Sophia spoke in that completely flat tone.
"Get the funding from Victor.
But remember, proceed with caution. I don't want to see a result where the national treasury is empty before we even get to eat vegetables."
"Understood! I will definitely improve it bit by bit!"
Irene puffed out her chest, looking full of energy, her aqua-blue almond eyes smiling.
Although Her Majesty was consistently cold, Irene always felt that when delicious food was mentioned, Her Majesty's behavior was somewhat different.
Delilah watched this scene, her heart becoming increasingly conflicted.
This so-called Tyrant was building a blueprint named 'vitality' bit by bit on the ruins in an inconceivable way.
Although the process was slow, and although every step revealed extreme rationality and utilitarianism, those little sprouts emerging from the soil were indeed real.
Sophia, are you playing a massive game of deception, or do you truly want to make this country come alive?
Delilah watched Sophia's receding back as she walked away in her small leather shoes, feeling for the first time how much assassinating a ruler who 'distributed bread to starving people' went against her conscience.
As Sophia's figure drifted further away, Delilah remained standing by the two experimental fields, her brows locked tight, subconsciously repeating the vocabulary she had just heard.
"Glass.
What is that?
And 'greenhouses'.
Could it refer to those conservatories that use magic to maintain temperature?"
Delilah muttered to herself, the unease in her heart growing stronger.
In her past life, even the top alchemists of the Kingdom of Olan had never mentioned these concepts.
Could it be that the reason the Tyrant's country developed so fast in the past life was because she had already mastered these things that ordinary people had never heard of or seen?
That explains it. No wonder the Kingdom of Mason, a barren small country, could achieve what it did in the past life.
In her past life, she died relatively early, so she didn't see what the Kingdom of Mason eventually developed into.
However, judging by the few years before her death, it was only a matter of time before the Kingdom of Mason surpassed the Imperial Capital.
The Tyrant... could it be that this world will become the Tyrant's world?
"Miss Delilah, what are you muttering about?"
To the side, the maidservant Willow spoke in a tone full of pride while carefully arranging her skirt hem:
"You mean the glass Her Majesty and Miss Irene were just talking about, right?
I'll tell you secretly, those inventions are all 'Divine Miracles' in Miss Irene's plan, not some legendary magic.
Miss Irene said that as long as there is sufficient funding, she can even build a house that is as warm as spring even in winter.
When the time comes, grain, vegetables, and even fruit can be planted in that house.
There aren't just these Divine Miracles named Glass and 'greenhouses' by Her Majesty and Miss Irene, there are many other Divine Miracles too!
Miss Irene has enough confidence to invent them, so Miss Irene has already discussed the names and functions of those Divine Miracles with Her Majesty in advance.
It's just that they are currently top secret."
Willow leaned in closer, her voice suppressed extremely low, her eyes flickering with a near-fanatical worship of Sophia:
"Currently, in the entire Kingdom, only Her Majesty and Miss Irene know the full picture of those things.
I heard those blueprints are locked in the secret chamber deep within the West Tower; even Butler Victor, whom Her Majesty trusts the most, cannot easily browse them."
Delilah listened with her heart pounding.
That young girl named Irene, exactly who is she?
In such a barren country where people can't even eat their fill, she actually possesses such epoch-making imagination and creativity?
What puzzled her even more was, why would such a brilliant genius be willing to stay in this dilapidated Palace, enduring the oppression of that Tyrant, and even racking her brains to save money for her?
Could it be that Sophia really has a unique charisma that can make such a genius willingly pledge loyalty to her?
Delilah's gaze fell once again on those clusters of emerald green 'Seedlings of Hope' in the soil.
Although she constantly warned herself not to be confused by this superficial vitality, amidst these promises of 'providing meals' and splashes of green, she quietly shifted.
Sophia did not notice that complex gaze behind her; even if she had noticed, she probably wouldn't have planned to care.
She followed Irene into the West Tower.
The air here was filled with a faint smell of acetic acid and a dry dusty sensation.
In a cubicle next to the laboratory on the second floor, several children under the age of ten were sitting around a long table.
Those were the children brought back from Kree Village.
They were wearing neat but coarse linen tunics, their hands focused on processing some experimental materials.
Such as sorting crushed ore pieces by color, or using tiny wooden picks to pick out fibers from herbaceous plants.
"Her Majesty has arrived."
The voice broke the silence in the room.
The children shuddered violently, the small stones in their hands nearly falling to the ground.
They stood up in terror and restraint, their small bodies shrinking together, heads bowed, voices as thin as mosquitoes:
"Gr-Greetings, Your Majesty the Queen."
Sophia stood expressionlessly at the door, her pale golden pupils sweeping over their thin and small bodies.
At this age in the modern era, they would still be in the third grade of elementary school, right?
But these children were sallow and emaciated, and their eyes held fear.
However, in this world, having such a stable working environment was already considered not bad.
Sophia sighed lightly in her heart, but her face remained as cold as frost.
She walked to the long table, casually picked up a piece of sorted ore, and asked in a voice devoid of modulation:
"Tired?"
The children were too scared to lift their heads.
In the stories they heard, Queen Sophia was the kind of Tyrant who would throw children to feed wild wolves if she was unhappy.
"No, not tired," a slightly bolder girl answered with a trembling voice.
"Big Sister Irene said that after finishing these, we can eat warm bread and stewed beans at noon."
"Mm."
Sophia put down the ore.
"Then continue working.
If you do well, every child will get an extra piece of salted meat tonight."
A small piece of salted meat per person wasn't much, but at least it would give them more strength to work.
In the eyes of these children, this short sentence was simply like a divine oracle.
Although the rumored Queen was cold and ruthless, since coming here, they hadn't been beaten, nor had their rations been docked.
Doing work that only required moving their fingers every day here allowed them to receive fragrant bread and rich stewed beans, no longer having to suffer insomnia all night due to stomach cramps from hunger like in the village.
For children, the world was just this simple: whoever could stop them from going hungry was a good person.
"Thank you, Your Majesty! We will definitely work hard!"
The children's voices became a bit more uniform. Although they still carried awe and fear of the "Tyrant", within those pairs of sparkling eyes, there was clearly a hint of something named 'gratitude'.
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 100 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉