“And the pastry Her Majesty gave me earlier was so good, too! I’m sure I could learn a lot by staying by your side!”
Lan Yu looked at the Empress with a complicated gaze, full of anticipation and longing, with a hint of yearning.
In Lan Yu’s eyes, Her Majesty was humble and powerful, gentle and generous, quiet and graceful. She was so beautiful, and her voice was lovely, too.
No wonder the Demon Emperor had married her. There’d been a few little hiccups, but now everyone in the Demon Clan was saying that Her Majesty had actually been using this method to treat the Demon Emperor’s illness.
The Demon Emperor’s poison had combined with the antidote Her Majesty gave him, successfully breaking through the problem that had plagued him for years: his inability to improve his magic.
It didn’t last long, but for a genius like the Demon Emperor, even that little bit of time each day was enough.
As long as the Demon Emperor could keep growing stronger, the Demon Clan still had hope.
You could say that Mu Nanyan, standing right before them, was the one keeping that hope alive.
“I can’t teach you much, so let’s not talk about me being your master. But if you like, you’re welcome to come by anytime. I have plenty of free time, and it’d be nice to have a cute girl to chat with.”
Mu Nanyan was as gentle as ever. Her answer took Lan Yu by surprise.
“I knew it! Her Majesty is so kind. Then it’s a promise!”
“Mm. It’s a promise.” Mu Nanyan nodded.
Excitement brought a faint blush to Lan Yu’s cheeks.
If I really can learn this recipe from Her Majesty, my senior brothers and sisters won’t tease me anymore. Yeah, I have to do my best… Lan Yu silently cheered herself on.
While Mu Nanyan and Lan Yu chatted happily, Liya had somehow appeared behind them, holding a box of pastries.
Watching Lan Yu laugh and chat with Mu Nanyan, Liya felt an inexplicable flame flare up inside her.
I was here first. Who’s this girl?
“Then I’ll take my leave, Your Majesty. I’ll go back and study some more. Next time, I’ll definitely do better.”
“All right. I believe in you.”
Mu Nanyan kept smiling kindly, warm and gentle as the spring sunshine.
But no one knew that Mu Nanyan, so graceful and gentle, was nearly smiling herself numb.
As she watched Lan Yu leave, Mu Nanyan couldn’t help letting out a sigh of relief. She’d thought she could finally stop putting on an act and relax for a while when—
She turned around and saw a little sulky bundle standing there, cheeks puffed out and eyes full of resentment.
“Oh! When did you get here, Little Jasmine?”
This girl… she seemed to be jealous.
Mu Nanyan wasn’t blind. She could tell at a glance. Liya looked just like a little kid watching her mother be kind to another child, too.
That childish jealousy was cute—and a little scary, too.
“I got here when you were patting that girl on the head and feeding her dango.”
Liya held the pastry box in her hands. It was an elegant little box, and it looked like she’d had it for quite some time. The pastries inside were clearly a treasured treat of hers.
To thank Mu Nanyan for making such delicious dango for her, she’d brought out her most treasured pastries, hoping to share them with Mu Nanyan.
“O-oh, I see.”
“Mother’s quite popular, huh? Looks like I came at the wrong time.”
“No! You came at exactly the right time… Because, because I was just about to ask Gan Mei to call you over for dinner tonight.”
In her panic, Mu Nanyan hurriedly made up an excuse.
Nearby, Gan Mei gripped her broom, still silently arguing with Lan Yu over who had the right to look after Mu Nanyan. She wasn’t paying the slightest attention to what Mu Nanyan was saying.
She just replied, completely out of the blue, “Don’t get the wrong idea. This is all the Demon Emperor’s orders! Don’t let it go to your head.”
“W-what is this woman talking about now?”
Mu Nanyan was startled. Was there not a single normal person in this enormous Demon Clan?
She remembered that the women in the original story weren’t like this. Could it be that because I didn’t die in the first three chapters… the whole story’s gone off course?
