Black Rose Kingdom, Blackthorn City
Inside the palatial magic tower, Henrietta and Victoria silently enjoyed tea as they sat opposite each other. Victoria didn't think much of it as she believed Henrietta was such a quiet person in her spare time.
After all, the life of a ruler was a lonely one.
However, little did she know that Henrietta didn't want to talk because she felt uncomfortable facing Victoria, who was both her friend and her grandmother-in-law.
"Aren't you a little too free, Victoria? You've completely made yourself at home here. There should be other things you need to do, no?" Henrietta gradually broke the silence.
"Hehe, I do, but they are not so important that I can't postpone them to another time," Victoria smiled and said, "More importantly, it's been so long since we last met. We ought to catch up, no?"
"Furthermore, if I leave to do other things, what happens if I miss my grandson again? Or do you not welcome me anymore, Your Majesty?" Victoria asked shortly after.
Henrietta's expression fell for a moment before her eyes suddenly flashed with surprise as she received Chaezi's report via sound transmission magic.
Astonishment and shock quickly colored her face, subsequently surprising Victoria.
"What's the matter?" Victoria inquired.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtHenrietta was silent for a moment as she absorbed Chaezi's information. After some time, she took a deep breath and sighed.
"A Devil's Contractor sacrificed around two million lives to summon an enormous blood portal connecting Pangea and Gehenna, and now the Great Ratholos Empire's capital city is getting swarmed by vampires."
Crack!
Victoria's teacup dropped to the ground and shattered into countless fragments, but Victoria didn't seem to notice as she stared at Henrietta with disbelief and doubt.
"You're joking…" Victoria forced a smile.
"I'm not kidding." Henrietta shook her head and added, "A red dragon just informed on your grandson's behalf, so it must be true. Furthermore, he asked me to prepare troops for spatial deployment—"
"I'm going!" Victoria strongly asserted, jumping straight to her feet.
After listening to Henrietta's news, she was so excited and concerned to meet her grandson that she did notice Henrietta's choice of words.
If Victoria had noticed Henrietta used 'ask' instead of 'request,' then she would have suspected their relationship.
Nevertheless, Henrietta was a little taken aback by Victoria's eagerness.
"You're going?" Henrietta flashed her a side eye and said, "You're not even a part of this kingdom's military. Heck, you're not even a part of this kingdom. If you want to go, no one will stop you. But you can only go by yourself. Don't cause trouble for my military."
"You want me to go alone to a place experiencing a huge vampire outbreak? Are you kidding me? Are you asking me to die?" Victoria glanced back at Henrietta incredulously before mentioning weakly, "Haven't I already decided that my family will move and settle down in this kingdom?"
"More importantly, what do you mean by making trouble for your military? If anything, they'll need my leadership and abilities. I believe I am qualified to lead your military," Victoria confidently stated.
However, Henrietta smiled slyly and said, "If you want to join my military, I can only let you start from the middle ranks at best. Even if you are my friend, I can't give you special privileges."
If Victoria joined the Black Rose Kingdom's military, she would become Henrietta's subordinate. If that happened, Henrietta wouldn't feel embarrassed once her secret was exposed.
After all, it was normal for rulers to marry some offspring of high-ranking officials or trusted retainers to ensure their loyalty.
However, Victoria's eyes twitched when she heard Henrietta's condition.
How could she accept that?
"My good sister, I am a rare spatial-attribute High Witch with hundreds of years of leading a great family. I possess both the skills and qualities of a leader. Will you really give someone overqualified like me a middle position if I join your military?" Victoria complained.
"Sister, please," Henrietta glanced at Victoria, seemingly helpless yet playfully, as she said, "A spatial-attribute High Witch is not that special these days."
"We have over twenty thousand High Witches in the military and dragon assistance for spatial deployment. In terms of magic, I believe the dragons are also unrivaled. So, while I have to admit that your qualities are desirable for the military, you are only an addition and not an absolute necessity."
"Giving you a middle position in the military is already very generous of me. That aside, you said you were overqualified. So, you shouldn't have any problem rising up the ranks quickly, right?" Henrietta grinned.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmVictoria pointed at Henrietta with a trembling finger but couldn't find any words to refute her. Henrietta's words were very logical from the standpoint of a ruler.
"I did hear there was a big increase in High Witches, but to think it was actually true… Since when were High Witches so easy to become?" Victoria's lips twitched.
"Why don't you ask your grandson that question when you see him?" Henrietta replied, casually mentioning, "I heard he used a very special method to raise High Witches."
"Special method? What kind of special method?" Victoria wondered.
She suddenly thought of dual practice, and she couldn't help but feel weak and spooked with goosebumps at the same time.
How much stamina did her grandson need to have to raise so many High Witches through such a 'special' method?
Surely, that was not the case, right…?
"I don't know," Henrietta nonchalantly shrugged before giving Victoria another glance. "So? What will you do?"
"Fine…"
"Hm?"
"I'll do it!" Victoria gritted her teeth and said, "I don't care about the position anymore, so just let me join and go see my grandson. It's too dangerous for me to go by myself."
"Alright, it's settled then," Henrietta happily agreed as she clapped her hands together.
Victoria suddenly felt like she had fallen for Henrietta's scheme as her expression soured with somberness.
Unfortunately, she had already given her word, so she could only go along with it and slowly find out later.
After all, where would her face be if she took back her words and changed her mind just like that?