The first thing I noticed was her pink hair, which seemed to have a sweet scent even from a distance. The transparent and bluish walls of the garden attracted everyone's attention. Even if there were people who disliked Sheria, she was so lovely and beautiful now that her presence couldn't be refuted.
"It's finally here, yes."
The Empress, who had been ill for a long time, did not seem to know the details of the rumors about Sheria. Sheria gracefully greeted the Empress, holding the sides of her dress.
"It's been a long time since we've seen everyone. Especially, my sister Meldenik…"
Coincidentally, her seat was right across from me. Naturally, Sheria's eyes and mine met.
"How are you?" Sheria was smiling.
Of course, Sheria's actions did not work on the people here.
Because Moodsela invited people who had been harmed by infidelity to the tea party and brought them in.
They looked down on Sheria with imposing faces. It was my turn to respond.
"I'm doing well, thanks to you."
As if noticing the veiled jab in my words, Sheria raised her eyebrows slightly. I quietly picked up my teacup and took a sip of tea. Sheria only smiled at the faces of those who seemed to look down on her, still slender and lovingly.
"Your Majesty, thank you for giving me the opportunity to heal Her Majesty's illness."
Then the Empress clasped Sheria's hand and shook her head. "No way. Thank you for coming."
The Empress had done everything to fix the mana reflux phenomenon, but it hadn't had much effect, so Sheria's suggestion would have been welcome. I remembered what Isaac had said.
"Meldenik."
"Yes?"
"The Empress has many attending physicians. She has taken so much medicine."
"Really?"
"I heard that you haven't done anything about using divine power yet. So I'm more interested in the divine power that Sheria has."
"Even if I ask the Empress for an interview in advance, I will try to check the divine power first."
"Yes. It's a very unfavorable fight."
"Yes. Do you have divine power?"
"Yes, I'm sorry, but that's what His Holiness the Pope said." Sheria covered her mouth with a shy hand and laughed. Although she pretended to be humble, she used a way of speaking that promoted herself by praising the Pope. Certainly, when the Empress heard the Pope's name, she felt more cheerful towards Sheria.
"But why didn't you become a priest?"
"To contribute to our empire." Sheria continued in a warm voice. "I want to heal the sick as a priest or a saint. His Holiness the Pope also gave me permission." Sheria replied with a soft smile.
However, Lady Moodsela looked at her with a cold gaze. Lady Moodsela intervened, risking rudeness.
"Come to think of it, Your Majesty, I heard that Lady Meldenik here also has herbs that help with His Majesty's symptoms."
"Alas… yes. That's right." The Empress then took her eyes off Sheria for a moment and turned to me. She must have forgotten for a while that I had brought herbs.
Ha. There is no herb I haven't eaten before, so I don't have to trust you.
The Empress looked at me and Sheria. It was as if she was trying to figure out which one to choose first. She had been talking about forest bathing all the time, and she looked sorry for Sheria, as if I had caught her because I had listened to her story.
"Hmm, I see, Sheria…"
However, just as the Empress spoke, the attendant hurriedly walked in again with a puzzled face.
"It's finally here." With a calm face, I slowly lifted the teacup and took a sip of tea.
"Her Majesty the Empress."
"What's going on?"
"Something… unusual." The attendant carefully pointed to the back of the garden as if he was embarrassed. There was a small child walking behind him.
"Your Majesty Mother!"
The only person who could visit the glass garden without the Empress's permission jumped into it like the wind.
My prepared hand. It was the appearance of my lovely cheat, Prince Axion. Axion was the Empress's most beloved and cherished child.
I glanced at Sheria, pretending to be looking at Axion. The child's expression was unfamiliarly blunt.
Does she know that I and Axion are close?
That's right. If she did a background check, she wouldn't have known.
"What's going on, Axion?" A warm atmosphere was created that had nothing to do with the power struggle between me and Sheria. The appearance of the adorable youngest prince made the viewers smile. The Empress's expression, which had been complaining of chronic headaches, also brightened.
"Yes, I'm here! Are you feeling well?" Axion, who stood upright with a suspicious face, looked around, and his eyes widened.
"Oh! Hello, Mel!" The prince's footwork was amazing.
"What's going on here?"
"Her Majesty the Empress invited me to a tea party." I replied with a smile at Axion's tone as if he were reading from a book.
"That's right." The boy sat on the children's chair brought by the attendant and took a seat next to his mother. "I'm sorry for the rudeness of suddenly coming to the ladies' tea party."
Oh my God, you're so suspicious. You really look like a knight. Axion raised his chin high, as if he felt my stare.
"Your Majesty, did you hear that? Not long ago, Your Majesty Father was very strong!"
"Oh, was that so?"
"Yes! It's all thanks to Lady Meldenik here, you know?" Axion began to explain to the Empress all the strange things she had shown her, starting with the gifts I had given to Her Majesty.
"Oh, were you the person Axion wanted to marry?" The Empress, who was quietly listening to her son's story, realized that I was the person in the story. Her expression melted like spring snow, and her gaze turned towards me with more affection than just a moment ago.
This is how I raise my value without boasting with my mouth.
It is a servant's way of speaking to exalt oneself by inflating the authority of the Pope.
The real thing is how to find out from the surroundings.
I replied with a light smile. "Yes, Your Majesty. It is an honor that His Majesty the Emperor liked the caramel I made with genuine Salie root. This time, too, I have prepared flowers for the health of Her Majesty the Empress."
At my words, the Empress tilted her head in confusion. Axion, the Empress's most cherished and beloved son and trusted youngest, put a focus on our conversation.
"Oh, you're talking about that great invention, right?"
"What a great invention?"
"I heard that it is completely different from ordinary divine power or weakness. Ordinary divine power also has side effects!" Axion glanced at me. Last night, through the video, he was following along well as he put his hands and feet together.
"Side effects?" The Empress, who had suffered from the side effects of medicine all her life, distorted her expression.
Sheria smiled and continued. "There are no side effects to my divine power."
At this point, Axion paused. But after all, Axion was a smart and clever little boy.
"It's strange, how can you believe in the divine power of someone who has not yet been ordained a priest, Princess?"
I looked at the Empress with a smile on my lips. Now it was the Empress's turn to choose. And her scales were already tilted to one side.
"Then let's taste what Lady Meldenik has prepared."
I took out a tea bag containing the roots of the Hyphanel flower that I had prepared in advance. It was slightly modified to suit today's position.
"Yes, I'll show you right away." The roots of the Hyphanel flower in the tea bag gently melted into the water.
After a while, the Empress took a sip of the liquid I had brewed.