Chapter 92: Ch 92. Get it Free?

Vee felt worried upon hearing their words, while Selena actually smiled slightly because it turned out all of that was already an open secret.

She thought her marriage to the beast kings was something people didn’t talk about much. But it turned out quite a few people knew, and that made her smile slightly as she picked a strawberry.

"Your Majesty—"

"Just call me ’Miss’ here; I don’t want anyone to know my identity." Selena said, causing Vee to nod reluctantly.

"Miss, you shouldn’t take what they said to heart. They actually feel sorry for you because they realize you’re at a disadvantage in a marriage bound to those five kings," Vee said, making Selena smile softly.

"I know," she replied, then placed the strawberry in the basket. "They’re women, so they see things the same way I do. I never expected there to be women with such open minds in the world of Eldoria."

"Of course, because there are only female partners in Eldoria—women who share husbands or whose husbands have multiple wives. Not all beasts can marry, so while there are quite a few who can, sometimes there are few potential partners in certain regions. That’s why most of them end up sharing partners," said Vee, causing Selena to raise an eyebrow.

"What’s the problem if they can’t marry?"

"There are several factors. One of them is that most of the wild beasts here can’t be subdued by other Beast races. That makes it difficult for the Eldoria World Council to manage marriages as planned. Marriage in this world is quite strictly regulated and must be overseen by the Eldoria World Council, which is why many residents end up not marrying because their arranged matches aren’t a good fit," said Vee.

Selena was confused by this. "Don’t wild beasts usually have hormones that allow them to mate on their own? As long as the partner they want matches their preferences, they can mate. Why does the Eldoria World Council have to regulate all of this?"

Vee shook her head. "I don’t know the exact reason; ever since I’ve been alive, everything has been regulated this way by the Eldoria World Council. That’s why your marriage is also arranged by the Eldoria World Council after seeking guidance from the Gods—it’s essentially the same, but the difference is that there’s a specific goal in mind, so the method is slightly different," she explained, causing Selena to nod in agreement.

"I think I need to change all that—we shouldn’t have to ask for guidance or arrangements from the Eldoria World Council just to get married. That would only shatter the hopes and desires of the people," Selena said, causing Vee to sigh.

"It’s been this way for hundreds of years, Your Majesty—I mean, Miss. It won’t be easy to change it to suit your wishes, even though you hold the status of Queen. Because, how should I put this... the Eldoria World Council holds a rank and status just as honorable as that of a king. Of course, if you consider that you don’t hold a leadership position—since you’re merely the queen—you rank below them," Vee said, looking awkward as she spoke.

Selena fell silent, not surprised by this, since in her former world there were also many councils—government organizations—that held a status comparable to that of a leader.

On top of that, the World of Eldoria is ruled by five official kings as well as nobles—such as Dali Hawksen, who commands the military. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to change something that’s been going on for hundreds of years just with words.

"Yeah, it actually seems like a hassle. It’s probably better if I don’t get involved. If they want to get married and be with a partner who might not be faithful or isn’t meant to be with them, that just means they still think everything is normal. I can’t treat everything the same across different worlds," Selena said indifferently.

Kav and Kev, who were there, exchanged glances upon hearing Selena’s words. But they didn’t dare ask because Selena wasn’t exactly someone they could question. It might be different if Vee had asked, since Selena was indeed closer to that woman.

"What do you mean by ’other worlds,’ Miss? Have you ever learned about the rules and way of life in other worlds?"

Selena was silent for a moment. "No, but I once dreamed of visiting a world where, on average, people have only one partner. If a husband or wife has an affair or wants to remarry, they simply need to agree or disagree. If they disagree, usually one of the partners eventually gives up on the idea—either by calling off the marriage or getting a divorce—because they can’t get the other’s approval and struggle to make a decision."

"I feel like that world is so much safer and more stable, but of course, I can’t say for sure whether those rules are needed here. Because I see that my five husbands are also quite capable of controlling their feelings and jealousy. Besides, maybe what the court council decides is actually much better than what I think. They surely know much more about this world than I do," Selena said at length.

After that, she picked another strawberry and thought to herself—what she’d said did make sense, didn’t it? She’d only just arrived here and didn’t know much about life here or the rules that governed it.

She couldn’t suddenly decide to change a rule just because she was the queen—unless a large number of residents openly protested against such a rule. Perhaps only then could Selena help. And even then, only if all the context and protest reports aligned with what was required.

"You bought so many strawberries—what are you planning to make with them?" Vee asked as she handed the now-full basket of strawberries to Kav to hold.

"I don’t know—I’ll just buy them for now. I’ll pay for them when I go home later, right? Since I don’t eat much here," Selena said, then walked away from the strawberry plants.

She enthusiastically picked the dark, ripe grapes that were ready for harvest. Truly, Selena loved it here because she could get things she couldn’t get in her old world.

Forget about taking a stroll through a fruit orchard like this—back then, just making her salary last until the next month was a struggle. Jack’s monthly salary was even smaller, but for some reason, he still managed to cheat on her even though Selena worked to help make ends meet.

"Everything is changing rapidly here. I’m going to fix my messed-up life and make this a fresh start. I’m going to enjoy life more—I won’t let myself get bogged down by things that aren’t my business."

Selena knew she was a queen, but she had been crowned queen partly because of her healing abilities. If not for that, she would surely still be living on the outskirts of Eldoria, just another clueless child there.

Her main duty was simply to heal her husbands—not to govern the people, since that responsibility was already handled by the council members and her husbands.

"I think I’d like to try growing these plants," said Selena, causing Vee to raise an eyebrow.

"We don’t have enough open space to do that, Your Majesty."

"Ah, you’re right. Besides, I’m not cut out to be a farmer because I don’t know anything about the language of this world. "All right, never mind. Even if I had an open space to plant something, I’d grow medicinal plants—since I’m a Healer of Extinction, I’d like to have my own medicinal garden," she said, then smiled.

Vee fell silent, thinking for a moment. "Land prices here are very high, but if you want it for free, I think I have an idea," he said, causing Selena to look at him quickly.

"An idea on how to get land for free?"

"Yes, you could ask your five husbands. They’re incredibly wealthy kings with plenty of assets, including unused land in strategic locations. If you asked them for just one hectare, that would be more than enough to grow all kinds of medicinal plants, right?"

Selena was silent for a moment. "That makes sense. I also need to expand my territory—it’s not just about accumulating wealth," she muttered, causing Vee to nod in agreement.

"All right, thank you for your advice. I’ll discuss this with them later so that each of them will give me some land in return for healing them. One hectare of land is nothing to a king, but to me, it’s an extraordinary asset."

Vee smiled. "That’s true, Your Majesty. Actually, you only have a few more chances left—perhaps as few as four more times—to make a request like this. I suggest that the first time you visit them again, after successfully healing them with the technique you mentioned yesterday, you ask for the reward right away."

"The kings are now willing to give you anything, so this is the best opportunity."