“And just like that, she was coaxed back…”
Baining set the plate gently on the table, muttering to herself.
“You’re here? Come over and apologize to Ziya.”
“Oh… Fine. Ziya, I’m sorry.”
Baining looked away, her tone as perfunctory as it could be.
“Ah, um, it’s alright, Sister Baining…”
Ziya replied in a small voice, her ears turning slightly red.
The atmosphere in the living room instantly became awkward to the extreme.
This apology felt less natural than if they had just let it go without saying a word.
Even though a single sentence could have moved them past it, the way it was delivered felt like checking off a box.
The air felt thick enough to solidify.
“Ahem, Baining, you really need to reflect on yourself! Don’t just apologize and then go right back to how you were.”
Bai Li tightened his expression, lecturing her with feigned seriousness.
“I know…”
Baining responded listlessly.
From the look of her, it was clear his words were going in one ear and out the other.
The family finally sat together again to enjoy the sweet, tempting desserts on the table.
The sweet aroma of cream drifted through the air, and the originally tense atmosphere began to soften bit by bit.
“Here, Ziya, say ‘ah’ —”
“Ah —”
Bai Li picked up a small spoon, scooped up a bite of ice cream, and gently fed it to Ziya.
The gesture was natural and intimate, warming the hearts of those watching.
“Is it good?”
Bai Li looked at her with eyes full of expectation.
“Mm! It’sh good!”
Ziya squinted her eyes in happiness, her small face filled with satisfaction.
The sweetness melting on her tongue seemed to reach all the way to her heart.
“Hmph, my skills haven’t dulled one bit.”
Bai Li lifted his chin proudly.
Baining glanced at the identical ice cream in front of her and suddenly felt it was tasteless.
The same dessert, without someone feeding it to her, seemed to lose half its flavor.
‘Sigh, nothing I can do. I’ll just have to wait three months for Father to feed me.’
She calculated silently in her mind, her internal abacus clicking away.
“Father, have you been living well here with Sister Baining?”
As they ate, Ziya suddenly spoke up, her large eyes blinking with concern.
“Mm… Everything has been quite comfortable. The house is nice, and the maids take good care of me. The only thing that’s slightly lacking is your Sister Baining —”
Bai Li intentionally dragged out his words, glancing toward Baining.
“Pfft, hahaha! The only bad thing is actually Sister Baining?”
Ziya burst out laughing.
“Mm… She’s truly a handful. She was well-behaved for a while, but then she suddenly acted like that just now… Sigh.”
“Ah… So it’s that kind of disobedience…”
Ziya’s eyes dimmed for a brief moment.
But soon, she thought of something, and her eyes brightened like stars again.
‘For the next three months, Father will be by my side!’
She secretly encouraged herself, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curl upward.
“But anyway, it’s my turn to go stay with you next.”
Bai Li smiled gently and reached out to pat her head.
“Mm-hmm! I’m so happy! I’ve already prepared a massive room for Father, and I’ve arranged for many, many cute maids to serve you!”
Ziya swayed her body in excitement, her tone brimming with undisguised anticipation.
“Eh? There’s no need to be so extravagant…”
Bai Li waved his hands, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“It’s necessary! Because I love Father the most!”
Ziya looked up, declaring her affection with a serious face.
“Is that so? Then I really should look forward to it.”
“Mm-hmm!”
Ziya nodded vigorously, her eyes crinkling into crescents, looking innocent and pure.
Baining, who was silently eating her Soufflé, watched the scene quietly.
Her fork paused near her mouth.
‘What’s going on?’
‘She’s taking Pops away, but she isn’t demanding to share a bed? Instead, she arranged so many maids to serve him?’
‘Ziya… Aren’t you being a bit too naive and simple?’
‘Could it be… that Ziya really isn’t the reincarnation of the Succubus Queen, nor is she acting? Have I been overthinking it from the start?’
‘Is she really this pure-hearted and without guile?’
‘Then all my painstaking efforts to trick her out of military power, my constant vigilance in case she was lurking around Bai Li like Longjiu, my step-by-step counter-surveillance —’
‘Doesn’t it make me look like a self-important clown?’
‘No, after being burned by Longjiu once, I can’t let my guard down. A lesson learned must be remembered. You can’t know what’s behind a smile. Who knows what’s hidden under someone else’s skin?’
“By the way, Sister Baining!”
Baining was deep in thought when Ziya suddenly called out, snapping her back to reality.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Baining put down her fork and looked up.
“That… I heard from Rongrong that since our last disturbance at the Dragon Palace, Little Sister Longjiu… she seems to have fallen ill with a heart ailment. She’s been plagued by a Heart Demon…”
Ziya’s voice softened, tinged with a hint of worry.
“Where did you hear that news?”
Baining was slightly startled.
This was unexpected; she hadn’t realized Ziya was more well-informed than she was.
“I left a little bit of Eavesdropping Magic in Father’s room before and asked Rongrong to help keep an eye on things.”
Ziya explained softly, her fingers nervously picking at the hem of her clothes.
“Oh? Interesting. I didn’t expect you to be so clever, Ziya.”
Baining arched an eyebrow, her tone gaining a hint of praise.
“Hmph, I’m very smart, okay!”
Being praised, Ziya immediately puffed out her small chest with a look of pride.
“So, what did you overhear?”
Baining leaned forward slightly, her tone turning serious.
“Uh… It’s hard to explain specifically… Anyway, she’s trapped by a Heart Demon. She mutters Father’s name all day long and has ordered her subordinates to use all their power to find everything Father has touched…”
“At night… you can even hear some very pained sounds… I have a Recording Stone here. Do you want to listen, Sister Baining?”
Ziya pulled a small crystal from her pocket, her expression somewhat complicated.
“… Pops, do you want to listen?”
Baining turned to look at Bai Li, not taking the initiative himself and leaving the choice to him.
“… Has Longjiu’s obsession really reached such a depth?”
Listening to this, Bai Li couldn’t help but shudder.
Just thinking about Longjiu being tortured by a Heart Demon day and night because he wasn’t there caused an indescribable pang of heartache.
After all, she was a daughter he had raised with his own hands for nearly ten years.
Having spent every day together, “how could there be no feelings?”
‘It was just that this affection was too heavy — so heavy it was becoming a shackle that hurt people.’
“Pops?”
Seeing Bai Li staring blankly, his face a bit pale, Baining called out softly.
“… Just play a small part of it.”
Bai Li took a light breath, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible trembling.
Ziya nodded and raised her hand to activate the Recording Stone.
In the next second, a suppressed and pained voice echoed through the air…
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