Reborn as a Mind-Reading Empress

"Yes, Your Majesty," Linus and Reuben replied politely.

"Oh, and we might depart as soon as tomorrow in the afternoon or evening so you should let the others do the work in the kitchen and begin preparing instead."

"T-tomorrow?!" Linus and Reuben paled when they realized it was that soon. They thought they had a longer time to prepare.

"Yes, tomorrow. His Excellency’s wife is waiting for the fruits we would get from Lobelius so we have to go as soon as possible," Arabella added.

Raymond had asked her about it today since Clarisse was getting moody and sulky with each day that passed and she was not able to eat the fruits she was craving.

"Then, we will go and prepare immediately, Your Majesty."

"Alright. But do not fret too much. You do not have to prepare something too grand," Arabella added since they might overdo it.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Linus and Reuben left in a hurry to plan more cuisines to prepare for Arabella’s family and get the ingredients packed.

"Please inform Alfredo that in case the ingredients Linus and Reuben listed were available in the storage area, he should get it there," Arabella instructed Alwin.

A lot of the fresh produce she had been receiving from gifts from the nobles, even the ones when she was poisoned, and even the ones from Medeus were stored with magic so they would not rot.

All of it was stored in the huge storage area dedicated to her.

Arabella had allowed Alfredo to get ingredients from the fruits, vegetables, and spices sent to her as gifts so they could use them in preparing meals. This way, the fresh goods gifted to her would not be wasted.

It was also used for the meals of her assistants. But since she had received so many lately, she was planning to donate half of it to the orphanages in Riva once her visit to Lobelius was over.

Arabella finished all the work on her table and it was already late when she was done.

"Alwin, will Ferdinand not return yet?" Arabella inquired since she had felt Ferdinand go somewhere far away earlier. She could still feel his presence so she did not worry.

However, it was concerning that he was not yet back when it was almost midnight already.

"No, Zion updated me earlier. My lord went to Count Morbal’s territory and the situation was not that good so he is still in a meeting with the Count at the moment," Alwin explained.

[I’m sure it was because he did not want her to see more problems here like she did last time.]

"Oh, he went there himself?" Arabella perked up. "No wonder I felt him go somewhere far. So that was where he went."

"Yes. He wanted to see the territory himself since he did not want a repeat of Safiro and Prudencia."

At Alwin’s response, Arabella could not help but smile. With Ferdinand checking the situation there himself, she was sure the situation there would be resolved.

Ferdinand’s image would also improve the more he visited territories that were in need. It would also prevent future hatred of him.

With Ferdinand visiting the territories himself, he would gain more support from the people even among the conquered territories.

In the past life, Ferdinand sent Raymond to take care of such matters. Thus, it was Raymond’s image and reputation that was bolstered.

Ferdinand was fine with it since he did not care much about his image and reputation. However, it ended badly since people did not know he was working too and mistook that it was just Raymond always doing the work.

"I see. That’s good then. This would help a lot in the future," Arabella smiled.

It would be for the best if Ferdinand went around the Empire like this more often.

It meant Arabella would not be with him a lot but it was fine as long as they were able to prevent the tragedy that happened in their past life.

"Indeed. He is still in a meeting with Count Morbal. He said that the situation there was not good but not that bad either so you do not need to fret about it. So, he emphasized that you should sleep first and not wait for him," Alwin added.

"I see. Alright then. I’ll be retiring for the night. You should rest too," Arabella yawned as she indeed began to feel sleepy after all the work she did today.

It would have been nice to have Ferdinand beside her but she would be fine sleeping alone as well.

Arabella then retired to her chambers. She bathed on her own and went to bed.

A cold breeze passed by and she hugged the covers, "It’s getting colder and colder."

After receiving a lot of mana from Ferdinand, Arabella was no longer as sensitive to the cold as she once was. However, she had gotten used to having his warm body beside her so when she was alone in bed, she could feel the cold more.

Arabella got up and closed the open window and curtains. It was nice to have fresh air inside her room but since it was cold, it was better to close it.

She did not want to get a fever when they would be heading to Lobelius tomorrow.

Arabella catching a sickness could easily be interpreted as the people here not taking good care of her so she had to maintain her health.

When she returned to her bed though, Arabella frowned when it was still cold. She could not possibly be missing Ferdinand already, right?

’Maybe, I need more covers.’

Arabella got up to retrieve more sheets. Ever since Aletha arrived here in Riva and informed the other maids that Arabella was sensitive to the cold, more sheets were stored in the wardrobe in Arabella’s room so that she could get more sheets easily when she needed one.

Aletha knew that Arabella would feel bad waking up one of her maids late into the night just to ask for more covers so the setup was made.

Thanks to that, Arabella could easily retrieve one if needed.