On the afternoon of the final day of the competition, in the Queen's bedroom, she gazed at her.

As the clock struck six in the afternoon, the echoing toll filled the room, and the figure lying on the bed gradually stirred.

In the instant her eyes opened, the confusion in Isabella's eyes faded away;

The clear radiance, accompanying the awakening of her consciousness, returned to reside within those eyes.

Lying in bed, her slender body started to move;

Her alabaster arms propped her up from the soft mattress, slowly rising like the unfurling petals of a lotus, lifting the pair of slender legs together.

"What are you doing? You seem to have very little on your plate. Feeling leisurely, are we?"

The woman sitting at the edge of the bed was none other than Sister Glasses.

After finishing her instructions to Wang Xiaole, Sister Glasses still had some spare time.

Taking advantage of those few hours, she had a meal at the restaurant, took a bath at home, napped for forty minutes, and then arrived here.

Isabella covered a yawn with her hand, and without showing her teeth, she retorted to Sister Glasses:

"Should I give you more tasks to keep you up until dawn unable to finish them?"

"Please spare me... Let's not talk about that. I came right after Your Majesty woke up because there is an important matter to report."

"What's the matter, wait until I finish today's official business."

In a subconscious response, Isabella instinctively got off the bed and walked to the front of the table, as usual picking up the quill.

"Your Majesty, this matter involves Miss Wang!"

Upon hearing this, Isabella's hand holding the quill paused for a moment, but only momentarily.

She then held the quill again, focusing on the documents in front of her, with her lips parting:

"Have the results of the competition been announced?"

"Yes, all the competitions ended around one or two in the afternoon today."

"And what is the result."

Isabella pressed the quill onto the paper, anticipating the expected outcome.

"As expected, Miss Wang emerged victorious in the end, defeating the second-in-command demon of the Senate today."

Thud!

Isabella pressed too hard, causing a long black streak to appear on the paper.

"I shouldn’t have been distracted... Never mind, we can discuss official matters later. Continue reporting on the main events of today."

Setting the quill down, Isabella, feeling a bit weary, lightly pressed her fingertips that previously held the pen against her eyelids.

At Sister Glasses' direction, she reported with a professional attitude, pushing her glasses up as she detailed some crucial events.

During the brief, she specifically mentioned:

"Grand Duke Kashua of the Mesai Duchy tore ties with our country prematurely due to the demon. In future wars, the Mesai Duchy will surely stand against us."

"It doesn't matter!"

Isabella's attitude towards this matter, as evident now, was genuinely unconcerned:

"Only a few thousand ragtag troops! I alone can handle those foot soldiers. It's not worth worrying about."

The definition of big and small matters lay within the Queen's thoughts.

Since the decision-maker herself was indifferent, Sister Glasses didn't need to pay much attention to it and decided to just ignore the matter for now.

At the moment, Sister Glasses shifted the conversation to the real issue at hand:

"Your Majesty, when you first adopted my suggestion, it was to weaken the power of the Senate; now that this goal has been achieved, you are also about to get married."

"Married... It doesn't sound very real," Your Majesty said.

Tracing back three generations, Isabella found it easy to see:

The previous emperors, from youth to old age, all lived alone for decades, labeled as "single royal family." Those ancestors, not to mention unwilling to compromise with the opposite sex, even refused to take that step with the same sex; while there were queens who kept lovers, no emperor in any generation had ever intended to formalize any of those relationships.

This means that for at least three generations, in the country of Dibiles, there has not been a truly meaningful emperor, not even a consort for the queen.

"Am I setting a precedent by choosing a consort? Is this appropriate?" Isabella frowned, and Sister Glasses had to tell her: "It is appropriate, very appropriate! No one said that a queen must grow old alone, especially when Your Majesty is someone who fears loneliness, having someone by your side..."

"What did you say just now?" Isabella raised her finger to stroke her hanging hair, using this gesture instead of the usual ear-picking, indicating, "I just woke up and my senses have not fully recovered. What was the latter part of your previous sentence? Say it again."

"Uh, well, I said— Your Majesty has a character that values promises. You have established the rules for the martial arts bride selection. If you do not lead by example, you will surely not be a role model for your subjects."

"That's right... Besides, from my standpoint, I am simply unable to go back on my word to her (the master)."

In Isabella's understanding:

Deception equals betrayal, deceiving a master is tantamount to betraying one's ancestors; she could never do something so unethical.

"But it's my first marriage, and I have no experience in this regard. I have no idea how to proceed."

"I understand, but looking to me for guidance won't help; I am as clueless as you are. I have never had any luck with love my whole life, let alone marriage."

In the room:

A young "emotional novice" faced with a slightly older "emotional novice," staring at each other with wide eyes.

The situation was extremely delicate.

Even if Isabella sought solace in ancestral dreams tonight, the answer she might receive would likely be:

If I want to understand love, I will spend my whole life playing house with a significant other, where did you (your mother) think you could pitch in?

Inherited from the Dibiles royal family, not only the throne but also the inherent "love fool" characteristics.

Thinking ahead, Isabella felt disappointed in her ancestors and herself, starting to pin hopes on:

"What if I send the maid out to buy all the love books in the city, study them all night without eating or drinking – could I make some progress then?"

"Your Majesty, please face reality!" Sister Glasses used a clear voice to shatter Isabella's unrealistic fantasies, making the latter determined to:

"Continuing to doubt will only be a waste of time. Just now, I learned how to overcome this weakness and need to go out for a trip."

As with yesterday, Sister Glasses was left behind to look after the house;

The Empress leaving the palace, unable to think of a new way to dress up, once again wrapped herself in a thick coat from head to toe just like yesterday;

Afterwards, Isabella put on her mask again, having completed the basic task of disguise, she could freely go out onto the street.

Although Isabella was stopped and checked by patrols of unknown truths along the way, she generally did not encounter major trouble.

Upon entering the inn, the landlady, having seen each other before, did not search her again;

So, Isabella successfully reached the door of the master's residence without anyone noticing her identity.

Knock knock!

"Master, it's me, are you there?"

Knocking on the door is a good habit.

Thanks to the disciple's politeness, Wang Xiaole, the master, was able to instantly get up from bed and quickly attend to the necessary matters.

Regardless of whether it was a goddess, a demon king, Holy Maiden, a cat-eared girl, or the true orange cat, they were all later brought to the balcony.

Pressed for time, Wang Xiaole didn't have time to explain;

He simply made a gesture of silence towards the four people and the cat with a sincere expression before quickly closing the curtains.

Having done all this, Wang Xiaole quickly adjusted his posture, sat properly on the stool, and said towards the door:

"Please come in!"

Having received permission, Isabella immediately opened the door and entered the master's room for the second time.

"Disciple is here to disturb you again. Compared to yesterday, is the master feeling healthier today?"

After removing her mask, Isabella awkwardly smiled at the master, who responded with a practiced smile:

"I'm feeling much better, thanks to the care from disciple yesterday..."

Clatter clatter!

Isabella had become accustomed to the unusual sounds and paid them no mind.

Of course, she had no idea:

What kind of chaos had erupted on the balcony just a curtain away from here.

Lucia raised her feather fan, ready to draw her sword at any moment;

These two usually quiet and obedient girls had lost their composure due to the arrival of that guest.

(Whispers) "Stop it, stop it! If we start a fight on the Empress's territory, do you think we'll be sleeping on the streets tonight? Put away your weapons quickly!"

"..."

At this moment, Freya hugged Lucia from behind, and Mewo White wordlessly stopped Lucia.

If not for the two desperately holding back, this room with limited capacity would have been more than half destroyed by now.

The orange cat's figure stood out, wagging its tail as it lay on the ground, enjoying the moonlight filtering through the top of its head.

Outside the curtain, Wang Xiaole remained calm despite the noise the girls were making and calmly asked his disciple:

"Is there something important for my disciple to visit me at night?"

The disciple knows the master best; Wang Xiaole was well aware:

If it wasn't for something urgent, this disciple of his would never have come to disturb him at night.

Maturity can be said to be her greatest strength.

"Master really understands his disciple, actually... I came for the purpose of you becoming the imperial husband."

"I see."

Listening to the words halfway, Wang Xiaole didn't forget to turn his head to look at the reaction beyond the curtain, showing a worried expression.

"Master, I have never considered matters of the heart in the past, utterly clueless in this regard. Can you teach me?"

This is the "bright idea" Isabella thought of.

She didn't know what she wanted to do, so she simply came in front of the person involved, asking questions and hoping to elicit an answer.

In the disciple's heart, the image of the master is always unconsciously romanticized;

After days of intermittent mental imagery, in Isabella's perception now:

That master has become an all-knowing and all-powerful "semi-divine figure."