"Yes." The Empress of Carnation showed no intention of hiding anything. It wasn't because she was unguarded, but because the chances of such a thing happening were extremely low. Any monarch with a bit of sense and a kingdom not much stronger than Carnation would never do something so thankless.
"Although Carnation's divine bloodline has the power of foresight, it can only be activated by the royal bloodline of our kingdom. It can only predict the rise and fall of Carnation's national fortune. I believe Your Majesty understands this. For most countries in this world blessed with divine bloodlines, once such a gift appears, it cannot be transferred, passed on, or taken away by someone outside the inheritance."
While saying this, the Empress of Carnation fixed her eyes on Elara. Clearly, Carnation's divine bloodline had been coveted and targeted before. To prevent Plumera from developing similar thoughts, the Empress chose to reveal the full nature of the bloodline directly.
Elara naturally understood what she meant. She had just taken control of Plumera. Even if she were interested, she would never go as far as to launch an attack. Not to mention, Carnation was also a mid-level third-tier country like Plumera. Elara would have to be crazy to do something like that.
She replied calmly, "You're overthinking, Your Majesty. I'm just curious, that's all. After all, divine bloodlines are rare and always remarkable whenever they appear."
The Empress of Carnation dared to bring envoys to Plumera openly and even spoke frankly about her kingdom's divine gift. She had already guessed that the new Empress of Plumera would likely not make a move because of it.
Now that she saw Elara's expression unchanged and without a trace of greed or interest, her cold lips relaxed a little.
"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. Since this concerns the divine bloodline, I had to make things clear."
Elara raised her hand, her expression indifferent. "No need. What you said is understandable, and you didn't do anything wrong. But you just mentioned that you've been preparing this envoy mission since half a year ago? I only ascended the throne one month ago. And a year ago, Plumera was still in the hands of Lord Gregory and the others, with the nation in chaos. Even if there was a divine prophecy, did you already have expectations for such a chaotic Plumera back then?"
This was something Elara truly found puzzling.
A year ago, it was still several months before she crossed over. Could the divine bloodline really be so powerful that it foresaw her arrival from another world?
But the Empress of Carnation responded without hesitation, "That is why our Empress waited. Since the prophecy had descended, it meant Plumera's chaos would soon end and enter an era of prosperity. And indeed, the prophecy was accurate..."
She paused, looked up at Elara, and bowed again. "You did appear, and as a woman, you swept aside every obstacle in a male-dominated country and climbed to the top!"
In her eyes, as she looked at Elara, there was a bit of genuine admiration. "Though Carnation is a matriarchal kingdom, we understand that life for women in patriarchal nations is not easy. But you made it."
"So when we heard of your ascension one month ago, our Empress immediately sent me with the most generous gifts to visit Plumera. We hope Carnation and Plumera can become closely allied nations from now on."
Listening to the Empress of Carnation's mysterious words, Elara's heart stirred again, but her face stayed calm. She smiled and said:
"That's perfect. Plumera does want to make friends with other countries. Your visit to establish diplomatic ties is exactly what we hoped for."
As soon as Elara finished speaking, the female envoys behind the Empress of Carnation all smiled brightly and stood up together to bow to Elara.
The Empress of Carnation's cold face also revealed a few hints of a smile, then she turned and pointed to the golden cage behind her, made entirely of pure gold.
"Your Majesty, this is Carnation Kingdom's first visit. To receive your approval is an honor for us. Our Empress has already prepared the most precious gift for this occasion."
The Empress of Carnation stepped to the left and clapped her hands. The soldiers of Carnation, who had been kneeling humbly on both sides of the golden cage, immediately opened it.
The twenty stunning men surrounding the cage stood up with lowered eyes and walked carefully to the cage door. They gently helped the two men inside, who were bound with golden chains, out of the cage.
When the twenty handsome men stood in the center of the hall alongside the two even more beautiful men from the golden cage, all the ministers of Plumera instinctively looked away.
Because the men from this matriarchal kingdom were dressed far too... indescribably.
They wore only a few thin pieces of sheer fabric, with their private areas decorated with finely crafted gold and silver ornaments. The effect was even more provocative than being naked, both seductive and shameless.
They were indeed extremely beautiful—not the delicate kind, but a brilliant and flamboyant male beauty.
Their skin was fair and tender, their entire bodies exquisitely attractive, giving off the impression of having been raised with great care and discipline since childhood.
What drew the most attention was that from behind, they looked like normal men with broad shoulders, slim waists, and long legs. But from the front, their chests were curving upward under the sheer fabric.
The exaggerated curves were even larger than what Elara had seen on Sylvan at the Lianyi Pavilion.
The hall fell silent.
Only the Empress of Carnation and the other envoys from the matriarchal kingdom remained composed.
The Empress of Carnation walked to the two beauties being carefully supported by the handsome men and slightly bowed toward Elara.
"Your Majesty, these two are the highest symbol of respect from our royal family. They are twin sons born to the most favored consort of our Empress's harem. Every part of their bodies is of the finest quality, having been trained and educated at the highest level within the royal palace. They are fully prepared to be at your service both on and off the bed."
"They are also among the best milk cows trained by Carnation's royal family. From now on, wherever you go, if you are ever thirsty, you may let them quench your thirst freely."
"If you don't wish to bring them with you, you may move the golden cage into your bedchamber and keep them locked inside for constant viewing."
Even someone as experienced as Elara was shaken by the calm and emotionless words of the Empress of Carnation, doubting whether she had heard it correctly.
"Stop! Did you say... cow? Milk cow?"
The Empress of Carnation's expression stayed calm. "Yes, Your Majesty."
She glanced back at the two beauties being served in the center by the other men, her cold eyes treating them like mere objects for pleasure.
"They are among the best milk cows trained by Carnation. However, since this is our first visit to your kingdom, we do not yet know your taste. You must try them first, then we can make adjustments."
"If you are not satisfied with their taste, Carnation will replace them or send more with different flavors. Or, we can custom-make ones for you according to your preferences, though that would take more time."
"Also," the Empress of Carnation's gaze swept over the twenty beautiful men standing in attendance, "these twenty male slaves were all carefully selected from the royal family of the Carnation Kingdom. Their physical condition isn't as good as those two, but they're still quite decent. If you like them, you may take any of them. If not, just let them continue to serve as slaves. They'll take care of all your needs."
Elara was dazed for a few seconds, wondering if she had accidentally wandered into some kind of explicit channel. No wonder the chests of these men all had strange bulges—so those were functional parts too?
The Empress of Carnation and the maids behind her didn't show any expression, as if everything they said and did was completely ordinary.
Elara was silent for two seconds, then suddenly realized that the difference between male-dominated and female-dominated worlds was truly massive.
Because in this world, there were more men than women, whether in male-led or female-led countries, women were extremely rare and precious. Even during the male-dominated era of Plumera, when people like Lord Gregory held power, there were hardly any who dared to openly treat women as playthings or raise them like livestock.
But now, these men being offered to her by the Empress of Carnation… she had even just said that the most beautiful pair, the twin brothers who came out of the golden cage, were born from one of her sister's consorts in the imperial harem.
By normal standards, these two should be princes of the Carnation Kingdom—her own nephews.
Yet her attitude toward her nephews showed not even the slightest regard for their humanity.
She treated them entirely as objects to be used for pleasure, even as… milk cows.
Elara felt a rare jolt of shock deep inside.
She looked behind the Empress of Carnation again and saw that the maids all wore the same expression. It was as if the identity of those two princes didn't matter at all to them. They were merely toys.
Elara suddenly sensed how extreme the hierarchy in this world could be in certain places.
If men weren't the majority here, many women might have ended up in the same tragic fate.
Her gaze returned to those men being offered as gifts. Each of them kept their eyes lowered. Even the two beautiful princes of the Carnation Kingdom in the center, treated like livestock, showed no discomfort on their faces.
They were all very obedient and very quiet, like beautiful, multi-functional flower vases with no sense of self. They silently accepted everyone's gaze, and silently waited for their fate to be arranged.
"What's wrong, Your Majesty? Are you dissatisfied with them? If so, Carnation will definitely…"
Elara didn't speak. The Empress of Carnation assumed she was unhappy with the "gifts."
Elara sharply noticed that all the beautiful men who had been passive and quiet suddenly tensed up at those words. It was an instinctive fear, like they would suffer terrible consequences if Elara expressed dissatisfaction.
"No, hmm… I'm very pleased. It's just my first time seeing something like this, so I was a little surprised."
After what happened with the fake Haochen, Elara didn't want to accept any "living person" gifts. But now she had so many Puppet Soldiers under her command, and Oswyn by her side. If anything went wrong, she could quietly turn those two into her own puppets. She could even reverse the situation without anyone noticing and use them as double agents between Plumera and Carnation.
Since the two were the highest-level gifts sent by the Carnation royal family and the visit was guided by divine power, as long as Plumera didn't do anything that obviously violated the divine will, Carnation wouldn't dare to act rashly.
Even if these gifts carried some tests or probing intent, Carnation still wouldn't dare tamper with them too much.
Elara wanted to establish diplomatic ties with Carnation, so she had to accept these "gifts." As for monitoring them later, she could just place a few tiny unnoticeable micro-worm puppets beside the two of them.
After she said this, the tense bodies of the men relaxed a bit. Especially the two princes who came out of the golden cage. Under their veils, their red lips let out a quiet sigh of relief. Their beautiful emerald eyes secretly and quickly glanced at Elara.
The Empress of Carnation nodded slightly. From the corner of her eye, she glanced at the group of men. The two Carnation princes in the center immediately stepped forward barefoot from the support of the others. With white feet still chained in gold, they slowly approached Elara from both sides.
The palace attendants on the platform looked at Elara. Elara shook her head slightly, and the attendants stepped aside without trying to stop them.
The two Carnation princes, who looked exactly the same, walked to Elara's feet from both sides and knelt directly in front of her.
Their sheer robes trailed onto the ground. Their fair skin touched the cold, hard floor. The delicate gold and silver ornaments covering their bodies jingled as they crawled on their knees to Elara's feet.
Then they gently and carefully rested against her calves. One on each side, like two well-trained and obedient luxurious pets.
The Empress of Carnation saw they had reached Elara's legs without being pushed away and finally showed a satisfied expression.
"Since Your Majesty is pleased, then I will not exchange them. For Your Majesty to accept the Carnation royal family's highest offering is a great honor. Our Empress will be overjoyed, and Carnation will surely have broader and friendlier cooperation with Plumera in the future."
The Empress of Carnation bowed to Elara again. "Please rest assured. Although their bodies have been trained since childhood, all instructors were their wet nurses. No one else has ever touched their bodies, and their important areas are clean. From today on, they belong entirely to you."
Elara looked at the two men lying at her legs, watching her like cautious cats. She didn't even know what to say.
For people from the Carnation Kingdom, the fact that Elara accepted their finest royal gift showed their greatest respect.
After all, even the children of the Empress were being sent to Plumera as playthings. If Elara didn't accept them, the consequences might be more than just insulting Carnation.
Under the burning gazes of the women from Carnation, Elara forced herself to show a pleased expression. She raised her hands and gently rubbed the thick hair of the two princes lying at her legs, like petting animals.
They really had been trained well. When Elara touched them, they lifted their delicate faces and gently rubbed their soft cheeks against her, looking at her with obedient and gentle eyes.
Before Elara had time to react to their expressions, she suddenly felt her calves go soft.
Looking down, she saw the two lovely men arching their chests slightly, pressing them against her legs with chests far beyond that of ordinary men.
For a moment, Elara almost pulled her legs back.
She didn't know whether she was being taken advantage of, or if she was the one taking advantage.
But thinking that this diplomatic exchange had only just started, and that Carnation, a similarly ranked and nearby medium-sized matriarchal kingdom, was a valuable trade partner, Elara quietly took a deep breath.
In the end, she held back and stopped looking at the two men. She spoke again to the Empress of Carnation.
"I'm very pleased with Carnation's first gift. It makes me even more curious about what else you've brought."
Elara wanted to end the discussion about the first "gift" as soon as possible.
But seeing that Elara had accepted the twins without showing disgust like women from male-dominated nations usually would, the Empress of Carnation looked even more gentle.
"Of course, Your Majesty. But before introducing the other gifts, please allow me to say one more thing."
"Our Empress originally wanted to send the eldest prince born from the royal consort to form a marriage alliance with you. He is the finest royal male raised with the greatest care in the imperial palace and would best match your status. But that child has not finished his training yet. Considering the differences between our nations and not knowing your preferences, we sent these twins first."
"You may try them out first. If you're satisfied, Carnation will send even better men for marriage in the future. Or you can directly tell us your preferences, and we will prepare accordingly."
Elara truly didn't know what else to say on this topic.