Chapter 79: Tense Situation (II)

Night slowly fell, and the palace lights glowed softly.

Ziya had been busy the whole day and had finally finished all the trivial matters at hand, handling everything cleanly and in perfect order.

“Ugh… I’m exhausted…”

She rubbed her sore shoulders and slowly walked out of the office.

Her little face was full of fatigue, but the moment she thought about being able to see her mother soon, her eyes instantly sparkled.

“Hurry up and go find Mom for a hug! Recharge with Mom energy!”

Ziya instantly perked up and bounced back toward the bedroom.

But when she pushed the door open, the figure she was expecting didn’t appear.

“Mom~ I’m back… huh? Where’s Mom?”

Ziya tilted her little head and looked around in confusion.

Soon, she spotted a small maid slacking off on the sofa.

Xiao Miao was curled up asleep, her little mouth smacking as she talked in her sleep, looking adorably silly.

“Mmm… maid big sister… so tasty…”

She muttered while unconsciously licking her lips, as if enjoying some supreme delicacy in her dream.

Ziya took a deep breath.

The next second, her voice shot up.

“Xiao Miao!!”

“Meow?!”

Xiao Miao was so startled that her fur practically stood on end.

She sprang up from the sofa, slipped—

“Pa!”

She fell to the floor, almost crying from the pain.

“Ow… that hurts… Q-Queen!”

“Honestly! Didn’t I tell you to properly look after Mom? How dare you sleep and slack off in the room!”

Ziya stood with her hands on her hips, glaring angrily.

She looked fierce yet cute.

“What if Mom got lost alone in the palace?”

“This little cat was way too unreliable!”

“M-Madam is in the library! She told Xiao Miao to step aside because she was afraid of being disturbed while reading… I really had nothing to do, so I-I just took a little nap… sorry, meow!”

“So that’s how it is… then it’s not really your fault. Just treat it as getting some proper rest.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty, meow~”

Before Xiao Miao could finish expressing her gratitude, Ziya had already rushed out like a gust of wind, her mind filled with nothing but finding her mother.

“Bang!”

The library doors were pushed open forcefully.

Ziya weaved through the vast rows of bookshelves, her little ears carefully listening.

Finally, deep inside, she caught a familiar presence.

“Mom!”

She ran over excitedly, about to throw herself into a hug, when she suddenly stopped, freezing in place.

Ziya rubbed her eyes hard, her face full of disbelief.

Sitting at the desk was actually—

“Father?”

That was clearly Luerlu in his male form!

Ziya’s heart surged.

Had Father really found that one-in-a-million method to completely return to his original state?

At that moment, Luerlu glanced over.

“Pop—”

The mimicry magic dispersed like a cloud being poked.

With a flash of light, he returned to Baili.

“…Phew—so it was magic.”

Ziya secretly let out a sigh of relief.

She had been scared for a moment, thinking her mother had really turned back into a man.

She absolutely did not want a male mom.

She liked her current soft and fragrant mom, and when she grew up, she would turn Mom into her own wife!

“Cough… Mom~ what was that just now? I think I saw Father from before?”

“Haha, surprising, right? I spent the whole day learning this mimicry magic.”

“Wow—what a surprise! Mom, hug~”

“Wait a moment, let me put the book back first.”

Baili brought over a small footstool, carefully stepped on it, and placed the thick magic book back onto the high shelf.

Ziya stood there, her purple eyes glinting slightly as she silently memorized the book’s position.

The next second, she rushed over like a little cannonball.

The moment Baili turned around, she was hugged tightly, startled badly.

“Little Ziya, it’s not like I won’t let you hug me. Why are you in such a hurry?”

Baili helplessly but lovingly rubbed her head, her heart feeling warm.

She had finally found a way to temporarily restore her original appearance.

Although she wasn’t skilled yet and could only maintain it for a few minutes, it was enough to fool people.

She would need to practice more later.

“I didn’t see Mom at all today… I really couldn’t hold it in…”

Ziya buried her face in Baili’s soft neck and rubbed against it greedily.

Unable to resist, she gently kissed that fair neck.

Baili didn’t think much of it, just treating it as her daughter acting spoiled.

If it were Bai Ning, she would have dodged with full vigilance already.

After all, Ziya only liked her as her mother.

She was completely different from that dragon and that vampire who were always thinking about her body.

She lowered her head and kissed Ziya’s forehead, speaking gently.

“It’s getting late, Ziya. You’ve also had a tiring day. Shall we go back and sleep?”

“Mhm! Okay, Mom, time to sleep~”

The small white and purple figures held hands as they returned to the bedroom, helped each other change into soft pajamas, then climbed into the warm bed together.

Baili gently held Ziya and suddenly remembered what Xiao Miao had said in the morning about how dream demons feed.

Feeling curious, she softly asked,

“By the way, Ziya.”

“Hmm? What is it, Mom?”

“It’s nothing. I just heard Xiao Miao mention this morning that there’s another special kind of food for dream demons…”

“Oh, yes, yes!”

“Then how does Ziya usually eat now?”

Normally, Ziya would have the maids inject mental energy into pastries so she could fill her stomach.

She was about to answer honestly when a flash of inspiration hit her.

For some reason, a mischievous bad idea suddenly popped into her head.

Ziya’s eyes rolled, and a sly smile quietly curved her lips.

The next second, her expression changed completely.

“Oooh… ooh… ooh…”

“???“

Baili was completely confused by the sudden crying.

“Why was she crying out of nowhere? Did she ask something wrong?”

She quickly hugged Ziya tighter.

“W-What’s wrong, Ziya?!”

“Actually… I’ve been holding it in this whole time…”

“Holding what in?”

“Holding back from eating the normal way, just barely surviving by absorbing a little mental energy…”

“B-But dream demons can eat by absorbing mental energy, right?”

“Waaah… that’s true, but I’m royalty… actually I still need more traditional food… otherwise… my body won’t be able to handle it, and there will be backlash…”

Ziya buried herself in Baili’s arms, secretly holding back laughter.

“Lying to Mom like this…
It kind of feels really nice?”