When the Demon King found Sephine, Lady Seilin was still supervising Master Astrid as he graded papers.
This was because Astrid had made one big mistake: he had mistakenly distributed a slightly modified version of the exam papers as the original drafts.
Lady Sephine seemed very angry now, yet she continued to look at him with a smile.
If he didn’t handle this well, Astrid felt it was about time for his career to end.
He had originally planned to use those papers to test his colleagues… to give them a bit of a sense of frustration before showing off his own skills.
That had been the plan, but now it seemed something major had gone wrong…
“It’s finished! Please have a look, Lady Sephine!”
“Give me a copy of the answer key.”
“Right here!”
Astrid handed the original draft of the answers directly to Sephine, complete with his own handwritten annotations.
“90 points, 95 points. Not bad.”
The 90-point paper belonged to Sephine, while the 95-point one was Alona’s.
This “not bad” was praise for Alona, not for Astrid, that unreliable fellow.
“Tuck away that vanity of yours and show some common sense. Don’t ruin our important matters.”
“Yes! Then, shall I head back to work?”
“Go on, go on. It’s annoying just looking at you. Oh, right. Regarding the Magic Academy Reform, you are to supervise it personally. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Understood!”
Astrid scurried back to his workstation.
After Astrid left, Sephine suddenly felt someone poking her shoulder.
“Um… Sister Sephine.”
“Oh, it’s Lady Lifaria El Sephalu.”
Sephine turned around and looked up, her mouth hanging open involuntarily.
“Were you hit? Your face is so swollen.”
Her face was covered in blue and purple bruises, and tears still clung to the corners of her eyes.
“Yes…”
Her voice still carried a sob.
It seemed she had indeed been beaten miserably.
“Who could be so mean as to hit our Lady El? Come here, I’ll help you apply some ointment.”
“Sister did it. She told me to bring you back, or she’d beat me to death… *Ugh*… I was wrong… *Waaaah*!”
“We’ll go back after we finish applying the ointment, okay? Let me wipe away your tears.”
“Aaaahhhh!”
Suddenly, someone let out a shout and collapsed to the ground.
“Are you alright? I’ll take you to the Imperial Physician!”
“I’m going too!”
“Me too!”
The ministers who had been working all vanished.
It seemed they couldn’t hold back their laughter, so they found an excuse to flee.
Otherwise, it would be disastrous if the Demon King found out they were laughing at her younger sister.
“Does it still hurt?”
“It hurts!”
“I’ll scold your sister when we get back. I’ll tell her not to be so heavy-handed next time.”
“Thank you, Sister Sephine!”
‘See, she even has to thank me.’
Sephine patted Lady Lifaria El Sephalu on the head.
“Let’s go. Let’s find your sister.”
Sephine took Lifaria El Sephalu by the hand and walked toward the Demon King’s Inner Palace.
‘Is this what it feels like to look after a child? Not bad.’
When they reached the front of the Demon King’s Inner Palace, El let go of Sephine’s hand.
She hesitated at the door, not daring to enter.
“I’ll wait right here. You go in first.”
El touched the bump on her head; it still hurt quite a bit.
“Alright. Be careful not to catch a cold.”
Sephine pushed open the large doors and stepped inside.
The moment the Demon King saw it was Sephine, she lunged forward and threw herself onto her.
“Wifey! Don’t leave me… Let’s not get a divorce, okay! My sister is an idiot; nothing she says counts.”
Vi was hanging off Sephine’s body.
Seeing a statuesque woman nearly 5 feet 11 inches tall leaning on a 4 feet 11 inches girl was truly an eye-opening sight.
Of course, the younger sister outside didn’t dare to take even a single peek.
“I was just teasing her. Don’t be so anxious.”
Sephine patted the head of the big child clinging to her.
She really did look like the Demon King had frightened her; she was even crying.
“Don’t cry. Are you two sisters both crybabies? Always weeping.”
“You’re one to talk. You were crying constantly a few days ago, too.”
‘Is that the same thing?’
Her “brother” of many years had suddenly vanished and she had turned into a mother.
Who could hold back tears?
Someone who could would have to be a master of stoicism.
“I have to go to the Academy this afternoon.”
“Can’t you skip it today… I want my wifey to stay with me.”
Sephine thought about it for a moment.
She had already sent Astrid to investigate the Academy’s affairs, so it should be fine if she didn’t go this afternoon.
As for Alona’s exam paper, there would be no problem giving it to her tomorrow.
“Fine, I’ll indulge you this once.”
“Yay! Sephine is the best.”
The Demon King glanced at the doorway and glared at her sister, who was peeking.
El still hadn’t been able to help herself; hearing the commotion from the Demon King inside, she couldn’t resist taking a look.
“Let El come in. It’s cold outside.”
“Did you hear that?! Get in here!!”
El pushed the door open and crept inside.
“Thank you, Lady Sephine…”
“Don’t be so fierce. El is still a child. Come, come here. Let Sister Sephine give you a hug.”
Hearing Sephine’s words, Lifaria El Sephalu scurried to Sephine’s side, and Sephine pulled her into an embrace.
“Where else would you find such a cute younger sister? Vi, you need to be a bit gentler with her.”
“You’re still taking her side even though she was talking behind your back.”
In truth, the Demon King was a little jealous.
The gentle Sephine should only belong to her…
“I was wrong! I’ll never say anything bad about Sister Sephine again! Sister Sephine is the gentlest person in the whole world!”
The two sisters were truly cut from the same cloth.
“Now get out!”
The Demon King yanked her sister out of Sephine’s arms and shoved her out the door.
“Wifey, is the scarf still warm? I knitted it myself, you know.”
“You even know how to knit scarves? That’s wonderful. It’s very warm.”
Sephine stood on her tiptoes and lightly pressed a kiss against Vi’s cheek.
Those soft lips caused Vi’s face to flush red instantly.
A proactive Sephine was truly difficult for Vi to handle.
“It’s going to snow in a few days. Let those mages control the temperature in the Royal Capital.”
“What about you? Let me send you a few more sets of clothes. The clothes I saw you wearing before were all very thin. You need to dress more warmly.”
“I have my own clothes to wear.”
“The baby is afraid of the cold.”
“Fine, but don’t send clothes that are too expensive.”
“Didn’t we agree that you’re on Maternity Leave? Why are you still busy with this and that every day? Getting proper rest is your real mission.”
“The Kingdom can’t function without me. Once I’ve finished the matters currently on my plate, I’ll take a good rest.”
“My Lady Wife is the best!”
Vi pulled Sephine into a tight embrace, smothering her until she was a bit breathless.
‘As I thought, it’s better to be a bit flatter. If they’re too big, hugging someone might actually cause an accident,’ Lady Sephine thought as she was held fast in that embrace.
“Let’s go play by the lake this afternoon!”
—