A Knight’s Struggle and a Queen’s Command

“You… are truly beautiful…”

Marta recoiled a couple of steps, her eyes a swirling mix of light and shadow, reflecting Ophelia’s form. Her throat bobbed, and a frenzied blend of righteousness and obsession flickered within her gaze, making her appear almost ill.

Ophelia lay on the bed, her heart thumping wildly. This was the second time today Marta had pounced on her, and she still hadn’t grown accustomed to such close proximity with another girl.

Her face felt as if it were on fire.

She dared not meet those deep blue eyes directly.

“Allow me… to help you change…”

A cold hand brushed against Ophelia’s body, its gentle touch sending a shiver through her. A strange tingle spread across her skin, as if… a certain longing.

Her body went limp.

Yet, Marta’s eyes, which should have been focused on dressing Ophelia, had lost their luster. Suddenly, the queen before her seemed like a delectable cake, exuding a fatal allure. Desire and reason waged war within her mind.

Gently, she began to peel away the white dress, which barely covered anything to begin with, sliding it down halfway.

Unaware of her own femininity, Ophelia wore no undergarments on her upper body.

This caused Marta’s hand to halt.

The cold air, the stimulating thrill of exposure, and the overwhelming shame—Ophelia found her body behaving strangely. Involuntarily, she pressed her thighs together, feeling a sudden urge to urinate, yet also a vague yearning for something more.

A breath escaped near her ear, a cold yet sweet whisper that sent another shiver through Ophelia’s body:

“Your Majesty, why do you not wear undergarments?”

“Last night… I forgot…” Ophelia had never experienced such a jolt before. Her chest felt strangely swollen, and a current seemed to surge through her entire body. Her heart hammered, prompting an involuntary gasp.

The sound was so *indescribable* (TL Note: A common Chinese slang term, ‘na sha,’ used to imply something is too explicit or awkward to name directly), that she immediately bit her lip the moment the gasp escaped.

‘What is this strange sensation!?’

‘Can anyone tell me what this feeling is? It’s almost devouring my reason, a beast-like craving for something unknown.’

Silence descended.

Only the rapid thumping of two hearts could be heard in the room.

Marta stirred.

Slowly, she pulled the white dress completely off. Then, she stopped, taking no further action.

Ophelia felt both shame and a strange thrill. Her face burned, and she dared not look Marta directly in the face, too shy even to open her eyes.

She covered her face with both hands.

Thus, the queen’s exquisite form was laid bare before her knight, utterly exposed save for that most, most mysterious region.

She gasped softly, her face flushed, her hands still shielding her features.

With her vision obscured, and no movement for a long while, shame began to wane, being a temporary sensation. Gradually adapting to the situation, and with the throbbing in her chest subsiding, Ophelia slowly lowered her hands.

Marta stood before her, ramrod straight.

A melancholic gleam seemed to perpetually flicker in her eyes. Finally, she took a deep breath, as if swallowing something down, and the emotions in her gaze were sealed away by an icy resolve.

“I am the Queen’s knight.”

She murmured to herself, though Ophelia could still hear her.

“My sole duty is to protect the Queen. When a new king appears, *he* will be the one to grant the Queen happiness. A knight merely safeguards that happiness.”

“That’s wrong.”

Ophelia quickly interrupted her.

In the novel, Marta was just like this: despite loving the male protagonist, she ultimately sacrificed her own desires for his sake and for peace, stepping aside for other heroines. She was a tragic character, one that readers found deeply pitiable.

It appeared to be the same now.

She had dismissed all the maids, dedicating herself entirely to protecting me. In doing so, she had forfeited all her freedom and lost the chance to pursue her own happiness.

No wonder her eyes held such a mix of light and shadow; no wonder she seemed to be struggling all day. Ophelia felt she finally understood: Marta was wrestling with whether she was willing to sacrifice her freedom to protect the Queen.

Ophelia had always felt great sympathy for Marta, so the words spilled from her lips.

“Marta, you are not merely a sword. You are a person, just as your name implies. You cannot disregard your own happiness for the sake of those you protect.”

Marta froze. Ophelia stepped forward, taking her hand, and spoke with heartfelt emotion: “Marta, please remember, your happiness is a part of *my* happiness. You cannot abandon your own joy simply because you are protecting me.”

Marta lowered her head.

A shadow fell across her face, one that even the sunlight seemed unable to dispel.

However, Ophelia’s heart settled with relief, for she saw Marta’s ‘development value’ on the status panel before her steadily climbing, skyrocketing from 35 all the way to 68.

‘This development value is so easy to get! It looks like I’ll be able to go back soon! Hooray!’

“Your Majesty…”

She finally lifted her head.

“You say I should pursue my own happiness, correct?”

Ophelia felt a slight urge to cup Marta’s face, much like the gentle, maternal characters in certain *anime* (TL Note: A Japanese term for animation, often used more broadly in Chinese web novels to refer to animated series or shows). After a moment’s thought, she realized that as a gentle queen, it probably wouldn’t cause any harm. So, she extended a hand and tenderly stroked Marta’s cheek.

Marta gently rubbed her face against that hand.

“Girls should always strive for their own happiness, you know. You must fight for your own joy; it’s only natural! You mustn’t disregard your own happiness just because you are a knight!”

Marta’s gaze transformed.

She no longer seemed to hesitate or be lost. The bright luster in her eyes shifted into a deep, subtle glow, like the occasional glint of sunlight on a bottomless lake. She smiled.

“I understand, Your Majesty.”

“My apologies for leaving you undressed for so long. It’s cold; allow me to continue helping you change.”

Ophelia nodded, a smile gracing her lips.

“Alright! I’ll leave it to you then!”

****

Not long after, Ophelia was fully dressed.

She twirled around once before the mirror, her skirt flaring out, making her appear playfully charming.

‘Marta has excellent taste! This outfit is truly beautiful!’

The white shirt paired with a black jacket and a black skirt was both youthful and lively, yet still dignified. It significantly softened Ophelia’s naturally melancholic aura.

A hint of that melancholic air still lingered in her eyes, but it now added a certain brilliance to her presence, at least making her look more like a queen.

Once dressed, she and Marta met each other’s gaze.

“What… what am I supposed to do today?”

After a moment of silence, she asked cautiously.

There was still more than a full day until tomorrow afternoon; she needed to find a way to pass the time.

“You… you can do anything you wish?” Marta replied, sounding puzzled.

She watched Ophelia blink, then offer a polite smile. Marta paused, then seemed to understand something.

“As you know, the Prince and the Grand Princess have restricted your movements. You are confined to the palace.”

“Perhaps you could visit the library? Or review the documents submitted by the ministers? To my knowledge, the Prince and Grand Princess haven’t reviewed any of them, and they’ve piled up like mountains. The ministers dare not offer advice, given that Prince Eli is prone to executions.”

Ophelia was about to dismiss the suggestion, as she understood neither politics nor governance, making any review impossible. Just then, a voice suddenly echoed in her mind.

[Go review those documents. This System can help the Host process them. The Host can entrust everything to this System, apart from nurturing the heroines. You simply need to hand over control of your body to this System.]

‘Hand over my body to the System?’

While she still wanted to explore this world, those documents truly needed to be handled. In the novel, the male protagonist and another heroine had dealt with them together, but the male protagonist seemed to still be ‘developing’ at this stage.

‘Anyway, the System can’t do anything bad.’

Ophelia assented in her mind, and then felt her consciousness slowly dimming. She only heard a cold, mechanical voice:

[Please rest, Host. I will handle your body appropriately and will absolutely not misuse it.]

Her consciousness relaxed, and she promptly fell into a deep slumber.

What Marta could never have anticipated was that half an hour later, Ophelia would be looking at her with a completely indifferent expression.

“Do you wish to ‘tide’ (TL Note: A direct, informal translation of ‘cháo,’ which can refer to sexual arousal or a ‘wave’ of emotion/desire, implying sexual advances or intimate attention) me? If so, come. I’ll handle the documents, and you ‘tide’ me. We won’t interfere with each other.”