Chapter 95: Chapter 96: Surprise

After Admiral Hans left, Her Majesty the Queen, who had been sitting calmly at her desk, suddenly swept everything off it and onto the floor.

The sound of shattering echoed through the vast room.

An old female quickly pushed the door open and hurried to the Queen’s side. “Your Majesty, what are you doing!”

“Why? Why can those other males have such good fortune, yet Li Ke didn’t live to see it? Why?! Why do those males in the asylum get to be cured and leave? On what grounds!”

The Queen shrieked, clutching her head with her hands, her brow furrowed in agony. “Tell me why! Why wasn’t I Li Ke’s salvation? If only I hadn’t ignored his pleas back then, if I hadn’t dismissed his begging as just a ploy for attention, wouldn’t everything be different now? So you tell me!”

The Queen grabbed the old female’s arm. “Tell me! On what grounds do those males deserve salvation? By what right do they get to recover and walk out of the asylum? I hate them! I hate them all!”

“Your Majesty, didn’t you already refuse Admiral Hans’s request? Please, don’t torture yourself anymore. If Prince Li Ke knew, he would be heartbroken. He loved you so much. He would never have the heart to see you this sad!”

“Is that so? Would he really? But then why did he leave me? If he loved me, why would he still leave me? SOB… I admit it, I failed him. I only started to regret it after he was gone. I regret it so, so much!”

“Your Majesty, is your head starting to hurt again? I’ll go get your medicine. You’ll feel better after you take it.”

After a flurry of panicked activity, by the time the old female returned with the medicine, Her Majesty the Queen had already slit her wrist with a shattered teacup. Blood streamed from her fair wrist, pooling on the floor.

The old female’s heart seized with panic, but she quickly composed herself. Clearly, this scene had played out countless times in this manor.

Calmly, she gave the Queen her medicine and treated the wound on her wrist. Only then did the old female carry Her Majesty the Queen back to the bedroom and lay her on the bed. She stood guard by the Queen’s side, her eyes lowered in silence. On the wall of this room hung a massive portrait. If Lu Xiao were here, she would surely find the person in the painting to be exceptionally familiar.

*

When Admiral Hans returned to the asylum, his mood was clearly not as high as when he had left.

Seeing this, his adjutant couldn’t help but ask, “Did the meeting with the Queen not go smoothly?”

“Her Majesty the Queen rejected the proposal. She didn’t even glance at it. I don’t understand.”

The truth was, Her Majesty the Queen had grown increasingly erratic after Prince Li Ke’s death. At first, no one had expected that Prince Li Ke’s passing would have such a profound impact on her.

After all, when Prince Li Ke was alive, Her Majesty the Queen had never shown him much affection. There had always been a steady stream of males at her side.

But within a year of Prince Li Ke’s death, Her Majesty the Queen dismissed all the males in her company, then one day suddenly moved into Sofie Royal Manor, where Prince Li Ke had once lived, and has remained there to this day.

She had suddenly become deeply devoted; no one knew why.

Compared to these old stories, Her Majesty the Queen had been acting more and more erratically since moving to Sofie Royal Manor. To make matters worse, she had no heirs. She once had a male cub, but he died young.

After that, she had no other children.

Thinking about all this, Admiral Hans sighed. “But it wasn’t all bad news. Her Majesty did grant a reward. It will probably be announced in a few days.”

Pulling himself together, Hans typed up a message about these matters and sent it to Lu Xiao.

Lu Xiao received the message just as she was finishing work. When she saw that Admiral Hans said Her Majesty the Queen was promoting her to Earl, she was completely floored!

’What is happening? How did I get a promotion and a title just like that?’

Besides the title, there was also a First-Class Merit, and a 10 million bonus!

’This is too generous!’

Lu Xiao suppressed her excitement, trying not to let it show too obviously. After all, the rewards hadn’t been officially announced yet. Admiral Hans had just given her a private heads-up so she could be prepared.

So, she had to keep a low profile.

But she was desperate to share the news with Ares.

For the first time, the end of the workday felt impossibly long.

Noticing her restlessness, Teacher Ai Li leaned over. “What’s wrong, dear? Is your chair uncomfortable? Why are you fidgeting so much?”

Unable to sit still and desperate to leave work, Lu Xiao gave an awkward laugh, then quieted down and tried to sound casual. “No, it’s nothing. Could I leave a little early today?”

“Of course. If you have something to do, go ahead. You don’t have to be so strict about the rules.”

Hearing this, Lu Xiao immediately stood up. “Then I’ll be going. Thank you, Teacher Ai Li, Teacher Sherry! Goodbye, everyone.”

Hearing her, Teacher Sherry seemed to remember something and called out, “Hey, you’re leaving now? Is Ares here to pick you up?”

Lu Xiao, who was already out of the office, heard the question and called back, “I’m going to find him!”

The four teachers heard her reply and looked at each other with a smile, all sharing the same thought: ’It’s great to be young.’

It also suddenly occurred to Lu Xiao that Ares had always been the one to pick her up from work; she had never once gone to pick him up.

This time, she was determined to go.

The Seventh Military District wasn’t hard to find. From the Fifth Research Institute, you could take a public levitation vehicle to get there.

And the public levitation vehicles even had special routes reserved for females.

This was the first time Lu Xiao had experienced such high-tech travel all by herself.

The levitation vehicle was driverless. As soon as she boarded, a cute, bubbly voice announced, “Esteemed female passenger, it is my pleasure to serve you. Please input your destination here… Excellent. We are now departing. Estimated arrival time is 20 minutes. There are drinks and snacks prepared for you in the refrigerated compartment. Please feel free to enjoy them!”

Lu Xiao hadn’t expected the female-only line to be so considerate. She didn’t touch the snacks; instead, she thought, ’Maybe I should buy a levitation vehicle myself. It would make getting around so much more convenient. I just wonder if they’re difficult to drive, or if I should choose a driverless one like this. That seems like a good option, too.’

’Once the bonus comes in, I could probably buy one.’

With that thought, Lu Xiao grew even more excited for the 10 million to arrive in her account. As for the First-Class Merit and the title of Earl, they were somehow less appealing than the ten million.

Twenty minutes later, the levitation vehicle stopped right on time in front of the main gate of the Seventh Military District.

After scanning a code to exit the vehicle, Lu Xiao walked over to the guard post.

The young male on duty was stunned when he suddenly saw a beautiful young female like Lu Xiao appear there. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.

’Why would a female willingly come to a place like this?’

’Have I been standing here for so long that I’m starting to hallucinate?’

Before he could figure it out, the young female in front of him spoke. “Hello, is Major General Ares here? How can I find him? Am I allowed to go inside?”

She wanted to surprise Ares, so she hadn’t contacted him beforehand.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep