.
.
Half an hour later on Heena’s side
The bathhouse—no, Heena had to correct herself—the swimming ’pool’ was absolutely magnificent.
One of the genuine perks of being Empress.
The space was enormous, easily the size of a small house, with high vaulted ceilings painted in soft blues and golds that mimicked the sky. Marble columns lined the edges, carved with intricate patterns of waves and sea creatures. The pool itself was sunken into the floor, filled with crystal-clear water that was kept at the ’perfect’ temperature—warm enough to lt away tension but not so hot that it beca uncomfortable.
Soft light filtered in through frosted glass windows, creating a gentle, diffused glow that made everything look dreamlike. The air slled faintly of lavender and jasmine from the oils that had been added to the water.
Heena floated on her back near the center of the pool, completely relaxed, eyes closed, one hand lazily swirling a glass of wine above the water’s surface.
This was ’bliss’.
Pure, unadulterated bliss.
The only thing that would make this better, she thought idly, would be so beautiful, shirtless n attending to her—maybe offering fruit, maybe giving shoulder massages, maybe just standing there looking decorative.
But even without that, this was pretty damn good.
She took a sip of wine, humd contentedly, and let herself drift.
For the first ti in ’days’, she felt completely—
"YOUR MAJESTY!"
The shout ca from sowhere outside the bathhouse, muffled by walls but still loud enough to carry.
Heena’s hand clenched reflexively.
The wine glass ’shattered’ in her grip.
Shards of crystal fell into the water with soft ’plink’ sounds. Wine spread across the surface in dark red swirls.
Heena opened her eyes slowly.
Her expression was dark. Very dark. The kind of dark that suggested soone was about to have a ’very’ bad day.
"What. The. ’Fuck’," she said quietly to no one in particular.
She couldn’t even ’rest’ now? She couldn’t have ’one’ peaceful bath without soone—
System 427 materialized directly in front of her face, appearing with a small ’pop’ of displaced air.
His expression was tense. Worried. The kind of worried that ant sothing genuinely problematic was happening.
Heena looked at him, her darkening expression suggesting she was about five seconds from drowning whoever had interrupted her bath.
"What ’now’?" she asked, voice dangerously calm. "Who dared to disturb ?"
The system gulped visibly, his small throat working.
"Host," he said carefully, "the male leads are here. Outside."
Heena stared at him.
"Oh," she said, voice dropping several degrees below freezing. "They ’dared’ to disturb my bath?"
The system shook his head quickly. "Actually, Host—this ti they were smart about it."
Heena’s eyebrow raised. "’Smart?’"
"Unlike before," the system explained, words coming out fast, "when they used to just barge into your private chambers uninvited—which you’ve now made impossible with the new security protocols—this ti they’re standing ’outside’ your room door. And they..."
He hesitated.
"They ’what’?" Heena prompted, her tone suggesting that whatever ca next better be good.
"They used the free pass," the system said weakly.
Heena blinked. "...What free pass?"
The system’s ears flattened against his head. He looked like he desperately wanted to be literally anywhere else.
"So," he began, speaking very carefully like soone explaining to a volatile person that they’re standing on a landmine, "the previous Celeste—the original one—she apparently gave each of her five consorts a free pass. Like an ergency access token. Sothing they could use ’once’ to demand an imdiate audience with the Empress, regardless of circumstances."
Heena’s expression went completely blank.
"They’ve only ever used it once before," the system continued quickly. "Years ago. But they still have them. And right now—right this mont—they’re standing outside your chamber door, holding up these passes, which ans—"
"Which ans," Heena finished, her voice very, very quiet, "that even though I’ve explicitly forbidden anyone from entering my private quarters without permission, even though I’ve implented security protocols specifically to prevent this exact situation, they have a ’free pass’ that overrides all of that."
"...Yes," the system confird miserably.
Heena was silent for a long mont.
Then:
"I am going to ’murder’ the previous Celeste."
"She’s already dead, Host," the system pointed out weakly.
"Then I’ll resurrect her," Heena said flatly, "just so I can kill her again. Slowly."
She stood up in the pool, water streaming off her, her expression so dark that the system actually floated backward several feet on pure instinct.
"What kind of absolute ’nonsense’," Heena said, voice rising slightly, "is giving free passes to ’traitors’? What was she ’thinking’? ’Oh yes, let sit in my secure chambers and just hand out golden tickets that let anyone barge in whenever they want’—that’s like opening your gate to an enemy army and saying ’co take my head, I’ve made it convenient for you!’"
The system said nothing, wisely choosing not to point out that the original Celeste had been desperately in love and probably not thinking clearly.
Heena grabbed a towel and started drying off with violent, jerky movents.
"Free passes," she muttered. "FREEE PASSES. To five n who’ve been actively undermining her. Who cheated on her. Who ignored her. Who treated her like she was invisible. And she gave them ’permanent access’ to her private quarters."
She wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out of the pool.
"I swear," she continued, still muttering, "every single day in this world I discover so new way the original Celeste made my job ’exponentially harder’. It’s like she was ’actively trying’ to sabotage herself."
"To be fair, Host—" the system started.
"Don’t," Heena interrupted. "Don’t ’to be fair’ right now. I’m too angry."
She moved to her dressing area and started pulling on a robe—not the elaborate formal one, just a simple silk robe that was comfortable and covered everything important.
"So they’re outside my door," she said, tying the robe’s sash with more force than necessary. "All five of them?"
"Yes, Host."
"Holding these magic free passes that I can’t ignore."
"Technically, you ’could’ ignore them," the system offered. "But it would be considered a massive breach of imperial protocol. The passes were issued by an Empress, which makes them legally binding until formally revoked."
Heena closed her eyes and counted to ten.
Then to twenty.
Then gave up and just accepted that she was going to be furious for the foreseeable future.
"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "FINE. They want an audience? They’ll get one."
She started walking toward the door that led from the bathhouse to her sleeping chambers.
"Host," the system said nervously, floating after her, "maybe you should—I don’t know—change into sothing more formal? Put on armor? Grab a weapon?"
"Why?" Heena asked sweetly—too sweetly, the kind of sweet that ca right before violence. "Are you suggesting I need to be ’ard’ to deal with five n who are supposedly my ’loving husbands’?"
"I just think—"
"I’m going exactly like this," Heena interrupted. "In a bathrobe. Still dripping. With broken glass shards probably still stuck in my palm from where I crushed that wine glass. Because you know what? If they’re going to use an ergency pass to interrupt my first peaceful bath in ’weeks’, they can deal with whatever they get."
She threw open the door and stalked through her bedroom toward the main chamber door.
System 427 followed at a safe distance, already ntally preparing for whatever disaster was about to unfold.
Because nothing good ever ca from five jealous consorts showing up unannounced.
Especially when the Empress they were visiting was ’this’ angry.
This was going to be bad.
Very, very bad.
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