After harvesting all the green fruits from the Moondusk Shrub, the Empress immediately ordered them to the kitchen.
Once there, she instructed them to roast the green beans over the fire.
And as soon as the rich, earthy aroma filled the air,
Her smile grew wider.
Ceres even helped them remove the husk from the roasted beans after they had cooled.
However, when she realized they couldn't continue the process until the next day, she pouted in disappointment.
She looked like an impatient child waiting to unwrap a long-awaited gift.
Even when night fell, her excitement did not fade.
After Legion helped her bathe, while he assisted her in dressing, and even as he brushed her hair,
She couldn't stop talking about how eager she was to finally drink her coffee.
The next morning, Ceres woke up earlier than usual.
Despite her habit of waking at the Hour of the Mystic Fish (11:00), she was already wide awake by Hour of the Archer (8:00).
The moment Legion entered to prepare her bath, she greeted him brightly.
"Good morning!" she said, smiling.
"Good morning, Your Highness," he replied, immediately moving to assist her.
As usual, he helped her undress, guiding her into the bath chamber.
They hadn't shared a bed since that night, as Ceres had no need to replenish her HP while it was still above 30.
But she had grown accustomed to Legion seeing her completely bare.
While he lathered her hair with a mixture of milk, herbs, and flower extracts, her personal replacement for shampoo, she sighed in contentment.
"Is Delphine preparing the coffee?" she asked, eyes closed as his gentle fingers massaged her scalp.
"Yes, Your Highness," he confirmed.
Every now and then, she felt the lightest brush of his lips against her shoulder.
She let him.
Sometimes, she even tilted her neck slightly, giving him more access.
"How are your preparations for the expedition?" she asked lazily, still enjoying the warm water.
"I'm ready. But I will continue to train until the expedition begins," Legion said, continuing to soap her back.
"How much is your HP and MP now?"
Ceres had been secretly raising their HP and MP through Monarch's Blessing, but she never told them.
She wasn't sure if they had noticed.
After all, she discovered a loophole.
No matter how much or little food or drink she prepared, the cost to her HP remained 0.5.
She had realized this when she blessed them with abilities.
She had assumed that each blessing would cost 0.5 HP separately.
Instead, it was like a 'buy one, get two free' deal.
She had tested the theory several times.
For instance, whenever she shared food or drink with them, instead of 0.5 per person, the cost remained 0.5 total, as long as it was from the same plate or glass.
That was probably why Ori had warned her that Monarch's Blessing was tricky.
But now, Legion had noticed something strange.
"It's leveling up, but something unusual is happening to my HP," he admitted.
Ceres tilted her head.
"How unusual?" she asked, leaning forward so Legion could better wash her back.
Legion hesitated for a moment, then answered.
"Whenever you offer us food or drink, and… that night, " he began, referring to the night they spent together.
"My MP and HP increase by 10 every time."
He paused.
"The MP growth is normal. Right now, my MP is at 150/200."
Ceres listened intently as he continued.
"But my HP… it's at 150/200 + 100."
He glanced at her cautiously, his brows furrowing.
"And so is Delphine's. Her MP is now 60/100, and her HP is 80/100 + 50."
Ceres narrowed her eyes.
'Ori, why is this happening? What's going on?'
Ori responded immediately.
'The natural way for mortals to level up, Your Highness, is through MP first.'
'Once they reach their MP limit, their HP increases by 1.'
'For example, if Legion's HP was 150/200 and his MP was 50/200, he would need to reach 200/200 MP first before his HP could increase to 151/200.'
'When his HP increases, his MP resets to 50/200, and he must max it out again to increase his HP further.'
'Upon reaching 200/200 HP, he would level up to Level 30, increasing his max HP and MP to 300. His starting stats upon leveling up would be 100/300 MP and 200/300 HP.'
Ceres absorbed the information, her fingers tapping idly against the rim of the bath.
'Your blessing gives them 10 HP and MP each time. Because your blessing defies the natural laws of mortal progression. MP functions as usual, but the HP you grant, becomes 'reserved HP', an emergency buffer. If their HP drops to zero, the reserve HP you granted will automatically restore their health.'
Ceres blinked.
'So if Legion's HP reaches 0/200, his reserve HP will instantly bring it back to 100/200 because he has 100 reserve HP?'
'Yes, Your Highness.'
'What if he has 1,000 reserve HP? Would that allow him to level up faster?'
'No. The reserve HP only restores lost health; it does not count towards leveling. If Legion's HP drops to 0 and his normal max is 150/200, it will only refill up to 150.'
'If he keeps taking damage, the process will repeat until all of his reserve HP is depleted.'
Ceres felt her irritation growing.
'So my blessing only helps them survive longer, it doesn't actually help them grow stronger?'
'Correct, Your Highness. They still level up normally through MP gain.'
Ori hesitated for a moment before adding:
'If your HP blessing contributed to their leveling… they would no longer be human, would they?'
Ceres froze.
The realization hit her like a cold slap to the face.
Her Monarch's Blessing wasn't just some overpowered gift.
The Three Fates didn't bestow her power to make her life easier.
They tied her down with responsibility.
'Those assholes.'
The words of Spider-Man's Uncle Ben suddenly echoed in her head.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Ceres's eye twitched.
"Motherfucker!"
Her furious outburst echoed through the bath chamber.
Legion froze mid-motion.
"Your Highness?" He stopped scrubbing her back, visibly concerned.
Ceres exhaled sharply through her nose.
"Don't mind me. Just finish up already. I want to drink my damn coffee."
Legion hesitated but resumed his task.
Meanwhile, Ceres clenched her fists under the water.
'Did they really think I'd take responsibility for handing out blessings like some divine patron?'
Her lips curled into a sneer.
'Fuck them.'
"Do you have any idea why our HP is behaving this way, Your Highness?" Legion asked while carefully drying her long hair.
"Yes," Ceres replied curtly.
Silence stretched between them.
Through the vanity mirror, Legion watched her, waiting. He didn't press further, but the curiosity was evident in his brown eyes.
Ceres smirked, raising an eyebrow.
"What? You expect me to just tell you?"
Legion flushed, his ears turning red.
"It's for you to figure out," she added, crossing her legs as she studied his reaction.
A slow smile spread across Legion's lips.
"I understand, Your Highness," he said, continuing his task with renewed focus.
After drying her hair, Legion helped her dress. Thanks to Delphine's skills, Ceres now had an array of elegant yet comfortable clothes, ones that could rival Earth's luxury brands. No more suffocatingly tight corsets, heavy skirts, or layers upon layers of fabric meant to stifle movement.
She also insisted that Delphine create her own wardrobe and stop wearing the stiff, traditional maid's uniform.
At first, both Delphine and Legion had been scandalized, especially when Ceres started wearing spaghetti-strap dresses that hugged her curves. But after some time, they simply adapted.
Besides, with the Cherry Blossom Tree's magic, the Empress Palace was no longer affected by the freezing temperatures of Aquilonis. The tree's magic created a perfect climate, warm but cool, never too humid nor too dry. Ceres could wear whatever she wanted without worrying about the cold.
Once she was ready, they left for the kitchen, walking instead of teleporting.
The one time Legion teleported her, she had gotten so dizzy she nearly threw up. The thought of being teleported while her HP was below 50 made her blood boil at the potential discomfort she would have to endure.
So she ordered him to only teleport her if absolutely necessary.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Delphine greeted warmly when they arrived. She was already grinding the Moondusk beans they had harvested yesterday.
Her hair was no longer tied up.
Ceres had insisted she wear it down because it suited her better. She was right.
Unlike Legion, who had silver hair, Delphine's hair was a soft chestnut brown, complementing her large, doe-like brown eyes. Without the stiff maid uniform, she looked even more delicate and innocent.
Ceres inhaled deeply.
The rich aroma of coffee filled the air.
By the time Delphine had finished grinding the beans, Ceres instructed her to boil them in a kettle for a Twilight Phase, roughly ten minutes on Earth.
A slow smile crept across her lips as the scent intensified.
"Smells so good," she sighed, closing her eyes in satisfaction.
Once the coffee had finished brewing, Delphine carefully filtered it through cloth to remove the grounds before pouring it into a cup.
"Sugar?" Ceres asked casually.
Delphine blinked.
"I'm not familiar with that ingredient, Your Highness," she admitted.
Ceres froze.
'Oh. Right. There's no sugar in Solmara.'
"We have honey," Delphine offered.
Ceres grimaced.
"That works, but I don't like honey in my coffee," she muttered, wrinkling her nose.
She could create sugar, but the problem was where to plant it.
Sugarcane was a tropical plant, it didn't grow in cold climates.
But since her creations didn't follow Earth's natural laws, she could set conditions to make it adaptable.
However, sugarcane required a large area to grow.
Ceres turned to Legion.
"Is there a large open space in the Empress Palace where we can plant something?"
"The forest behind the palace," Legion answered immediately. "It's still under the protection of the Cherry Blossom Tree."
Ceres nodded.
"Then we'll go there later," she said. "For now, get me another barrel with a cover."
Legion disappeared in a blink.
He returned less than a minute later, carrying a large barrel.
Ceres ran her fingers along the wooden lid, her mind already calculating.
She wouldn't waste HP constantly creating sugar. Instead, she would create a sugarcane crop to sustain them.
For now, though…
She placed a hand over the barrel.
A pulse of golden light spread across its surface.
When she lifted the lid, it was filled with sugar cubes.
She had her reserve.
Finally, Ceres lifted her cup, inhaling the deep, rich scent of coffee.
And took her first sip.
A long, satisfied sigh left her lips.
It had been weeks since she last had coffee.
Tea was fine, but it was never coffee.
Delphine and Legion stared at her expectantly.
"Would you like to try it?" she asked.
They exchanged hesitant glances before nodding.
Delphine poured them each a cup.
Legion took a careful sip, while Delphine hesitantly blew on hers before tasting it.
The moment the warmth spread through them, their eyes widened.
"This is perfect for cold weather," Ceres hummed.
"But don't drink it at night," she warned, setting her cup down. "And definitely not if you need to sleep. This will keep you awake for hours."
Delphine nodded in understanding.
Legion, however, was still staring at his cup.
He took another sip, then another.
Then he looked at Ceres, expression unreadable.
"Your Highness…" he started.
Ceres arched an eyebrow.
"This might be… the greatest thing you've ever made."
She laughed.
"I know right."