—Shame-fury, that molten mix.

Yeah. Just like Ling said, “shame-fury” fits Amelia’s state better, like thunder trapped under silk.

Ling started a mocking countdown, sing-song and sharp. Before the word “seconds” even left her lips, Amelia lunged like a cat pouncing.

“Shut up, shut up! A sneaky thief peeping at secrets deserves punishment!”

The “punishment” wasn’t much—she kneaded Ling’s cheeks hard, like kneading warm dough. Ling didn’t mind the touch itself, but—

This girl was unbearable. While pinching Ling’s face, she stared at Ling’s chest, froze, then sighed in disappointment, like wind sliding through empty bamboo.

Look if you want!

But what’s with that disappointed sigh?! Sorry I don’t have a chest—does that offend you?! (Shamelessly hinting for milk money.)

For Ling, that disappointed look burned deeper than a cheek-pinch. That’s punishment, alright. More humiliating than forcing risqué clothes. She couldn’t show her face to the wind.

“Idiot, idiot, idiot! Get off! How long are you gonna knead?!”

Seeing the Queen’s “punishment” about to descend on her two pairs of little feet, Ling refused this shame-play and tried to stop the perv.

She didn’t have to. A shrill sound sliced the air, and everyone froze like birds mid-flight.

Beep↑ beep↓ beep↑ beep↓—fifteen seconds over. Game adjudication: Team Alicia & Yufan Ling wins. The game will log out. Please don’t move, to prevent—well, there’s nothing to prevent. I’m just saying it out of professional decorum~

Aren’t you an emotionless system?! Why say stuff like that—and in a sultry older-sister voice?!

In the span of that rant, the world blinked, and the wide plain returned, grass rolling like a green sea.

“Hey! Time to get off me, pervy Queen!”

Ling shoved the Queen hard, trying to rewrite the fact of being pinned. She’d lived so long always on top, never under anyone. Could she stand this? …Wait. Maybe she’s never pinned anyone either.

“No.”

The Queen’s face held iron resolve and a barely-there blush of shame, like a rose thorn tucked in velvet. She wouldn’t rise without payback.

“Tsk. A certified perv. First time I feel sorry for Elfe.”

“No need for your pity. Elfe is proud to have me as her mother.”

“Don’t push me. Or I’ll—”

“What then? Scream yourself hoarse? No one’s saving you.”

Fine, fine. You asked for it.

—Ultra Secret Finisher—

“Sis, save me!!!”

She didn’t scream herself hoarse like you readers expected. What a pity.

Alicia, who’d somehow produced a folding chair and a watermelon, was the one Ling tagged.

“Well, well—guess I’ve been named.”

Is watching a Queen bully a loli your hobby?

“Enough, you two. The freak-out ends now. Especially you, Amelia. My respect for you’s toast. Don’t expect courtesy.”

She reached in and pulled Ling out from under Amelia, like tugging a tissue from a box—quick, casual, inevitable.

The “tissue”—cough, the loli—hung midair, still wriggling, two pairs of little hands flailing in protest like windmills.

Did protest help? Of course not. Alicia’s free hand delivered the Loli-Special Technique: karate chop. Silence fell like snow.

“Alright. Explain. Why such a big reaction? Give me a reason, or I won’t accept you bullying my Ling.”

She finished one task and turned, cool as moonlight. Her eyes on Amelia were frosty, maybe jealous—but if so, why was she lounging earlier?

“This… how do I even say this…”

Amelia tried, but her face knotted like tangled string. Her gaze slipped away from Alicia’s, drifting like a leaf.

Something’s off.

Alicia’s eyes were hawk-sharp, her knowledge royal-library tier. In a blink, she caught the evasion and judged the misstep.

“Spit it out. Now.”

Curiosity or gossip, Alicia’s hunger for the truth flared hot, like sparks in dry grass.

Amelia hadn’t expected Alicia to lean in so close. Their cheeks nearly brushed—one heartbeat more and lips would meet.

Maybe the Queen’s simpler than she looks. As Alicia leaned in, Amelia’s cheeks bloomed pink like cherry petals. Her ears flushed. Her neck flushed. Even the corners of her eyes went red.

Huh? Eye-corners too?

“Uu… uwah! Go away! Don’t come closer! Amelia knows nothing!”

Like an alter snapping free, her whole temperament flipped. Tears sprang, knees shuffled back like a crab on wet sand. She retreated to a “safe” distance, sprang up, and bolted like a startled doe, wind scattering her panic behind her.