they looked at each other, they could just lie but, it was hard to do it. It was like she had the power to see the truth, [I want to know their thoughts on this too! It's better to get to know your subordinates] <--- Misunderstood the whole situation.
"..?"
"Y-y-your h-highness! I-"
"Oh My, but your highness has never looked into this situation. What's with this sudden miracle?" A lady flapped her fan and covered her mocking smug face behind it, "Don't you think it's rather sudden. Your change I mean, it's too late." She sneered, lady daphne* smiled brightly like an innocent girl, like she was hiding something. [She must think I won't do anything about what she just said but let us just watch for a bit.]
"Anyone else?" I queried, everyone looked at each other and then at lady daphne, [if lady daphne could then we can too!] "Your highness, I admire your respect for the empire but, There's been a sudden change. The one in charge can no longer be the Queen," The Man referred to Annalisa as a mere queen, mocking her like it was some type of game to see who was better with words and patience.
[Alright. I'll play too. This tended to happen a lot in my past life, I just need to do the same and teach them their place.] I sighed and sat back down closing my eyes deep in thought, My hair clumping over one another. I needed to express myself in a way that's indirect in the same way they did. But it's hard since coming from a world where everyone is direct with their words, no one hides knives behind smiles afterall. Because instead of knives they hide daggers in this case. I'll just be direct then.
"Then...I suggest that I take over this case since the queen must be busy. I, As the Empress, shall take care of the pandemic." I announced, everyone looked at each other, like I said at the beginning, these people had a good side and a bad side to them. "Your Highness you-"
"I'm here! I-I'm so sorry I'm late!" A chubby man with a loose tie and tight suit walked in, his hair was ashen and black whilst his eyes were red, I watched as he walked in, bowed and took his seat. My face reddened, I kept staring at him unconsciously, [Did he decide to wear a tie because of the other day? Does he still remember me?] I pondered in front of all of the noble committee as he tightened his tie unaware of the Empress' stare.
"Ah Y-Yes! I forgot to mention that..." I explained along and tried to keep the chubby nobleman up to date, he took notice and gave me a friendly smile. I nodded trying to maintain my poker face, I kept my calm eventually and kept explaining the situation.
"...Majesty, Your Majesty what about the situation of the south?" Count Zephyr asked as he stood up from his seat, brown hair parted in two with a strong jawline and tired eyes, his shiny glossy hair being coveted by the dark atmosphere in the room.
[They're trying to get rid of me. That was pretty direct but...] I glanced at the chubby man and frowned, everyday I woke up only to think of him. I find it hard to think of anything else. I can't leave him, something tells me I can't and I shouldn't.
"Forget about the south. I decided not to go there. What else of the east? Any news?" I asked, until I felt myself wincing in pain, my head was spinning and I was sweating, [This is my limit.] I thought and called magdalena to get me out.
"But your highness..!"
"I'm tired of hearing your bullsh** instead of trying to mock me and embezzle the royal treasury, you should focus on REALLY fixing the situation of the infected cases in the empire." She glowered, Annalisa finally had a dark ominous aura around her that made one shake and tremble beneath her glare, she was no longer a puppy that should just whine in their bed, but a wolf that would just watch and wait to bite your hand off. [DID THE EMPRESS JUST CURSE?!] Count Zephyr's hands trembled in anger, [that wench! how dare she be so imprudent and confident after everything we've done for this empire! How dare she threaten us! When all we've ever done was take care of the empire while she locked herself in her room all day! we did the work and now she wants to take over?! Just watch! I'll remove you from your throne one day!] He smiled brightly at Annalisa and replied, "We are very sorry your Majesty, We will watch our words from now on." he rubbed his hands together like a businessman would, the noblemen and women stood there in shock, [the ambitious and greedy Count Zephyr, is licking her majesty's feet?!] they were perplexed at his sudden behavior but also bowed down and apologized thinking he had a plan.
"We're sorry your Highness."
I walked out and headed to my room, Laos was waiting inside and he gave me a disgusted look, his blonde hair was now combed and his bangs, even though they were shaggy they didn't poke his eyes clumsily, he wore a nice casual shirt and some shoes that were way too fancy for my taste. But it looked adorable on him! it highlighted his tiny body, he was so charming nobody would believe he's an all-powerful god!
"Tch. Already? i thought I'd have more time, you've become more annoying recently." Laos groaned, I chuckled and looked at him tenderly, [it's been a month since this all happened. I have a lot to do, I have to find a cure for the virus, find that new ally, andddd find a way to stop the Villian from ruining his life!]
"Sigh...Raos*, can you heal me?"
*His real name is Laos but Bong-Cha calls him Raos in front of other people to avoid confusion.
"I'm not your maid! Ask that molly!"
"her name is Magdalena, you punk!" I stomped over to the angry laos my hand brushing his ear, and then I pulled it dragging him to the bed, [you punk! brat! you think you can get away with this?! you made a deal!] I yelled internally, sometimes laos can be so tiring. he acts like a real child sometimes, "bleh!"
"Magda, can you please get me some ointment for my back? It's more reliable than some magician." I asked, Raos barked back refuting his argument, not like I was going to place ointment on my back to begin with. A few weeks ago I found out that annalisa had problems with her blood flow, since her mana wasn't stable it turned into a knot inside her body making it difficult for her to breathe. That's what caused my head to become dizzy due to the amount of blood that stopped flowing towards my head, so through Laos' treatment I become closer to being OP the next day!
[Woohoo!] I giggled, "wtf is she laughing at?" Laos placed his hands on my back harshly leaving pink marks because of the impactful slap he gave me, "Ouch! Hey be more careful! I have a delicate back!" I cried, he groaned and kept smacking my bare back harshly, Magdalena looked at her master nervously, [Is she okay with a magician like that? no with a guy at that! Too bad I'm not a magician...]
"Magda do you have the cloak ready?"
"Yes Your Majesty but are you sure you don't want to take the ring instead?" Magdalena asked worried, it made her anxious that they would try to kidnap the Empress, it made her worry a lot. But she let her worries go and let her leave, hoping she'd be alright. Magdalena was genuinely worried about the Empress for some reason and grew to care for her like a friend. but that time would only come to an end some day, so she'd rather keep her by her side a bit longer.
"Ah...Empress Annalisa...We'll be great friends! hahahaha~"
"George*, please drop me off here." I ordered, the coachmen nodded even though he knew he'd regret leaving the empress there. [I like george, he's very professional, doesn't ask where or why I'm going there or what I'm going to do.]
I called out for the system when I saw no one else,
[Navigation]
Finding some new allies can prove useful to you to grow in power.
[You're almost there! There are 35 km left;]
[0/2]
I walked closer to the 35 km and suddenly sensed danger, I looked around and stayed keen to my surroundings, it was so infested with people who were sick that everyone seemed to be dying. The buildings were old and messy, cloths over the roof because there just wasn't a roof, I grew closer to the street where the quest indicated.
[Navigation]
Finding some new allies can prove useful to you to grow in power.
[You're almost there! There are 3 ft left;]
[0/2]
I took 3 more steps and spotted 2 children slumped against the run-down building's walls. Both were white-haired and had blue icy eyes, that looked like those of a savage beast. They were so tiny, around the age of a 12-year-old, just a bit shorter than me, their fingers were like twigs that would snap in half if I even dared to touch them.
Ping!
[Hm?] I looked at the notification and saw the quest being finished, I looked at the children then at the screen and sighed, [Now I have to take care of children...great! If they become chubbier I'll be able to squish their delicate and adorable cheeks! Squee!] I thought as the children scowled and hissed at me as if I were to hurt them.
"Children? Would you like to come with me?" I asked, they looked at each other as their stomachs growled and hissed louder at me, as if they were going to eat me if I didn't leave. "We...Not...Believe...Trangers!" the girl spit out, I gaped at them and smiled kneeling down next to them. The girl still on guard but I moved my hand closer and caressed her hair, her brother looked at me anticipatingly, I smiled brightly at them and petted both of them like they were my own. Now that I looked closely the girl had nice shiny and glossy blue eyes, some humanity still found in them, while the boy had calm, pacific eyes along with his personality they fit well.
Both children had bright blue icy eyes, with white silver melted hair, it looked so smooth and nice like a sword. Of course there were a few loose strands that stuck out but that can be fixed.
[These children weren't included in the novel, that must mean they'll be of no hindrance.]
"Children, would you like to got to the Palace with me?" I asked, they looked at each other again giving themselves fierce expressions and they nodded. "We...go...kind...lady..."
"Hm...Do you know how to talk?" I asked the boy, he nodded and pointed at his throat indicating he hadn't drunk water in a long amount of time. It's actually a miracle they haven't been infected by the virus. if they had then they would've been incurable without Laos' help.
"Come Children let's go." She smiled, the children received genuine kindness for the first time, they themselves knew it, because they had been born with the cursed ability to see the truth. A person's true nature, [This woman looks sad, when you look at her eyes it feels like I'm staring at a dark abyss. let's help her!]
"What are your names?"
Thus started their prolonged adventure to protect and help the Empress!