The villain queen eavesdropped on my inner thoughts and won't let me lie down?

But Sharti would never remain dormant. With a two-month countdown hanging over her head, she ventured into Tatu City near Odo, with only one goal...

To capture Roger Charles alive, the prey Nalinel specifically requested!

ps1. Thank you all for your monthly votes; I'm back in the top ten! Yay!

To avoid getting overtaken, I'm still calling for monthly votes. I'll keep asking this month and even next month!

ps2. Bounty Progress (46/56)

Chapter 98: The Empress's Afternoon Tea Invitation

A new day, the City of Mysteries, the military headquarters.

It was Tasika's second day after teleporting here.

From the moment she stepped out of the portal, she received the highest level of reception from Margaret, the Empire's second-in-command and Left Prime Minister, who took care of her meticulously.

Under Margaret's restraint, the Imperials also behaved quite politely.

Some people were amazed by her dragon horns and tail, as well as her stunning beauty, and couldn't help but take a few extra glances, but that was all.

The racial discrimination that Tasika had been worried about did not occur.

Her activities here were also quite free, and she didn't see any signs saying "Beastmen and dogs are not allowed to enter."

Under Margaret's deliberate arrangement, the Green Vine Empire, which had always been portrayed as barbaric and brutal, showed its polite, elegant, open-minded, and generous side.

At least they were much more likable than those elves from the Seven Gods Alliance.

The arrogance and rudeness of those pointy-eared people made Tasika never want to go to the Gaia Forest again in her life.

Of course, what made Tasika happiest was seeing Lord Charles again.

In reality, he was still as handsome as ever.

He didn't display the strong and domineering aura he had that day.

Even as the highest person in charge of the "Beastman Kingdom Reconstruction Team," he was humble, courteous, and willing to listen to her and other members of the team, only making decisions at the most critical points.

Tasika believed that Lord Charles was hiding his true abilities.

Just like the discussions she overheard, before the battle outside Sirena City, Odo thought Roger Charles was an incompetent young master with zero combat power.

Heh, some ignorant and parrot-like commoners were easily deceived by Lord Charles's performance!

Lord Charles was the one who suppressed the magical power of the Beastman Alliance.

He was probably the second strongest person in the Empire after the Nightless Empress, right?

Normally, he was biding his time and playing with you all, and you actually took it seriously?

How interesting!

Tasika summarized Roger's contrasting image as follows:

At first sight, the powerful Lord Charles was super aggressive, making her want to be dominated...

Now, Lord Charles, disguised as an ordinary noble young master, was super cute, making her want to dominate...

In short, Lord Charles was the best, no rebuttals accepted!

However, most of yesterday was spent in meetings, and the little free time she had was taken up by Left Prime Minister Margaret, so she didn't have the chance to talk to Lord Charles alone and express her longing, which made Tasika very upset.

Roger: We just met yesterday, what longing are you talking about?

So he wouldn't actively create opportunities to be alone with Tasika.

And Margaret felt that her strategy of getting close to Tasika was quite effective.

Both of them were mixed-bloods, a minority in the City of Mysteries.

Tasika was worried about being discriminated against and bullied, so Margaret empathized with her, sharing tips on how to avoid those bad things and promising to protect her.

This petite, mixed-blood little devil had high EQ, looks, and status.

When she showed kindness, it was really hard for the princess in distress, Tasika, to refuse.

But gradually, since Lord Charles appeared, Margaret's meticulous care for her had made her feel "excessive enthusiasm and thoughtfulness."

It was like a socially awkward person entering Haidilao.

The face-to-face service was too much, and she always felt a little shy. It was better to keep a little distance.

But as a princess of a defeated country, Tasika didn't dare to offend the powerful Prime Minister of the Empire.

She was also afraid that her behavior would be inappropriate and cause trouble for Lord Charles, creating unnecessary enemies.

She could only pretend to be friendly and deal with her politely.

It was exhausting.

Tasika had to fight for benefits at the negotiation table and carefully show her well-behaved and cute side in front of Margaret, which was really exhausting.

The little devil was good at chatting, and the topics she found were quite clever, but compared to the night when she and Lord Roger talked about a beautiful future, it just didn't have the same feeling.

I miss it so much...

The next day, there were still meetings to discuss the remaining strategies from last night.

Lord Charles changed into a light gray casual outfit, which made him look even more delicate.

Even though there were so many people in the conference room, Tasika's eyes still secretly fell on him.

Only he was the light that dispelled her despair.

During the meeting, Tasika also tried to cast a few pleading glances at Roger, hoping that he could keep her by his side and separate her from Margaret's enthusiasm.

But Roger didn't realize this was a plea for help, and thought Tasika was grateful for the preferential treatment the Empire was giving her.

After all, Roger saw Margaret's performance and only felt full of surprise.

Like he complained to his sister last night, Roger thought that entering the military headquarters would be hell mode.

Margaret would make things difficult in every possible way, the staff would ignore him, he would carefully protect Tasika from being bullied, and then he would have to struggle to promote his indirect rule over the beastman tribes...

But that petty devil didn't haggle over every detail like in the game.

Roger was the person in charge, that's all.

Roger made suggestions, and everyone discussed and analyzed them in a business-like manner.

Roger was late for dealing with matters at the Drinking Ice Estate, and they coordinated a new meeting time for him.

Margaret, as the deputy, didn't act perfectly, but she didn't make things difficult, didn't discriminate, and didn't deliberately find fault...

Roger was simply thanking the heavens?!

He guessed, was it because he saved the Nightless Empress once, so this devoted fan had a little bit of love for him because of her?

He thought he would have to endure humiliation, go deep into the enemy camp, and attend the meeting alone...

But he found that they were all allies, and everyone was advancing the work smoothly in laughter and joy.

Margaret gave him face, and Roger also gave her face.

Combined with the efficiency and professionalism of the Imperial military headquarters, the entire agenda progressed very quickly.

After working together, Roger's evaluation of Margaret improved a lot...

Little Ceiling Fan was still reasonable and knew how to advance and retreat.

As long as she could understand the Nightless Empress's true ideals and not contribute her loyalty in a self-righteous way, maybe she could really avoid her tragic ending in the game and add another fearless person to the road of magical industry...

Roger was already considering finding a chance to support Margaret in the future, and even recruit her as a comrade.

And Margaret, at this moment, was preparing to set up Roger and take Tasika away!

Margaret felt that she had done her best for Tasika and the beastman tribes.

She needed four guards to protect her, and she secretly added a fifth person to increase Tasika's safety factor;

She needed intelligence support, and she promised to help Tasika train a group of sparrows;

She needed to collect activity funds and various talent support for the tribe, and she also sent out the most elite personnel, without any perfunctory actions.

In short, there were many details, and she believed that Tasika must have seen them and understood that she was sincerely good to her, and Roger was just using her to gain His Majesty's trust!

And she, Margaret, was in control of the rhythm of these two days' meetings!

Compared to Roger, who was a fish-out-of-water who didn't speak if he didn't have to, my demeanor was fully displayed!

Even if that useless younger brother had a first-mover advantage, after my unremitting efforts, it was already self-evident who this simple princess's heart was leaning towards, right?

Could your Charles do all of the above?

At three o'clock in the afternoon, during a break in the meeting.

Margaret specially arranged the most popular afternoon tea in Odo to liven up the tense atmosphere.

Since Lord Dio Brando created the precedent of having tea at three o'clock, it was quickly carried forward by the military and Mrs. Mosconi, and spread throughout the upper class of the Imperial capital.

Soon the waiter added tea, and Margaret introduced Tasika to her favorite snacks, and took the initiative to teach her "the eating methods of the upper class."

Tasika had a sweet smile and grateful eyes, but when Margaret wasn't paying attention, the half-dragon princess's heart chased Lord Charles out of the conference room.

The most distant distance in the world is not being separated by the ends of the earth, but being in front of you, with a little devil stuck in the middle.

Tasika knew that Margaret also had good intentions, at least when the staff opposed giving the beastmen too much autonomy, she always firmly stood by her side.

Her excessive enthusiasm was probably because Odo rarely had mixed-race people like her?

Of course, Tasika had learned about the Green Vine Empire, a strong beastman neighbor, and knew that this country still valued noble status and native bloodlines.

Although after unifying the seventeen countries, the Nightless Empress was trying to eliminate this tradition, everything takes time.

At this time, the "Empire" and "Imperials" in the mouths of most Odo people still referred to the original Five Elements Provinces and the native ethnic groups living there.

It takes time for the seventeen countries to recognize the rule of the Green Vine, and it takes time for the Green Vine to accept the seventeen countries.

It must be hard for a mixed-blood demon orphan like Margaret to gain a foothold in the Imperial court, right?

Suppressing her impatience, Tasika tried to empathize with Margaret, so that it would be easier to agree with her...

But she still wanted to be with Lord Charles more (＞﹏＜)

Tasika couldn't imagine that Margaret's starting point was to "snatch" her from Roger.

But she guessed one thing right, she was indeed a rare "friend" that Margaret could communicate with.

Margaret was an orphan, raised by the Nightless Empress, and received magic, military, and spy training from a young age.

She was a fanatical supporter of the Empress, a mixed-blood demon, and petty. In the world, she only had subordinates and collaborators, not close friends.

Of course, she herself felt that she didn't need those things.

The Nightless Empress was her sun, and she, this little sunflower, was super satisfied as long as she could bask in the Empress's light.

But in fact, no matter what kind of intelligent life, the desires for communication, boasting, and showing off are basic needs.

Margaret usually didn't chat, but after chatting with Tasika a lot, the other party was well-behaved, obedient, and had a lovely appearance, like a beautiful doll. No matter what she said, she would say "Wow, you're so amazing," and the little demon's mentality inevitably became a little rippled.

She thought she was tricking Tasika, but she had unknowingly been tricked back by Tasika.

After rippling, Margaret wanted to teach her that, as mixed-bloods, she was the Left Prime Minister of the Empire, and she was the defeated princess. What was the difference?

The difference was that she followed the invincible Empress, and she didn't!

So Margaret unknowingly began to show off:

"This tea pastry is especially liked by Her Majesty. I specifically asked her for the recipe."

"Look at this space bracelet of mine. It was given to me by Her Majesty. It has a constant temperature and humidity array inside, and it's especially good for chilling watermelon! Try it!"

"This communication bell goes directly to the Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace. Anything I want to say can be reported directly to Mrs. Mosconi, who will forward it to Her Majesty as soon as possible. That's trust!"

Tasika kept smiling, pretending to be very interested in listening, and unconsciously discovered...

When Margaret mentioned that Majesty, the feeling was not exactly the same as when she thought of Lord Charles, but it could be said to be completely consistent.

This discovery suddenly made her feel that this Imperial Left Prime Minister was not so annoying after all.

Although we don't follow the same person, I understand your mood at this moment.