Plugged In: I got Isekai'd into a Sexbot (Now I Must Save The World)
Chapter 46: Tea, Truth, and the Queen’s Little Terror

Chapter 46: Tea, Truth, and the Queen’s Little Terror

The Demon Queen of the Eastern Continent, Vexena, the Crimson Woe, kneels on the obsidian tiles of her throne room, her composure shattering like fine glass as she weeps softly. Her tears fall silently, pooling at the feet of Maribelle, now wrapped only in shame and a thin sheen of sweat.

"Please," Vexena begs, her voice thick with longing and emotion. "Tell me about my daughter. Tell me something. Anything!"

Maribelle clenches her jaw. "Not unless you guarantee my safety."

There’s a sudden stillness.

Then...

In an instant, Eris, the Ripper, appears in a flicker of smoke. Her blade hovering just beneath Maribelle’s chin, humming with malevolent energy, tickling her skin with tiny sparks of demonic energy.

"You should show more gratitude," Eris purrs, expression unreadable. "Or I’ll show you what we do to insolent guests."

A heartbeat passes. Then, with a casual flick of her fingers, Vexena sends Eris flying backward with a bolt of force so strong it shatters a row stained-glass windows. The general yelps as she crashes through the far wall and disappears into the infernal plains below the castle.

"I hate interruptions," Vexena says flatly, wiping her eyes with a finger. "Eris should know better. I apologize for my subordinate’s crude behaviour."

Virelle claps her hands from the steps of the throne. "Mama made her go kaboom!"

Maribelle gawks. "...Did you just kill your general?"

"What!?... No! She’ll walk it off," Vexena sighs. "Now. Let’s try again."

With another snap of her fingers, the throne room melts away in a shimmer as reality folds around them.

Maribelle gasps.

One moment she stood on obsidian stone, and the next she finds herself in an expansive royal bedroom, cast in flickering candlelight. The walls shimmering with enchanted murals, and the air thick with perfume and magic. Gold-trimmed black wardrobes line the room.

Still naked, she clenches her arms around her chest. "What is this?!"

Vexena appears beside her in a swirl of red mist. "One of my private quarters. You’ll stay here... as my guest."

"Guest?" Maribelle sneers.

Vexena gestures to the wardrobe. "Pick whatever you like. You’d look divine in the obsidian velvet or the garnet sequin wrap."

Maribelle squints. "Are... are you serious?"

The queen nods with a smile... almost honest looking.

Grumbling, she yanks out the nearest thing. A sleek, sparkling black gown cut to perfection and studded with red gems.

"Fine."

Snap.

In a single instant, she was washed, perfumed, made-up, and seductively styled. Her hair tumbles in silky waves down her back. A gold circlet now crowns her brow. She looks like she’d been summoned to seduce an emperor.

Maribelle gasped. "Did you just glamor me?!"

Vexena smiles. "I hate long prep times."

The garden they appear in next stands atop a spire, high above the molten rivers of the Demon Lands. A gentle breeze carries the scent of sulfur and wild spice across the terrace, and black lilies sway in an enchanted harmony.

Eris stands there waiting, smeared with ash, hair frazzled, face expressionless, clothes torn.

"Apologies for the earlier... misunderstanding," she says, bowing deeply. "May I offer you some tea?"

Maribelle blinks at the polished tray of steaming cups and delicate cakes.

Vexena sinks into a velvet bench and gestures for Maribelle to sit beside her. "Come. We’ll speak plainly now. I owe you the truth."

Maribelle sits, stiff and wary.

"I’m not the villain the world thinks I am," Vexena begins. "At least... I didn’t mean to be."

"Oh?" Maribelle sips her tea cautiously. "And the armies? The plague? The curse?"

"I didn’t plan any of that," Vexena says. "I was young. Too powerful. I fell in love. And then... he broke my heart."

Her eyes dim.

"I... lost control. My grief spilled from me, twisted by my power. It became the curse. The world began to rot from within... and I couldn’t stop it."

Maribelle’s grip on her teacup tightens.

"I tried to end my life," Vexena says, staring into the tea. "But I found out I was pregnant. With Veena."

That name makes Maribelle’s heart skip.

"I raised her alone, in fear. I tried to give her love. Structure. A future. But when she learned the truth... she ran."

The silence that follows hangs heavy between them.

Maribelle exhales, voice softer now. "She’s brave. Proud. She has a good heart. But she’s been through hell."

Vexena nods. "And I caused that hell."

"She blames you," Maribelle says gently. "But she won’t blame you forever."

"I just want her safe," Vexena whispers. "Happy. I... don’t know how to be a mother."

Maribelle leans forward. "That’s something... I could teach you."

Vexena blinks.

"In exchange," Maribelle says, "Since I’m stuck here... I want training."

Vexena’s lip curls in amusement. "You want me to train you?"

"No," Maribelle replies. "You’re... different. I want her."

She points at Eris.

The general raises a brow, then grins. "Blackthorn, was it? I’m starting to like you."

Vexena chuckles. "You’ve got guts, Maribelle. I’ll give you that. But even Eris could shatter mountains in her youth. You want to spar with that?"

"I’m not looking to win," Maribelle said. "Just to survive. Learn. Improve."

Vexena sips her tea, then bursts into full laughter.

"You’re serious? Alright then. Let’s show you what true power looks like."

"Virelle!"

The small demon-kin child skips across the marble.

"Yes, Mama?"

"Combat practice?"

The child blinks, then pouts. "I haven’t trained in months!"

"Because you’ve been tricking Bilorial into tea parties," Eris mutters.

Virelle sticks out her tongue.

"Now," Vexena says. "Show our guest what you’ve learned."

Maribelle squints. "You want me to fight the child?!"

Vexena grins. "You asked to train. Here’s lesson one. Never under estimate your opponent." she leans in closer, whispering. "Especially when she’s a princess from the Demon Lands."

Virelle skips to the center of the garden, pulls out her tiny, star-tipped wand, and strikes a cute little pose.

"I challenge you to a duel!" she shouts. "If you win, I’ll call you Auntie! If I win, you have to have tea time with me!"

Maribelle blinks. "Wait... what?"

But it was already too late.

Virelle’s wand explodes with pink and black sparks.

The garden quakes.

Reality bends.

And everything goes black.