Caroline was resting her back against the sofa. Her eyes were full of sleep. No one had ever told her that maintaining an 'empire' would be this tiring. The budget was to be revised once in every month. She used all of her brain to concoct new ideas to improve it.
On top of that, she had received countless complaints from the academy's instructors and her army's commander about the lack of maintenance of their practice grounds.
Both of their practice grounds were just separated by a thin boundary, which was deteriorating with each day. Renovations were needed or else... she would have to allot two new practice grounds to appease them. This might cause some problems for the budget. So, it was better to renovate those grounds.
Sighing, Caroline put a cherry into her mouth and chewed on it slowly.
"Host, I didn't know that you were so talented!" Mimi's voice was full of awe. Its host always surprised it with new things.
Caroline said, 'I am an actor, aren't I? Which actor didn't know about these trivial things? Besides, the budget is just mixture of mathematics and reasoning. The only problem is the budget's vastness. It took a lot of my time.'
Mimi wanted to refute its host's words. Why did its host commonsense differed from normal people?
It thought, 'Actors don't know these things! It's you who is odd!' Did it say anything to its host? No, he would never. Poking a scary like Caroline being would be bad for its health.
'Mimi, show me the status of my career progression.'
"Okay."
[Career(s):
Actress- 100/100
Empress- 13/100
Saintess- 9/100]
'I am... was an actress in my past life... which explains the full percentage. As for these two, I guess it's improving with time. The more I exercise my powers, the faster it will rise.'
"Trisa, press that area some more," ordered Caroline. Her shoulders were really aching. Thankfully, she had Trisa who offered her to massage her aching shoulders. Ah, she was really grateful for such a kind servant.
"Your Majesty, perhaps you have taken some liking to Young Master Hayden. It's good that you have found someone."
"Trisa, aren't you thinking too much?"
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. I have stepped out of my boundaries," Trisa apologized quickly.
"It's fine. Although, you are correct... in a way. I like his face... and his body. Under those clothes, I am sure that I can find some firm abs. Ahhh~ I like handsome men... Trisa, press there one more time... mphhh... good... ahh... press some more."
Trisa's face burned brightly. She was just massaging her master, wasn't she? Then, why was her master producing those... 'weird' sounds?
"You have always liked handsome me, haven't you?"
Caroline smiled, "Who doesn't like handsome men?"
Trisa laughed, "Yes, you are indeed right as always, Your Majesty. But I want to ask you a question. May I?"
"Hmmm... you may. I won't deny this right to my most trusted subordinate. You can ask anything.
Caroline closed her eyes and enjoyed Trisa's hands. It was very easy for her to integrate into her predecessor's life. She was a person, who always kept her most trusted people around her, yet those 'trusted' people were forbidden to get close to her.
'I will have to change this. But I have to take it slow... or it might backfire. Improvisation needs perfect timing. Too much improvisation would destroy a character... therefore, it needs to be injected in small amounts regularly.'
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.
"Come in."
The door opened and a maid came in. She bowed and said, "May your beauty always outshine the moon, Your Majesty."
"Host, why do they greet you differently at night?"
'Beats me. I think royals like to compare themselves with celestial bodies, especially stars. Besides, I like hearing them flatter me.'
Caroline asked, "Raise your head. What happened, Siri?"
"Your Majesty, the knight commander is heavily poisoned. He might not survive if... he isn't healed by Your Majesty herself," said Siri. She was really worried for the knight commander as he was her uncle.
Caroline frowned, "He is your uncle, isn't he?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please... heal... him. I beg you." Siri's eyes were full of tears. She kneeled at Caroline's feet. Her uncle was the only living member of her family. If he died, then she didn't know what she would do.
"Stop massaging, Trisa. We will continue it later," ordered Caroline.
Trisa nodded. Removing her hands, she stood behind Caroline and looked at the audacious maid, who dared to enter her master's bedroom this late at night.
Herick Lumsten was the protagonist's commander in the battle against OG Caroline. He was someone who killed over a thousand soldiers all by himself. Caroline fixated her gaze at Siri's trembling figure. This woman was good looking, which meant Franklin must have taken her into his harem.
"He took Siri as his queen," quipped Mimi.
'Hmmm... Franklin is a very 'colourful' man. He has selected the best women to serve him, didn't he?'
A smile bloomed on Caroline's face as she helped Siri to stand up.
The poor woman was full of tears, blushing when she saw Caroline's face in close proximity. Honestly, she felt inferior to the empress, who looked so beautiful without even trying. A surge of jealousy coursed through her body.
Observing Siri's reaction, Caroline's smile widened.
'Franklin has already made contact with her, hasn't he?'
"I don't know... let me check," said Mimi.
'Don't bother, Mimi. You are quite useless.'
Mimi huffed and didn't say anything. Why couldn't she ever stop making fun of it?
Caroline caressed Siri's cheek and said, "It's a good thing that you came here. Of course, I will help the knight commander. He is a very important person, who protects our empire. Siri, lead the way. Let's get to him as quickly as possible." It was better to break a wolf's fangs before it could bite her. As for its claws, she had even a better idea.