The Holy Radiance Empire’s palace was solemn and sacred. To the common folk of the Royal Capital, it was a holy place beyond their reach. Even watching it from afar could get them stopped and questioned by the guards—let alone going inside to see what it was like.
And yet, today, a commoner of humble status had come to the palace.
That commoner was none other than the middle-aged man Bai Ye had asked to deliver a letter.
He was kneeling respectfully in the middle of the palace council chamber. Forty paces away, on the throne, sat Queen An Jieli, the supreme ruler of the Holy Radiance Empire.
“You’re saying the person who gave you this letter was a silver-haired girl?”
“Yes.”
“She wrote this letter herself and gave it to you?”
“That’s right.”
The middle-aged man knelt obediently on the floor, answering the queen’s questions with respect. He didn’t even dare raise his head, afraid that the slightest misstep might anger Her Majesty.
The man was a resident of the Royal Capital, after all. He knew all too well what kind of person Her Majesty the Queen was.
The empire’s young queen was incredibly powerful and talented at governing, but she was also famous for her temper and lack of patience. If he accidentally angered Her Majesty, even several lives wouldn’t be enough to save him.
“Could it be...”
An Jieli murmured softly as she looked at the letter in her hands. The handwriting really did match Bai Ye’s. But the commoner before her claimed that a silver-haired girl had given him the letter—and had written it right in front of him. Could Bai Ye really have...
She looked again at the report her subordinate had submitted the night before last. It described in detail what the magic circle in Bai Ye’s room was meant to do.
It really was a teleportation circle, and an exceptionally powerful one. According to the royal scholars, it could even pass through the palace’s magical wards without making a sound or being detected by anyone.
As powerful as the circle was, it had one drawback: it caused unknown changes to the user’s body.
As for what those changes might be, those useless scholars couldn’t say. That was why An Jieli had been so worried, afraid something might happen to Bai Ye.
But now, it seemed An Jieli didn’t need to worry anymore. Bai Ye’s body should be just fine—though the changes might have been pretty drastic.
“Was this silver-haired girl you mentioned pretty?”
“She... was beautiful!”
The middle-aged man’s instincts told him that Her Majesty and the silver-haired girl he’d met a few days ago might be very close. In that case, complimenting the girl’s looks should be the right thing to do.
“Describe her appearance for me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The middle-aged man thought carefully, gathered his words, and then slowly began.
“Fair skin, silver hair, and beautiful eyes, like blue sapphires. Her appearance and bearing seemed a little cold, but the way she spoke didn’t make her seem like a cold person...”
The man wasn’t very educated or eloquent, and his vocabulary was limited. Still, after rambling on for a while, he managed to give An Jieli the general idea.
“Could my Bai Ye really have...”
An Jieli didn’t know how to describe what she was feeling. From what she could tell, her Bai Ye really did seem to have turned into a girl.
How should she put it? Bai Ye turning into a girl... didn’t seem so bad!
She’d wanted Bai Ye to wear girls’ clothes for a while, but she’d been afraid of making her angry. Now that was settled. Once Bai Ye came back, she could just wear girls’ clothes all the time. They’d suit her perfectly.
An Jieli accepted the fact that Bai Ye had become a girl very quickly. She didn’t care about gender at all.
To An Jieli, Bai Ye’s very existence was a gift from heaven. Gender was a trivial matter.
She loved Bai Ye. Whether Bai Ye had breasts or a cock, An Jieli would accept her completely.
“Good. I understand the situation now. You’ve done well by delivering this letter, and you’ll be rewarded.”
An Jieli waved her hand. A maid walked over to the man, carrying a metal tray with an exquisite pouch woven from golden thread resting on it.
“The pouch is full of gold coins. They’re all yours.”
“G-gold coins!”
The middle-aged man opened the pouch and peeked inside. It was packed with glittering gold coins. By his rough estimate, there had to be at least four or five hundred.
“Th-this...”
The middle-aged man was so stunned he couldn’t even speak. He could work hard his entire life and still never earn this many gold coins!
And yet, all he’d done today was deliver a letter—and he’d received such a lavish reward. The middle-aged man was completely overwhelmed.
“Hurry up and thank Her Majesty.”
Seeing the middle-aged man frozen in place, the maid in front of him hurried to remind him. A commoner couldn’t afford to be disrespectful in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen!
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty!”
The man finally came to his senses and hurriedly knelt on the ground, kowtowing.
“All right, you may go.”
An Jieli waved her hand and sent the middle-aged man away.
Not every ruler enjoyed scenes like that. For An Jieli, at least, it was just a waste of time.
After rewarding the middle-aged man, An Jieli spoke to the attendant beside her.
“Have the vice-captain of the Black Night Knights come see me. I have a job for them.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
An Jieli stared at the letter Bai Ye had sent her. The words “slave trading” stood out in particular.
There were people trafficking slaves right under her nose in the Royal Capital, which she governed directly. They really had a death wish!
And worst of all, Bai Ye had found out about it!
“Ah~ My Little Bai Ye hates this sort of thing more than anything. I promised her I’d abolish slavery, and now these damn fools have made her think less of me!”
An Jieli quietly clenched her fingers.
“You reckless fools. Just wait and see what I do to you!”
