I walked with Mary and Millie in the Imperial palace. A month had passed and now my depressed state morphed into one of feeling completely numb. I could barely at night so my appearance looked really run down. Even my hair didn't seem to flip out at the ends as it usually did.

The only reason why I left my mansion today was because the envoy was arriving. It was the first time I had left my house in weeks. If one were to look at me, they would realize that as well.

Mary studied me closely as she spoke, "I am sorry that William is not here with you today. He sent me in his place, but he wanted me to tell you that he isn't ignoring you because he is angry. He just doesn't know how to face you quite yet."

I sighed and pushed the hair out of my eyes, "It's fine. I don't want to force him to do something he doesn't want to."

Mary grabbed my hand, "Oh... Seri... Please cheer up. The envoy is here and I know that you and Queen Hypatia get along really well. I'm sure once you see her you will forget all about Dante and William ignoring you completely."

Millie shot her a warning glance and Mary realized she had slipped up and said the D word. She looked at us both apologetically. However, I didn't care too much.

I shrugged, "I guess..."

We walked into the main room to meet the envoys. Hypatia and the King were standing next to each other surrounded by their personal knights. When they saw me, Hypatia skipped over to me. "Ah! The lovely Seri. I am so happy to meet you again."

I forced on a smile, "I am happy to see you as well."

Hypatia studied my face closely and reached out to hold my cheeks as she inspected every inch. She picked up the end of my hair to flip it upwards, but it soon deflated back down. She frowned, "Why does your hair seem depressed?"

I sighed, "Long story..."

"Hmm.." She released my face from her grip.

Millie spoke, "Seri. This is the Prime Minister from the Northern nation."

I looked and saw Millie standing next to the Minister and his wife. I forgot that they don't have Kings and Queens there. Even though they are technically owned by our Kingdom, they are still an independent country. As such, they had their own kind of government and our monarchy didn't try too hard to completely take it over.

It was probably because of some treaty bullsh*t, but I don't really care too much about that now.

The wife rushed over to me with shining eyes, "Have my eyes deceived me?! Is this truly the goddess?"

"Huh?"

Goddess?

Mary's eyes also sparkled, "So you follow the one true goddess as well?!"

The wife nodded quickly, "I do! My Nation follows those values every moment of our lives!"

The Minister smiled with pride, "Every member of our Nation follows the goddess who cares for even the poorest of people."

I don't have the energy to figure out what they are even talking about.

Mary spoke, "Well this weekend I am attending a church event. You both are free to come with me." They both agreed eagerly.

After our greetings, I began to show them around the Kingdom. We finished and returned back to the Imperial Palace to enjoy the drinks I had gotten from my fathers company. They enjoyed the whiskey while I drank straight from my own oversized bottle.

Millie watched me with concern, "Seri... Drinking in excess won't help..."

I nodded, "I know. But it helps momentarily."

Hypatia sat next to me, "Seri. What is happening? We are all your friends. If something is bothering you, perhaps we can help."

The Ministers wife nodded, "Yes! Anything to help the one true goddess."

I looked at all of their eager faces and sighed. "Well... You see, I have been with a man named Dante. I truly do like him. However, I didn't tell him who his real father was even though I knew exactly who it was. On top of that, I kept many other important secrets from him. He was upset so he stopped talking to me."

Hypatia nodded, "I see. So it is a problem with love."

I nodded, "I suppose you could say that. The problem is that he doesn't love me anymore. Which hurts even more knowing that we had just slept together for the first time. I didn't even get to enjoy a second time..."

Mary and Millie both spat out their drink in surprise. I continued paying it no attention, "I wanted to apologize, but he keeps avoiding me. I don't want to force him to speak with me until he wants to. Plus, he may actually cut off my head so it may just be better to leave him alone..."

Hypatia took in all this information thinking hard, "So that's why you wouldn't sleep with my husband and me. Of course, a couple's first time is special. Now I understand why you denied our advances."

That and I'm not a swinger.

Millie and Mary were stunned into silence once more.

Hypatia spoke in a cheerful tone, "Oh! I know! You can just make him food!"

I glanced at her, "Food?"

She nodded, "Yes. They say the way into a person's heart is through their stomach. So, you just need to cook Dante something and he will realize how sorry you are."

"I dunno..."

The King nodded, "It's true. Hypatia made me cookies and after that, I fell in love with her."

Hypatia spoke, "That's because it had a love potion in it dear."

He smacked the table playfully, "I knew it."

The Minister's wife clasped her hands together, "What a wonderful idea! We can help you cook something. Our nation has a dessert specifically for those in love. It is said that if one gives it to their true love, they will be together for a while."

The Northern Nation seems to be really obsessed with love.

Hypatia stood up, "To the kitchen!"

"WAIT!" Mary and Millie shouted in unison.

We stood in the kitchen preparing the homemade dessert. Mary and Millie watched to the side with nervous expressions as I cooked. Hypatia and the Ministers wife instructed me how to cook and I followed their instruction wearing a glum look.

Mary and Millie were shocked to see that I was following orders without even getting excited and throwing strange materials into the dish. We managed to finish the dessert without ever setting the kitchen on fire.

Millie looked at me suspiciously, "Seri... There really must be something terribly wrong with you. You didn't even try to burn down the kitchen!!!"

"Hmm..." I hummed without energy.

Hypatia grabbed a fork, "Let's just try it, shall we?"

She took a bite and immediately froze. She began to cry uncontrollably.

Mary panicked, "What is it?! Does it taste bad?!? Spit it out! Spit it out!"

She shook her head, "It's not that... It's just that... Taking a bite suddenly made me overwhelmed with sadness..." Hypatia turned to me, "Seri... I think your sadness has infiltrated the dessert."

Millie scoffed, "That's not possible. You can't cook sadness into a dish."

Millie took a bite and immediately broke out into sobs, "M-My heart hurts soooo bad!"

The others quickly took a bite and immediately the room was filled with sobs and sniffles. Looks like I successfully made a potion that causes one to be depressed.

Wonderful.

______

I lay out on the couch while Hypatia gave me a back massage, "You must be really stressed. You have so many knots."

The wife spoon fed me a sweet syrup, "In our culture, this dish is supposed to cure a broken heart."

Mary and Millie watched the scene wondering if they should even be there.

I looked at all of them, "By the way... I'm supposed to ask you both for help. King William wants to go to war with the Sanki Kingdom, but he needs your help to do so."

The Minister nodded, "Whatever the goddess desires, we will do."

I raised an eyebrow, "Just who exactly is this goddess?"

The wife patted my head, "You, my darling."

I rolled my eyes. Sure I am. I bet I just so happen to look like their goddess or something. It's probably a cultural thing.

The King spoke, "Hypatia and I would also do anything to help you out. Tell the King that we are willing to help."

Mary stood up, "I-I guess I will go tell him then?" No one paid her any attention. She shrugged and walked away.

Hypatia smiled at me, "By the way. We went and gave Dante that dish you made."

"Hmm?"

She nodded and looked at Millie. Millie sighed, "I had one of your uh... Friends. Run it to him. They confirmed that he did take a bite."

"Oh.." Somehow I don't feel that much better...

Millie couldn't bear to admit that once Dante took a bite, he too started crying. Or rather... What would be considered crying for Dante.

The next day, they all spoke with William in private to discuss what he needed help with. Hypatia and the King agreed to send resources, and the Minister agreed to help manufacture and send weapons. Once the plan was all figured out, they bid farewell to us and left.

I stood waving off Hypatia and the others with a somber expression.

Millie glanced at me, "Do you feel a bit better now?"

I shrugged, "Perhaps."