Chapter 54: Payment Is Payment, and a Reward Is a Reward

Teresa instinctively took a step back, as if startled by her coldness, but she did not back down. After taking a deep breath, she said:

“I-I’m here to thank you.”

“Thank me? There’s no need for that. You’re a tool under my command, naturally under my protection. Anyone who dares lay a finger on you, I will take care of them.”

Isavel shook her head and continued:

“If you truly want to thank me, then spend the next three months studying magic diligently. I remember that so-called Divine Son, isn’t he the new star of Galwin Magic Academy?”

“As a Rose Knight, your talent is top-tier, and you also bear a special constitution even I don’t fully understand. So, three months from now, I want you to kill him. Can you do that?”

Kill him.

In the eyes of the villainous Saintess, anyone who defied the Oracle Hall or touched what belonged to her was doomed to die.

But this time, Teresa did not feel fear. She nodded forcefully and said, “I can do it.”

That Divine Son was already on her list of revenge targets.

Moreover, he was around her age. If, in three months, she still couldn’t surpass him, how could she ever avenge the entire Preston Family?

“That’s good.”

Isavel was quite satisfied with her response, and a faint smile appeared on her face. Then, as if remembering something, she said:

“By the way, as you know, the entire Rose Knights will need to study magic soon. I order you to stay by my side and serve as the Tutor Assistant.”

She had already thought it through; with the Order of Knights learning magic, there would definitely be a need for a Tutor Assistant.

But this Tutor Assistant wouldn’t be just helping the tutor organize materials or anything like that, but would stand in as the tutor when the real tutor was absent, teaching the other Rose Knight Girls.

After all, learning magic was no different from studying mathematics—some magic theory problems just couldn’t be solved, and no matter how hard you were pushed, the answer wouldn’t appear.

That was when a Tutor Assistant, patient enough to explain the theories, was needed.

And Teresa, who had already studied magic before, was the best choice.

She herself could act as the tutor, but that would ruin her image as the villainous Saintess. As for Selis… how could a Saintess with no magical talent possibly excel at magic theory?

“If there’s nothing else, you may leave now.”

Clack—

After closing the lounge door, Teresa leaned against it, a strange feeling stirring in her heart.

[Most of the Norwich Empire’s reach in the Imperial Capital has been dealt with…]

Recalling what she had overheard at the door, and thinking back on her interactions with Isavel, she realized that this Saintess was not as cold as she had imagined.

She was always saying that training would claim many lives, but so far, nothing had happened.

She kept calling them tools, but could not tolerate any of them being bullied…

It was as if she cared for them… in her own way.

As for Lady Selis, her affection was far more direct.

“Lady Renia, do you know where Lady Selis is? I wanted to thank her as well.”

“Her? She’s not at the Oracle Hall right now.”

Teresa had originally wanted to thank Selis, but Renia’s words made her put that thought aside for now.

At the same time, a thought floated up in her mind.

Isavel and Selis… one like a cold moon, the other like a blazing sun. They had never appeared together.

Never appeared together?!

She halted in her tracks, and a ridiculous suspicion arose in her heart.

Could they be… the same person?

…No, impossible, how could that be?

She was probably overthinking it.

If they really were the same person, why would the Saintess go to such lengths? Was it so she could play the villain and push the Order of Knights forward with a heavy hand?

How could that be? Impossible.

Lifting her head to gaze at the moon in the night sky, Teresa tried to dismiss her own idea, yet she failed to notice how her heart beat faster with that suspicion.

……

Late at night, the door to Isavel’s Bedroom was gently pushed open.

Queen Flandre, dressed in a silk nightgown, hugged an exquisite pillow as she slipped in barefoot, cat-like.

Isavel had actually woken the moment the door was pushed, but she kept her eyes closed, wanting to see what the Queen would do.

Flandre tiptoed to the bedside, stared at Isavel’s sleeping face for a while, then carefully lifted a corner of the blanket, trying to slip in.

At that moment, Isavel’s cool voice echoed in the darkness:

“Your Majesty, you’re coming to see me later and later these days.”

Flandre blushed, wanting to explain, but realizing she couldn’t, she simply lay down boldly and even stole a bit of the blanket:

“I couldn’t help it, I had a nightmare—dreamt that the Norwich Empire’s Assassins snuck into my Bedroom, it was terrifying!”

“So, you think my Bedroom is safer than the Queen’s Bedroom guarded by layers of Royal Guards?”

“Of course! Don’t I know you? You even drove Merrick away, and besides…” She wriggled closer to Isavel, wrapping her arms around Isavel’s waist.

“Your scent makes me feel at ease.”

Tonight, Flandre seemed to shed her queenly demeanor, turning soft and gentle, almost reverting to a young girl.

Isavel had intended to push her away, but recalling that Flandre had helped her take care of the Norwich Empire’s influence, she fell silent.

Though the reward for that favor had already been paid in the bathhouse that day, Isavel, well-acquainted with Flandre’s character, knew that if she brought it up, the Queen would start making excuses.

[Payment is payment, a reward is a reward, they’re different things.]

She could already guess what Flandre would say.

As for the reward… heh, it was just a little intimacy.

Tonight, she would give her that.

Gradually, the Bedroom grew quiet, a silent warmth spreading between the two. Flandre could hear her own thunderous heartbeat.

Then, in a soft voice, she asked, “Viel, how long has it been since we last slept together?”

“We’ve never slept together before.”

“…Nonsense! I still remember when I was attacked in the carriage and you stayed with me all night in the wild.”

“I protected you for a night, that’s all.”

“Viel, just for tonight… let me stay by your side, alright? I swear on my name as Queen, it’s just sleeping.”

“Then take your hand off my chest.”

“Oh.”

Though she agreed, Flandre didn’t move, not until Isavel grabbed her hand and returned it to her side did Flandre finally let go, albeit reluctantly.

But soon after, she hugged Isavel’s waist again, pressing her face to her back and murmuring, “So, does that mean you agree?”

“…Just this once.”

“I knew it, Viel, you’re the best.”

As she spoke, Flandre’s voice grew softer, her breathing gradually becoming calm.

Outside the Bedroom, Renia sighed.

Queen Flandre was seducing her Lady again—just as stubborn as ever.

Judging by the time, she would probably run away blushing before long.

And so, Renia waited outside the Bedroom for a long time, but never saw Flandre come out.

For the first time, a crack appeared on her expressionless face.