When she was done she got up and headed out, a trio of maids following closely in her wake.
They went to the kitchen, but she just looked around curiously for a moment at all the bustling cooks and kitchen hands who were still preparing a very large amount of food for the palace, it seemed, before departing once more.
Next was the laundry room, but all she saw was a massive array of cauldrons of boiling water, and loads and loads of washing in the process of being hung up, scrubbed, dried, and folded. It smelled quite...interesting, she decided to herself.
She made a note to avoid that room in future.
Next was-
"Your majesty," Tieya spoke, "What are you doing?"
"...Nothing?" She tried.
"Are you planning to just wander the halls aimlessly today?"
Eh...he.
"Your majesty. You're expected to have a public appearance today before the people alongside your consort....consorts." Tieya murmured. "You must make a public announcement of the names of the people in your harem, at least."
Oh.
Yes. The...harem.
The people of this kingdom really, really wanted to know who the empress had sex with, apparently.
She huffed.
"...Does Phoenix count...?" She mumbled to herself.
"...Of course, your majesty." Tieya agreed, smiling encouragingly at her. "Phoenix has always been a royal concubine, has he not?"
He has?
...Has he?
...oh. his title was something like that...
"Hrrgh..." She rubbed the sides of her head.
If he had always been one then why was Lyov listed as first?!
"Ah..."
She stared down at her feet for a moment.
What else do I do, though?
"I will....go....that way. Wherever that leads." She declared, marching down the hall.
Tieya sighed but followed anyway.
It was...a garden.
A nice garden.
"It's still dark out!" She announced to no one, gazing up at the sky.
One of the maids responded, "The sun rises slowly this time of year, Your majesty. It won't rise above the mountains for some hours yet."
The place was so ludicrously large she hadn't even bothered to look out the windows and notice it was still night time.
Dammit Phoenix, I could be asleep...
She shook off her irritation and explored the vast botanical paradise that seemed to encompass its own separate landscape to the palace's massive structure.
There were dozens of plants she didn't recognize, some bearing colorful fruits. Others had leaves that changed color before her very eyes as she brushed against them, even though it wasn't chilly at all outside.
Still others gave off the most delightful fragrances as she passed them by, tickling her senses and tempting her to come closer to examine them.
"Magnificent." She sighed dreamily to herself as she inhaled lovely, fruity scents she'd never smelled on Earth.
"It is, isn't it?" An unfamiliar male voice spoke at her side.
She jolted in surprise and jumped away, clutching at her heart in shock.
There was a man standing there next to her, tall and slender, almost willowy. He smiled apologetically at her response.
"Why do so many people sneak up on me?!" She asked out loud, pouting. "Can't anyone say hi to someone in a normal way, or is that impossible in this place!"
The man tilted his head slightly at her, the torchlight of the early morning garden reflecting off of his glasses. Wild red hair was tied back in a messy tail, and sparkling blue eyes looked down at her with an expression somewhere between confusion and amusement.
"Your majesty." The man inclined his head respectfully to her, and then said, "I wasn't attempting to sneak up on you, I assure you. I merely was doing my daily morning walk through the garden, as is my habit. When I saw you wandering around I thought it would be appropriate to greet you properly. Please accept my apologies if I've startled you."
She eyed his face a moment longer and squinted.
A list appeared in front of her face, as usual.
[~~STATS~~
Alexander Novak – Botanist
Class: Academic
Sex: Male
Age: 23 Years
Height: 5'9 ft
Weight: 151 lb
Hair Color: Red
Eye Color: Blue
Skill: Growth
Mood: Curious
Affection Points: 3
Kinks: BDSM
Role Play
Submission
Pegging
Degradation
Latex
Knife play
Risk of getting caught]
...Why does he have so many kin--knife play?!
She squinted at it.
Bondage is one thing but...
The man adjusted his glasses, glancing at her expectantly, though politely so.
...Right.
To him she was just staring blankly at him, right?
"Apology accepted, Alex...ander."
He perked up slightly at hearing his name, like a puppy.
It made her want to pat his head and coo at him. He really did look the type of person who should be pampered, honestly. Not in a spoiled rich boy way, but in a delicate, artistic sort of way.
His kinks seemed to disagree.
"If I may, Your majesty, I've not seen you out in the gardens so early before."
Because...because Phoenix woke me up too early!
"...I enjoy gardens. They smell good." She responded evasively. "You spend a lot of time here?"
Alex. Alexander. She chanted to herself. Got to remember. People are important. Got to remember everyone's name.
"...Indeed. I was employed specifically due to my familiarity with the vegetation found in Nevremian countryside. My father is a nobleman who deals in growing produce, you see. His family had a long line of history of agricultural development in the empire, going back generations. He once saved a passing wizard from being struck by lightning during a particularly intense storm.:
He smiled to himself, nostalgic. "The man granted my grandfather a spell which accelerated plant growth exponentially, which allowed us to grow crops quicker than anyone else in our area, allowing us to expand our land holdings until we were in competition with some of the smaller noble families. Not too many, of course. But a few."
She felt a little dizzy with information overload but nodded along anyway.
The red haired man gestured to a tree in bloom.
"This is one of our creations. A mix of peach and nectarine, they bear very sweet and flavorful fruit no matter what time of the year, and have thorns which deter scavenging animals very effectively. My family created the seeds from crossbreeding them with another variety that grows easily and bares a second harvest later in the year if cared for correctly."
He picked a nearby peach that was just about ripe enough, she guessed, and then offered it to her.
"It's delicious this time of the year."
She hesitated before leaning in to take a bite from the fruit in his hand, watching him curiously.
If she were honest, she hadn't been listening to...most of what he said. Ever since the information overload, her brain resorted to 'pretty man saying pretty things' out of self defense.
But this was fine, she thought. A single peach was worth the whole speech.
"Mm!" She smiled happily, wiping juices from her lips as she chewed on the piece of deliciousness in her mouth. "So tasty...!"
His eyes brightened when she expressed her appreciation so openly, and he laughed, saying, "This time of the year the fruit is sweetest. Perhaps in a week or two you might have another. They keep coming well into spring."
"I'd like that," She smiled shyly.
He really was a beautiful man. He reminded her of an artisan of some kind. Like an artist. Or a sculptor. Something delicate and gentle like that.
...While being covered in kinks that were the complete opposite.
That part, she preferred to forget.
He didn't seem like the type of man who would indulge in something so...primal and...violent sounding...as knife-play and the rest...
So it was definitely best to ignore that part of him.
But.
That also made him more intriguing, in a way.
He really was a walking contradiction, wasn't he?
Ah....he's caught me staring.
"Sorry..." She laughed nervously, waving a hand to dismiss whatever worries he had.
He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose and smiled politely, offering the half eaten peach to her again.
She hesitated and leaned in to take another bite.
The sweetness filled her mouth.
There was a tenseness in his form and a slight blush on his cheeks she couldn't place.
"You can finish it yourself if you'd like," he told her softly, looking...very awkward.
"Oh."
He wasn't offering me bites...he was...trying to offer me the fruit-
Her embarrassment triggered a whole coughing fit.
What am I thinking? Just because he's so pretty...!!
He held out his hands toward her in concern but didn't touch her. "Are you alright, Your majesty?!"
"It...went down the wrong pipe!" She wheezed. "I'm fine! Don't worry...!"
He gave her a skeptical look but didn't protest further, letting her turn and walk off, calling out to the maids who'd been giving her space.
"Tieya!! Please tell me about...I need to prepare for that...appearance!! Get me ready!"