Before Your Majesty Queen, those white-haired old ministers were crying like children.
"Your Majesty Queen, thank you! Thanks to your skillful use of the magic mirror, White Kingdom will restore its former glory in less than half a year. In a few more years, White Kingdom will become a prosperous kingdom envied by everyone on the Western Continent!"
"I knew it! Your Majesty Queen neglected state affairs for the past few years to mislead enemy nations, letting them lower their guard, and actually preparing for today's strong resurgence."
"Thank the gods for having Your Majesty Queen born in our White Kingdom."
Seeing the ministers praising her for her effective governance, Your Majesty Queen's hair stood on end and her back felt cold. She was unaccustomed to it, her face as red as the apple she had poisoned.
"Oh my! Something's wrong. Why do I feel so ashamed today?" Your Majesty Queen became confused.
It should be known that in the past, Your Majesty Queen had heard no shortage of flattery from jesters. She was so used to all sorts of compliments that her ears had calluses. Just the poems praising Your Majesty Queen's beauty could fill over a dozen thick poetry collections.
No matter how pleasant the compliments, Your Majesty Queen had developed resistance, treating them all as idle chatter.
However, the ministers' words today gave her a completely different feeling.
Your Majesty Queen had not yet realized that this was because what she heard today was genuine gratitude, not the compliments of sycophants.
"But they're talking about things I haven't done!"
Your Majesty Queen's toes curled into the ground as she faced the grateful, tearful ministers.
"Uh, esteemed ministers, if you think carefully, is it all my credit?"
Your Majesty Queen tentatively asked, trying to figure out what exactly had happened after she fell asleep.
Upon hearing Your Majesty Queen say this, the ministers all sighed in their hearts:
Your Majesty Queen is too modest!
It's clearly the result of her own diligent efforts, yet she's still deflecting credit.
The ministers looked at each other and said:
"Your Majesty Queen, you are right. For White Kingdom to have such a reform and to move in the right direction, Lord Rhine, the Sage, indeed deserves credit."
"But the most crucial decision-maker is still Your Majesty Queen! If it weren't for your determination to diligently govern, hiring Lord Rhine as the Sage to assist you, and using the magic mirror to handle state affairs, how could White Kingdom have gotten back on track?"
Ah?
Magician Rhine, is he already the Sage of White Kingdom?
What on earth happened in the kingdom while I was asleep?!
Your Majesty Queen suddenly had the illusion that she had slept for over a decade.
She temporarily figured it out:
In the eyes of others, she hadn't disappeared at all during the past period. Instead, she had diligently governed, used the magic mirror to handle state affairs, and carried out sweeping, popular reforms!
"What's going on?"
"Could it be that I was sleepwalking or had amnesia?"
Your Majesty Queen muttered to herself, looking at the deeply moved ministers, and could only return a mechanical smile.
Although she couldn't figure out what was going on...
But at this point, she couldn't possibly say, "These weren't my doing."
Her vanity wouldn't allow it!
Your Majesty Queen, with a forced smile and a stiff upper lip, walked through the palace corridor, escorted by the ministers.
Soon, she saw King again.
King hugged and kissed Queen, extremely enthusiastic—mainly to make up for the regret of Your Majesty Queen basically hiding in her room and not seeing him for the past two months.
Although she had made King madly infatuated with her for many years, it was Your Majesty Queen's first time seeing King so affectionate with her!
"My darling. Last night, I thought and thought, thinking about your hard work in governing state affairs these past two months. Only then did I realize how much I need you!"
King's eyes were brimming with tears.
"I can't be without you; White Kingdom can't be without you! You, who use the magic mirror, are the Sage King of White Kingdom. You should be the monarch of White Kingdom!"
Your Majesty Queen nodded slightly awkwardly.
Suddenly, her heart stirred, and her gaze solidified.
Wasn't this what she had always pursued?
Chasing down every woman who might rival her in beauty—even fearing her daughter and almost laying a murderous hand on her. All just to make King never leave her, always be infatuated with her, always obey her, and keep everything in the kingdom under her control.
And today, after she had been asleep for over two months, this ultimate goal was inexplicably achieved.
Your Majesty Queen felt somewhat dazed, as if she had woken from a dream but was still lingering in it.
She groggily returned to her room and heard the magic mirror's praise again.
The magic mirror praised Your Majesty Queen, saying she was not only a beautiful queen but also a wise national leader.
"Even the magic mirror thinks I've been here for the past two months?"
"Who can tell me what happened?"
"Did I really sleepwalk?"
Your Majesty Queen walked around the magic mirror in a daze and sat on the bed.
She tried hard to recall if she had a history of sleepwalking and suddenly, her gaze solidified, and she almost screamed aloud.
She saw a delicate-looking, silver-haired child, as if from a painting, sitting on a chair by the bed, smiling at her.
Magician Rhine?
When did he get here?
Your Majesty Queen was about to shriek, but then she suddenly remembered the ministers' words, remembering that Rhine was now the Sage of White Kingdom, the magician who assisted her in governing the country.
"No, if I show surprise at seeing Sage Rhine, wouldn't that mean I know nothing and that those great achievements weren't mine? That won't do, absolutely not!"
Your Majesty Queen could only force herself to appear calm and returned Rhine's smile:
"Hello, esteemed Sage."
She didn't know what role Rhine played, only guessing that Rhine, like those ministers, had interacted with "another her" or "her during sleepwalking," and mistook that queen for her current self.
Your Majesty Queen slightly raised her chin, faced Rhine, and tried to recall the words of the ministers, King, and others, putting on an incredibly natural expression:
"Sage Rhine, you've truly worked hard during the past period!"
No way, Your Majesty Queen, you're still pretending even when you see me... Rhine couldn't help but secretly laugh in his heart.
The young man looked at the magic mirror in the corner of the room, then at the bright sunlight streaming in from the window, and turned back to Your Majesty Queen, revealing a gentle and warm smile:
"Your Majesty Queen, are you satisfied with this outcome?"
Your Majesty Queen's expression suddenly froze.
Her back tingled, as if an electric current shot straight up her spine, and in a flash, she understood something.
Your Majesty Queen quickly looked at the magic mirror in the corner of the room, but found that the magic mirror seemed not to have heard their conversation.
And the surroundings seemed excessively quiet; she could neither hear the crisp chirping of birds outside the window nor the rustling of the wind through the treetops.
Rhine seemed to know Your Majesty Queen's worries and said faintly:
"Don't worry, I've created a sound-isolating barrier with magic. The magic mirror won't hear what we say next."
The young man paused, then said:
"So, in the magic mirror's mind, you are still that great queen."
"It was you who, by yourself, brought White Kingdom back on track."
"It was you who questioned the magic mirror, found all the lurking enemy spies and underground criminal organizations, and rounded them all up."
"It was you who selected the virtuous and capable, relying on the magic mirror's discerning eyes to find usable talents from the most inconspicuous shoemakers and stable boys, and entrusted them with important tasks."
"It was you who punished corrupt officials and lords who oppressed the common people, giving White Kingdom a clear and bright sky."
"In the hearts of the magic mirror and everyone else, all of this is your credit."
"From now on, King will never be able to leave you, and neither will everyone in White Kingdom."
"Regardless of whether King grants you the title of monarch later, you will always be White Kingdom's eternal and greatest King."
Rhine finished these words calmly.
His tone was unruffled, as if he was talking about the most ordinary thing.
However, Your Majesty Queen's heart was surging.
How many years, how many years.
She searched for every woman in the kingdom who might be more beautiful than herself, guarding against them. Once she heard someone was prettier than her, she would be on tenterhooks, fearing that King would fall in love with someone else, that the magic of infatuation would fail, and that she would no longer be able to control the kingdom.
On one cold night after another, listening to the seemingly endless murmur of the evening wind, watching the cold moon hang as always in the dark night sky, Your Majesty Queen looked at her reflection and couldn't help but ask herself:
When will such days finally end?
Even if Aurora, who was more beautiful than her, died, sooner or later, another woman more beautiful than herself might appear in White Kingdom—perhaps her daughter Snow White, and then she would have to lay a murderous hand on her daughter.
What after Snow White died?
When would the next more beautiful woman appear?
Every day, women came from other kingdoms to White Kingdom, staying temporarily or long-term; every day, a beautiful young girl in the kingdom would grow up, slender and graceful, amidst the praises of her family and friends.
Even if all the above assumptions didn't exist, she would eventually succumb to time, grow old and frail, watching helplessly as her beautiful face in the mirror was swallowed by time, her tender, Snow White skin taken over by wrinkles and age spots, and her long black hair yellowing and falling out.
At that time, Your Majesty Queen knew that the magic that made King infatuated with her would surely fail.
How then should she face such a future?
How would King treat her, who had killed her daughter, at that time? And the people of the kingdom? How would they view her, who held great power while the kingdom declined?
Would the Witch Society kick her out because she couldn't control the kingdom? Would they kill her because she knew too many secrets?
On cold winter nights, listening to the cawing of jackdaws and watching the snow fall from the sky, Your Majesty Queen would always inevitably think about these questions. Then, she would have to force herself to divert her attention and not think about such long-term matters.
However, during the two months she was unconscious, everything she pursued was inexplicably achieved?
Rhine looked at Your Majesty Queen, watching the woman's eyes become glistening, as if liquid was swirling within them, watching her open her mouth, wanting to say something but choked with emotion.
The young man once again revealed a gentle and warm smile and asked:
"So, Your Majesty Queen."
"Are you satisfied with this outcome?"