“Oh, really? If Her Majesty sent it personally, then I can’t refuse. Please tell them I’ll be down soon.”
“Yes, I will convey that.”
Vika’s expression seemed slightly troubled. She probably didn’t feel comfortable with the Queen seeking me out, especially since Sicar had just left for his expedition.
But as she said, since the Queen herself sent a royal carriage, I couldn’t avoid entering the palace.
The Queen summoned me to the reception room. Vika would be waiting outside, so if anything seemed strange, I could call her at any time.
Following the guidance of the maids, I sat alone in the empty reception room when the Queen approached with a light smile, dismissing the maids and taking her seat.
“Welcome, Duchess.”
“I hope you’ve been well, Your Majesty.”
“I heard that the Duke has set out today. Since I thought you might feel lonely, I invited you here. I hope it’s not inconvenient?”
“Not at all. It is an honor to be summoned by Your Majesty.”
The Queen smiled as if in a good mood, but the smile felt somewhat awkward and uncomfortable.
“I am truly grateful for what you did to save Hersia.”
“It was merely a task that needed to be done.”
“Thanks to that incident, even I have developed a deeper trust in the Duke. So, I wanted to mention something, Duchess Blake.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“I wish to get along well with the Duchess too.”
“I will always be ready to respond to Your Majesty’s summons.”
“Hersia mentioned that you are a person who is free from the constraints of royal etiquette. Since I also do not feel the need to adhere strictly to courtly manners, feel free to speak comfortably.”
“I will keep that in mind, Your Majesty.”
“And please accept this.”
The Queen gently pushed a glass bottle containing tea leaves towards me, wearing a mild smile.
“What is this, Your Majesty?”
“I heard that the Duchess enjoys milk tea after meals. So, I prepared the finest milk tea. Please accept it as a token of my sincerity.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty.”
“Just say thank you. It’s much more comfortable that way.”
“Even so, how could I…”
“Being here, one can feel suffocated by the strict adherence to etiquette. The Duchess probably wouldn’t understand.”
“I failed to comprehend Your Majesty’s sentiments.”
“Is the Duchess finding it difficult after coming to this country?”
It’s not about the inconvenience of being in a foreign country; it’s about the discomforts of being in this otherworldly place.
Nevertheless, I put on a composed smile.
“Thanks to His Majesty’s grace, I am living comfortably without any inconvenience, Your Majesty.”
“Your Majesty is a merciful person.”
A king who ruthlessly purges numerous people to secure his throne is considered merciful?…
“I have nothing more to wish for Blake, thanks to Your Majesty’s mercy and grace. Your Majesty.”
“Duchess Blake is quite… how should I put it? A person whom even I find difficult to approach, unlike the Duke.”
“Although the Duke may seem cold outwardly, he has warm corners.”
The Queen smiled lightly for a moment, then covered her mouth with her hand again.
“Those who think of the Duke as warm probably exist only outside of the Duchess.”
Then, she laughed a little more and lifted the teacup.
“Please, have some.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After having a bit more tea and chatting in the reception room, when we left the Queen’s palace, Vika was waiting with a displeased expression.
“Oh, Vika. You’re still here?”
“I waited here because I thought your conversation might not be heard well if we went further.”
“It’s still chilly with the night dew. Aren’t you cold?”
“It was a bit cold, but I can endure this much. Since I have something to tell you, let’s get on the carriage.”
“Yes, let’s. Vika.”
We silently moved our steps.
As soon as we got on the carriage, Vika started it and said, “The Queen gave you tea?”
“Ah, yes. This is it.”
I lifted the glass bottle containing tea that I received from the Queen. Vika took it from me with her hand.
“I’ll take this.”
“What? Why would you take this tea that the Queen gave me?”
Vika looked at the tea leaves in the glass bottle and said, “Because this might be a poisonous flower.”
“What? A poisonous flower? What do you mean?”
“There is a flower that, if you brew it a thousand times, you might get addicted to the poison without even knowing it and die. It’s a flower that doesn’t show any signs of poisoning even if you are fatally poisoned.”
“Ah, Duryeon mentioned something like that before. A flower that you can brew a thousand times for a thousand days.”
Vika clicked her tongue and said mockingly, “That fool has misunderstood. It’s not a thousand times for a thousand days; this poisonous flower needs to be brewed a thousand times to manifest its toxicity. However, the smell is strong during the brewing process, so not everyone can do it. It can only be brewed in a deserted and remote place. If it’s brewed a thousand times, it becomes a perfect poisonous plant. And if it’s made into a tea like black tea, you won’t know if it’s a poisonous flower or not. If you drink it even once, you will die a thousand days later. However, until a week after death, there will be no signs of poisoning in the body. Most corpses cannot determine if they were poisoned after a week. You can only think of it as simple heart failure.”
“Then, how can you tell if someone is poisoned by the poisonous flower or not?”
“In Mount Seolsan, since the body does not decay, it can be confirmed.”
Such flowers exist. Anyway, even if it wasn’t Vika, since Sycar warned not to accept anything that he didn’t give, it was a tea intended to be placed on a shelf.
I nodded as if understanding.
“I understand, Vika. I won’t drink that tea under any circumstances.”
“If anything happens to Madam, and even a single strand of hair is harmed, the Duke won’t leave it alone. So, I hope you follow my words well from now on.”
Though spoken gruffly, I appreciated Vika. I smiled and replied, “Yes, I will definitely do that. Vika.”
Vika, looking somewhat uncomfortable with my smile, frowned and stared out of the window.
With that kind of personality, it’s no wonder Vika got along well with Sycar. Despite her blunt demeanor, I quite liked Vika, who went to great lengths for me and Kian.
Whether she liked being favored or not, she seemed to have no interest at all.
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
