Morning light shone into the room through the gaps in the heavy velvet curtains of the Bedchamber.
Sophia let out a soft hum like a kitten in the center of the large bed and slowly opened her eyes.
The room was still as warm as spring. The stove in the corner emitted extremely faint crackling sounds; evidently, someone had meticulously added charcoal not long ago.
She subconsciously moved to touch the side of her body, but her hand met only soft velvet. That cold yet solid figure from last night had long since vanished.
Hmm... my waist really doesn't seem to hurt that much anymore.
Could it be that Delilah's hands, which were accustomed to gripping a sword, actually had such miraculous effects when massaging?
She had thought Delilah was just saying she knew how to do it, but unexpectedly, her whole body felt light and airy now, simply as if she had undergone a full-body SPA.
Sophia sat up and lazily stretched a long stretch.
The silk nightgown slid down her rounded shoulder, revealing fair and flawless skin.
On it, the bruises caused by the fatigue of the journey yesterday had actually faded a lot; clearly, that massage lasting several hours had taken effect.
"Come in."
Sophia called out softly towards the door, her voice still carrying a bit of the laziness of just waking up.
Creak—
The door was pushed open lightly. Willow walked in holding a basin of warm water at just the right temperature, wearing a smile that was brilliant to the point of being a bit excessive.
"Your Majesty, you are awake? Judging by your expression, you must have slept extremely well last night."
Willow walked to the bedside, nimbly wringing out a warm towel. When she handed it to Sophia, those large eyes twinkled with a cunning light named 'I know everything'.
"Indeed, it was not bad. I didn't even have a single dream."
Sophia took the towel and covered her face with it, her voice sounding muffled.
"Where is Delilah? When did she leave?"
"The General..."
Willow helped Sophia organize her scattered silver hair while dragging out her tone meaningfully.
"She stood guard until the latter half of the night. Seeing that you were sleeping soundly, she helped you tuck in the corners of the quilt three times.
Before leaving, she repeatedly instructed this servant, saying the stove fire must not go out, the water temperature must not get cold. She even ordered the patrolling guards outside to lighten their footsteps by three times."
Sophia finished wiping her face, feeling the warmth on the towel, and commented casually:
"Delilah, although usually like a block of ice that wouldn't melt in ten thousand years, is not sloppy at all when handling matters. She has finesse within her roughness."
"Oh my, my Majesty."
Willow couldn't help but laugh out loud. While serving Sophia to change clothes, she leaned in a bit closer and teased in a whisper:
"Is General Delilah being careful? She is being biased!
You didn't see that look in her eyes when she was guarding you last night. How did that look like Mason's strongest military commander? It was simply like she was guarding the only glazed lamp in this world.
This servant has worked with her for so long and hasn't seen her be so humble to anyone, except for you, Your Majesty.
If those soldiers in the military camp saw their 'Cold-faced God of Death' massaging Your Majesty's feet in the middle of the night, I'm afraid their eyeballs would fall all over the floor."
Sophia's hand tying the ribbon paused slightly, and she gave Willow a grumpy look:
"You talk too much. That was her guilt; she felt she let This Queen suffer outside."
"Yes, yes, yes, guilt."
Willow pursed her lips in a secret smile, yet she did not continue to expose it.
While serving, Willow laughed secretly in her heart.
Your Majesty's matter-of-fact appearance is the most formidable part!
This game of Kingly Way and Subject's Love is simply the highest art of balance.
The General protects Your Majesty with extreme martial force and gentleness, while Your Majesty accepts everything with such indifference. Is this the bond of the Mason Royal House?
Too sweet... no, too magnificent!
Sophia changed into a crisp, black, form-fitting Gothic-style long dress. The hem was embellished with exquisite Black Rose embroidery, making her whole person radiate a stern, heroic spirit.
After simply eating that breakfast, which was still exquisite, Sophia elegantly wiped away the residual fruit juice from the corners of her lips and cast her gaze out the window.
"Let's go. If we don't go to that renovated small shop soon, I fear Irene will trample the stone bricks of the Palace gate into pieces."
Surrounded by Willow and Delilah, Sophia walked out of the Palace gate.
At this time, Mason Royal City was no longer full of mud like it was a few days ago.
This was thanks to the main road of Cement that Irene had led the engineering team to pave overnight.
Although only a small section in front of the Palace was repaired, the effect was very good. Even though there had been snowfall last night, the road surface after being swept appeared smooth and dry at this time.
When pedestrians saw that figure of the Queen, without exception, they stopped and knelt in sequence like a wave.
"This is the prototype of civilization."
Victor popped out from who knows where, following at the tail of the team, writing ceaselessly in the small notebook in his hand.
"Every step Your Majesty takes is measuring the boundaries of Mason's prosperity."
Sophia walked expressionless.
In her mind, she was thinking about whether she should just let this old fellow retire early.
Passing through the bustling crowd, the originally deserted Black Rose district was now surrounded by water-tight crowds.
That stone house, which was once mottled and even somewhat leaky, had completely vanished at this moment.
Replacing it was a miracle that blended industrial aesthetics with classical texture.
The mottled stone cracks were filled tightly with gray-white new-type Cement, revealing a heavy sense of indestructibility.
The exterior walls were clad in oak planks polished as smooth as silk, with every grain revealing the luster of expensive resin.
The Cement floor at the entrance, engraved with rose patterns, had completely dried, gleaming with a jade-like cold light under the sun.
The entire building stood on that dilapidated street like a pearl that had been meticulously polished.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, look!"
Irene ran out of the shop door like a cheerful lark, her pink twin-tails drawing excited arcs in the air.
Although her small face still carried a few shades of green from staying up all night, her eyes were shockingly bright.
"This first floor is the display area. I had craftsmen custom-make those shelves according to what you said!
And that show window! Although I haven't obtained Glass yet, I used translucent silk cloth, and the effect is also great!"
Irene pulled at Sophia's cuff, chattering away introducing her battle achievements, wishing she could explain the history of every single nail.
Sophia walked a circle inside the shop and nodded with satisfaction, but when she passed the empty space above the main entrance, she stopped her footsteps.
There was no signboard as expected there, only a regular wooden board about two meters long and half a meter wide, painted entirely deep purple-black and edged with gold.
"Irene, what is this for?"
Sophia pointed suspiciously at the wooden board placed on a shelf to the side.
Irene grinned, putting her small hands behind her back and tilting her head, feigning mystery:
"Your Majesty, you guess?
If you guess right, there's mint candy handmade by Irene for you to eat!"
Sophia's pale golden pupils narrowed slightly. Without saying a word, she directly reached out and pinched Irene's small cheek, which had become slightly rounder recently, and pulled gently.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch! It hurts, it hurts... Your Majesty, I was wrong!"
Irene immediately became like a deflated rubber ball, begging for mercy repeatedly, yet her eyes held a mischievous smile.
"That is the signboard!
I have finished decorating the entire shop, but this one place alone must have Your Majesty leave your ink treasure personally."
Irene rubbed her red cheeks, her expression suddenly becoming incomparably solemn:
"This shop is named 'Mason · Black Rose'. Only when Your Majesty's handwritten calligraphy is carved onto it will it be the true Light of the Empire.
The subjects are all waiting, waiting to see who is the true soul of this shop."
The surrounding voices instantly quieted down.
Willow brought over the specially made ink prepared long ago, while Delilah moved a step forward without batting an eyelid, blocking the cold wind from the side for Sophia.
Victor wished he could immediately learn the Witchcraft capable of preserving images seen by the eyes.
My heavens! Although Miss Irene is usually flighty, this move of inviting the Royal Decree is simply a killing blow!
If Your Majesty puts down the brush, that will no longer be just a signboard, but the King's Brand stamped onto Mason's civilization.
From now on, any product carved with these characters will be equivalent to the direction of Your Majesty's will.
This kind of declaration of sovereignty through text is more formidable than erecting a hundred boundary markers!
Your Majesty, please send down your Divine Miracles!
Sophia looked at that wooden board, which was as smooth as a mirror, actually feeling a bit unsure inside.
Although Sophia had lived in this era for a long time and was naturally very familiar with the writing here, she had never written such large characters before.
But looking at those pairs of fanatical, expectant, and even worshipful eyes around her, she knew she could not refuse.
She took the specially made brush of selected wolf hair handed over by Irene, took a deep breath, and her eyes instantly became cold and focused.
She lifted the brush and applied the ink.
"Mason · Black Rose"
The characters had sharp strokes, carrying a kind of minimalism and grandeur from the modern aesthetics of her past life, without losing the domineering and clear coldness of a Queen.
The moment the ink soaked into the purple-black wooden board, the entire street erupted with cheers like a tsunami!
"This is Your Majesty's handwriting!"
"Civilization! This is the text of civilization!"
"I saw the appearance of a blooming rose..."
"I don't know why, but I always feel that the future Mason will have more Divine Miracles."
"Heavens, our Mason's brand! I feel proud and honored for this!"
Sophia retracted the brush and casually handed it to Daphne, who was already staring dumbfounded at her side. Her tone was as clear and cold as always:
"Hang it up.
Since it is This Queen's name, do not let it gather dust."
"Yes!" Irene looked at the characters above happily, patting her chest to guarantee: "I will definitely have people wipe it on time!"
As that heavy signboard was steadily hung above the main entrance of the shop under the escort of the soldiers, the noise of the entire district reached a peak.
Sophia stood on the steps, watching those large characters with sharp strokes shining with dark gold luster under the winter sunlight, and secretly heaved a sigh of relief in her heart.
Fortunately, I didn't write it crookedly, otherwise, this Queen's style would have gone bankrupt on the spot.
"Your Majesty, I have already chosen the date!"
Irene pulled out a draft paper full of various strange lines and symbols from who knows where, pointing excitedly at a circle on it.
"Three days later!
That is a very festive day. According to my calculations, the angle of sunlight refraction on that day is the most perfect.
Not only can it make the gold paint on the signboard glow, but it can also make the shelves inside the store look full of... um, the power of civilization!"
Sophia glanced at that formula diagram that even professional mathematicians might not understand, and waved her hand indifferently.
"Since you think it is suitable, then let it be set for three days later.
You can make the decision on such trivial matters."
Actually, in Sophia's view, as long as they could open for business quickly to recoup funds, any day was a good day.
But in Irene's eyes, this delegation of power was simply the Queen's highest recognition of her IQ.
For the subsequent process, Irene insisted on inviting Sophia to supervise on-site.
Sophia originally wanted to return to the Palace to continue lying paralyzed, but seeing Irene's look of expectation that was about to make her drool, plus the posture of Delilah and Willow saying "Your Majesty has worked hard, we will definitely protect you completely," she had to compromise.
In a corner of the shop, Victor had moved a backrest chair paved with soft wool cushions from somewhere.
Willow supported Sophia to sit down with gentle movements and extremely meticulously covered her legs with a thick velvet blanket.
"Your Majesty, this shop has just been renovated and still has some dampness; you absolutely must not catch a cold."
Willow whispered instructions while tucking in the corners of the blanket.
Sophia sank into the chair, propping her chin on her hand, her gaze lazily scanning the bustling shop hall.
Victor placed the wooden box in his hand on the ground and turned his head to look at Her Majesty the Queen.
Look quickly! This sitting posture of Your Majesty!
Although it looks like she is resting, that profound gaze is like an eagle patrolling its territory; the placement of every inch of the shelves cannot escape her scrutiny.
That blanket is not only for warding off the cold but also symbolizes the steadiness of Royal Authority.
Your Majesty is personally demonstrating what it means to govern by merely sitting and observing!
She does not need to lift a finger; just sitting here is an invisible force field, urging every craftsman to pursue the ultimate perfection.
This kind of oppressive feeling of supervision is the driving force of civilized progress!
Under Sophia's gaze, Delilah and Vasha personally led the soldiers and female workers to start moving the goods.
These things were all secretly transported out from the workshops inside the Palace.
Every product had passed through the layers of checks by Irene and Sophia, and without exception, the packaging was carved with that cold and elegant Black Rose.
Hundreds of wooden toothbrushes polished to a shine were neatly stacked on specially made sloped shelves according to the hardness of the bristles, revealing a uniform industrial beauty under the lights.
Jars of well-sealed mint tooth powder, as well as square soap emitting a faint floral fragrance, were placed compactly but not crowdedly.
Every row had its edges aligned; looking from afar, it was just like Mason's honor guard.
The shampoo contained in porcelain bottles was placed on the most conspicuous central round platform, the bottle bodies reflecting an expensive luster under the soft light.
Irene ran back and forth on the side, holding a small wooden stick in her hand, constantly correcting the gaps between the bottles and jars.
"A little to the left! A little more to the left!
We must let the customers have their hearts pierced by this aesthetic of symmetry at the first glance upon entering the door!"
Irene waved the wooden stick while turning back to look at Sophia, as if seeking some kind of silent approval.
Sophia leaned against the soft cushion, watching Delilah's hands, which were accustomed to gripping heavy swords, now cautiously pinching a box of small tooth powder to arrange it. That cramped appearance, deeply afraid of squashing the box, made her want to laugh uncontrollably.
If this scene were seen by Leighton's spies, I'm afraid they would think This Queen is conducting some kind of mysterious pre-war ritual, right?
However, watching these shelves fill up bit by bit, there was indeed a cool feeling of playing a management game from her past life.
She adjusted to a more comfortable posture. The blanket on her legs was toasty warm. Amidst the background noise of busyness around her, Sophia actually felt that this supervisory work wasn't too torturous.
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