### Chapter 128: The Clive Family
I marched straight to the front door, fished out my key, and opened it. As I stepped inside, I heard light footsteps behind me, hesitated for a moment, and decided to leave the door wide open instead of slamming it shut.
Upstairs in my bedroom, I removed the headband that was tying my hair back, letting my waterfall of black hair cascade down my shoulders. I then swapped into a simple white silk dress, flopped down in front of the vanity, and admired myself in the mirror, wriggling my fingers through the tips of my hair.
Hmm… feels like it’s getting a bit long…
It’s already grazing my lower back, and my bangs are a bit messy. Time for a trim—can’t let it cover my cute little b*tt now, can I? That would be a hassle.
A slight cramp made itself known in my lower belly, and I frowned as I rubbed it. I got back up and walked to the wardrobe, rummaging around in the very bottom drawer until I pulled out a treasure my mother had given me.
Ta-da!
The Shanter Castle Edition Super Thick Cotton Sanitary Band!
I put my left hand on my hip and held the grayish-white silk strip up high, twirling my wrist and waving it around, a smug grin creeping onto my face—my mother made this for me, soft and comfy, absolutely no pinching or discomfort, with super absorbent abilities. Definitely leak-proof.
I struck this pose for about four or five seconds before feeling a bit silly, and quickly peeked out the bedroom door to confirm the woman hadn’t followed me upstairs. I sighed in relief.
“Cough, cough.”
Pulling myself together, I cleared my throat and wandered into the bathroom to change, doing a little shuffling and swapping.
Finally, a sense of security washed over me.
Even though it’s just a bit of a feeling and no actual bl**d yet, better safe than sorry. After all, my period has a knack for showing up whenever and wherever it pleases.
After washing my hands, I headed downstairs and found the woman had indeed come in, standing by the piano in the living room, her pale fingers gliding across the piano lid, lost in thought. No clue what she was pondering.
I ignored her and made a beeline for the kitchen.
Chopping wood, starting fires, heating pots… these skills had been honed to perfection back in the village. I pulled out flour, eggs, added some water and mixed it all together… where did I put the butter… and honey…
Just as I was drowning in my culinary chaos, I heard a cool, melodious voice from behind me: “Do you really do all this yourself?”
“What else would I do?” I replied, not even glancing back.
It was about time to pour the batter into the mold…
Victoria paused for a moment, then said, “You know I can arrange for a servant for you. Why waste your time on such things?”
I rolled my eyes at that.
Tch, you drab woman, what do you know?
“Time is meant for doing things you enjoy, that’s what makes you happy… ouch!”
A spark from the stove had hit my hand, and I quickly retreated, blowing on it to cool it down.
After a while of silence, I glanced back to find Victoria’s brow was furrowed, her gaze fixed on me.
“What are you looking at?” I asked.
Victoria didn’t answer but shook her head and turned to leave the kitchen.
Of course, the noble Her Majesty the Queen would never utter the words “Need help?”… I knew that, but when she walked away so indifferently, I couldn’t help but pout, slightly miffed.
Hey, at least I’m doing this for you!
Whatever. My side was pretty much ready, so I placed the mold into the rustic, cobbled-together oven that looked a bit like a small house.
Done! Now, patience is the name of the game!
Gurgle.
My stomach let out a soft groan, and I promptly patted it.
“Good boy, just wait a bit longer. Soon it’ll be slurping time—be ready!”
Just then, from the neighboring house, I suddenly heard two men’s voices… no, it sounded more like an argument.
“…We’ve been waiting for four hours! Where in the world is Her Majesty the Queen?”
It was a deep voice belonging to a middle-aged man, appearing rather angry.
“I’m terribly sorry, Prince Bart. Her Majesty is attending to urgent matters and may not be able to break free for a while…”
Hmm? That second voice rings a bell…
“I’m not asking what she’s doing. Listen carefully: I’m asking where she is—right now! That! Person! Is—!”
“Uh, Your Highness, you’re putting me in a tough spot here.”
“What? The renowned shadow of the royal city, captain of the Sword of Kanli, and you don’t know where she is?!”
“Your Highness, please understand, I have no authority to disclose Her Majesty’s whereabouts.”
“I bet she just doesn’t want to see me!”
“Prince Bart, I’ve already told you, Her Majesty is preoccupied with important matters.”
Huh? What’s going on? Someone’s been waiting for Victoria for four hours? She’s just right here!
And the Sword of Kanli, the Queen’s shadow… those must be the guards I ran into on the rooftop that night. I remember they had sword insignias on their arms.
Just then, the middle-aged man yelled, “Important matters? What a joke! What’s more important than the Iron Guard’s salaries? Those are the heroes defending this land! And now they’re going hungry! What on earth does the Queen think she’s doing meddling in the affairs of the finance minister? This is… utterly ridiculous!”
“Your Highness, yelling at me won’t help. I’m just a mere swordsman, good for fighting and such, but I don’t know anything beyond that.”
“You don’t know… huh, seems pretty smart to me.”
“Prince Bart, please, don’t make a joke of me… It’s getting late; how about I have the cook whip you up some dinner while you wait?”
“…Alright. But Her Majesty does enjoy wine, so I imagine there are quite a few of her reserves down in the wine cellar…”
“Yes, Your Highness…”
The two of them must have gone back into the house, as I could barely catch the rest of their conversation. Not long after, Captain Gray’s baking was done.
When I brought out two large plates of sweet donuts, I found Victoria sitting on the living room couch talking to someone. Standing respectfully before her was none other than—
“Forgiveness Head!”
I stared wide-eyed as I shouted.
When did this guy sneak in?! He completely evaded my senses, not a peep from him! How’d he pull that off…
“Hey there, we meet again, cute little sister.”
Hearing my voice, Forgiveness Head grinned and waved, then returned to reporting to Victoria: “Prince Bart doesn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon; looks like he’s waiting until evening, Your Majesty…”
“He likes to wait; let him keep waiting,” Victoria replied.
“Yes, Your Majesty. I’ll be off then.”
“Mm.”
I set the plates down on the low table in front of the couch, and Victoria turned to me, eyeing the food and casually asked, “Is this all you’re eating?”
“Yep.”
I could barely hold back and grabbed one to take a bite.
Chew… chew… hmm, it’s not quite as good as mom’s, but it’s still delicious. I nudged Victoria with my lips, signaling her to try one too, but she ignored me.
“Rect.” Victoria called back the already departing Forgiveness Head, “Have someone bring some food and wine.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Are you not having any donuts?” I inquired.
Victoria gently shook her head, “I don’t eat sweet things.”
“Oh.”
Perfect! These two plates are all mine, how delightful!
I immediately grabbed another and brought it to my mouth, but hesitated for a moment and turned to Victoria.
“Earlier, I heard someone next door calling for you, talking about military salaries and the finance minister… who were those people?”
After I asked, I noticed a rare flicker of annoyance cross Victoria’s striking yet cool face.
“The Clive Family—just a bunch of greedy pests.”
