NOVPUBReflected upon the bedroom window nearby were the profiles of Talia and Hyperion.
In their naturally cold eyes, the fluctuations of their emotions could not be concealed.
"Hyperion, I can’t replace your real mother, and I don’t understand how humans express their emotions at every given moment. I can only interpret them through the human logic I understand. Please, don’t think I’m inept."
Talia murmured.
"Tata, sometimes you really are quite silly."
Hyperion smiled.
"..."
Talia looked at Hyperion in astonishment.
"You always worry you haven’t done well even though you actually have, and with distance as well, worrying the other person might dislike you even though you’re already so close."
Hyperion explained.
"Is that so?"
A glimpse of relief flashed in Talia’s eyes, and a faint smile seemed to form on her lips.
"Yes."
Hyperion nodded in confirmation,
"If there’s anything about humans you don’t understand, you can ask me. I’ll tell you everything I know, even though I’m not exactly human either, but... um, it’s better than asking Lanci, right?"
She thought about it and realized that among Talia’s friends who knew her real identity, she was the one who most resembled a human.
Lanci was just pretending to be human.
"Then from now on, please let me learn from you."
Talia responded softly.
"This is my Tata."
Hyperion hugged Talia once again.
Every time she met Talia, she would turn into a face-hugging bug, but she couldn’t help herself.
Talia didn’t move, allowing Hyperion to embrace her for a while until she was let go.
"...Does he know?"
Talia finally asked.
"...He knows."
Hyperion knew that the "he" Talia was referring to was Lanci, and what Talia was alluding to was the fact that she was of the Demon Race.
"When did he find out?"
Talia’s eyes became exceptionally complex.
If he had known that she was of the Demon Race when they were heading to the Northern Continent,
why was he still able to be so kind and friendly to her upon their return to the South Continent?
"I don’t know."
Hyperion shook her head.
There were always mysterious sources of information on Lanci, which made her suspect that Lanci was a Prophet. However, she didn’t plan to delve into it much, as she trusted Lanci.
"Do you think I should reveal my identity to him?"
Talia seemed to seek Hyperion’s opinion. 𝚗o𝚟pub.𝚌𝚘𝚖
She looked indecisive and somewhat anxious.
Even though Lanci might already know everything, perhaps he was playing dumb. As long as she didn’t burst the bubble of truth, he could continue playing the part.
However, before Hyperion could respond,
the bedroom door was already being knocked on.
"Please come in."
Talia and Hyperion exchanged glances, then replied.
The next moment,
Lanci entered, pushing a three-tiered serving cart.
"Tata, lunch is served."
The top layer of the cart was covered with a white napkin, adorned with crystal glasses and neatly arranged silverware, centred by a bouquet of fresh flowers.
Lanci then began to take out the appetizers from the insulated cart, a small but exquisite serving of foie gras, decorated with subtle herbs and edible flower petals.
Quickly, he professionally signaled Hyperion to switch places with him, seating himself closer to the head of the bed, and began feeding Talia.
"..."
Talia obediently closed her mouth, only to watch in confusion as Lanci brought over the food and gazed at his face.
Although her right hand was still bandaged and numb for the time being.
But she had never imagined that one day she would let a man feed her.
"Thank you for protecting the Wilford family."
Lanci smiled sincerely, offering her what little help he could as repayment for her actions.
When the Saint of Destruction attacked that day, Talia had protected the Wilford family with all her might, helping them to evacuate. Because she had focused on protecting others, she had sustained many serious injuries that she might have otherwise avoided at the start of the battle.
Now, everyone in the Wilford family treated Tata as one of their own.
"I promised you I would do it."
Talia shook her head, feeling that it was only a matter of course, or perhaps she was simply fulfilling a contract.
"So while you recover and heal these days, let the Wilford family take care of you,"
Lanci continued, still insisting on feeding her.
"..."
Talia remained silent for a long time,
"I am Talia from the Demon Race, and Tata is my alias. Do you still want to continue getting along with me?"
She knew that Hugh wouldn’t reject her, but she didn’t know if Lanci’s open attitude towards her was contrived, or if he genuinely wasn’t afraid of her.
"Of course I do. I still want to learn more about card making from the Demon Race from you."
Lanci looked at her without much surprise and nodded.
"I am of the Eighth-order great demon race. Doesn’t that scare you?"
Talia looked at her hands without meeting his gaze.
Having pretended to be human and interacted with him for so long, it would be normal for him to have some fears and reservations, right?
"...No, not at all."
Lanci pursed his lips and shook his head.
"?"
Talia frowned instantly.
Had Lanci just mocked her?
She had thought it would be difficult to understand Lanci’s true feelings towards her, but now she was certain that he truly didn’t care about her race, and that familiar scent was inexplicably present again!
"So Tata, rest assured, no matter what race you are, or whatever your name might be, the times we’ve spent together have been genuine. And right now, we are getting along just fine, aren’t we?"
Lanci, having put down the plate earlier, picked it up again and asked.
"..."
Talia didn’t respond.
But she slightly opened her mouth, accepting the food Lanci handed her.
"To be honest, I had no idea you and Hugh were relatives at first. How did you recognize Hugh?"
While feeding Tata, Lanci spoke.
The only thing he found perplexing was this; to him, there was no resemblance between Talia and Hugh.
"Her Half Demon form is slightly similar to Isatia’s, and when I confirmed she had traits of the Demon Royal Family, I knew for sure,"
Talia looked towards Hugh as she answered.
Originally, at Ichrite Academy, she had happened to see Lanci and Hugh challenging the Purgatory Corridor Academy Shadow World on an outdoor screen. In that Shadow World, Hugh had turned into her demon form. Later on, having been entrusted by Lanci, she had followed Hugh for a while, indirectly protecting her.
Eventually, it was Lanci who brought Hugh to her home, and during her conversations with Hugh, she further confirmed information about the Duchess.
"Wait a minute, you don’t resemble your sister either, do you?"
Lanci caught on to a detail.
He had heard that the Second Princess Isatia was exceptionally talented, possessing abilities that even other members of the Great Demon Clan feared. Her unique feminine allure could even attract the once-in-a-millennium genius Duke Migaya of Hutton Kingdom. Not surprisingly, Duchess Isatia, like Hugh, also ate very little.
"..."
"In the Demon World, civil officials have raised similar queries over the years, but without exception, they were all put to death by the Demon King. So the surviving demons either believe we are sisters, or even if they don’t, they dare not voice it out."
Talia felt Lanci’s ambiguously silent implication, her expression cooled down, and her tone became edgy as if she wanted to eat his hand along with the food on the fork.
For some reason, his simple sentence, with its slightly exaggerated tone, seemed to hide a multitude of words!
"I believe you, I believe you,"
Lanci hastily waved and shook his head.
He had been considering asking Pranay, but now it seemed better not to gossip about other people’s family matters.
Usually, if there were secrets in the demon world, Pranay knew the most. The difference between Pranay and Antanas was that Antanas would speak out about everything he knew, while Pranay might keep many secrets to himself, knowing how to live a longer life.
But Pranay most likely didn’t know any especially explosive demon world gossip; otherwise, if one day he carelessly revealed all the secrets he held within, Pranay might explode himself.
-----------------
Thank you to all the dads for your monthly tickets! Mua (deep voice)!
