Chapter 156

Chapter 128 – The Clive Family

She walked straight to the front door of the mansion, took out her key and unlocked the door. As she stepped inside, she heard light footsteps behind her, hesitated for a moment, but decided not to close the door.

Arriving at the bedroom on the second floor, she removed the hairband tied around her head, letting her long black hair cascade down her shoulders. She then changed into a simple white silk dress and sat in front of the dressing table, looking into the mirror. With her right hand, she spread her fingers and played with the ends of her hair.

Hmm… It seems a bit long…

Her hair was already reaching her lower back, and her bangs were a little messy. It was time for a trim; she couldn’t wait for it to cover her lower abdomen anymore… That would be very troublesome.

A slight pain came from her lower abdomen. She frowned and rubbed it, then got up and went to the wardrobe. After rummaging through the bottom drawer, she took out the talisman given to her by her mother.

Splat!

Extra-thick cotton sanitary pad with side leakage protection!

With her left hand on her waist, she held the grayish-white silk strip high with her right hand, turning her wrist to wave it in the air a few times. A smile appeared on her lips as she felt quite proud — this was made by her mother herself, soft and comfortable, it wouldn’t hurt or feel uncomfortable to wear, and had excellent water absorption, ensuring no leaks.

She maintained that pose for about four or five seconds, suddenly feeling a bit silly. She quickly glanced at the bedroom door to confirm, finding that the woman wasn’t following her upstairs. She quietly let out a sigh of relief.

“Cough, cough.”

She corrected her posture, coughed lightly with some guilt, and went to the bathroom to change out of her undergarments.

A sense of security was now established.

Although she only had a slight feeling and hadn’t started bleeding yet, it was better to be prepared. After all, her period could come at any time, regardless of the situation.

After washing her hands, she went downstairs and indeed saw the woman already inside, standing beside the piano in the living room. Her fair fingers touched the lid of the piano, lost in thought, wondering what she was thinking about.

Ignoring her, she headed straight for the kitchen.

Adding firewood, starting the fire, heating the pot… These tasks had become incredibly familiar since she lived in the small village. Taking out flour, eggs, adding water and mixing them… And butter, where did she put the butter… Honey…

Just as she was busy juggling everything, a clear and pleasant voice came from behind: “Are you doing these things yourself?”

“Otherwise?”

She replied without turning her head.

It’s almost time to pour the batter into the mold…

Victoria was silent for a moment before speaking again, “You know I can arrange servants for you. Why waste your time on such trivial matters?”

At this, she rolled her eyes.

Pfft, a woman with no romance, you don’t understand anything.

“Time should be spent on things you like, only then will you be happy… Ouch!”

Her hand was splashed by sparks, and she quickly pulled it back, blowing on it.

After a while, noticing that Victoria hadn’t spoken again, she sneaked a glance over and found her frowning, her gaze fixed intently on her.

“What are you looking at?” she asked.

Victoria didn’t answer; she shook her head and turned away from the kitchen.

The noble queen would never say something like “Do you need help?”… Although she clearly understood this, when she really walked away without a word, she still pouted, feeling somewhat indignant.

At least I’ve done my part.

Forget it. Everything here is ready. She placed the mold into the oven-like structure built with earth and stones.

Done, now just wait patiently!

Gurgle.

Her stomach gave a gentle growl. She immediately patted it.

“Be good, wait a little longer. Soon it’ll be ready—very soon~”

At this moment, from the direction of the neighboring house No. 2, two men’s voices suddenly sounded… No, it seemed they were arguing.

“…We have been waiting for four hours, where on earth is Queen陛下到底去了哪里！”

It was a deep, middle-aged man’s voice, sounding quite angry.

“I’m truly sorry, Prince Bart. Her Majesty has important matters to attend to and cannot spare the time right now…”

“Huh? The voice of this second person sounds somewhat familiar…”

“I didn’t ask what she was doing. Listen carefully, I’m asking where she is right now—!”

“This… You’re putting me in a difficult position, Your Highness.”

“What? The renowned Queen’s Shadow, captain of the Kainli Swordsmen, you’re telling me you don’t know where she is?”

“Your Highness misunderstands. It’s just that I don’t have the authority to disclose Her Majesty’s whereabouts. Please understand.”

“Then she simply doesn’t want to see me!”

“Prince Bart, I’ve told you already, Her Majesty has important matters to attend to.”

Huh? Someone’s been waiting for Victoria here for four hours? She’s right over there.

And the Kainli Swordsmen, Her Majesty’s Shadow… were those guards I met on the rooftop that night? I remember they had sword insignias on their arms.

But at this moment, the middle-aged man roared angrily, “Important matters? A joke! What could be more important than the soldiers’ pay? They are all heroes defending this country! Now they can’t even get enough to eat! What does Her Majesty intend to do? By what right does she interfere with the duties of the Minister of Finance! This is utterly unreasonable, absurd!”

“Prince Bart, getting angry at me won’t help. I’m just a lowly swordsman, good only for fighting, not for understanding these things.”

“You don’t understand… Hmph, you’re clever enough.”

“Prince Bart, please don’t mock me… Look, it’s getting late. Why don’t I have the chef prepare some dinner for you? You can eat while waiting.”

“…That would be fine. But since Her Majesty enjoys wine, there should be plenty of her favorite wines in the cellar of this mansion…”

“Yes, Your Highness…”

It seemed like the two of them entered the mansion again, and after that, the conversation became almost inaudible. Not long after, Captain Gray finished.

When I brought out two large plates of donuts, I found Victoria sitting on the sofa in the living room talking to someone. Standing respectfully in front of her was the same person as before—

“Pardon Head!”

I stared wide-eyed at him as he shouted.

When did this guy come in! He completely evaded my perception, not making a sound at all! How did he manage that…

“Hey, we meet again, cute little sister.”

Pardon Head turned towards me, smiling and waving, then continued reporting to Victoria, “Prince Bart hasn’t left yet. It looks like he intends to wait until tonight, Your Majesty…”

“Let him wait if he likes.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Then I’ll go now.”

“Uh-huh.”

I placed the plates on the small tea table in front of the sofa. Victoria turned her head to look at the food in the plates and asked indifferently, “You’re eating this?”

“Yeah.”

I couldn’t hold back anymore and grabbed one, taking a bite.

Chew… chew… hmm, it’s still not as good as my mother’s, but it’s still delicious. I nudged Victoria with my chin, inviting her to try it too, but she ignored me.

“Reckert,” Victoria called Pardon Head back who was already at the door, “send some food and wine up.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Do you not eat donuts?” I asked.

Victoria shook her head lightly, “I don’t eat sweet things.”

“Oh.”

That’s perfect; now both plates are mine. Joy!

I immediately grabbed another one and brought it to my mouth, hesitating for a moment, then turned to look at Victoria.

“Just now, I heard someone looking for you next door. Something about military pay, the Minister of Finance… Who is that person?”

After I asked this, I saw an unusual look of impatience on Victoria’s beautiful but cold face.

“The Clive family, a bunch of greedy pests.”