Anna spent three days inside the lab.

As someone who didn’t have a science inclined background in her past life, she was ecstatic to look around the lab and remember what every piece of equipment did. Yet even though she wasn’t science versed, she was able to tell that majority of the equipment were newly invented.

By Princess Orchid.

Anna got to appreciate the Princess’s genius in its full potential.

In the three days she was secluded, she went to work.

First, she bottled a lot of her spores and had them sent over to Leon via Bella. According to Bella’s report, Leon was so aggressive that Anna had to assign six guard to escort Bella at all times. She also bottled more than needed, so her precious Bella would avoid Leon as much as possible.

Once that was done, she focused on her stats.

As for her bonus packages she still left them unopened. Her spore efficiency had improved to 20%, and by the end of her three days seclusion, they shot up to 37%.

She learned more about her spores, especially the black and white spores. Black spores meant death. It was as simple as that. The white spores acted as a stimulant of some sort.

She also figured out how to break the restrictive collars Princess Orchid forced all her husbands, except Leon, to wear. Thinking about the collars made Anna think about Leon which in turn worsened her mood so she scraped every single thought of him and focused on something else.

The collars will be handled later.

Against her will, Anna enjoyed learning about herself. But there was a journal she couldn’t open no matter how hard she tried, and a part of her memories that felt locked.

She summed it up to a trauma response. Even in her past life there were memories she didn’t visit often, choosing to leave them at the back of her mind due to the traumatic nature of them. Perhaps that was the same for Princess orchid. So, Anna didn’t bother much about it. She believed that when it was time, she would figure it out. After all, what could traumatize that princess? Maybe the devil himself.

No one was allowed into her lab, only Bella. And that caused its own sets of problems.

Outside the lab, the husbands tried to reach Anna to no avail.

Bella would vanish inside and come out hours later with the same report. The Princess was so busy she didn’t even notice Bella calling her attention.

"What could she be working on this time?" Kai asked no one in particular, a pout on his face. The past days he’d been restless, unable to sleep or even eat due to worry. Even though she woke up and smiled at him, he didn’t think she’d easily forgiven him. He still needed to talk to her!

Ray was a nervous wreck. The lab was fashioned so that he couldn’t hear anything. Not a sound, not a thought. So,he was totally in the dark. Was she okay? Was she eating well? What was she doing in there? Was her voice back? He had so many questions and no way to answer any of them.

Azul stood behind them, silent, his mind racing. He too wanted to see her. Touch her face again and feel her warmth under his hand.

After a while of silent waiting, they started bringing offerings.

Azul brought more white flowers. Kai brought his teeth, then decided against it and brought a book from the library. Ray brought more medical packets and her favourite tea blend from the kitchen.

Twice a day they brought gifts and Bella had to take them inside.

Anna pretended she didn’t like being disturbed, but she kept all of them in a glass display case over her main desk and stared at them in between working sessions.

In this way, three days quickly passed.

And Anna got her first task from the returned system.

[Break up a councilor’s marriage. Reward: points and surprise packages.]

Anna looked up from her journal. "How many points?"

[Points will be awarded based on how well you’re able to execute the task while staying true to your role as the villainess.]

"In essence, you’re setting me up to fail?"

[Haha, hostie. You’re very funny.]

Anna let the sarcasm fly over her head because if she dwelt on it, she would end up strangling the air.

Break up a councilor’s marriage. Anna didn’t even know anything about the councilor’s except that there was five of them and the only name she knew was Valor. Princess Orchid hadn’t bothered to learn about them either, Anna noticed that her memories were all filled with...well, what she was known for.

That means I’m all alone...

Unless...

Then Bella walked into the lab with a large bouquet of red flowers. "For you, your highness. From the acting General, Lord Tristan."

"That’s it!" anna exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Then she realized what Bella had said. "Not the flowers, throw them away please. I don’t know why a man will give a married woman red flowers? The fuck is wrong with Tristan?"

"He said he was sorry he didn’t visit when you were sick, and he hopes these will make up for that." Bella replied. Anna noticed the dreamy look on her face, and the way she held the flowers close to her chest.

"Do you have a crush on him?"

Bella turned a bright red, matching the petals of the flowers. "I couldn’t be so mad as to dream, your highness. Lord Tristan is a respected member of the army, and I am a mere servant. It would never work..." she whispered the last part to herself, her head bowed in shame.

Anna’s heart went out to her.

She walked up to Bella, gently took the flowers and tossed them aside, before raising Bella’s face to meet her eyes. "Don’t say stupid shit like that. You shouldn’t talk down on yourself. Be more positive."

"However more positive I may be, your highness, I’ll still wake up tomorrow as a servant."

Ouch.

Anna thought about her old life, she was a servant too. And now?

She smiled softly. "who knows? You might wake up in a new world as a princess."

Bella laughed. "I’m sorry...that came out wrong."

Anna shook her head. "It is hilarious. But it happens."

"I wish it did, your highness." Bella said. She sounded done with the conversation, and anna didn’t want to push it. She found it a bit strange that anyone would have a crush on Tristan. Then she recalled the way his hair shone, and how picture perfect pretty he was, and it made total sense.

She looked at the flowers on the ground, and something strange twisted in her gut. She didn’t like those flowers. The last time he’d given her one, she saw an eye inside it. Even though it was probably her imagination, she didn’t believe anyone would be stupid enough to try and hurt her, not with the line-up of her husbands.

Yet her mind never felt settled with Tristan. Why though? He’s so harmless. He’s practically a goldfish. Anna asked herself so many questions but the answer remained the same: I don’t know what it is about him, I just don’t like it.

"Alright. How about this? I have a job for you and your friends. And if you do it well, you just might get a little surprise. In addition to your payment, of course."

Bella’s eyes lit up, all thoughts of Tristan forgotten. "Anything you wish, your highness."

"The Councilors, I need everything you can find about them. Especially their married lives."

Bella’s eyes went wide. "Your highness...the councilors? All of them?"

Anna nodded. "Yes! You and your friends can get it done, right?"

Bella wrung her hands together, her gaze cutting to the discarded flowers. Anna wanted to crush those red petals under her feet. Yet she controlled herself. Bella took ten seconds before she nodded slowly and looked up at Anna.

"We can do it, although it will take a bit more time,"

[System, how long do I have for this task?]

[Three days, hostie.]

"can you get it done in two days?"

"Yes. We will."

Anna beamed. "I know I can always count on you, Bella. How are you siblings? Did they like the strawberries?"

"Oh they did, very much."

"Good. Then you’ll get even more. Just don’t forget to always do as I tell you to."

Bella bowed.

Anna realized a beat later how manipulative she’d sounded. Again, she didn’t feel guilty about it.

It’s not like I did anything bad...I’m just asking about her family because she mentioned them once. That’s all.

Yet as Bella walked out of the lab, Anna knew all her self-rationalizations were a bold lie.

She picked up the red flowers, threw them outside, and returned to the lab. Once inside, she faced her strawberry plant.

"I need to grow more."