1324 A Calculative Woman

"Miss, please do go in. As for the rest of you, since your majesty has approved of his private audience with the misses, then you'll have to wait here diligently." The secretary said, halting Ezenia's guards and aide.

Heh.

Ezenia smirked, already feeling very accomplished for achieving this much.

Now, it was time to unleash her feminine wiles out for the weakling to glimpse upon.

Like so, she quickly puckered her lips and strolled into the scene very delicately, neither being too soft nor looking too confident or arrogant.

She was just the right mix of expressions on her stunning face that could intrigue and keep a man's attention for days.

1, 2, 3... Step by step, she inched into the magnificent audience hall that was lined with blue tapestries, costing a fortune.

The giant pillars, high ceiling walls, as tall as 2 and a half stories tall, all made the place look even more gigantic than it already was.

And seated on the massive golden throne was the dashing Henry.

Henry didn't have that overly burly masculine look as Ulrich. His handsomeness was more on the delicate side. And coupled with his natural lean physique, he also didn't look excessively intimidating.

Ezenia sneered, still considering him to be a weakling. Of course, on the surface, she still showed a very cordial and distressed look when seeing Henry.

And with a deep bow, she began her game plan.

"Your majesty... It's been a while."

Henry raised his row suspiciously: "Yes... Yes, it has... Miss Ezenia, you may now raise your head."

With teary eyes, Ezenia did as she was told: "Thank you, your majesty."

Henry was uncomfortable seeing her like this.

'What was up with this woman? Since when has she ever been so peaceful looking?'

Henry's tongue rolled at the back of his throat, utterly confused by her actions.

You know, growing up, Ezenia had always been the devil's incarnate to him. He had suffered uncountable great deals because of her.

This new side of her was something he had never witnessed before.

Even when she was with Ulrich, she still showed all her vicious natures to him. And Ulric didn't mind one bit.

He, on the other hand, seemed to have an ounce of respect for women who went after what they wanted, no matter the consequences. Of course, acting wise was also something he admired.

If she did this stupidly, he was sure that Ulrich wouldn't even give ger the time of day.

Seeing his discomfort, Ezenia thought he did so because of his shyness when peeking at her perky bosoms.

Her green corset-like gown did an outstanding job of raising ger bosoms to her chin. And even if one didn't mean to stare, they would subconsciously peek at them once in a while.

'Heh. Men... They're all the same!' She thought.

Though she hated this weakling, seeing him secretly fall for her feminine wiles gave her a confidence boost. After all, what woman doesn't like to be admired?

Ezenia licked her rosy lips and pouted seductively.

"Your majesty, I-I-I came here to ask for your forgiveness."

"Forgiveness?"

Ezenia nodded vigorously, with eyes gleaming with remorse, pity and warmth: "Yes, yes, your majesty. I came here just for that."

~Plop.

She fell to her knees with her hands on the ground, crying woefully.

"Your majesty... When I think of how I was in the past, I feel very ashamed. I used to be arrogant, thinking that doing this was the only way to go. But now... Now I know better." She said, lifting her reddish eyes towards the silent Henry.

'Damn bastard! How dare you keep me groveling for this long? When I touched the ground, weren't you supposed to tell me to arise? What do you mean by this?'

Ezenia's heart was boiling with rage at her predicament. Of course, all these were her thoughts. But no matter how much she cursed Henry, on the surface, she was still remorseful, masking all her worked calculations.

~Woooooooo~

"Your majesty, I beg of you. Please forgive me for all I did earlier on. Over time, because of Baymard's influence, I've learnt the error of my ways and am deeply apologetic for my past nature. More importantly, I also want to express my gratitude for not harming me all this time." She said, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Your majesty, you could've easily killed off all those who harmed you in any way growing up. But you didn't. You didn't allow hatred to cloud your judgment. Your majesty, I'm but a woman, and if you did attack my noble household, then I wouldn't be able to stand up at all. As for my fiance....I-I... Your majesty, he manipulated me into hurting you." She said, pushing all the blame to Ulrich for now.

Yup. After all, he would understand that she was doing this for his good, right?

"Your majesty, please believe me when I say that my true nature wasn't what you always saw," She said, biting her lips pitifully, as though she would commit suicide if Henry didn't believe her.

Henry listened in utter silence, staring intently at the weak lady groveling on the floor.

He couldn't deny that seeing her like this did strike his empathetic side.

Who hasn't made mistakes before?

Even a few others who bullied him growing once had a change of hearts thanks to Baymard's influence. No doubt, some did this because of fear, not wanting him to retaliate back.

It was just that seeing and scrutinizing Ezenia's appearance and fleeting gazes, he was more inclined to believe that she might have truly had a change of heart instead.

Ezenia's situation made her feelings more believable.

Over the past year, he had heard of how difficult her life had been since Ulrich's demise.

She used to be favored because of Ulrich, overshadowing her other stepsisters.

But after the incident, her father turned his attention to his other daughters, feeling that she was a lost pawn.

Yes. Ezenia still had her grandfather, but word on the street was that her own mother forbade her from seeing the old man.

So it did make sense that she would feel so depressed and remorseful for her actions.

Henry sighed and shook his head wryly.

"Get up... I forgive you."

Checkmate!

Ezenia inwardly smirked.

"Thank you... Thank you, your majesty."

Heheheheh... Phase 1 completed.