To escape from Preta Island, an unnamed woman had secretly stowed away on Parnes’s escort ship and was taken to the imperial palace, where she underwent intense interrogation over several days.
Merciless interrogators applied severe mental pressure, probing deeply to determine if she harbored any suspicious motives.
How long had it been—enduring interrogations all day, being detained in a cell, and dragged out again at sunrise for more questioning?
“You may come out now.”
It was the most welcome sound she had heard.
Finally released from the underground prison, the unnamed woman deeply inhaled the warm sunlight and fresh air she had missed for days.
“You should know you’re lucky.”
As she stretched her stiff arms toward the sky to loosen up, heavy footsteps approached from the side.
It was a middle-aged woman, short in stature with plump wrists like hams.
Having lived as a maid for a long time, the woman immediately recognized her as the head maid of the Empress’s Palace.
“Thanks to Her Majesty the Empress’s mercy, you’re lucky. If it had been only His Majesty the Emperor there, your head would have rolled long ago. If you ever meet Her Majesty the Empress, bow low and pay your respects. Understood?”
“Yes, Head Maid. I’ll go greet Her Majesty the Empress right now.”
“Hey, where do you think you’re going!”
At Mrs. Dawson’s thunderous shout, the woman flinched and stopped in her tracks.
“You told me to greet her!”
“You really know nothing about the ways of the world. Her Majesty the Empress isn’t someone you can just meet because you want to. Even foreign kings must request an audience in advance. Such a lack of common sense. Tsk.”
“Oh, is that how it works? Hehe…”
Well, she is a great person, after all.
The woman scratched her head and gave an awkward smile.
Come to think of it, her head was itchy.
Not having bathed for days due to the interrogations, she felt a musty smell emanating from her body.
Mrs. Dawson seemed to notice too, casting a disapproving glance before instructing her to follow.
While following Mrs. Dawson, the woman finally took a leisurely look around and realized she was truly inside the imperial palace.
‘To think such a beautiful paradise exists in this world.’
The palace, which she had only heard about in rumors, looked like a paradise straight out of a myth.
Who could possibly clean such a vast place? Not a single piece of litter lay on the ground, and the garden shrubs were trimmed at exquisite angles.
The Empress’s Palace, in particular, was surrounded by gardens and ponds, truly resembling a kingdom where a princess might live.
How happy it must be to live as the master of such a place—she felt delighted just imagining it.
“This is where you’ll stay from now on.”
Snapped out of her pleasant daydreams, the woman followed Mrs. Dawson’s gesture with her eyes.
It was a small servant’s quarters tucked away in a shady corner.
“Fiona, over here!”
When Mrs. Dawson raised her voice to call someone, a young woman named Fiona came down from the second floor.
Her expression clearly showed she wasn’t pleased to be summoned.
“What is it, Head Maid?”
“This is the new recruit you’ll train starting today. She may have entered with the gracious help of Her Majesty the Empress, but she’s a rotten girl by nature, so train her harshly without leniency. Understood?”
Mrs. Dawson spat out harsh words without hesitation and quickly returned to the Empress’s Palace.
The woman politely greeted Fiona.
“Please take care of me.”
“No need for greetings—just don’t run away after two days complaining it’s too hard. Follow me.”
Following Fiona upstairs, she saw a bedroom shared by eight people.
Compared to her life on Preta Island, where she slept on straw piles in a stable, this was paradise.
“Use the bed closest to the door. Your job is to wake up at dawn, heat water for washing, and prepare bread and milk for the senior maids.”
“Yes, that doesn’t sound too hard.”
“For the next week, you’re on day shift, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. You’ll need to wake up by 4 a.m. to be safe. There’s a lot to do in the Empress’s Palace.”
“Will I be attending to Her Majesty the Empress?”
Fiona gave her a strange look, as if she had said something absurd.
“A new maid like you will be stuck in the kitchen all day washing dishes or cleaning hearths. Only the highest-ranking senior maids, among all the maids, are allowed to bring wash water to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Oh… is that so?”
She had only just been released from the underground prison, yet she already felt disappointed, as if her expectations had grown too grand.
Having received grace directly from Her Majesty the Empress, couldn’t she at least pay her respects? That’s what she was thinking when—
“Hey, who’s the new maid that came today?”
“It’s me.”
At the call of a senior maid who came rushing in, panting heavily, the woman hesitantly raised her hand.
The senior maid looked her up and down with an incredulous expression before gesturing with her chin to come outside.
“Her Majesty the Empress wishes to see you.”
“Your Majesty, please review the budget proposal.”
“Here, let me see it.”
One of the best things about Parnes staying at the Empress’s Palace was the improved communication.
No longer limited to aides or written reports, they could now exchange opinions directly across a single desk, which was incredibly efficient.
Kasallin gazed at Parnes, who was flipping through documents with a serious demeanor, with a renewed sense of wonder.
It was hard to believe that the man who had been tenderly feeding his wife breakfast that morning was the same emperor now exuding such commanding dignity before her.
“I’ll mark the parts that need revision. Please take a look…”
“It would be nice if you stayed at the Empress’s Palace like this.”
Parnes’s hand, reaching for a pen, froze in midair as if time had stopped.
A drop of black ink fell from the parted pen nib, creating a dotted pattern on the white paper.
“What did you just say…?”
“Nothing. Please continue.”
“Hm.”
Parnes’s slightly widened eyes slowly curved into a gentle crescent shape.
As if the documents no longer mattered, he propped his chin leisurely and gazed at Kasallin’s face.
To be precise, he was watching her blush with embarrassment at her own words.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Nothing. Please continue.”
“Are you teasing me again?”
Her eyebrows arched in a pout.
Parnes reached across the cluttered desk, carefully brushing a speck of dust from her lush eyelashes.
This was the one downside of Parnes staying at the Empress’s Palace.
Even while discussing serious state affairs, a single glance could shift the atmosphere into something strangely intimate.
“Do you know, my lady, your eyelashes tremble pitifully whenever you’re embarrassed?”
“Your Majesty, how could you…”
Their breaths grew slightly uneven, and an awkward silence settled.
The faint warmth from his outstretched hand.
The dry swallow she couldn’t help but make.
This was proving more troublesome than working briskly in their separate palaces, as it slowed their progress considerably.
“Your Majesty the Empress, the maid you summoned has arrived.”
Sir Nigel Ludwig called from outside the door.
Without missing a beat, Kasallin and Parnes dropped their gazes from each other and resumed their tasks.
For a moment, they skimmed documents with eyes that no longer registered the text and fidgeted with pens meaninglessly.
The unnamed woman entered hesitantly, looking around the study with curious eyes.
Sir Nigel, who followed her in, reprimanded her.
“Where are you looking? Can’t you pay respects to Their Majesties?”
“Oh, yes!”
Snapped to attention, the woman deeply bowed to Kasallin and Parnes.
“I greet Your Majesty the Empress and Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“You look quite fitting in a neat uniform, like a proper palace maid. You must have suffered during the interrogations.”
Kasallin greeted her with a smile that was neither more nor less than polite courtesy toward a subordinate.
But to the woman, her smile felt exceptionally special.
Most low-ranking maids could hardly hope to see the Empress’s face,
so being ‘invited’ to the study made her certain she was receiving the Empress’s thoughtful care.
“This is all thanks to Your Majesty the Empress’s grace. I’ve been given a new life starting today. Thank you so much.”
“Grace? It’s because you were earnest and honest during the investigation.”
Having grown up pampered in a wealthy household, untouched by the harsh ways of the world, how could she be so kind?
In contrast, Emperor Parnes, seemingly preoccupied with urgent matters, didn’t spare her a single glance.
With his handsome and refined appearance, a touch of kindness would make him perfect.
But his apparent lack of basic courtesy toward visitors suggested the unsettling rumors about his stern nature were true.
“You said you have no name, didn’t you?”
“Yes. No one ever gave me one. I was just called ‘you,’ ‘hey,’ or ‘brat.’”
“That’s not good. A person should have a name to be called by.”
“How about Your Majesty the Empress giving me one?”
The moment she said it, she instinctively felt the room’s atmosphere turn icy and glanced around nervously.
The emperor, who had been indifferently flipping through documents, was now staring at her with a cold, piercing gaze.
It was a different kind of intimidation from the violent outbursts of the young masters of the Preta household.
The emperor’s mere gaze carried an invisible force that crushed one’s spirit.
“I… I must have said something wrong again.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just thinking about giving you a name.”
“Really? Wow!”
“Without a name, it’s inconvenient to call you, and work won’t run efficiently.”
The woman was so thrilled she barely heard Kasallin’s additional remark.
Or rather, it didn’t register even though she heard it.
Mrs. Dawson and Sir Nigel frowned disapprovingly.
The other servants standing in the room also looked displeased, clearly envious.
“A name, a name… How about Therese?”
“Anything Your Majesty the Empress gives me is fine!”
“Alright, Therese. Let’s get along well from now on.”
To be personally given a name by the most exalted person in the land!
With her new name, Therese, the woman felt an indescribable thrill, as if she had become someone truly special.
She was convinced the Empress held her in special affection.
If she performed well, she might become a senior maid—or perhaps even the Empress’s closest friend.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
