Arabella thought she wouldn't be able to sleep at all.
But she did.
She woke up in her bed instead of the couch where she stayed the previous night.
Ferdinand must have carried her but she did not even stir.
It must have been due to the exhaustion and headache from listening to Ferdinand's detailed plans.
Wait!
She realized something important.
'He didn't do anything did he?'
She gasped when she checked the sheets and there was a bloodstain on them.
'Did that bastard do something to me while I was asleep?
I will never forgive him!'
Arabella reminded herself, her husband was a scum she plotted to ruin, and took her ten years, a whole decade, before she finally succeeded.
She should not have allowed herself to be in the same room with such a dangerous being in the first place.
Arabella was in a panic as she quickly checked on her body.
It didn't ache.
She should be feeling the pain from his intrusion if Ferdinand forced himself on her while she was asleep.
She would have awakened from the pain as well.
Noticing the body-sized mirror on the side through her peripheral vision, she walked to it and checked her body.
There were no additional marks aside from the ones Ferdinand intentionally left for the maids to see.
A sigh of relief escaped her lips.
Ferdinand must have faked the blood to make it more believable that they had consummated.
At least he was not cruel and merciless to just take her while she was unconscious.
But then again, it must be because he was still trying to act nice since he still needed to get an heir out of her to satisfy his ministers.
"Your Majesty, we are the maids assigned to you.
We are here to help you bathe and get dressed," she heard a familiar voice say.
It was Irene one of the maids who also served her in her previous life. There were four maids who usually attended to her needs then.
Irene, Carla, Eunice, and Renee.
Arabella returned to the bed and pretended to have just woken up.
"You may come in," she yawned and stretched as they entered, intentionally letting the covers slip to her waist so the maids would see the marks Ferdinand left on her skin.
The four maids bowed and introduced themselves.
Arabella already knew them though.
[Oh my!
Our lord and our lady had consummated.
It must be true that our Emperor is finally in love!]
Irene's thoughts popped into her mind. She was Arabella's most naive maid who reminded her of her young self.
Now that she could hear the maid's thoughts, she realized Irene was even more naive and innocent than she previously thought.
Irene was kind and obedient though.
[Wow! The Empress is so beautiful even with bruises on her neck.
After all, those were proofs of the Emperor's love.
Kyaah! I'm so envious.
I wish I could marry a man who loves me too.]
This was Carla's.
She was Arabella's most lose-mouthed maid.
Carla just says and does as she pleases as long as she was in line. She was open-minded though and does her work well.
[Our lady looks exhausted.
His Majesty must have been rough last night.
Geez, couldn't he have been more gentle?
Our lady seems so delicate.
He should have held back more.
He doesn't really know how to treat a woman, does he?
We should prepare a rejuvenating tea for the lady.]
This was Eunice's.
Eunice was Arabella's most capable maid. She can do everything she was tasked to do, successfully, and without any issues.
Arabella did not know Eunice was this thoughtful of her. She truly does her job well.
[Such a beautiful face and body.
Despite lacking sleep, look how luminescent and spotless her skin was aside from those marks .
Because of all this, she became the Emperor's wife.
I was once this beautiful too.
But why didn't I have this kind of luck?]
This was Renee's.
Renee was Arabella's source of information about what was going around in the palace.
She was the one Arabella tasked with adding poison to Ferdinand's food since Renee was tightlipped and could be trusted with such dangerous matters.
'What did she mean when she said she was once beautiful too?'
From Arabella's perspective, with the critical eyes of a once forty-year-old lady, Renee was average. She didn't have any scars or imperfections on her face to have made her look less attractive.
Renee's features were nice but she didn't stand out. She lacked appeal and presence so she looked somewhat plain.
It was why she was perfect for sneaking here and there so Arabella used her for such things in her previous life.
"Your Majesty, do you feel unwell?
Do you need more sleep?" Eunice inquired.
"No. I'm just exhausted and my body is aching a bit.
I should be fine after a bath."
Arabella wanted to wash off Ferdinand's kisses on her neck.
If he did not stay in her room for long, she would have gone to the bath immediately to cleanse herself.
The maids prepared her for the day and served her breakfast.
And the entire time, she kept hearing thoughts from Renee appreciating her face and body and everything she did.
It was unnerving and weird.
Renee sounded obsessed with beauty and perfection. And she seemed to see Arabella as the epitome of both.
But then again, Arabella was famous for her beauty and grace across the continent.
Everyone thought she was so lucky and blessed because of her poise and looks.
They did not know just how unfortunate her life turned out.
Despite all the beauty and perfection, which led people to think she would be loved, Arabella lived her entire life ignored and unloved by her husband.
He even poisoned their son.
All these years, she had been wondering why he even married her in the first place.
He could have just married anyone.
The only reason she could think about was because of her fame as the fairest maiden in Eliora.
Because he was the one with the most power, he probably thought he was entitled to get the prettiest lady even if he did not really want her.
It was all for pride.
And that was exactly another reason why she crushed his source of pride and entitlement.
Arabella was served breakfast in bed and pretended to feel unwell so she wouldn't have to go out.
She used that time to collect her thoughts and figure out her new-gained ability.
She surmised the ability was with her since she was reborn.
It must have been a side-effect or the gods had some plans to toy with her.
Arabella tried walking around a bit to encounter some knights and maids.
She figured out she could read what people were thinking about when she was with them.
At first, she thought the people had to be in her view for her to be able to hear their thoughts.
However, that wasn't always true.
Once she was close enough, she could hear their thoughts without having to see them.
She realized she had to avoid places with too many people since it was too much for her to take.
Just having all four of her maids in her room thinking all sorts of things already gave her a headache.
It was exhausting.
Arabella concluded the gods must have cursed her after she made Valeria fall and caused the death of too many people.
She was being punished.
'Are they saying I am not allowed to rest after what I've done?
If I cannot be with my son, then I'll have to torment my husband again.
I just have to change how I torment him now or else, I might be reborn as his wife again after this life.'
Arabella thought that perhaps, she had overdone her plot.
Perhaps, she shouldn't have involved the entire empire which had a lot of innocent citizens in it.
But she already did in her past life.
Now, she had to plan once again how to make Ferdinand lose his power without involving the common people.
If she just poisoned him to death with one take, it wouldn't be suffering at all if he died so easily.
She had to make him feel pain, disappointment, and suffering.
His death cannot be something instant that he would not even know he died.
'Or are the gods telling me to live this life differently?
Should I ask for a divorce from Ferdinand and live this life peacefully somewhere away from the empire?
But would he even agree?
Wouldn't he think of it as an insult to him and just lop my head off?'
Arabella knew from her previous life, Ferdinand was not violent to women.
He was just indifferent to them.
But he was not merciful to them either. He kills anyone ruthlessly regardless of gender, rank, or affiliation.
If she was not careful and earned his ire, she would lose this life so easily.
But then again, is there even meaning in living this life again?
. . .
The night quickly came as Arabella was lost in thought for a long while thinking about what to do with Ferdinand.
And once again, she had to think of a way to deal with him so he would not bed her.
.
.
.
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A/N: Welcome to this story, everyone!
Thank you for the votes!