Chapter204

When Elara said, "I can never give him what he wants," Oswyn froze completely. He stopped moving and turned to look at her, his eyes gradually turning red.

He understood now. She wasn't unaware of his feelings. She just didn't want to respond to them.

She didn't like him.

Oswyn took several deep breaths, suppressing the pain and trembling in his chest. He raised his hand and pointed toward the imperial harem.

"That man living in there, can you give him what he wants? Do you like him?"

Elara shook her head. "No, I can't, and I don't like him either. I said, he's only because..."

"In that case, you don't need to stop me anymore."

Oswyn lowered his gaze, not letting Elara see his face, but his voice trembled slightly with stubbornness. "Since you can't give him what he wants either, and you don't like him, then if I move in, it's just one more person. It won't affect you at all."

His breathing was slightly unsteady as he spoke.

He had never understood love or desire, and never thought that one day, even after learning she didn't like him, he still... couldn't let go.

Even though it hurt so much he could hardly bear it, and tears spilled from the corners of his eyes uncontrollably, even the pride he had as the heir of the Divine Medicine Valley told him to walk away, but still... he didn't want to give up... couldn't give up.

Oswyn didn't even know when he started liking this woman so much. But he truly couldn't stand the idea of watching her live so closely with other men in the same palace, letting them take over her harem.

Just thinking about it made him short of breath.

Since she doesn't like anyone, and no one can win her heart, why can't he live there?

Doesn't he, Oswyn, have the right to fight for himself?

"Oswyn! Haven't I made myself clear? Why are you..."

"I heard you clearly. But you have your reasons, and I have my decision."

Oswyn wiped the tears from the corner of his eye. When he looked up at Elara again, he had calmed down a lot, but his stubbornness remained.

"I don't care about titles or status. If you don't like me, that's fine. I can still be useful to you, and you know it. Let me offer everything I have in exchange for a place in your harem. As long as you agree, I'll do whatever you want me to do. How's that?"

His voice seemed calm, but it carried a hidden trace of humiliation that he deeply buried inside.

He was actually treating himself as a bargaining chip to trade with her for a place in the harem?

Elara's eyes widened slightly. She couldn't pretend not to be shocked inside.

She... what had she done to deserve this kind of devotion?

She suddenly felt lucky. After arriving inexplicably in this world, she actually encountered... a man like this.

But... something indescribable also started to rise in her heart.

That evening,

Oswyn finally moved into the imperial harem.

His last words had placed himself too low. Elara could never treat him as a mere transaction.

Oswyn was Oswyn. To be followed by such a sincere man was her blessing.

Though she wouldn't give him a clear title, in every other way, Elara was willing to grant him anything he wanted.

From then on, if he wanted to live in the harem, he could. If he wanted to do something, he could just go ahead. If anything happened, she would take responsibility. As long as it wasn't something that crossed a line... and knowing Oswyn, he would never cross those lines. Even if the day came when he had to leave, she would leave power behind to support him for life, and protect him forever.

...

After helping Oswyn pick a palace he liked in the harem, Elara thought of the other men in the Princess Manor's back courtyard and decided to handle everything today.

She waved to a palace attendant and left the palace, returning to the gates of the Princess Manor and stepping inside.

Among the men she knew well in the Princess Manor's back courtyard, there were only a few.

"Rafael" the mysterious man had disappeared. Mathias and Oswyn now lived in the palace. Scholar Fu had become her chief secretary. Oh right... Scholar Fu had lived in the Princess Manor all these years without his own residence. Now that he had become head of the Ministry of Personnel, he should have a proper estate.

For someone like him, detached from worldly affairs, Elara had no concern that he would act like Oswyn.

"Palace attendant chief, after we return, have someone prepare the estate of a former top official from the capital. That will be Scholar Fu's new residence in Plumera City."

Because Elara was the empress, all the palace attendants, following tradition from past dynasties, were replaced with male attendants.

The palace attendant chief was the highest-ranking among them, similar in status to a chief eunuch beside the emperor in ancient Huaguo.

Of course, that was just a symbolic comparison. Since Elara was a woman, the male attendants in the palace were all complete men, not eunuchs.

"Yes."

Francis had already returned to the Qi family before she left the capital last time, so there was nothing more to deal with there.

After thinking it over, only one man remained in the Princess Manor that she had any ties with — Imani, the one Lord Gregory had sent to her.

Elara turned and headed straight for Imani's courtyard.

Imani had already returned to the residence.

When she arrived, the man in a dazzling red outfit immediately lit up with joy and walked toward her with big strides.

"Your Highness, no, Your Majesty, you finally came to see me."

He quickly walked up to her and half-knelt, bowing deeply. Then he looked up at her with a radiant face, the affection in his eyes completely unhidden.

Elara paused under his burning gaze for a couple of seconds, then raised her hand and took a box from the chief palace servant.

Inside the box was a thick stack of land deeds and various business contracts.

"These are some of the cleaner land and business contracts from the Ge family. You weren't involved in their crimes, and you still carry the Ge bloodline. So you will inherit these. They're enough for you to settle and live independently in Plumera City, without needing to rely on anyone else."

Imani stared blankly at the box handed to him, his breath almost stopping.

He had never imagined that those things he once said, whether to gain sympathy or stir pity, would actually be remembered by her. And now she was repaying him with such rare and generous gifts.

After a long while, Imani's eyes turned slightly red as he kowtowed in thanks.

"Thank you... thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

He bowed deeply to Elara, his breath trembling slightly, but he didn't reach out for the box.

After bowing, he looked up at Elara. The smile on his face faded a little as if he had sensed something, looking at her uneasily.

"But, Your Majesty, suddenly giving me all this, does it mean..."

"With these things, you won't need to depend on the Princess's Residence or anyone else anymore. Leave, Imani. Go wherever you want. Do what you want. From now on, you belong to yourself and no one else."

After Elara said that, she asked the chief palace servant to place the box next to him. Seeing that he was still stunned, she didn't wait and turned to leave.

She had done almost everything that needed to be done. The remaining men, whom she had only met once or not at all, could just be given a certificate of innocence and compensation, then sent out of the residence.

The original host had only enjoyed tormenting people and never truly cared about any of them.

As Elara walked out, she thought about how to handle the dismissal of the other men in the back courtyard.

Just as she reached the front gate of Imani's courtyard, she suddenly heard unsteady footsteps behind her. Then, her sleeve was carefully but tightly grabbed.

"Your... Your Highness, I... am I being kicked out?"

Imani half-knelt behind her, his voice panicked. He seemed thrown into chaos by the sudden turn of events and didn't know what to do.

He actually already knew that Mathias had been personally brought into the palace by Elara early on. And Oswyn, who had returned to Plumera City today, also appeared to have gone straight to the palace and hadn't come out since.

Imani did have the ambition to compete for affection and the means to try. But he was always aware of his own worth.

Oswyn and Mathias were the young master of the Medical Valley and a rare talent of the Pei Family. They could genuinely help Her Majesty. But he... he was sent by her enemy, had no talents, and besides a barely passable face, he had nothing.

So even though he often felt jealous of those two, Imani always knew he couldn't really compare.

He never dared to hope to enter the royal palace as quickly as those two. But at the very least... he thought he could keep staying in the Princess's Residence, waiting for the occasional glance from Her Majesty until one day she might take him to the palace.

But now...

"Your Majesty... I..."

Before he could finish, Elara calmly looked at him and said, "Imani, the Princess's Residence and the royal harem aren't good places. They're not what you imagine."

Imani fell silent. After a long while, unable to bear her gaze, he lowered his face. His half-kneeling figure looked even thinner and lonelier.

"Then... then Your Majesty, in the future, can I still come to find you..."

He didn't dare to hope to stay by her side anymore, fearing it would only make her more annoyed. But at least, could she not cut off all contact with him?

Elara frowned slightly, still thinking of how to respond, when she saw Imani slowly lift his gaze again. His reddened eyes held cautious pleading and flattery. His voice was soft, as if afraid a single wrong word would ruin everything.

"Your Majesty, I beg you, you know I still carry the Ge family's blood, and they have many enemies in Plumera City."

"You gave me such a massive fortune, but I'm just a lonely man. If I guard that much wealth without a wife to protect me, people will definitely covet, hate, or even take revenge on me."

"I will never marry anyone again. After leaving the Princess's Residence, I'll just be a plain man with wealth he doesn't deserve..."