"You said they grew fast."
[I did.]
"So why aren't they growing?"
[Princess Orchid would have the answer to that.]
"Well I'm not her, am I?!"
[look in the mirror, hostie~]
Nina smacked her forehead hard. According to the system, the seeds were enhanced and could germinate in hours.
It had been three hours, and the pot was still full of dirt. No sign of growth. No sign of a shoot.
In this beast world, there was very minimal agriculture. Food from Nina's time had been lost. And all Nina wanted right now was a taste of something familiar.
Some strawberries.
Anything that wasn't those disgusting but tasteless nutrient pills and medicated water.
She was still on house arrest, as the culprit hasn't been found yet. Nina was bored to tears, and the one thing she thought would cure her boredom didn't.
With a heavy sigh, she slumped into her chair. Her fingers tested the edge of the flower pot. She watched as her spores, a light pink, flowed steadily from her skin.
"What did the original Princess do in her free time?"
[Princess Orchid rarely had free time. She was always busy.] the System replied.
Nina thought about the high strung Princess in her laboratory, cooking up new murder methods, and sighed.
"Maybe I'll go find Drax and—"
[absolutely not!]
Nina jerked, startled at the loud tone the system had used. "Why? Sheesh. That's the most emotion I've heard from you, System."
[host, you must never, under any circumstance, seek your husband Drax. Never. Don't even think about it.]
"Then maybe you shouldn't have brought him up via memories?"
[I told you. I can't choose the memories that get shown to you. Regardless, you must stay away from Drax.]
"Why?"
[that's all I'm allowed to say.]
"Come on. First you show me that hot memory, and now you tell me not to look for him? At least give me a clue. Give me something!"
[you want something? Here's a task for you. Accuse an innocent servant of trying to kill you. Reward depends on how well you're able to execute this task. You have three hours, host. Remember that the penalty for noncompliance is totally at my discretion.]
Nina's blood chilled and fear gripped her heart. "Hey! That's totally unfair! Okay I take it back, huh? I'm not bored anymore. Hey System! System!"
She yelled and yelled but there was no reply.
Panic filled her insides and she got to her feet, pacing the floors restlessly. A glowing blue screen appeared in front of her, showing
02:59:56
"Fuck!" Nina screamed, running her fingers through her hair.
This is bad. This is terribly bad! How am I supposed to accuse an innocent person?!
This kingdom doesn't joke about their Princess. If I accuse anyone, they'll be dead before sunset! It's a sheer miracle that Lev was saved!
Hot tears pricked Nina's eyes. She felt guilty already, even though she hadn't stepped out of her room.
She had the distinct feeling that she was being punished by the system.
But she didn't know why.
The timer continued to click down.
Nina ran her fingers through her hair, screaming in frustration.
A knock sounded on the door, pulling her from her frantic thoughts.
"Your highness," a deep, chilly voice called.
"Deryn," Nina gasped.
She ran over to the mirror, fixed her appearance. Her eyes scanned to the timer. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she gathered her gown in her hands and ran over to the door.
Outside the door, Deryn stood waiting for her. His clothes had changed into casual wear, but the white fur coat still draped from his shoulders. His hair was neatly tied in a loose braid hanging down the middle of his back. On seeing Nina, he bowed.
"Pardon my interruption, I require only a minute of your time."
Nina rushed up to him and grabbed his large hand. "You're right on time! I almost forgot, please forgive me."
Deryn cocked an inquisitive brow. He glanced briefly at the guards, both of whom looked uncomfortable and stepped back. Then he turned back to Nina.
"I'm not following,"
Nina slapped on a bright smile. "Our date, right? Don't tell me you forgot too! Oh my, what shall we do then? It was supposed to be a relaxing afternoon for us, Deryn."
Deryn's stoic expression didn't change but he gave a subtle nod. "My deepest apologies, your highness. Allow me to make it up to you."
You're a darling, Deryn! Nina cheered in her mind, making a mental note to thank him for this.
Then, she spun on the guards and hardened her expression. "I have a date with my husband. Do not come looking for me, or you'll lose your eyes."
The guards shivered and immediately bowed. "Y-yes your highness! We wouldn't dare!"
Again, that feeling came back.
Nina swallowed hard. She would be lying if she said she didn't like it. The way her words and image was enough to strike fear into people's hearts.
Then she remembered that it wasn't even her face.
It was Princess orchid.
And for a fleeting moment, hot jealousy flashed inside Nina's chest.
I'm losing my mind. She scolded herself, shaking those thoughts off. But still she wondered, what sort of life would I have had if I had power like her?
***
Nina did end up on an impromptu date with Deryn in the gardens.
They sat across from each other, sipping tea. Well Nina tried to focus on the tea, no matter how bland it was, while also stealing glances at Deryn.
He's like a wall.
Deryn barely moved. Yet despite his silence, he took up a lot of space. Nina felt really intimidated just being beside him.
"You don't like tea?" She asked, after a few minutes.
"I hate the heat," Deryn replied.
"Ah, that makes sense." She called for a servant and instructed them to bring some ice.
Minutes later, Deryn stared at the cup of tea swirling with ice cubes. "Thank you, your highness." He said, but still didn't touch the tea.
Nina bit her lip.
She desperately wished she knew the history between him and Princess Orchid. He was polite, but very distant. Nina began to feel like she was a chore he had to get done and tick off his to do list.
"You came looking for me," she spoke, trying not to pay attention to her thoughts.
"I came to offer my company."
She blinked. "You just wanted to see me?"
He gave a curt nod. "Yes."
Heat crept into Nina's face. It wasn't so often she heard such words. Though simple, their effect was profound.
She tucked her head, picked up her teacup and used it to hide half her face. "That's really kind,"
"It's simply my duty as your husband."
Nina sighed dreamily.
Out of all Orchids husbands, Deryn was the one that felt like a true husband material.
Maybe he should teach a few tricks to Lev.
Nina instantly felt ashamed of her bitter thoughts. Especially when she recalled where Lev's heart truly belongs.
[you have two hours left, host] the system echoed in her head.
Nina jumped to her feet.
The suddenness of her actions caused the table to rattle. The tea cups spilled over, some of it splashing on Deryn's lap.
"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to!" Nina exclaimed.
Before she could stop it, her old habit of apologizing and making amends kicked in.
She rushed over to Deryn and began wiping the spilled tea off his lap. She didn't even know what she was doing, her mind screamed at her.
Stupid.
Clumsy.
You can't even do anything right!
You're going to pay for that glass! Do you think money grows on trees?!
You lazy bitch!
Her hands moved frantically, apologies spewing non stop from her lips.
She didn't hear Deryn calling for her till he grabbed both her hands in one powerful grip and halted her actions.
Only then did Nina blink.
The haze in her head cleared, just enough for her to see what she had done.
A bright red flush overtook her features.
Not only had she made the stain worse, she had also spread it all over his lap and his…nether regions.
"Oh my–" Nina jerked back, her hands covering her mouth. "Deryn I…I swear I'm not a pervert! I didn't…"
"You shouldn't apologize, your highness. You did nothing wrong."
Her lips pinned shut.
That's it. I'm going to bury myself and plant strawberries on my grave! How could you be so embarrassing, Nina!
Deryn calmly rose to his feet, like nothing had happened. Nina opened her mouth to apologize again but quickly caught herself.
My first date in this world ended in disaster. I knew it. I'm not cut out for love.
"Your highness!" A new voice yelled from the distance.
Nina's mood turned terribly sour as she recognized that voice.
Lev marched his way up to her, flanked on both sides by a solider. Nina folded her arms and shot him an icy glare.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my murderous General? To what do I owe this visit?" Nina said, her tone sharp and biting.
Her dislike for Lev showed plainly on her face. She didn't bother hiding it, nor was it an act.
Deryn moved, like a silent shadow, and stood behind Nina. The soldiers that came with Lev noticed the change in the air and stepped back.
Lev grit his teeth. His eyes moved to Deryn. The image of Deryn behind The Princess was one that didn't sit well with him.
Simply put, he hated it. He saw Deryn as a traitor. A boot licking traitor.
"We suspect the detectors are broken, your highness." Lev forced the words out, pinning his eyes on The Princess. "Yesterday we got a reading for an Empath."
Nina blinked. Then blinked again. "An Empath? How does this concern me, General?"
What the fuck is an Empath and why does he say it like it's bad news?! Detectors?! Oh my goodness it's something brainy isn't it?!
I'm fucked.
"There is a possible breach, your highness. If an Empath was able to slip in, either the detectors are broken, or the shields are down. My men ran an assessment of the shields this morning. All of them are fully functional."
The more Nina listened to Lev talk, the more her spirits wilted and wilted.
Everything he said sounded technical. Way too technical for Nina who had barely aced science classes with a C at best.
"Is this about my assassin?" She questioned, doing her best to imitate Princess Orchid's detached manner of speaking as well as she could from two memories alone.
Lev nodded grimly.
Nina laughed. "General, really? Are you this incompetent? Maybe instead of checking if the detectors are broken, check upstairs."
"Upstairs where?"
Oh. Inside joke.
Inside, Nina was cackling. But outside, she remained calm and collected.
The systems task continued to count down in her mind.
Accuse an innocent.
An innocent.
Nina looked up at Lev. At his chiseled features and hateful eyes. He was anything but innocent, but in this context he technically was innocent.
And, the System said I should accuse an innocent, it didn't say anything about punishment. Nina rationalized. Oh my fucking hell! The devil is always in the details!
A brilliant idea came to Nina's mind.
She took a step closer to Lev.
The soldiers stepped back. Lev's hand went to the hilt of his sword. Nina felt a swoosh, and Deryn was gone from her back, appearing behind Lev, pointing a small dagger right over Lev's carotid artery.
Nina blinked, bedazzled at how fast everything had happened.
What the…oh my god! My life is a soap opera!