The days kept passing in the game, but time in reality was moving too.
Bai Xiao could not stay here forever.
Based on what had happened before, Vina usually finished her work as queen at around eight in the evening. Going by the ratio of one hour outside to one day inside, Bai Xiao figured she would be calling for him again soon enough.
Fortunately, he was always summoned back at night, which meant he could return to reality without arousing anyone's suspicion.
The most troublesome part was that he had no way to go back on his own.
Someone had to call him.
When he opened his eyes, the lights were still dazzling, the palace still as splendid as ever. Looking at Vina standing before him, Bai Xiao forced out a smile.
"Why are you back so late?"
Vina was clearly in a terrible mood, her face dark and tense, but when facing Bai Xiao, her tone remained gentle.
"I'm sorry, my dear. I came back late. There was just too much to deal with."
Too much work was hardly a problem. Bai Xiao would be more than happy if Vina had more things to do.
Still, he had not heard of anything major happening in Victoria lately.
Though he lived inside the palace, Bai Xiao's access to information was still extremely limited. The only scraps he learned came from Vina herself.
"Did something happen?"
"It's nothing much, really. Those nobles are just disgusting."
That made Bai Xiao understand at once. No wonder her expression was off. She must have had another clash with the nobility.
Well, maybe "clash" was not quite the right word. More likely, the two sides had simply disagreed over some matter again.
As everyone knew, after Vina ascended the throne, Victoria's system of government had become a dual monarchy. As queen, she retained a certain amount of authority, but Parliament and the nobility still held power of their own, and no small amount of it either.
So while Vina was queen in name, the three sides were really holding one another in check. None of them could rule the country absolutely.
On the surface, that kind of structure looked as if the queen had been weak and had ceded part of her authority as monarch. In truth, it was the exact opposite. From the previous constitutional monarchy to the current dual system, Vina had not given away her power. As a princess who had once fallen into ruin, she had clawed a chunk of it back from Parliament and the nobility by force.
If one were to rank the monarchs of Victoria from terrible to outstanding, Alexandrina would unquestionably belong in the topmost tier. Starting from hell—royalty shattered, the royal line nearly extinguished—she had, step by step, broken the long-standing grip of Parliament and the aristocracy, and truly reclaimed the authority and dignity that belonged to the crown.
For now, it was only part of that power.
But even that was already worth its weight in gold.
There had long been rumors among the common people of a mysterious Protector Duke at the queen's side, a shadowy statesman whose aid had allowed Vina to rise from obscurity and take back everything that should have been hers.
Bai Xiao, however, thought that was probably just popular gossip. He had never once seen such a Protector Duke, and Vina had never responded to the rumors either.
And now, apparently, the nobles had revolted her all over again.
Bai Xiao remained the perfect "supportive spouse." He helped Vina take off her coat, then kneaded her shoulders to ease the tension in them. Vina's yandere tendencies truly did trouble him, yes—but that was real, and so was his love for her. Just as Vina loved him with all her heart, Bai Xiao loved her deeply too.
That was why, even after finding a chance to push back, what he wanted was not escape or revenge.
It was only to regain some measure of control.
How could he not, when her eyes and heart were filled with nothing but him?
Brushing aside her golden hair, Bai Xiao gently massaged her shoulders, easing away the fatigue of the entire day.
"Alright, once you're home, stop thinking so much. I'll give you a massage, then tonight you'll get some proper rest. Tomorrow you can go back to arguing with those irritating people again, alright?"
Vina pouted and rubbed the top of her head against him like some giant overgrown cat asking to be spoiled.
They said that before the person they loved, even the most mature adult could become childish.
On that point, Bai Xiao felt it keenly. Whenever Vina was by his side, Her Majesty the Queen became a child again.
"Kiss me."
Bai Xiao had no choice but to kiss her again and again. It took quite a while of tender coaxing before she finally stopped sulking.
"Why is Parliament so awful? I only wanted to issue a general amnesty. Why wouldn't they agree?"
Bai Xiao frowned.
"A general amnesty? Is Victoria's prison system overflowing?"
"No, there's plenty of room."
"Then is the judicial system overwhelmed?"
"Nope. The Ministry of Justice would love to have more criminals, if anything. The more there are, the more influence they get."
Now Bai Xiao was the one who couldn't understand it. The prisons were not full, and the justice system was functioning normally, so why on earth was Vina trying to push through a general amnesty?
"My dear is an idiot!"
With one swift movement, Vina flipped over and straddled him. Licking her lips, she said, "Because we're getting married, of course! It's our wedding! Naturally there should be a grand amnesty to celebrate!"
Bai Xiao's eyes flew wide open.
A grand amnesty... to celebrate?!
Even with how well he already knew Vina, he was still startled badly enough to go blank for a moment. No wonder Parliament had refused. She wanted to pardon prisoners on a whim—how was that remotely reasonable?
If that many convicted criminals, or even people currently under prosecution, were simply turned loose back into society, what kind of chaos would Victoria fall into?
He almost felt bad for those doddering old men in Parliament. Hearing Vina's plan probably had nearly given them heart attacks.
Ordinarily, whenever Vina pinned Bai Xiao beneath her like this, the next step would be for her to start tearing at clothes and launching into a full-scale "battle." Tonight was no different—except the moment she began to move, Bai Xiao caught both her wrists.
"Cut it out."
In front of Vina, he rarely became genuinely stern, but now his face had hardened completely.
"What kind of celebration is that? You can't just release that many criminals on a whim. Did you even think about the consequences?"
"I... But I couldn't think of any other way to celebrate!"
"You—"
Bai Xiao rapped her lightly on the head.
Before, even when he put force behind it, the most he could do was make her frown.
But now, that casual knock actually brought tears into Vina's eyes.
His strength seemed to have grown...
Bai Xiao realized that instantly, but to keep Vina from noticing, he pressed on.
"No more acting on every random impulse. You are the Queen of Victoria. So many people live under your rule. It's your job to make sure they live well. If you ever try something like that again, I won't marry you. Do you hear me?"
The moment Bai Xiao used the marriage as leverage, Vina became so frightened she barely dared speak at all. Afraid of making him angry, she could only rub her teary eyes and nod again and again to show she understood.
And seeing her so frightened left Bai Xiao both angry and soft-hearted at the same time, so he leaned down and kissed her again.
Only after sensing that his attitude had softened did Vina carefully ask, "Then... can I invite guests?"
"Guests? Who exactly did you invite?"
Bai Xiao felt it was absolutely necessary to ask, just in case she had invited some truly bizarre people.
"I invited lots of people. A duke from Leithanien, the mayor's daughter from Siesta, Columbia's Minister of Finance, Lady Sicilia of Siracusa... lots and lots."
At once, something occurred to Bai Xiao.
"Did you... invite anyone from Lungmen?"
"Of course. Victoria and Lungmen have a great many cooperative ties. I couldn't get anyone directly from Great Yan, but Governor Ch'en of Lungmen is coming as Great Yan's representative."
Governor Ch'en...
Bai Xiao's lips curved slightly.
This game really was unexpectedly thorough. He had never thought Ch'en actually would end up becoming Lungmen's governor.
The two of them had been through quite a lot together during this period.
A pity, though.
A game was still only a game.
Seeing Bai Xiao's expression soften, Vina quickly lifted her watery eyes to him and asked pitifully, "My dear... you're not angry anymore?"
Looking at how careful she was being, Bai Xiao was smiling inwardly, but he still kept his face stern.
"As long as you behave, I won't be angry."
"I'll behave. Really. I'll listen to everything you say."
If only Vina truly could listen to everything he said.
Bai Xiao knew perfectly well that although she said she would obey him, the instant the topic turned to leaving, Vina would blacken on the spot and punish him in her own way.
But since she had not blackened now, then this time it was his turn to punish her.
"You said you'd behave, right? Then lift your hips a little higher. Every time you cry, it just makes me want you more."
....
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