"Since you are Iris, why did you give so many bad ideas to Eleana? What is your intention?" Merice's tone contained a hint of complaint, after all, Iris really helped Eleana harm her.

"What intention? Just to reclaim what belongs to me," Iris replied firmly, without hesitation. " Sacrifices are necessary to achieve goals. I must gain Eleana's trust in order to see Victor and gather necessary intelligence. I thought this would be a long process, but due to Lena awakening her warlock magic, this process has been greatly shortened. The main characters of the wedding are not you and Eleana, but Poqi. In the end, this wedding has become a funeral for Poqi and the beginning of my rule over the country."

What Iris said made sense, but Merice felt that Iris was deliberately doing this, simply trying to bully her through Eleana's hands.

"What about Lessi and Xue Youyue? What did you do to them?" Merice suddenly asked her doubts.

"They are locked up in the dungeon," Iris answered.

Hearing Iris' words, Merice couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. At least, there would be no danger to their lives or the inhumane torture they had experienced.

"When can they be released?" Merice asked.

"They will be kept there for some time, because they didn't show enough respect when practicing magic," Iris chuckled.

"By the way, Merice, would you like to marry Eleana? Victor told me that her daughter really likes you," Iris suddenly suggested.

"No!" Merice rejected directly. "Eleana is just a Yandere. It's good enough that I didn't hold her accountable."

"Aren't you doing kinky things with Eleana every day? A few months ago, you and Eleana stayed in a couple's suite and spent the whole night together. I could clearly hear from the next room. Haven't you..." Iris smirked at Merice.

"Iris! You're doing this on purpose. I never did that. What can two girls do?" Merice blushed with anger. "Don't talk nonsense."

"Oh~" Iris deliberately drawled, "I heard your moaning, and the next day, why did you have whip marks on your hands and walk a bit weird..."

"Eleana sucked the blood from my thigh, that's why I walked a bit weird that day. If I didn't listen to her, she would whip me. As for the sounds, she scratched me and sucked my blood. I couldn't help but make some noises," Merice explained.

"What about poker?" Iris continued to ask.

"Get lost!" Merice said angrily, "I don't want to talk to you anymore."

"But you gave in." Iris continued to provoke Merice, wanting to see her reaction.

"I didn't! Eleana is as innocent as a white sheet of paper. She doesn't even understand anything between a man and a woman. We played seriously, but the poker cards were not serious. They had childish dolls drawn on them. We played by comparing points, and the winner would suck a mouthful of the loser's blood until one of us couldn't get out of bed," Merice said angrily.

"It's really boring. I thought something exciting happened between you two. It turns out to be this kind of poker game," Iris said, spreading her hands, appearing a bit disappointed.

"Let's get back on track. Candace, announce how many crimes Merice has committed. I will punish her!" Iris suddenly became serious.

At this moment, Candace walked over from the side and respectfully saluted Iris, "Your Majesty."

"Go ahead!" Iris ordered.

"Yes." Merice looked at the document in her hand and began to announce, "Merice Ceylilia, as a member of the royal family, you have no manners during meals and have brought disgrace to the royal family. As a subject, Merice Ceylilia refused to show respect, insulted Her Majesty and even made physical contact with the Queen, which is a heinous crime. Considering that Merice Ceylilia is a member of the royal family, the death penalty can be pardoned, but the punishment cannot be escaped. Therefore, Merice Ceylilia, you will be confined to the palace until Her Majesty allows you to be released!"

Upon hearing this, Merice was dumbfounded. Iris was clearly seeking revenge for personal reasons.

"Why is Merice Cécilia not showing gratitude? Do you have any objections?" Iris said coldly.

"Isn't this nonsense? Iris, you're just seeking revenge for personal reasons. As the Queen, how can you be so unreasonable?" Merice yelled.

Iris glanced at Candace, indicating for her to continue reading.

Candace received Iris's signal and continued reading: "Merice Cécilia refuses to show gratitude, openly defying the authority of Her Majesty the Queen, a crime of the highest degree. Therefore, during the period of confinement, she shall relearn the palace etiquette and shall not violate it. If she does, she shall be punished with a hundred strikes with a thorn cane."

"Please, Your Majesty, forgive Merice," Merice lowered her head and cursed inwardly: Iris, you're so wicked, you're plotting against me like this.

Although Merice was angry, she had no choice. After all, her sister was the Queen.

She was only confined within the palace, not imprisoned in her chambers. Moreover, Iris was still alive and had successfully become the ruler of a country. Merice had already forgiven what she did to Iris three years ago, and her guilt towards Iris had dissipated.

She comforted herself with the thought that as an older sister, she couldn't be so petty with her own sister.

Merice consoled herself in this way.

"Merice Cécilia, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and take a bath. How many times do you plan to embarrass our royal family with your dirty and oily appearance?" Iris scolded.

"Alright, alright. I'll go take a bath," Merice smiled and got up to take a bath.

"Candace, go give her some clothes, you should know what to do," Iris instructed Candace.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Candace saluted and exited the room.

Merice walked into the bathhouse and soaked in the hot water to relax her tense mood.

At this moment, Candace stood at the door of the bathhouse, holding the clothes and waiting quietly.

Soon, Merice, wrapped in a towel, stepped out of the bathhouse. Her wet hair hung on her chest and shoulders. Her face was slightly pale, her eyes filled with a hazy fog.

"Sorry, Princess Merice. I had to obey Elena's orders because my mother was captured by her," Candace knelt on the ground and handed the clothes to Merice, apologizing.

Merice received the clothes from Candace and immediately put them on.

"Candace, please get up. If Iris can forgive me, why can't I forgive you?" Merice said softly.

"Thank you for your mercy, Princess Merice. Thank you, Princess," Candace expressed her gratitude.

"Alright, you may leave now," Merice said calmly.

"Yes." Candace left the room.

Merice wiped her wet hair with a towel at the washing stand. How wonderful would it be if her aunt could forgive her, too.

With this thought, Merice sighed.

Her aunt and younger sister's fate was still uncertain. She didn't know how they were doing now.

...

In the desert, a fairy's hands were bound by iron chains, with the other end of the chains firmly held by a woman.

The fairy had golden hair, emerald green eyes, a slender and delicate figure, and was wearing tattered clothes. There was a hideous scar on her wrist, and blood stained her skin.

She was Princess Ria of the fairy race. In order to become stronger, she came to the desert to search for rare flowers and herbs. But unexpectedly, she was buried by a sandstorm due to bad luck. When she woke up, she was caught by the woman in front of her.

"We have no grievances or grudges. Why are you tying me up? Can't we talk it out?" Ria asked the unfamiliar woman before her.

The woman in the black robe remained silent, coldly glancing at her before continuing to move forward.

If it weren't for the aura of the Queen on this fairy, Shizhi wouldn't bother saving her.

Seeing that the woman was not responding, Ria could only remain silent and let the woman in the black robe drag her forward.

"Sister in the black robe, I'm thirsty. Can you give me some water?" Ria asked cautiously.

Shizhi took out a bottle of water from her storage space and put it in Ria's arms.

Ria eagerly held the water and took a few sips, feeling much relief in her throat.

"Sister in the black robe, can you help me take off my pants? I need to go to the bathroom," Ria said softly to the black-robed woman. She wanted to use the excuse of going to the bathroom to get rid of her restraints.

Shizhi ignored her, seemingly selectively ignoring Ria's useless words.

Shizhi considered Ria as the Emperor's private property, and as long as she kept her alive, she didn't care about things like wetting her pants.

"Sister in the black robe, please help me. I really need to go to the bathroom, please," Ria pleaded pitifully.

Shizhi pointed a black spear directly at Ria's throat, "Say another word and try."

Ria was frightened by this gesture and immediately shut her mouth.

She dared not speak anymore, afraid that the spear would really pierce her neck artery. She hadn't rescued her mother yet; she couldn't die so easily.

Originally, she wanted to use this excuse to get rid of her restraints. Seeing this, she quickly said, "I know I was wrong. I promise not to speak again. Please put away the spear, sister in the black robe."

"Hmph!" Shizhi coldly snorted, and the black spear in her hand immediately shrank down to a mark and fell into her palm.

The two continued walking in the desert, one in front and one behind.

After three years, Shizhi couldn't find the whereabouts of the magic sword and the key, so she had to temporarily give up the search and return to the Sun-Moon Empire.