Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads

Chapter 177 --177

Heena looked at Secretary Chen haughtily and said, "Well, I am the ruler and I want to see what gorgeous men looked like back in that time period. So I want you to go and get me all the information. With portraits. Detailed portraits."

Secretary Chen looked at her from head to toe with an expression that clearly said ’are you serious right now?’

"Your Majesty," he said slowly, "please forgive me for my rude words, but... do you not think you are taking on too many men at the same time? What if you cannot handle—"

He saw Heena’s expression shift.

Her eyes went completely flat and murderous.

Secretary Chen’s survival instincts kicked in immediately.

"—WELL, AS YOU WISH, YOUR MAJESTY!" he said loudly, backing toward the door. "I WILL GET THOSE DOCUMENTS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! IMMEDIATELY! RIGHT AWAY!"

He bowed so quickly he nearly gave himself whiplash and ’ran’ out of the office.

The door slammed behind him.

The System, who had been floating beside Heena the entire time, was visibly shaking with suppressed laughter. His little paws were covering his mouth, his eyes were watering, and small squeaking sounds were escaping despite his best efforts.

Heena turned to look at him with a flat expression.

"Laugh if you want," she said tiredly.

The System shook his head frantically, still covering his mouth. "No, no! I’m not laughing! Not at all!"

But he absolutely was. Or at least he desperately ’wanted’ to. The only thing stopping him from bursting into hysterical laughter was the very real knowledge that if he did, Heena would literally delete his program.

Just—’poof’. Gone. Erased from existence.

So he held it in, even though his face was turning red from the effort.

Heena looked at him—at his mouth pressed into a tight line, his cheeks puffed out, his whole body trembling—and sighed.

"Just laugh," she said. "Go ahead. Laugh."

The System shook his head even more frantically, making strangled sounds.

Heena turned away from him to look out the window, covering her face with one hand.

"This mission is so irritating," she muttered into her palm.

---

When Heena finally left her office and started walking toward her chambers, she noticed something strange.

The closer she got to her room, the stronger a particular scent became.

Sweet. Citrus. With a hint of spice.

It was subtle at first, but with each step, it grew more pronounced.

By the time she reached her door, her mouth was actually watering.

Because here’s the thing that literally nobody knew about Heena: she ’loved’ citrus. She loved sour things. She loved spicy things. She had a weakness for the combination of sour-spicy-salty that made her taste buds sing.

But she always concealed this preference. Always. Because it wasn’t "refined" enough for an Empress. Too common. Too... enthusiastic.

So she never mentioned it. Never requested it. Never let anyone know.

Which made the smell coming from her room extremely suspicious.

Heena pushed open the door.

The scent hit her like a wave, and her mouth immediately watered even more intensely.

There, sitting at the small table in the sitting area of her chambers, was Larus.

He was dressed casually—comfortable robes, no jewelry, his hair slightly messy like he’d been running his hands through it. He looked relaxed and domestic and absolutely beautiful.

And in front of him was a tray of ’unripe mangoes’.

Green, firm, sliced into neat pieces.

And he was sprinkling something on them.

Heena moved closer, unable to help herself, drawn by the scent.

She could see it now: white salt. Red chili powder. The perfect combination.

Larus looked up and immediately stood, setting down his spice containers.

"I greet you, Your Majesty," he said formally, bowing.

Heena waved her hand dismissively. "No, it’s fine, don’t bother with formalities."

She pointed at the mangoes. "What is this?"

She knew what it was, obviously. But she wanted to know where he’d gotten them. How he’d known.

Larus smiled—a shy, slightly embarrassed smile that made him look younger.

"Actually, Your Majesty, in my country—in my homeland—we eat these all the time. I love them. I’ve missed them so much since coming here, and then a few days ago—"

"Calm down," Heena interrupted gently, seeing him getting flustered. "Speak slowly. Take your time."

Larus took a breath and started again, more calmly this time.

"One of my friends from my kingdom came to visit me yesterday. They brought me these unripe mangoes as a gift because they know I love them. I thought I’d prepare them tonight—just for myself, you know—and..."

He trailed off, looking uncertain.

Heena looked at the mangoes, then at him.

"You know," she said, "if you want ripe mangoes, you can just put these in a rice bin for a few days. They’ll ripen perfectly."

Larus shook his head quickly. "No, I actually prefer them unripe. The sour taste is better. More refreshing."

Heena’s mouth watered again.

She tried to maintain her composure, her imperial dignity, her refined image—

"Okay, but don’t eat too much," she heard herself say, even as her eyes drifted back to the tray. "It’s not good for your teeth. Too much acid."

Larus’s eyes brightened with understanding.

"Your Majesty," he said carefully, "would you... like some?"

Heena didn’t stand on ceremony.

Didn’t give a polite refusal.

Didn’t maintain proper Empress-like behavior.

She just reached out, grabbed a slice of mango coated in salt and chili, and bit into it.

’Oh.’

’Oh god.’

The sourness hit first—sharp and intense, making her mouth pucker immediately. Then the salt balanced it, and the chili added heat, and the combination was so perfectly, wonderfully, ’aggressively’ flavorful that Heena had to close her eyes to appreciate it.

She finished the entire slice in one bite.

Larus stared at her, his eyes wide with shock.

He clearly hadn’t expected his refined, dignified, always-composed wife to just... attack the mango like that.

"Would you... like another one?" he asked carefully.

Heena sat down in the chair beside him—just sat, without asking, without ceremony—and reached for more slices.

"Mm," she said, already eating another piece.

They sat there together, and Heena ate piece after piece, savoring each one, until finally her teeth started to ache from the acid and she had to stop.

She sat back, her mouth tingling pleasantly, feeling more relaxed than she had all day.

Then she looked at Larus very seriously and said, "You shouldn’t eat too much of this. It’s bad for your teeth."

The System, who had been floating nearby watching this entire scene, ’scoffed’ out loud.

"But Host," he said, "isn’t it ’you’ who ate most of them?"

Heena paused mid-reach for another slice.

She turned to glare at the System, her teeth slightly green-stained from the unripe mango.

"Get lost," she said flatly. "At least ’I’ don’t gamble away my salary."

The System’s mouth fell open in offense. "That was ONE TIME—"

"Five years worth of salary," Heena interrupted. "In one night. On dice games."

"I was TRICKED—"

"You’re a SYSTEM. You can calculate probability!"

"The dice were LOADED—"

"EXACTLY MY POINT!"

Larus watched this argument with barely concealed amusement, his hand covering his mouth to hide his smile.

His wife—the cold, terrifying Empress who made nobles tremble—was sitting in their chambers with green mango stains on her teeth, arguing with her floating lion-cub System about gambling debts.

It was possibly the most endearing thing he’d ever seen.

"Your Majesty," he said gently, interrupting the bickering, "there are more mangoes if you want them. I can prepare another plate."

Heena turned to look at him, her expression softening immediately.