Only after reaching the heart of the kingdom did he realize how one-sided his past thoughts had been.
Order reigned here; pedestrians were polite, trade between shops was orderly, and even currency exchange and trading rules were clearly defined.
It was not inferior to the Human Kingdom at all.
It seemed that regardless of the race, wherever intelligent life existed, rules and order would gradually emerge.
Bai Li sighed inwardly, feeling that today’s trip had truly been an eye-opener.
He looked down at Xiaomiao, who was walking quietly beside him with a light step and a faint smile, clearly having enjoyed the outing.
The gloom Bai Li had felt due to Ziya’s mistake was slowly washed away by this leisurely stroll.
Before they knew it, the two had reached the palace gates.
The guards recognized Bai Li at a glance and immediately bowed respectfully.
After carefully confirming his identity, they hurried to push open the heavy gates to let them in.
The palace was very quiet, forming a sharp contrast with the bustling streets outside.
At that moment in the hall, a small purple figure sat alone on the sofa, quietly waiting for Bai Li to return.
It was Ziya.
Not long ago, she had finally finished processing the backlog of government affairs.
Rubbing her aching wrists, she stood up from her desk, wanting to find her father immediately.
Her heart had been in her throat, fearing that Bai Li was still angry with her, or even worse, that he was so angry he would ignore her.
However, she searched from the top floor to the bottom, from the study to the Garden, and combed through the entire palace without seeing a sign of Bai Li.
The little figure spun in circles with anxiety, her eyes reddening as tears splashed onto her skirt.
‘Father wouldn’t really be so angry that he’d run away from home, would he? Will he go straight to Sister Baining and never come back?’
All sorts of messy thoughts flooded Ziya’s head.
The more she thought, the more afraid and aggrieved she became, until her small shoulders began to tremble slightly.
Just as she was about to cry out loud, her personal maid, Rongrong, hurried forward and said softly, “Your Highness, please do not worry. His Majesty only went out to the streets. We have already dispatched several soldiers to protect him in secret; he is perfectly safe.”
Ziya froze for a moment before letting out a long sigh of relief.
She slumped onto the sofa like a deflated balloon.
“Ah, you scared me to death! Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
She patted her chest, her tone carrying a hint of a complaint but without any real blame.
Rongrong quickly lowered her head.
“I saw Your Highness concentrating on government affairs and did not dare to disturb you. That is why I reported it late and caused you worry. I am truly sorry.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. I was just talking.”
Ziya waved her hand, a smile returning to her face.
Ziya had always been tolerant and easygoing toward Rongrong, the personal maid who had taken meticulous care of her since she first arrived in the Dream Demon Kingdom.
Although she was now the Queen of the Dream Demon Kingdom and held great power, if one calculated her age by standards outside the Demon Race, she was still just a teenager.
The current systems, methods of governance, and policies of the Dream Demon Kingdom were almost all taught to her bit by bit by Baining.
She only needed to follow that steady path.
It could be called governing through inaction, yet everything remained perfectly organized.
With that in mind, Ziya moved to the sofa closest to the main entrance and waited quietly for Bai Li to return.
One second, 2 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes…
Finally, the heavy doors were pushed open.
The figures of Bai Li and Xiaomiao appeared at the entrance as expected.
Ziya’s heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into place.
Fortunately, Father had not left.
She made a silent vow: next time, she had to make sure all the attendants and guards remembered that as long as Father left the palace, she had to be notified immediately.
Otherwise, this feeling of fear… was truly too difficult to bear.
Compared to her two strong-willed sisters, Ziya had always been gentle and soft-hearted, exceptionally tolerant of those around her.
It was precisely because of this that everyone in the palace liked this young but exceptionally kind Queen from the bottom of their hearts.
“Father!”
Ziya jumped up from the sofa and threw her arms around Bai Li’s waist, burying her small head in his clothes and refusing to let go.
Bai Li smiled helplessly.
Unable to push away his enthusiastic and anxious daughter, he could only gently pat her back and let her hold him.
“Waa… Father, I thought you were really angry with me and didn’t want me anymore…”
Filled with deep grievance, Ziya’s voice was muffled, making anyone who heard it feel soft-hearted.
Bai Li’s heart softened at her embrace.
After a whole day of shopping and relaxation, his anger had mostly dissipated.
“How could that be? You did make a mistake, and I was angry, but I would never just leave you behind.”
Ziya slowly raised her head and looked up at Bai Li expectantly, like a small animal waiting to be fed.
“Then can Father let me call you Mother now?”
The smile on Bai Li’s face froze instantly.
‘This child, she’s still thinking about that!’
He didn’t even think before refusing directly, “No!”
He really blamed himself for being too indulgent before, which had caused this little girl to develop such a deep obsession with the title “Mother.”
“Okay…”
Ziya whispered, her face full of disappointment, but she was not discouraged in the slightest.
She secretly made a resolution: as long as she persisted in asking every day, there would eventually come a day when Father would soften his heart and agree.
Looking at her little expression, Bai Li felt both annoyed and amused.
Just as he was about to say something more, he suddenly remembered the unusual sights he had seen on the streets — the guards had clearly decreased, and the officers on the watchtowers were tense, their gazes fixed on the Blood Clan Border.
Everything felt off.
His expression slowly became serious.
“Ziya, I’m going back to my room to change first. In 15 minutes, come to my room and wait for me. I have a very serious matter to ask you.”
“Huh?”
Ziya immediately became nervous.
Her small hands gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, and her eyes flickered as if she wanted to speak but didn’t dare.
What she feared most was Father suddenly becoming serious.
She always felt she had done something wrong again and was being called to the room to be scolded privately.
Bai Li noticed her unease and softened his tone slightly.
“Don’t worry, I’m not scolding you. I just want to ask you some things about your sister Baining.”
Ziya’s eyes widened, and her heart skipped a beat, but she quickly hid her surprise and tried to maintain her composure.
“Oh… okay, Father. I’ll see you in the room in 15 minutes.”
Bai Li nodded, then turned with Xiaomiao toward his room.
Watching his back disappear at the end of the hallway, Ziya let out a long breath, her small heart pounding wildly.
‘It’s over.’
‘Why would Father suddenly ask about Sister Baining? The Blood Clan only just declared war on the humans today; did the news leak so quickly? That shouldn’t be possible…’
‘No, I have to stay calm. I absolutely cannot show any weakness. I’ll just pretend I don’t know anything…’
Ziya kept encouraging herself, but the more she did, the more chaotic her mind became.
—
Inside the bedroom, Ziya was restless, standing up to walk around one moment and sitting back down the next, her mind filled with frantic thoughts.
‘Father is so smart. As long as he tests me a little, I’ll definitely be exposed…’
Just as she was about to confuse herself, there was a soft knock on the door.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
“Ah, come in.”
Ziya quickly sat up straight and tried to look composed.
The door was pushed open, and Bai Li walked in.
He looked at her calmly and walked straight to a chair to sit down.
“Ziya.”
“I’m here! Father!”
Ziya immediately sat as straight as an elementary student waiting for a teacher’s question.
Looking at her tense little form, Bai Li sighed softly in his heart.
“I want you to answer the questions I’m about to ask truthfully. Ziya, I really don’t want the three of you sisters to keep things hidden from me.”
“Um…”
Ziya lowered her head, her fingers nervously picking at the hem of her clothes.
Her voice was small and carried obvious hesitation.
Bai Li saw through her at once — this little girl was clearly preparing to lie.
As a father, he knew his daughter too well.
Whenever she was nervous, her eyes would wander, her voice would drop, and every movement betrayed her secrets.
Bai Li did not call her out but spoke calmly instead.
“Tell me, why are there so few soldiers in the city?”
Ziya’s heart tightened.
Her brain whirled at high speed as she desperately fabricated an excuse.
“Um… it’s because a New Policy was recently introduced.”
“What kind of policy requires so many soldiers?”
Bai Li pressed.
“It’s… to comprehensively improve the strength of the soldiers. So, half of them were transferred from various places and sent to the Military Academy for centralized training.”
The reason sounded plausible enough.
Bai Li fell silent for a moment before continuing.
“That sounds reasonable. However, I discovered something very strange.”
“What is it, Father?”
“When I was on the street today, I saw the officers on the watchtowers staring toward the Blood Clan Border. They even set up massive telescopes. It didn’t look like a normal patrol at all.”
Ziya’s palms began to sweat.
“Maybe… they were just testing the telescopes?”
She answered, forcing herself to maintain the lie.