With Ferdinand's thoughts loud in her head, Arabella thought she wouldn't be able to sleep at all.
But she miraculously did.
She woke up in her bed instead of the couch where she stayed the previous night.
Ferdinand must have carried her, yet she did not even stir when he did so.
It must have been due to the exhaustion and headache from listening to Ferdinand's detailed plans.
'Wait!'
Arabella realized something important.
'He didn't do anything, did he?'
She gasped when she checked the sheets, and there was a bloodstain on them.
'Did that bastard do something to me while I was asleep? I will never forgive him!'
Arabella reminded herself that her husband was scum she plotted to ruin, and it took her ten years, a whole decade, before she finally succeeded.
She should not have allowed herself to be in the same room with such a dangerous being in the first place.
Arabella realized she still held Ferdinand to a certain standard. She never thought he would stoop as low as doing such a thing to someone asleep.
It never crossed her mind before that he could go this far.
'Did he use something on me that I did not even wake up while he was doing something?'
Arabella was in a panic as she quickly checked on her body.
It didn't ache anywhere.
She should be feeling the pain from his intrusion if Ferdinand forced himself on her while she was asleep.
She would have awakened from the pain as well, unless they used something so she would not wake up, no matter what.
Noticing the body-sized mirror on the side through her peripheral vision, she walked to it and checked her body.
There were no additional marks aside from the ones Ferdinand intentionally left for the maids to see.
'Nothing happened…'
Even if Ferdinand had tried to be as gentle as he could, there would have been marks left by him because even light pressure left marks on Arabella's skin.
But there was none aside from her neck and arms.
Ferdinand didn't stoop low.
A sigh of relief escaped Arabella's lips.
Ferdinand must have faked the blood to make it more believable that they had consummated.
Arabella was relieved he did not cross the last bit of expectation she held of him and did not disappoint her further. At least he was not disgustingly low to just take her while she was unconscious.
But then again, it might be because he was still trying to act nice since he still needed to get an heir out of her to satisfy his ministers' demands.
"Your Majesty, we are the maids assigned to you. We are here to help you bathe and get dressed," Arabella heard a familiar voice say.
It was Irene, one of the maids who also served her in her previous life.
Four maids usually attended to Arabella's needs back then.
They were Irene, Carla, Eunice, and Renee.
Arabella returned to the bed and pretended to have just woken up.
"You may come in," she yawned and stretched as they entered, intentionally letting the covers slip to her waist so the maids would see the marks Ferdinand left on her skin.
The four maids bowed and introduced themselves.
Arabella already knew them, though.
[Oh my!
Our lord and our lady had consummated.
It must be true that our Emperor is finally in love!]
Irene's thoughts popped into her mind. She was Arabella's most naive maid, who reminded her of her young self.
Now that she could hear the maid's thoughts, she realized Irene was even more naive and innocent than she previously thought.
Irene was kind and obedient, though.
[Wow! The Empress is so beautiful, even with such marks on her neck.
After all, those were proof of the Emperor's love.
Kyaah! I'm so envious.
I wish I could marry a man who loves me too.]
This was Carla's.
She was Arabella's most loose-mouthed maid.
Carla just says and does as she pleases as long as she was in line. She was open-minded, thoug,h and did her work well.
[Our lady looks exhausted.
His Majesty must have been rough last night.
Geez, couldn't he have been more gentle?
Our lady seems so delicate.
He should have held back more.
He doesn't really know how to treat a lady, does he?
We should prepare a rejuvenating tea for Her Majesty.]
This was Eunice's.
Eunice was Arabella's most capable maid. She can do everything she was tasked to do, successfully, and without any issues.
Arabella did not know Eunice was this thoughtful of her. She truly does her job well.
[Such an exquisite face and alluring body.
Despite lacking sleep, look how luminescent and spotless her skin was aside from those marks.
Because of all this, she became the Emperor's wife.
I was once beautiful, too.
But why didn't I have this kind of luck?]
This was Renee's.
Renee was Arabella's source of information about what was going on around the palace.
In her previous life, Renee was the one Arabella tasked with adding poison to Ferdinand's food since Renee was tight-lipped and could be trusted with such dangerous matters.
'What did she mean when she thought she was once this beautiful too?'
People around them did not have particularly strong impressions of Renee; the gazes usually fell on her fellow maids.
Most perceived that Renee was not ugly, but she was not strikingly pretty either. Even Renee herself thought so. She didn't have any scars or imperfections on her face that would have made her look less attractive, but she lacked appeal and presence, so people often thought she looked somewhat plain.
Renee's features were okay, but she didn't stand out.
It was why she was perfect for sneaking here and there, so Arabella used her for such things in her previous life.
"Your Majesty, do you feel unwell? Do you need more sleep?" Eunice inquired.
"No. I'm just exhausted, and my body is aching a bit. I should be fine after a bath."
Arabella wanted to wash off Ferdinand's kisses on her neck and arms.
His touch and attention were things she used to long for, but time had long passed since then. She didn't want them now.
If he did not stay in her room for long, she would have gone to the bath immediately to cleanse herself.
The maids prepared her for the day and served her breakfast.
And the entire time, she kept hearing thoughts from Renee appreciating her face and body and everything she did.
It was unnerving and weird.
Renee sounded obsessed with beauty and perfection. And she seemed to see Arabella as the epitome of both.
Then again, Arabella was famous for her looks across the continent.
Everyone thought she was so lucky and blessed because of her poise and looks.
Was it truly something to envy? They did not know just how unfortunate her life turned out.
Despite all the beauty and perfection, which led people to think she would be loved, Arabella lived her entire life ignored and unloved by her husband.
He even poisoned their son.
All these years, she had been wondering why Ferdinand even married her in the first place.
He could have just married anyone.
The only reason she could think about was because of her fame as the fairest maiden and most perfect wife candidate for the royals in Eliora.
A lot of men chased her because of this, after all. Because she was said to be the best wife candidate, since they believed they were also the best, they wanted her for themselves as a trophy.
Because Ferdinand was the one with the most power in Eliora, he probably thought he was entitled to get the one famed as the most desired lady on the continent, even if he did not really want her.
It was all for show and pride.
And this was exactly another reason why Arabella crushed his source of pride and entitlement.
"Your Majesty, the food is here," Eunice's voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
Arabella was served breakfast in bed. Not really having any appetite, she ate a bit and pretended to feel unwell so she wouldn't have to go out.
She used her time alone to collect her thoughts and figure out her newly gained ability.
She surmised the ability was with her because she went back in time.
It must have been a side-effect, or the gods had some plans to toy with her.
When she felt stuffy in her room, Arabella tried walking around a bit to encounter some knights and maids in the palace.
She used the opportunity to learn more about her ability.
Through her walk, she figured out she could hear what people were thinking about when she was with them.
At first, she thought the people had to be in her view for her to be able to hear their thoughts.
However, that wasn't always true.
Once she was close enough, she could hear their thoughts without having to see them.
She realized she had to avoid places with too many people since it was too much for her to handle.
Just having all four of her maids in her room thinking all sorts of things already gave her a headache.
It was exhausting.
Having ten or more people around her was even worse. Especially when all they thought about was that she was indeed pretty, but must be dumb, and had nothing else to offer but her face, fame, and body.
Arabella concluded that the gods must have cursed her after she made Valeria fall and caused the deaths of too many people.
She was being punished.
'Are they saying I am not allowed to rest after what I've done?
But if I cannot be with my son, then I'll have to torment my husband again.
I just have to change how I torment him now, or else, I might be reborn as his wife again after this life.'
Arabella thought that perhaps she had overdone her plot.
Perhaps, she shouldn't have involved the entire empire, which had a lot of innocent citizens in it.
But she already did in her past life.
Now, she had to plan once again how to make Ferdinand lose his power, but without involving the common people.
Should she support the Prime Minister and help him ascend the throne? The people quite liked the Prime Minister, and he worked well, too. He would likely be a better Emperor than Ferdinand.
As for Ferdinand, if she had just poisoned him to death quickly, it wouldn't have been suffering at all if he died so easily.
She had to make him feel pain, disappointment, and suffering.
His death should not be something instant; he would not even know he died.
'Or are the gods telling me to live this life differently?
Should I ask for a divorce from Ferdinand and live this life peacefully somewhere away from the empire?
But would he even agree?
Wouldn't he think of it as an insult to him and just lop my head off?'
Arabella knew from her previous life that Ferdinand was not violent to women.
He was just indifferent to them.
But he was not merciful to them either. He kills anyone ruthlessly, regardless of gender, rank, or affiliation.
If she were not careful and earned his ire, she would lose this life so easily.
But then again, is there even meaning in living this life again?
Is there even meaning to once again doing something she already accomplished in the past?
After ten long years, all she wanted was to finally meet her son in the afterlife, yet even that was not permitted.
'What should I do?'
The night quickly came as Arabella was lost in thought for a long while, thinking about what to do with Ferdinand.
And once again, she had to think of a way to deal with him so he would not bed her.