The Empress's sharp, demanding voice rang out. "Scarlet, you act so insanely jealous. Is it because you actually like your beast husbands? Or is it because you loathe them?"
This was a deadly trap of a question.
The original owner had answered that she loathed them, and was thrown right into solitary confinement. Because those beast husbands were bestowed by the Empress herself. Hating them meant hating the Empress. It was defiance of the absolute authority of the crown. That was outright treason.
But if she said she liked them, she'd be lying to the sovereign. Even though Scarlet lived in her own private mansion, the Empress's spies were planted everywhere. Her every word, her every move — everything happened right under the Empress's nose. She couldn't fake a single thing.
The original owner's daily abuse of her beast husbands had already been a silent act of defiance. She couldn't make this conflict any worse right now. She needed to come up with a flawless answer.
Scarlet racked her brain, then fell to her knees and answered. "I didn't like them at first, but now I do."
Catherine said absolutely nothing. Her dark, piercing eyes locked onto her. Scarlet didn't dare to look up, but she could heavily feel the hostility in the Empress's glare.
She bit her lip and decided to take a massive gamble. Taking a deep breath, she spoke.
"Your Majesty, after I got married, I truly resented you. I didn't understand why you forced them onto me. They were too strong — so intimidatingly strong that I despised them. But later, I slowly began to understand. You did it for my own good. They are fierce warriors, unmatched in both character and looks. They've achieved great things in every corner of the Empire. They are incredibly rare talents. You felt sorry for your utterly useless daughter, so you gave them to me for my own protection."
"Once I finally understood your painstaking devotion, I became absolutely terrified of someone snatching them away from me. That's why I locked them up, so no one else could see them. I wanted to keep them all to myself. I hated them, but I also loved them. I was wrong. Please forgive me, Mother Empress."
The original owner's beastmen husbands hailed from the major noble families. If you looked closely at the ties, they were all essentially political marriages. The better the original owner's relationship with them, the tighter the bond between the royal family and those powerful houses. If Scarlet could just turn back from her mistakes, she might actually resolve the current crisis.
After Catherine listened to Scarlet's plea, she didn't speak right away. She sat high upon her throne, her icy gaze lingering and sweeping over Scarlet.
After a long moment, she narrowed her eyes and spoke in a chilling tone. "Scarlet, regarding the incident on the Star Network, I am leaving it in your hands. If you fail to handle it well, do not blame me for being ruthless."
It wasn't until she stepped out of the royal court that Scarlet finally let out a massive sigh of relief. Phew. I'm safe. I wasn't put under house arrest.
She looked up, and without warning, locked eyes with Sophia.
Sophia was standing right in the sunlight, her tall figure boasting a perfectly straight posture. The brim of her military cap shadowed the upper half of her face, while her tight jawline carried that innate arrogant pride of a princess.
Sophia walked right up to her, took off her cap, and bowed her head in greeting. "Your Highness," she greeted respectfully.
Scarlet wasn't the least bit surprised by Sophia approaching her. The original owner had absolutely hated Sophia and had constantly tripped her up, doing everything to make her life miserable. Yet Sophia had always chosen to completely ignore those malicious acts. No matter the circumstances, she still respectfully addressed Scarlet as "Your Highness."
Perhaps influenced by the original owner's lingering emotions, Scarlet found herself disliking Sophia too. She flashed a polite smile, calmly accepting Sophia's bow. She turned to leave, but suddenly heard Sophia whisper, "Your Highness, if you don't care for Riley, how about giving him to me?"
Her voice was incredibly quiet, meant only for the two of them to hear.
Even though Sophia always brushed off the original owner's bullying, she loved to drop verbal provocations whenever they were completely alone, driving the original owner into a raging fury, which only led to more endless, foolish cruelty. Sophia seemed to know exactly where the original owner's soft spots were, always hitting the bullseye with a single strike.
Scarlet was growing more and more suspicious that Sophia was the very person who had stolen the original owner's destiny.
She raised an eyebrow and shot a glare right back at Sophia. Raising her wrist, she flicked on her terminal and switched it straight to video recording. Pointing the lens right at Sophia, she deliberately raised her voice and asked, "What was that? I didn't quite catch what you just said."
Sophia's brow twitched ever so slightly, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. She turned and walked away without looking back.