Ceres stood in front of the full-length mirror, her golden eyes studying her reflection with quiet satisfaction.
The change was subtle, but it was there.
In just two weeks, she had managed to shed a fraction of the weight that had once completely overwhelmed her frame.
It was going to take time... perhaps a long time... before she could return to the graceful, elegant figure she had back on Earth.
But she would get there.
Slowly.
Surely.
And that was all that mattered.
Tonight, she was wearing a black gown... a repurposed version of the extravagant ballgown Delphine had meticulously deconstructed.
Now, it resembled a classy, formal dinner dress... floor-length, long-sleeved, with delicate ruffles.
There was no slit, no excessive embellishments... something modern royals on Earth would wear.
It was formal, but refined.
And considering Delphine had only taken four hours to tailor it, Ceres had to admit...
The maid was far more skilled than she gave herself credit for.
But the best part?
She finally had panties.
Not the garterized lace ones she was used to, but functional underwear nonetheless.
Delphine had successfully replicated the one-piece panties Ceres had originally created with magic, then went a step further... sewing a few more using the fabric scraps from the ballgown.
The design was similar to swimwear, requiring ribbons to be tied on both sides due to the scarcity of elastic garters.
Apparently, in Solmara, garters were a rare commodity... primarily used in military weaponry like bows and arrows.
Still...
It was better than nothing.
And considering the 5 HP she had spent to create the first piece, Ceres felt it had been worth it.
Now, her HP sat at 55/100.
She had to be careful not to drain herself too much.
A series of three knocks echoed from the door.
Then, Delphine's calm voice followed.
"Your Highness, it is the Hour of the Mystic Fish."
11 PM.
She exhaled quietly.
Since she had been forbidden from attending her husband's funeral tomorrow... undoubtedly to spare the royal family from the shame of being associated with her... she had decided to hold her own farewell in the Empress Garden.
Without a word, she followed Delphine out of the room, Legion trailing closely behind them.
As they walked through the dimly lit halls of the Empress Palace, Ceres felt the temperature drop further.
It seemed the mana stones installed throughout the palace were running out of power, as the magic that regulated the indoor temperature was beginning to fail.
Aquilonis was an eternally frozen land, and without mana-infused heating, the bitter cold was inescapable.
Her lips curled into a mocking smirk.
She wouldn't be surprised if the late Emperor's children deliberately delayed replacing the mana stones, just to see her freeze in her own palace.
But if they thought she would beg them for warmth...
They were gravely mistaken.
Starting tomorrow, she would begin reshaping the fate of Empress Ceres Evadne Valeria of Aquilonis.
And whoever dared to stand in her way...
She would personally send them to Lucifer as a messenger.
The Empress Garden was nearly lifeless.
The once-vibrant flowers that had once flourished here were now wilted, frozen over by the harsh climate.
The trees stood bare, their skeletal branches stretching towards the dark sky.
There was nothing left but silence and ice.
Ceres walked forward, her breath visible in the frigid air.
At the center of the garden, a makeshift altar had been set up...
A task she had delegated to Legion earlier.
She could have constructed it herself using Creation Magic, but that would have cost her HP... and if she could save her Life Force by simply giving orders, she would.
After all, she had plenty of time but limited HP.
Ceres handed three candles to Delphine.
"Light them," she instructed.
Delphine, who possessed Light Magic, did so without hesitation.
The flames flickered softly, casting a warm, golden glow across the snow-covered ground.
Neither Delphine nor Legion questioned what she was doing.
Perhaps the funeral customs in Solmara were different from what she knew on Earth.
But they remained silent.
Ceres closed her eyes.
She wasn't particularly religious.
But tonight, she would offer a prayer...
For the only person in this kingdom who had treated host Ceres kindly.
Even when the rest of the world had turned its back on her.
She took a slow breath.
"I hope you get to reincarnate in a life you deserve, Emperor Aurelios."
And as her final farewell gift...
She activated her Creation Magic.
A soft glow formed in her palms, shimmering into the night as a flock of illuminated butterflies emerged.
The ethereal creatures fluttered gently...
Circling her.
Drifting toward Delphine and Legion.
Then, finally, ascending into the sky...
Heading toward the Emperor's Palace, where the late Emperor rested.
Delphine and Legion stood frozen, their eyes wide with utter disbelief.
Butterflies did not exist in Aquilonis.
The climate was too harsh.
They had only ever seen them in paintings... depictions of faraway lands that experienced summer.
And yet...
They were witnessing them now, with their own eyes.
And these were not ordinary butterflies.
They were luminous, their wings shimmering like fragments of the stars.
They radiated a warmth that did not exist in this kingdom...
A warmth that spoke of hope.
Delphine and Legion stood frozen, their gazes locked onto the Empress's figure, her silhouette softly illuminated by the flickering candlelight as the last of the butterflies vanished into the distance.
The air felt heavy, thick with an unspoken reverence that neither of them could put into words.
This should have been impossible.
Their Empress... who had been mocked, disregarded, and dismissed as powerless... had just done something no ordinary mage could ever hope to achieve.
She had no magic.
That was what they had always been told.
And yet...
They had just witnessed her conjure life from nothing.
After a long silence, Ceres turned to them, her golden eyes gleaming.
"Did you bring the small shovel I asked for?" she asked Legion.
Legion, still somewhat dazed, quickly recovered and handed her the shovel from where it had been tucked behind his belt.
The request had confused him earlier when she had instructed him to prepare the altar, but as a servant... especially a commoner... he knew better than to question the orders of a royal.
He simply obeyed.
Ceres took the shovel and, without hesitation, knelt onto the cold earth.
"Your Highness!" Delphine gasped, alarmed.
Royalties did not kneel.
Not to anyone.
Not even to the land itself.
But Ceres merely glanced up at her, unconcerned.
"It's fine," she said simply before returning to her task.
She dug into the soil beside the altar, working the earth with steady precision.
Legion and Delphine watched in stunned silence, their eyes fixated on her every move.
Then...
She activated her Creation Magic once more.
A soft glow appeared in her open palm, and within it, a seed materialized, pulsing faintly with otherworldly energy.
With deliberate care, Ceres placed it into the freshly dug soil, gently covering it with earth.
Then, lifting her hand over the spot, she began to chant...
"Blossom bright, in mana's light,
Roots of spring, in earth take flight.
Bound by will, forever stay,
Eternal bloom, night and day.
Lifebloom Sakura!"
The moment the words left her lips...
The ground quivered.
The air shifted.
A pulse of energy rippled outward, sending a gentle hum through the soil.
Then, before their very eyes, a tiny seedling broke through the surface, its delicate leaves trembling as if it had just taken its first breath.
Ceres stepped back, watching calmly as the small plant grew taller, its roots spreading deeper.
The slender trunk stretched upward, thickening as branches unfolded, golden petals blooming one by one.
Within moments, the small sapling had transformed into a full-grown tree, its shimmering blossoms glowing softly in the moonlight.
A tree that should not exist in Solmara.
A tree that defied the very laws of nature.
Delphine and Legion stared in utter disbelief.
It wasn't just the miraculous appearance of the cherry blossom that left them speechless...
It was what happened next.
The garden around them, which had been lifeless and frozen, suddenly stirred.
The withered flowers began to revive, their once-dead stems now bursting with vibrant color.
The frost-covered ground thawed, patches of lush greenery emerging from beneath the ice.
Even the air itself changed...
The biting cold that had been ever-present in Aquilonis softened into a gentle warmth.
It felt like spring had returned to a kingdom that had long since forgotten its touch.
Ceres studied her handiwork, her gaze flicking toward the corner of her vision, where her HP status hovered.
HP 55 → 50 (for creating the butterflies) HP 50 → 45 (for creating the cherry blossom seedling) HP 45 → 44.5 (for activating the Monarch's Blessing)
Her Life Force had dropped, but looking at the golden cherry blossom tree before her, she knew...
It was worth it.
Ori had never mentioned that the Monarch's Blessing was limited only to people.
So she had blessed the very soil of the Empress's Palace.
The chant she had spoken wasn't just a poetic spell...
It was a condition.
As long as the cherry blossom remained alive, it would ensure an eternal spring within the Palace grounds.
And what did it need to survive?
Mana.
Ceres turned back to Delphine and Legion, whose expressions were frozen in shock, their jaws practically on the ground.
Her lips curled into a knowing smirk.
"Make sure you infuse this tree with mana every day," she instructed smoothly. "Unless, of course, you want to freeze to death."
Then, without waiting for their response, she turned on her heel and walked away, heading back toward the palace.
As she stepped inside, the warm air wrapped around her, chasing away the cold.
A slow, satisfied grin stretched across her lips.
Who needs mana stones anyway?
Delphine and Legion remained rooted in place, staring at the golden cherry blossom tree, its luminous petals dancing in the wind.
The warmth in the air was gentle yet undeniable.
Delphine felt a lump rise in her throat, her heart hammering.
"She…" Her voice came out in a whisper.
"She has magic," Legion finished.
Not just magic.
What they had just witnessed...
This was beyond magic.
This was something only celestial beings could achieve.
Delphine's fingers clenched tightly over her chest, her breath unsteady.
For years, the Empress had been ridiculed, ignored, cast aside.
And yet...
Tonight, she had performed a miracle.
Something no one else in this kingdom could have done.
For the first time since entering her service...
Delphine felt something new stir within her.
She glanced at Legion, who remained silent, his eyes still fixed on the tree.
Then... without a word...
He dropped to one knee, pressing his palm against the trunk of the cherry blossom.
A soft pulse of mana seeped into the bark.
The tree glowed faintly, its golden petals shimmering in response.
Delphine followed suit, kneeling beside him, her hand resting gently against the tree.
She closed her eyes, channeling her own mana into the roots.
This tree was no ordinary creation.
It was a symbol.
A symbol that their Empress was someone far greater than anyone had ever realized.