The towering dome was supported by dark oak beams, from which hung a heavy iron chandelier. Whale-oil candles burned within it, their flames swaying in the wind and casting flickering shadows.
A carpet as vivid as blood stretched across the center of the hall. On both sides stood cold stone pillars, their capitals carved with intricate vine patterns.
Tapestries embroidered with golden thread hung on the walls, depicting ancient knights battling evil dragons. Dust drifted slowly through the dim light.
This was the palace's main hall.
Led by an expressionless lady-in-waiting, Levi passed once more through the long hunting corridor before finally arriving outside the bedchamber… of the Magic Mirror Queen.
The chamber was shrouded in dim candlelight. Deep red velvet curtains covered the walls, and the window lattices were sealed with yellowed parchment, blocking out the cold wind from outside.
Not long after the lady-in-waiting entered, she came back out and guided Levi inside the residence of the true ruler of the kingdom—Queen Cecilia, the master of the Magic Mirror.
Although this was not his first time entering.
As Queen Cecilia's servant—though not a personal attendant—Levi had had a few opportunities to step into this room filled with a distinctive fragrance.
But every time he came in, his state of mind was always somewhat complicated.
After stepping into the spacious chamber, the first thing he did was look toward its center.
There stood a throne of obsidian, carved with patterns of thorns and roses.
A beautiful yet dangerous woman, like a fully blossomed mandrake, entered Levi's field of vision—
She reclined sideways upon the obsidian throne, her long, slender body wrapped in a deep red velvet gown. The hem spread across the steps like a cascade of blood. The cuffs and collar were adorned with gold-embroidered thorn patterns. Around her waist was a gilded belt set with obsidian, outlining a waist so slender it seemed one could grasp it in a single hand.
Her skin was as white as ivory. Her rose-colored lips were full and moist, the slight upward curve carrying a faint, mocking smile.
Her nose bridge was tall and delicate.
Her emerald eyes were deep like a secluded pool.
Thick chestnut curls fell like waves down to her waist, decorated with diamond hairpins and ruby ribbons that shimmered dazzlingly in the candlelight.
Following the gaze downward, her ample chest pressed against the lace neckline, on the verge of spilling free. Her slender waist and lifted hips formed a breathtaking curve, while her long legs overlapped elegantly. The faint patterns on her silk stockings added a subtle yet dangerous allure.
This powerful and obsessive woman was also a beautiful one—strikingly beautiful.
Without Snow White, no one could rival her.
And even Snow White would only surpass her by half a point.
Levi thought to himself.
He immediately dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty, I have carried out your command. Snow White is dead."
"From now on, you are the most beautiful woman in the world."
The Master of the Magic Mirror, Queen Cecilia, pursed her lips and smiled softly, clearly in a good mood. Her gaze shifted as she said, "That's not for you to decide."
A trace of confusion appeared appropriately on Levi's face.
Queen Cecilia offered no explanation, instead turning her gaze toward a corner of the room.
There stood a massive Magic Mirror, its frame made of ebony and set with dark red gemstones.
As Queen Cecilia looked at it, the surface of the mirror began to ripple.
"Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, tell me—who is the most beautiful in the world?" her voice rang out from the throne.
A voice came from within the mirror: "Queen, O Queen! You are the most beautiful in the world."
Hearing this, Queen Cecilia revealed a satisfied expression and turned her gaze back to Levi.
Levi's face was filled with astonishment and disbelief.
"This is magic, Levi," Queen Cecilia said with a smile.
Levi's eyes remained wide with shock and incredulity. Who would have thought that the mistress of the kingdom was actually a witch capable of magic?
Queen Cecilia's smile did not fade. The Magic Mirror's answer had put her in a delightful mood. She said to Levi, "Levi, there are many fascinating things in this world."
"You've done well."
"Now tell me—what reward do you desire?" she asked, her smile radiant.
"I only wish to remain by your side and serve you forever," Levi said humbly and sincerely.
Though in his heart, what he truly wanted was supernatural power. But he didn't dare say that aloud, nor did he need to—because he had his cheat, his Detection, and sooner or later, he would obtain the extraordinary power needed to improve his body.
"Is that so?" Queen Cecilia's expression turned faintly teasing, her charm on full display. Levi almost lost himself in the valley between her snow-white peaks.
'Enchantress,' Levi thought.
Queen Cecilia seemed to enjoy his momentary loss of composure.
She let out a soft laugh.
"Even fledgling eagles must one day spread their wings and fly."
"I also need my attendants to take up sword and shield—to defend my castle."
"Levi, are you willing?"
"I… am willing." Levi seemed to realize something, his expression revealing just the right amount of excitement.
Queen Cecilia nodded in satisfaction.
"You have one day to consider what you want. I believe a fiefdom barony would be a fine choice. Of course, that depends on your own wishes."
Hearing this, Levi lowered his head deeply, as if willing to offer absolute loyalty to this queen… as if!
Fortunately, he had stabbed Snow White.
Otherwise, Levi was certain that the moment this Master of the Magic Mirror learned Snow White was still alive, she would not hesitate to turn him—the traitor—into fertilizer.
Still, Levi had not expected the queen to be so generous.
All he had done was eliminate a beautiful woman for her.
And she was willing to grant him a barony with land as a reward.
A noble title!
And a landed one at that!
If this news spread, countless people across the kingdom would go mad.
However…
As tempting as the Magic Mirror Queen's reward was, Levi still felt deeply uneasy.
Because—for the first time, the Magic Mirror Queen had revealed the power of the Magic Mirror in front of him.
This exposed the reality that Queen Cecilia could use magic.
If that fact were to spread, that Queen Cecilia would be placed in a very passive position—one could even say, a dangerous one.
'So… is this trust, or…?'
Levi wasn't sure.
He walked out of the queen's bedchamber and passed through the long hunting corridor once more. Suddenly, something stirred in his mind, and he turned his head to look back.
[The Queen inside the palace possesses the strength to crush you with ease. Extremely dangerous! Continued observation carries the risk of being detected.]
[You have used Detection once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 4/200.]
The prompt from Detection appeared before his eyes.
Previously, when Levi used Detection to probe the Magic Mirror Queen, the Level 1 Detection couldn't retrieve much useful information.
Now that Detection had reached Level 2, the information it revealed was far more useful.
But correspondingly, the burden on his body had increased. Levi felt a deep fatigue. Though he could still push through it, this was a clear warning sign.
He turned his head back and continued walking forward in silence—no matter what, he would take things one step at a time.
The fairy tale book had never described the servant's fate.
So Levi had no reference point. Everything depended on himself.
With complicated feelings, he walked out of the palace. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a garbage cart slowly passing by the side of the palace.
A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. He called out to the driver, "What is this?"
"Lord Levi, these are the palace's discarded wastes. They need to be transported away," the driver replied respectfully.
Although Levi was just a servant, he was the queen's servant. Among the lower ranks, he still held a certain degree of status.
Especially in front of someone like a garbage cart driver.
After hearing this, Levi nodded. A thought suddenly came to him, and he had the driver open the carriage. Lifting one of the wooden barrels, he saw it filled with all sorts of miscellaneous refuse, with a pool of foul-smelling black liquid at the bottom.
"Where did this come from?" Levi asked again.
The driver thought for a moment before replying, "It was brought by one of Her Majesty's attendants."
"I see." Levi gave a noncommittal response. In truth, he had already guessed that this came from the Magic Mirror Queen.
Because Detection had shown—
[Failed magical potion.]
Within the entire palace, aside from Queen Cecilia, who else could produce something like this?
After all, in the fairy tale, Queen Cecilia had repeatedly used magical potions to deal with Snow White, coming close to killing her several times.
From this, it was clear that Queen Cecilia's mastery of potion-making was not low.
Of course.
These [Failed magical potion]s were not what caught Levi's attention.
What he noticed was a lump of deep blue ointment stuck to the inner wall of the barrel.
Detection showed—
[Failed product of an incorrectly brewed beauty potion, yet it unexpectedly possesses the effect of killing an ordinary person.]
[You have used Detection once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 5/200.]
Levi had already used Detection five times today. A sharp pain pulsed through his mind—this meant he was nearing his limit. Enduring the discomfort, he fell silent for a moment, then took out a strip of cloth and carefully wrapped up the deep blue ointment.
Then he said to the puzzled driver, "This thing looks interesting. I'll take it back and play around with it."
The driver naturally had no objections.
Levi waved his hand. The driver let out a sigh of relief and drove off.
Meanwhile, Levi prepared to return to his residence outside the royal city.
Yes.
Although Levi was a servant, he did not live inside the palace.
Only a select group of core servants were permitted to live within the palace, so they could attend directly to the king, the queen, and figures of high status such as princes and princesses.
As for ordinary servants, they all lived outside the palace.
Levi's status was not as "high" as others imagined.
Without noble blood, born as a commoner, Levi had always been ostracized by attendants and servants who claimed to possess so-called noble lineage.
So he, too, lived on the streets outside the palace.
For Levi, this was actually better.
After all, the palace was full of prying eyes—doing certain things there would be inconvenient.
Although his room was not spacious, the monthly rent alone consumed one-third of his income.
He was considered a mid-level palace servant, with an annual salary of 500 silver coins, along with material provisions worth 200–300 silver coins.
On average, his monthly income came to around 40 silver coins.
Each month, 12 silver coins went to rent.
One silver coin could buy five to eight pounds of bread, depending on market conditions.
It sounded like quite a lot.
But Levi's expenses were not limited to bread alone.
His income was not particularly high, but if the material rewards were included, it was enough for him to maintain a sense of decency—the "decency" of the poor!
However, Levi, having transmigrated here, didn't care much about any of this.
After all, he had just done dirty work for the queen, and she intended to grant him land.
He needed to think carefully—how to secure that unclaimed territory, and then how to develop it, becoming a wealthy and powerful lord.
Of course, improving his own strength was also essential.
The queen was clearly a witch who possessed magic!
Obtaining supernatural power like magic also had to be put on the agenda.
However.
Right now, he needed to sleep.
He really couldn't hold on any longer!
Levi lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.
It wasn't until midnight that Levi woke up again.
His eyes still somewhat groggy, he pushed open the window, letting the moonlight pour in. Looking toward the direction of the palace, he habitually used Detection once.
But this time, Detection was different from before.
Aside from being able to probe information about things directly, Detection could now also obtain, once per day, information related to himself.
One piece of information after another surfaced in his mind:
[Information 1: Snow White has already found the cottage in the forest where the seven dwarfs live. With her exceptionally high charm, she has gained their approval and settled there.]
[Information 2: Queen Cecilia intends to silence you. She will send a young knight-attendant, Gorn Sotufi, to kill you.]
[Information 3: Beneath the old tree on Leta Street, inside the trunk marked with an "X," is buried a Knight's Breathing Technique hidden there by Snow White's mother in her youth.]
[You have used Detection once. Experience +1. Current EXP: 6/200.]
"Damn it!" Upon seeing the second piece of information, Levi couldn't care less about the side effects of Detection—mental exhaustion—and couldn't help but curse out loud.
Queen, that's just playing dirty—you deserve to be tied up and spanked.
I did you a favor, and you're actually planning to silence me.
I knew it—there was no way anything good would come from you suddenly using magic in front of me!
Levi's thoughts raced rapidly.
He knew he had to find a way to escape and survive!
...
Inside the queen's chamber.
The full-figured queen stood before the Magic Mirror.
"Magic Mirror, Magic Mirror, tell me."
"Has Levi told anyone about Snow White?"
Ripples spread across the mirror's surface.
"Queen, O Queen, Levi has not told anyone anything about Snow White. Except that in his sleep, he once said your chest is large and your hips are wide—far beyond anything Snow White could compare to."
Hearing this answer, the queen froze for a moment, then revealed an annoyed expression.
Large chest!
Wide hips!
That damn man!
The Magic Mirror Queen then summoned a finely dressed attendant—slender in build, with pale, powdered features.
This attendant was the second son of a certain noble family within the kingdom. Without inheritance rights, he had been sent by his family to the palace to serve the king.
And now, he served the queen.
As he looked at the Magic Mirror Queen, a trace of concealed lust flashed deep within his eyes. He had always wanted to serve the alluring queen in a more intimate way, yet the queen had never given them such an opportunity.
This left him feeling quite frustrated.
Of course, he had never shown it.
'One must not lose a noble's composure in front of the queen.'
That was his belief.