Temporary Freedom

Prime Minister Raymond and Alwin walked Arabella to her chambers once Ferdinand and the knights were gone.

Raymond was all smiles. He acted all kind and welcoming.

On the other hand, Alwin was so cold to her and didn't say a single word. He didn't even fake a smile to be polite. He just silently watched her.

Even Raymond noticed and hit Alwin with his elbow but the latter still did not make an effort to pretend to be nice to her.

[What's wrong with Alwin? I noticed it last time too. He dared to glare at Her Majesty. He ended up receiving punishment from the Emperor but he is still doing it again. Or was he taking it out on the Empress that he got punished by His Majesty for the first time? If Her Majesty reports this behavior to the Emperor, Alwin would get a heavy punishment this time.]

Arabella learned from Raymond's thoughts; when Alwin glared at her, Ferdinand made the mage retrieve something difficult to get from another continent. She formerly thought Ferdinand did not notice it but he actually did and even punished his mage.

'Humph. Good for you,' she vengefully thought. She didn't understand why Alwin was hostile to her.

Arabella was at least trying to act all nice despite her memories of the past and knowing who among these people in the palace were scumbags.

Alwin however, was acting so cold to the point of being rude towards her when she was trying to be polite to him as well.

Still, she just shrugged her shoulders and decided to let it pass since she was in a good mood because of her freedom while her husband was not around.

With Ferdinand gone, Arabella enjoyed doing as she pleased.

For three days, she had what felt like a vacation after so long. It was probably the only time she spent resting ever since she began her revenge plan against Ferdinand in her previous life.

She finally had some peace of mind and alone time to think without someone disturbing her.

It was so refreshing. She felt so free as she had her bed all to herself. She no longer had to worry about how to pretend to be asleep once the night arrives.

Arabella slept so soundly in her bed without a Ferdinand bothering her. She slept as long as she wanted and woke up late.

She also ate her meals alone in her room without a lot of eyes watching her every move.

It was such a relief. She no longer had to worry Ferdinand might be somewhere stalking her.

Every morning, Arabella even spent tea time in the garden eating some fruits as she marveled at the flowers.

It was the first time she appreciated flowers in so long. She once loved picking flowers every morning when she was still in Lobelius. But she had almost forgotten it was once her hobby.

"Milady, I mean, Your Majesty, should I pick some for you?" Aletha asked when Arabella kept staring at the flowers.

"No. I will just adore them as is," she declined and just ate some fruit.

The flowers were beautiful but she wasn't as absorbed with them as she used to be. She was more into eating the fruits on her plate.

Arabella had asked for Valerian fruits the other day and the maids were happy to introduce the fruits to her. They said only the freshest of harvests were brought for her refreshments and meals.

Everything did taste good. And she learned from their thoughts how the Head Chef had been so strict and checked the delivered goods himself just to ensure all of them were of the best quality.

"Greetings to Your Majesty," Prime Minister Raymond approached and disturbed her teatime.

When she wanted to speak with him, he wasn't around. But now, when she was relaxing, he disturbs her peace.

The past few days before Ferdinand departed for the borders, Arabella had been going to her study, the office of the Empress, every day on purpose.

She was hinting she was interested in learning to do her job. However, no one approached her. She thought Raymond would notice and begin teaching just as he did in her past life.

However, she soon learned Raymond was flooded with work. Even if he heard about her going to her study every single day, he didn't have the time to teach her.

If Arabella suddenly did her job without anyone teaching her what to do, it would be suspicious since what she was taught in Lobelius also had its limits.

Moreover, everyone was thinking they should let her focus on getting pregnant first so they didn't ask her to do anything.

This was why she lazed around for three days. She honestly had nothing to do since no work was brought to her office even if she stayed there all day.

Arabella wanted to be a functional Empress to gain some people on her side. She already knew her responsibilities since she had been doing an Empress' job for years.

However, they were not giving her work when she wanted to do her job.

With nothing to do, she easily got bored with lazing around so she had asked Eunice just this morning to send her letter to Raymond asking when he had some free time since she wanted to talk.

She was determined to ask Raymond or have him assign someone else to enlighten her on what she was supposed to do so she could begin working.

Who would have thought Raymond would show up immediately? And on her tea time too? She thought she would have to wait for a few days since he was busy.

"Your Majesty, I have read your letter from this morning. I was about to write my reply when I saw you here. If it's alright with you, may we talk about your concerns now?" Raymond asked after the necessary pleasantries were exchanged.

She agreed since Raymond may not be free again for a while. This may be the only opportunity.

"I would like to begin performing my responsibilities as the Empress. I seek your guidance since I am embarrassed to ask my husband," Arabella explained.