Chapter 155: The Understanding Little Devil
Left Chancellor’s Mansion.
For Margaret, today was an exceptionally terrible day, ranking among the top three worst days of her life.
Her most anticipated breakfast turned into a shock when she found Roger at Dio’s house, wearing his clothes! The rainbow in the sky seemed to foreshadow that her only friend’s peculiar tastes were no simple matter. In that instant, the world she thought was becoming increasingly beautiful was stained with an unfixable gloom. She had unconsciously grown to find him so wonderful, developing an unwarranted dependence and harboring ambitions and possessiveness beyond mere friendship. She wanted to slowly understand his likes and dislikes, diligently learn to be gentle and considerate, enter his life, and be the unique person by his side.
Yet, before she could even find the right starting line, she discovered Dio already had someone! And what dealt the biggest blow to the half-demon little devil was that it was a man! If her rival were a woman, she felt she could compete with her looks, scheming, and shamelessness. Even against that detestable, blue-haired saint, she wouldn’t have been entirely without a chance, would she? But the problem was, her rival was a man, her brother! Their fundamental compatibility was different, their ports incompatible. She had already lost before even qualifying to enter the battlefield.
She had guarded against the blue-haired saint snatching Dio, only to find that Dio’s brother was already laughing at her from the finish line. Her self-righteous efforts must have seemed utterly ridiculous. “No wonder I hit it off so easily with Dio, and he didn’t dislike me. So we were just best friends, huh? Heh heh heh heh…” Margaret forced a tragic smile, her eyes so dim they lacked any light or hope.
The little devil’s views were quite open-minded; she didn’t find Dio’s situation disgusting, only felt heartbroken for her own naivety. There should have been many clues, too many coincidences and interconnected events between Dio and Roger, that she hadn’t noticed sooner. Especially this morning, the natural tone with which Roger said, “This is my home,” perfectly illustrated that he had definitely stayed over at Dio’s before. They had known each other long ago, and Roger had long considered it his home.
Dio is dispensable! Was it that she wouldn’t have friends? She had managed for so many years before. As long as she could see Her Majesty every day, basking in her radiance, this small sunflower would be happy enough!
Margaret couldn’t eat breakfast and, with a forceful toss of her plate into the garden, arrived at the Hall of Governance early, awaiting the Empress of Eternal Night. Only by drawing energy from her idol could she endure this heart-wrenching morning and return her life to normal.
Immediately, she received notice from the Chief Secretary that the Empress of Eternal Night had a temporary matter to attend to, and today’s cabinet meeting was canceled. Margaret was shattered! What the hell? What kind of day was this? Why today of all days? Was the entire World conspiring against her? She had lost a friend, lost her idol. The vast empire now seemed to have only her, alone.
A cold wind blew against her. There was no longer any light in the entire world. Without even reporting to the military, she took a day off from her subordinates and returned home in a daze. “Your Majesty, *sniffles*, my Empress, all I needed was to see you, why didn’t you come and save your little devil… I miss you so much, Your Majesty…”
Margaret logged into the Knight’s Order special section of the Mage Camp and posted a rambling message. “Commander, keep going, don’t stop, our dream can definitely come true!” “Whether you see her or not, Her Majesty is everywhere, neither happy nor sad…” “Bigshot, don’t be sad, we’re still waiting for your beautiful pictures!” “All unhappiness will pass, just as Her Majesty has overcome countless setbacks!”
Even without substantive content, Margaret’s message quickly garnered a large number of likes and replies. It was like the warmth from a little girl striking a match: unreal, distant, yet the last warmth she could touch. This Knight’s Order section was approved and established with Dio’s help, existing solely to praise the Empress of Eternal Night, and she managed it diligently. As long as they praised the Empress, even trivial posts would suffice. Ninety-nine percent of the current users of the Mage Camp were fans of the Empress of Eternal Night. And this section, dedicated to praising the Empress without doing anything else, had been bustling since its inception, rapidly gathering a large group of fervent fans of the Empress of Eternal Night. Of course, seeing everyone with cute avatars and various chibi Empress images, you might think the Knight’s Order was full of young girls, but that would be a miscalculation. In reality, behind the aliases, there were no fewer men than women; they all protected the best Empress together!
Over various breakfast times, Margaret learned many fan community operation tips from Roger. In her capacity as administrator, she guided the creation of rich fan-made content and proactively posted exquisite magic projections from the Left Chancellor’s perspective. She also encouraged fans to support each other’s posts and replies, pushing their threads to the homepage of the entire message board to gain more attention and increase cohesion. Compared to other sections with free discussions that devolved into arguments, the Knight’s Order was united, solely focused on praising the Empress, and their hobby was jointly managing data. Thus, it appeared particularly harmonious and friendly.
If it were the internet era, there would be conflicts between fans of different idols, affecting public perception. But in the Mage Camp, the Empress of Eternal Night was the sole true deity for mages. Even if not as fervent, people wouldn’t react negatively to seeing beautiful pictures like “Her Majesty’s candid photo while reviewing memorials,” would they? Even the most pedantic scholar couldn’t resist beautiful things. “The powerful and beautiful Empress, *sniffles*, my girlish heart can barely contain itself. From now on, I volunteer to join the Knight’s Order!” This was the process of the Knight’s Order’s growth and expansion, so smooth that countless popular idols would cry with envy.
Margaret often had access to the Empress, and the secretly taken magic projections, combined with meticulous retouching filled with love, showcased her dedication, earning universal praise from everyone. She was both the founder and the active administrator of this section, gradually earning the title of Commander. Today, the Commander was unhappy, and the knights offered their comfort, not wanting her to fall! Few dared to guess that the Commander was Left Chancellor Margaret, but the images she released must have been taken by someone with access, at least a prominent palace maid from the Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace, to have been able to get so close, right?
“That’s not right, Her Majesty is so powerful, she must know people are secretly taking magic photos. She didn’t stop them because she dotes on her fans.” Some prescient fans accidentally stumbled upon the truth. Young Master Ao was quite narcissistic at times; Margaret taking pictures of herself was considered a form of flattery, and she would even actively cooperate: “I’m beautiful and cool today, you must capture me beautifully!”
The Knight’s Order had very high traffic. Within an hour, Margaret’s post had garnered tens of thousands of likes and nearly a thousand comments, reaching the top ten on the full site’s hot post ranking. Given the user base of the Mage Camp, this was already terrifyingly impressive data. It fully demonstrated that the popularity of the Empress of Eternal Night extended to Margaret, and the traffic remained considerable.
Margaret tossed and turned on her bed. The constant notification sounds of new messages gradually made her feel that the world was becoming bright again. The light that had faded from her eyes returned. These strangers, of the Knight’s Order, their comfort might not be spot on, but through those screens, she could feel the warmth left by their words. Someone was trying to care about her. Even if Her Majesty hadn’t personally appeared to encourage her today, the spirit she left behind, the Knight’s Order she cultivated, was so loving; she couldn’t disgrace her! This was, in a way, Her Majesty’s love for her! “Brave Mary, fear no difficulties, you must pull yourself together!”
“Thank you everyone, thank you for every message, I feel like I can do it again!” Margaret replied to everyone, proving she hadn’t been defeated, and her fighting spirit reignited. She whispered to herself, “Best friends, so be it. Let us prove that pure friendship can exist between men and women!” To give up on Dio for a mere Roger would be too great a loss! I, Margaret, will become Dio’s most loyal, most open-minded, and most tolerant friend. Enjoy the goodness of a friend, and accept the parts of him that are different from others! The little devil began to ponder what attitude she should adopt towards Dio and Roger, who might reappear by his side at any moment: “A relationship like theirs would not be accepted or recognized in the Empire, so they must be very sensitive, perhaps even insecure, and always hide it… Roger opening the door and revealing their relationship to me, isn’t that a form of trust?” “I cannot betray this trust! When I see them again, I must absolutely not show surprise, nor excessive concern or pity. I must act as if it’s commonplace, as if they are a normal, ordinary couple, and encourage them to continue their journey together. That is what a qualified friend would do!” “Yes, no matter what kind of interaction I see them engaged in, I must smile calmly, and no longer scream and be surprised as I was this morning. Such actions would surely cause no small harm to Roger’s heart?!”
Margaret projected her own feelings onto others, delving into the vulnerable psychology of “minority groups,” and summarized over eighty tips for making friends, aiming to become a good friend who treated the “Dio-Roger CP” equally. Of course, her heart bled with every tip she wrote. It was equivalent to giving up her first love for the sake of everlasting friendship, retreating to the position of a friend, and wishing them a long and happy life together… Oh, right, they were perfect, except they couldn’t have children. This was something to absolutely avoid mentioning in the future, lest it touch on sad memories. Make a note, make a note!
To avoid panic when she met them again, Margaret used magic to construct images of Dio and Roger. Based on the scenes she understood, she arranged for them to engage in various interactions. Her heart ached. But as her heart ached, she grew accustomed to it! She even found these images… to be quite good? When she met them again, she would just smile! From today onwards, I am Margaret, the enlightened, gentle, and understanding one!
…
…
Commercial District, Dio’s Residence.
Roger slept until well past noon before waking up naturally. “You’re awake?” He saw the Empress of Eternal Night looking at him with a relieved expression. “The surgery was a complete success. You are now a girl!”
“???” Roger’s muscles tensed in shock. But he immediately realized the… *thing* was still there, and breathed a sigh of relief. Her Majesty was just joking; she hadn’t done any insane biological modification surgery.
“Hmph, come and have lunch.” The Empress of Eternal Night gave him a rather resentful glare and, without dwelling on the topic, gracefully walked towards the dining room. The Empress, unaware of the truth, was actually thinking: You’re so timid, what use is that thing? You might as well be a girl. But Roger’s focus was on lunch? There were no signs of the door opening, nor any fluctuation of teleportation magic, indicating no one had entered the room. He had been asleep the whole time. In other words, the Empress of Eternal Night made him lunch? Although she had prepared some snacks last night, he was making cocktails while she was preparing some dishes, which was normal. But preparing lunch specifically while he was sleeping was quite interesting… Could it be that she was deliberately making dark cuisine to embarrass him because he let her sleep on the sofa last night?
The Empress, wanting to showcase her wifely prowess: “Tai Sheng said, to control a man’s heart, you must first control his stomach.” Besides, I have been practicing my cooking diligently my whole life. Dark cuisine is impossible for me, okay?
Roger, filled with worry, got up and after a simple wash, headed to the dining room. Then, he enjoyed a sumptuous meal that, while not comparable to system-level Divine Power skills, was both visually appealing and delicious, exceeding the standards of most restaurants in the City of Mysteries. This made Roger quite uneasy. Because he had slept well and for long enough, his Mental Power had recovered to the minimum requirement for area broadcasts, so his doubts were simultaneously broadcast to the Empress of Eternal Night. 【It’s actually quite tasty. Is she really not taking the opportunity to retaliate against me? Are there any hidden traps in the combination of these ingredients?】
He carefully picked at his food, chewed suspiciously, and swallowed hesitantly, almost making the Empress of Eternal Night’s nose twitch with anger. She had stayed up because she was upset, busied herself out of boredom, and restrained herself from using too much magic throughout, cooking at least 60% by hand, with full sincerity. And it was his favorite “Chinese cuisine,” how thoughtful! She even respected his strange habit, using two bamboo sticks called “chopsticks” for his tableware, knowing he had been practicing for a long time. Yet now she was suspected of poisoning him? There was no one more wronged than her in this World!
“It seems my cooking is inadequate, causing inconvenience to my beloved minister Roger. I shall eat it myself then.” The Empress of Eternal Night raised her hand and cast a magic barrier, isolating Roger from the dining table. Except for the plate of rice in his hand, he couldn’t touch a single dish.
Roger’s expression turned awkward. He realized he might have overreacted and hurt Her Majesty’s feelings? He quickly said, “Your Majesty, your cooking is not necessarily earth-shattering, but it is rare in this world. How could I possibly be inconvenienced?”
“Heh.”
“You won’t let me eat, only watch. That’s the real inconvenience.”
“Serves you right.”
“You’re eating so much, you’ll get fat too. Let me share the burden for you?”
“Fat or not, is it your rice?”
The Empress of Eternal Night, enraged, slammed down her chopsticks. Getting fat was a woman’s biggest taboo. Was she being disliked? Roger nodded and smiled, “Coincidentally, Your Majesty, the rice you’re currently eating is indeed my rice.”
“…” The range of the magic barrier widened, and Roger was directly driven out of the dining room by someone who had become furious out of embarrassment.
