Two months had passed since I first arrived in Nokturna. In that time, I had slowly grown accustomed to my life as Empress. Augustus and I had formed a surprisingly good relationship, one that was warm and comfortable.
One day, I received a message that Glenn will be arriving soon to deliver the potions. The thought of seeing someone from home brought a wave of happiness and I was excited to see him again.
However, in the midst of my growing happiness, I had forgotten one crucial thing.
A woman's jealousy can be terrible and exhausting to deal with.
I was enjoying a quiet moment of tea, savoring the peace that had settled over the day, when a servant knocked my room. I let Eliana handle it as the servant handed me a big black box, her expression neutral, though I could tell she was curious about its contents.
"Who sent this?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.
"I don't know, Your Majesty," she replied. "I was simply tasked with delivering it to you."
Something about the box made me uneasy. I hesitated for a moment before giving in to my curiosity and opening it.
The moment I saw the lifeless red- no, it was a white fox in the parcel stained by its own blood that it became a red fox, my heart sank. I always have a soft spot for animals.
Gently, I closed the fox's eyelids, whispering an apology to it. 'I'm sorry you got caught into this crossfire,' I felt a pang of regret for the unfortunate creature that had become an unwelcome messenger of malice.
Eliana, who had been standing by my side, took one glance inside the box and could no longer hide her fury. Her usual calm demeanor was replaced with a stormy expression as he clenched his fists. "To show such a rude attitude like this to the Empress," she said, her voice tight with anger, "let's see if they can do this without getting punished."
'They killed an innocent fox just so they can threaten me because of their petty jealousy? They could just send a letter instead. People like them deserved to be beaten to death.'
I closed the box and gave it to her, "Eliana, give this fox a proper burial."
Eliana took the box with a solemn nod. "I will make sure it's treated with the respect it deserves," her anger still palpable. She looked at me, her eyes full of concern. "Your Majesty, I must inform His Majesty of this immediately."
I shook my head at her, "There's no need." Since I'll be the one punishing them instead. I can't wait to see their faces.
Eliana paused, her expression shifting from anger to confusion. "But, Your Majesty—"
"I appreciate your offer, Eliana," I said firmly, "but this is only a silly threat to scare me." I sweetly smiled at her.
With that, Eliana bowed and left the room, I sat back down while sipping my tea, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
'They better stop now or I'll be the one giving them hell.'
Sure enough, the next day, I received an invitation to a tea party held in the afternoon from one of the concubines. The invitation was from Princess Guinevere of Eldoria. The first concubine of August.
I smirked, 'Is she blatantly showing that she was the one gave me that gift?'
Eliana who read the invitation, sighed deeply as she looked at me with fire in her eyes, "I'll show them who's worthy being Empress."
Although I was amused by her reaction, I was a bit scared for the whole time she did at my body, from facial care to choosing the dress carefully.
Finally, I twirled in front of the mirror, satisfied with Eliana's work, "Well then, shall we go have some fun, Eliana?"