Scarlet finally snapped out of her daze. Staring at the scene before her, she felt completely lightheaded. She really needed a shower to process all this.
In the blink of an eye, the head maid had her bath completely prepared. Dozens of maidservants fluttered around, some scattering fresh flower petals, others giving gentle massages, and some setting up exquisite snacks. They kept their heads bowed the entire time, serving her with extreme caution, terrified of making even a single mistake.
Scarlet closed her eyes, letting out a long breath, taking the chance to sort through the information and the novel plotline that Guagua had just dumped into her brain.
After a long pause, she came to two solid conclusions.
Number one: looking at the current timeline, she only had exactly one month left before the original host was scheduled to be exiled.
Number two: if she actually wanted to stay alive, getting on the good side of her eight beast husbands was absolutely crucial.
The whole reason the original host was getting exiled in the first place was because she kept brutally bullying them. Once her vicious deeds were exposed, considering her beast husbands all hailed from major noble families and held highly respected positions across the empire, the backlash was immense.
The public took to the streets in protest, demanding the execution of the wicked princess. At the exact same time, the powerful forces backing her husbands relentlessly pressured the privy council, the cabinet, and the Federation. Left with absolutely no choice, the Empress ordered the annulment of Scarlet's marriage to her eight beast husbands. She immediately exiled Scarlet to a remote mining planet for hard labor and officially crowned Princess Sophia as the crown princess.
In the end, Sophia ascended the throne while Scarlet miserably lost her life on that barren mining star.
Scarlet was deeply lost in these thoughts when a soft, timid voice suddenly called out to her.
"Your Highness."
Her maid, Lilia, was kneeling nervously by the edge of the bathing pool. She was carefully holding a glass of freshly squeezed juice. "Your Highness, the medicinal wine is finally ready. Should I send it over for Major Ziko to try right now?"
Scarlet took the juice, pausing for a moment before looking up at Lilia. Confused by the question, her brows furrowed slightly. "Wine? Major Ziko?"
Then it hit her. Major Ziko was the original owner's third beast husband. His beast form was a ferocious tiger.
So she cautiously asked, "Why am I making him drink that? Some twisted kind of vitality booster?"
Lilia nodded, her huge round eyes looking like shiny black grapes filled with absolute innocence. "Yeah. You ordered us to chop off his tiger whip to steep in the wine. You said once it was ready, you'd make him get a good taste of it — to, you know, build up his strength."
Holy — Scarlet instantly spat out every single drop of juice in her mouth. She slammed the crystal glass down, panicking as she frantically asked, "Is he a eunuch now?"
Ziko wasn't just some random guy. His family, the Noah family, was one of the oldest and most powerful bloodlines in the Orin Rosa Empire. They controlled the military and commanded the border defense forces, and he was their one and only heir. Compared to her other husbands, their marriage was strictly a high-stakes political alliance.
If she had actually turned Ziko into a eunuch, she was totally screwed. Scarlet's vision went completely black. She just wanted to pass out and die right then and there.
Meanwhile, Lilia had no idea what the word eunuch meant. She tilted her head, asking curiously, "Your Highness, what's a eunuch? Does getting a piece of your tail chopped off make you a eunuch? If so, I guess Perry is a eunuch too."
Perry was one of Lilia's beast husbands, who happened to be a lizard. He dropped his tail once or twice a year just to practice his survival skills.
Hearing this, Scarlet's eyes snapped wide open. His tail.
She immediately scoured through the original owner's memories. Oh my god. This world didn't even have the concept of medicinal tiger wine. The original owner had just dug up some random ancient book from who knows where. She saw a recipe for making this whip wine and decided to use it as a sick way to torture Ziko. But in her mind, whip meant his actual tail, not — well, you know.
Oh, thank God. It wasn't a crime worthy of the death penalty.
Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Scarlet urgently ordered Lilia, "Get rid of that wine immediately. Throw it as far away as humanly possible. Then have someone bring Ziko, Xavier and Kai to me."
Riley had gone to the medical room for treatment. These were all the original owner's beast husbands. Years of endless torture had left them absolutely covered in wounds. There wasn't a single patch of intact skin left on their bodies.
The interstellar world had a unique marriage system designed purely to protect females from any harm. Even when these beast husbands were tortured black and blue, they didn't dare to fight back. But deep down, they absolutely loathed this vicious female. The moment Scarlet lost the Empress's protection, they would reveal their true colors and pay her back double for all the suffering they had endured.
Just thinking about that scene — ah, terrifying.
So, to keep herself from suffering a horrible fate later, she needed to clear her name right now. She had to get to work without wasting a single second.
One night passed.
The incredibly adaptable Scarlet had completely adjusted to her new identity. She took a deep breath and tapped the white bracelet on her wrist. Immediately, a semi-transparent holographic screen popped up in front of her. It was filled with all sorts of information about Scarlet. She opened her spouse directory and started reading.
Her first beast husband, Mohan, was a captain in the 16th Legion. His beast form was a black panther.
Her second beast husband, Riley, was a member of parliament. His beast form was a white wolf.
Her third beast husband, Ziko, was a major in the 14th Legion. His beast form was a white tiger.
Her fourth beast husband, Kai, was the captain of the Empire's 9th Royal Guard. His beast form was a nine-tailed fox.
Her fifth beast husband, Holst, was a commander of the 7th Fleet. His beast form was a snake.
Her sixth beast husband, Ashley, was a researcher at the 403 Potion Institute. His beast form was an elk.
Her seventh beast husband, Brian, was a prince from planet Cassinia. His beast form was a white crane.
And her eighth beast husband, Xavier, was a prince from planet Alga. His beast form was a merman.
After taking all that in, she started thinking. Ever since the original owner got married, she had lived in her own exclusive palace. Naturally, her beast husbands all lived here with her.
Her first husband, Mohan, and her fifth husband, Holst, were currently on another planet participating in military exercises. They wouldn't be back for ten days. Her sixth husband, Ashley, practically lived at the research institute all year round, only coming home three times a month. Her seventh husband, Brian, had returned to his home planet and hadn't mentioned when he'd be back.
So right now, the only ones left were Ziko, Riley, Kai and Xavier. And as luck would have it, they were all in the medical room. Scarlet could visit them all at once.