The Villainess Wants To Retire-Chapter 186: Gifts

ERIS

Consciousness returned slowly, dragged back by noise I couldn’t quite identify and sunlight that felt far too bright even through closed eyelids.

For a confused handful of seconds, I couldn’t remember where I was or why every muscle in my body ached like I’d been training for combat.

There was only the overwhelming sense that I’d slept far longer than intended and that something was happening outside my door that required immediate attention.

Then memory returned... the feast, the forest, Soren... oh gods everything that happened... and I was suddenly wide awake and mortified and desperately hoping yesterday had been some kind of fever dream.

The commotion outside my chambers suggested otherwise.

Multiple voices, the sound of furniture being moved, footsteps that suggested far more people than should ever have business near my private rooms.

I sat up, pushing tangled hair out of my face, and realized with fresh embarrassment that I was still wearing Soren’s shirt. It still smelled like him... and made my traitorous body remember entirely too much about recent activities.

Before I could even consider getting properly dressed, my chamber door opened and someone swept in with the kind of confident energy that suggested they had every right to be there.

Mira.

"Your Majesty!" She was beaming, absolutely glowing with excitement. "You’re awake! Finally! I have so much to tell you!"

"Mira?" I blinked at her, still not quite convinced this wasn’t a dream. "What are you doing here?" 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Serving you, of course!" She moved to the windows, throwing open curtains with enthusiasm that made me wince against the sudden brightness. "His Majesty arranged everything. Your entire household... the personally selected every single person!"

"He what?"

Mira was already talking, her words tripping over themselves in her rush to explain.

"We arrived with the main procession, but I was told to wait, to keep quiet until you were settled... and then His Majesty summoned me yesterday and said I was to serve as your head lady-in-waiting and... oh! You haven’t even seen your gifts yet! Come!"

Before I could protest, she grabbed my hand and practically hauled me toward the doors leading into my private sitting room.

The moment she pushed them open, I stopped dead.

What I’d mistaken earlier for noise from the corridor was actually a whole team of attendants quietly arranging what could only be described as a mountain of wrapped packages... stacked across tables, chairs, even the floor in neat, militarily precise rows.

Ribbons in every color. Wax seals from noble houses. A few gilded boxes that practically radiated political weight.

I stared, still half-asleep and entirely overwhelmed.

"Mira, slow down." I held up one hand, trying to process everything while my brain was still catching up to consciousness. "Soren selected my household?"

"Every single person!" She nodded vigorously. "He was very... thorough. And quite intimidating about it, if I’m being honest. But in a good way! A protective way!"

"Protective."

"Oh yes." Her expression shifted into something between admiration and mild terror. "He gathered all of us... the ladies-in-waiting, the guards, the attendants, everyone and explained exactly what our duties were. And then he smiled."

The way she said "smiled" suggested it had not been a friendly expression.

"What kind of smile?"

"The kind that makes you understand why he’s Emperor." Mira shuddered slightly. "He said, ’Serve Lady Eris well. Protect her. Respect her.’ And we all nodded because of course we would. But then he paused, and the temperature in the room dropped about ten degrees, and he said..." She lowered her voice, clearly mimicking his tone, "’If any of you betray her, disrespect her, or cause her harm in any way, I’ll ensure your deaths are so creative that future generations will invent new words to describe the horror. Understood?’"

Despite everything... the exhaustion, the embarrassment, the overwhelming confusion—I felt my lips twitch.

"He said that."

"Word for word. With that smile that suggested he’d already planned seventeen different methods and was looking forward to demonstrating them." Mira’s eyes were wide. "Your Majesty, I think your future husband might be slightly terrifying."

"Only slightly?"

"Well, he’s also quite devoted to you, which is romantic! In a... threatening to murder your entire household if they displease you... kind of way."

I actually laughed at that, the sound surprising me with its genuine amusement. "Who else did he assign to my household?"

Mira immediately launched into explanations, ticking off names on her fingers. Four other ladies-in-waiting... chosen for competence rather than noble connections, which was unusual but practical. A contingent of personal guards led by a female knight I vaguely recognized from the journey, all of them handpicked from Soren’s own trusted troops and sworn directly to me rather than to any other authority.

Attendants for dressing and grooming, carefully vetted for skill and loyalty. A chamberlain who was apparently a former military logistics officer, which suggested Soren had valued organizational efficiency over courtly politeness.

Even scribes for correspondence... young, educated, without established loyalties to existing power structures.

He’d essentially built me a household from scratch, selecting every person for their ability to serve me effectively rather than their connections to Nevareth’s existing nobility.

Which meant he’d given me people Vetra couldn’t easily corrupt or control.

The political calculation was obvious. The thoughtfulness underlying it was... something else entirely.

"These started arriving at dawn," she said breathlessly, gesturing at the heap of gifts. "Every noble house in the capital sent something."

I moved closer, studying the packages with the kind of attention I’d once reserved for military intelligence reports.

She was right... each gift carried political weight.

Duke Konstantin had sent practical trade goods: fine fabrics from his coastal regions, samples of rare gemstones, a detailed manifest of shipping routes. The message was clear: I support this union and the economic opportunities it represents.

Several conservative noble houses had sent traditional items, embroidered handkerchiefs, jeweled hairpins, formal court accessories that tested whether I understood Nevareth’s intricate etiquette rules. We’re watching to see if you belong here.

I picked up one particularly elaborate package, noting the seal before I’d even broken it. House Virelya. Duke Viktor’s family crest pressed into red wax.

Interesting timing.

"Your Majesty?" Mira watched me examine the unopened gift. "Should I...?"

"Leave it for now." I set it back among the others, mental gears already turning. "I’ll open them properly later, when I can give each one the appropriate attention."

Because that’s what they were... tests. Challenges. Chess moves designed to position their senders advantageously while forcing me to respond in ways that would reveal my own intentions and capabilities.

My work had officially begun.