Chapter 72: Conspiracy

Ai’er and her old father lived not in the Inner Ring of the Royal City, but in the Outer Ring, in fact very close to the suburbs.

It took about half an hour to get from Sephine’s home to theirs.

Fortunately, Sephine got off work early today at noon.

Even after going home and eating lunch, it was still midday.

Buying a watch was the best decision Sephine had ever made.

“You two stay put at home and don’t run around, okay? If you really get hungry, there are plenty of desserts in the refrigerator.”

Sephine patted Karin’s little head.

This was specifically directed at Karin; she knew that little one got hungry easily.

“Okaaay~”

“Oh, and Fala, don’t keep bullying your little sister at home.”

“I wasn’t… Hmph.”

“I’m going now.”

Fala watched Sephine’s retreating back.

So Mom had known all along.

But why hadn’t she said anything before?

Maybe she thought Karin deserved to learn a lesson too.

“Did you hear that! Mom said you have to give in to me!”

“If Mom saw you acting like this, she wouldn’t think that way.”

That was how Karin was—the moment she got a little advantage, she pushed her luck.

Fala wondered how spoiled she’d be if Mom only had one child.

“Nyah nyah nyah~”

Sephine could no longer hear the bickering of those two little treasures at home.

She was busy going to the outskirts with Ai’er.

The road was quite secluded.

If she had been alone, she might have had to worry about her safety, but luckily Ai’er was here.

Along the way, Ai’er completely changed from her usual noisy style and became oddly silent.

She didn’t say a single word.

This left Sephine feeling a bit annoyed.

‘Next time, I’ll respect other people’s wishes first. Better not to do good deeds that cause trouble.’

“Is this the place?”

Standing before a small wooden cabin, Sephine looked it over carefully.

It felt somewhat similar to her own house.

“Mm. Sephine, big sis, hold this for me first. I’ll open the door.”

Ai’er handed the small basket in her hand to Sephine, fished out a key from her pocket, inserted it into the lock, gave it a gentle twist, and the door opened.

Stepping inside, the room was in complete disarray.

The floor was littered with nothing but wine bottles, lying haphazardly, making it hard to walk.

Sephine’s face showed a troubled expression.

She hadn’t been able to visualize it from Ai’er’s verbal description alone, but seeing it in person was a huge shock.

She knew it might be messy, but she hadn’t expected it to be this messy.

“Dad?”

Ai’er called into the room.

Normally, he would be lying on the living room sofa drinking, but today he wasn’t there as expected.

If someone in this state wandered outside, it was hard not to worry about an accident.

This wasn’t exactly a safe area either—the semi-suburban zone always had some lawless elements.

Ai’er turned on the light and finally spotted Misilanka curled up on the bed.

She was hugging her legs tightly, burying her head in the blanket.

Her clothes were in disarray, exposing large patches of skin.

“Dad, you need to put your clothes on properly, or you’ll catch cold.”

“Daughter, you’re back~”

“Why did you drink so much again?”

“Boo hoo hoo… I thought you didn’t want me anymore…”

“Don’t cry! There’s someone else here… Sorry about this, Sephine, big sis. Dad cries really easily.”

This was the second time Sephine had seen Misilanka.

No matter how she looked at it, seeing Ai’er calling a little girl “Dad” was just too bizarre.

“Someone else? Did she come back?”

“Not that big sis, it’s…”

Misilanka fell off the bed, rolled a few meters, and ended up at Sephine’s feet.

She slowly got up and sniffed at Sephine.

“Oh, it’s my daughter-in-law~ Hello.”

She sobered up instantly?!

While Sephine was still in shock, Misilanka had already returned to the bed and wrapped herself back in the blanket.

On her way back, she tripped over a wine bottle.

“Is she okay?”

“Probably.”

Misilanka had always been like this, ever since Ai’er could remember.

So Ai’er had always wondered where Misilanka got the money to support her and her sister, and still have spare cash to keep buying wine.

They had even become Auntie Xue’s biggest customers before she opened the tavern.

Even if Vi stopped sending them money right now, Misilanka would still have enough to support them both.

“Xiaomi?”

Sephine remembered that her father-in-law had asked her to call him that before.

She didn’t know the specific reason, maybe because it made him sound younger.

“I brought some food. Want some?”

“I’m not hungry~ You two eat.”

“Dad, you haven’t eaten for days. You have to eat this time!”

“No!”

When Misilanka threw a tantrum, she was like a little kid, rolling around on the bed and tangling the blanket everywhere.

She didn’t act like someone who was a grandfather at all.

“Ow!”

As expected, she rolled off the bed.

“If she keeps falling like this, she’ll get hurt, won’t she? Maybe you should get your father a bigger bed.”

“I’ll find time to do that someday…”

Ai’er didn’t think it would solve the problem.

No bed was big enough to withstand Misilanka’s rolling.

Sephine picked Misilanka up from the floor and put her back on the bed.

Aside from the two little ones at home, Misilanka was the only person Sephine could lift.

“Will you lie down properly in bed, okay?”

“No~ I want my daughter-in-law to hold me~”

“Alright, alright, stop being spoiled.”

Sephine felt a little weird.

Her ex-wife’s father was being spoiled in her arms?

Too bizarre.

Indeed, the Demon Race had something special about them.

Their genetic inheritance was too strong.

Sephine wondered if her own children would end up being this abstract too.

“I’ll go heat up the food.”

Sephine hurriedly escaped.

She still hadn’t figured out how to get along with this peculiar father-in-law.

She’d just observe how Ai’er handled it from the shadows.

Sephine hid in the kitchen and eavesdropped on the sounds from the bedroom.

She could only hear bits and pieces.

“Hey, Dad, wasn’t it your idea to trick her into coming here? Why are you playing dumb?”

“Hehe, you don’t get it, do you, you idiot daughter.”

“We have to use our wits.”

“Didn’t you promise to help me take her from big sis? Don’t you dare go back on your word.”

“Oh, have I ever lied to Ai’er?”

“Yesterday, this morning, before you left at noon. About three times?”

“Ahem, just wait for my performance.”

‘Sephine, hiding in the kitchen, overheard this conversation and was utterly shocked. What are those two talking about?!’