Sephine pulled Vi along, jogging all the way to her own front door.
It was a small house tucked away in an alley, looking quite out of place among the rows of neighboring buildings.
It was a two-story wooden cabin with a small chimney on the roof.
Strictly speaking, this was Vi’s first time visiting Sephine’s home in the Royal Capital.
This house had been purchased with the dividends Sephine received back then.
As the Advisor of the Demon King Rebel Army, she had to be given some money, after all.
“The keys… are here.”
Sephine lined the key up with the keyhole, gave it a firm twist, and the door opened.
The interior was much cleaner and tidier than when Sephine had left; Alona must have helped clean it.
Before, Sephine had been so busy that she had absolutely no time to keep the rooms tidy.
“Come in! Why are you just dazing off at the door?”
Vi carefully examined the decorations inside.
They were surprisingly nice—much better than she had imagined.
Vi had always known that Sephine was a fairly frugal person.
In truth, the salaries of the various ministers within the Imperial Palace were not actually that high.
Everyone focused on performance, so bonuses and rewards were given out generously.
However, there was a downside to this: some ministers might create problems that shouldn’t have existed just to earn more rewards by “solving” them.
Therefore, before every reward was distributed, the matters would be investigated from beginning to end.
Of course, the core reason for such a reward and punishment mechanism was that the National Treasury was simply too empty.
There was essentially no money left inside.
The previous Demon King had been a real spendthrift, causing a severe drain of gold and silver.
Now that the National Treasury was depleted, everyone had to tighten their belts to get by.
As one of the highest-ranking ministers, Sephine had to lead by example.
Furthermore, she didn’t actually care much for money, so she had no complaints.
For her, the greatest pressure was mental.
“Sit down and stay put. I’m going to buy groceries, so you stay here and be good, do you hear me?”
“Vi nodded obediently.”
Sephine took a little bit of money from her private stash and headed out.
There was a market near the house where the vegetables were very fresh.
Now, Vi was left all alone.
It was impossible for her to just sit obediently on the sofa.
With Sephine gone, she was definitely going to find some fun for herself.
For instance, taking a tour of Sephine’s room.
There were two bedrooms in Sephine’s house: a master bedroom and a guest room. The master bedroom was on the second floor, while the guest room was on the first.
The oven Sephine had bought previously was on the first floor.
This oven was integrated with the fireplace, meaning it could provide warmth and bake food at the same time.
There was some firewood nearby.
Vi wanted to light the fireplace to warm herself up.
Her home back in the forest used to have a fireplace too, though that one had been built by Vi’s father and didn’t look as luxurious as Sephine’s.
But the operating principle was the same.
Vi wouldn’t mess up something as simple as starting a fire.
She placed the wood into the fireplace and, with a gentle flick of Fire Elemental Magic, the fireplace ignited.
‘So warm…’
The Demon King sat before the fireplace, stretching her hands toward the flames.
The warmth of the fire seeped into her heart.
‘I wonder if Sephine is still angry… I should have stopped sooner.’
Vi had simply seen Sephine wearing such cute clothes—a rare sight—and hadn’t been able to restrain herself.
She had just wanted to pull her into her arms and tease her endlessly.
Now, she had to be careful.
She didn’t want to see Sephine holding back tears and crying secretly again; that wasn’t cute at all.
“Click.”
The door was pushed open.
Sephine walked in wobbling, carrying a large bag of vegetables that was taller than she was.
She set the vegetables down on the table.
“It’s so warm.”
Sephine suddenly felt the room become much toastier.
Looking down, she saw Vi crouching in front of the fireplace, her body swaying slightly.
“Eat some tangerines.”
Sephine placed an unpeeled tangerine on Vi’s lap.
“Don’t leave the trash lying around.”
“Mm.”
Vi peeled the tangerine bit by bit.
Without long nails, it was difficult to peel it quickly.
Sephine carried the vegetables into the kitchen.
Washing, cutting, lighting the stove, and stir-frying.
Everything was done in one smooth motion.
She plated the cooked food and brought it to the table.
“Why does my wife like eating rice so much? Is bread not good?”
“Personal habit. If you want to eat bread, just say so.”
“No, no, not at all.”
It seemed Sephine’s anger hadn’t completely dissipated yet; Vi still had to be careful.
The Demon King could hardly imagine how she would try to make Sephine stay if she ever wanted a divorce.
She already couldn’t live without Sephine.
If she left her, she would surely die.
If that day ever truly comes, I might secretly lock Sephine away in the Imperial Palace.
“Even if that makes her unhappy…”
Fortunately, Sephine was still quite happy to be with her for now.
“The food my wife makes is so delicious.”
“You and your sweet talk.”
Sephine knew her own skill level very well.
The food she made was only at an edible level.
Other people’s praise was usually just polite formalities.
“If you want to play next time, I can accompany you secretly in our room. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of outsiders, do you hear me?”
“I understand… I’m sorry.”
“It’s good that you understand. If people found out you are the Demon King, where would your dignity go? You need enough dignity to hold your position as the Demon King securely.”
“Then… can I just not be the Demon King?”
“Are you saying you want me to be someone else’s wife? I am the Empress of the Demon King. If you aren’t the Demon King anymore, then the next Demon King will be my husband.”
“No way! Absolutely not!”
“Then be a good Demon King. Since you’ve already decided to take this seat, take responsibility. I don’t want our baby to be born and recognize a stranger as their father.”
“Say, will the baby call you ‘Mommy’ or call me ‘Mommy’ in the future?”
“The baby I give birth to will obviously call me Mommy.”
“It feels a bit weird for a baby to call me ‘Daddy’… but I guess it’s acceptable.”
Vi continued to bury her head in her food.
It was rare for Sephine to cook, so she was going to swallow every last bit.
“Eat slower, no one is fighting you for it.”
Sephine’s appetite hadn’t been very good lately.
She stopped after only a few bites.
She always felt like her stomach was visibly getting bigger, but it had only been a few days since she became pregnant.
Perhaps she was just being too sensitive lately.
It was likely an illusion.
“When are you going to let me meet your father?”
“Pfft—!”
“What did you say, honey?”
“I said, let me meet your father.”
“Well… there will be a chance. There will be a chance eventually.”
The Demon King suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.
She didn’t want Sephine to meet her father at all.
One had to understand that the Demon King’s father was a bona fide eccentric old man.
Furthermore, her father had never liked her.
That was also why her father was being looked after by her younger sister.
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