The sky above Demon King Castle Aisaridu was never short of clear weather.
The white clouds scattered and gathered, gathered and scattered again, while golden sunlight pierced through the lush roses atop the garden pavilion, casting dappled patterns onto the ground.
Yet, this kind of bright weather wasn’t something everyone wished for.
At least, not for the Blood Clan.
“Ha~~”
Beneath the garden pavilion, a strange drowsiness swept through her limbs and bones, a side effect of the Blood Clan’s constitution.
Sidella let out a lazy yawn, a hint of starlight flickering at the corner of her eyes.
If she could, she’d even use magic to block out all the sunlight above Demon King Castle, just as she had before.
If not for the recent negative rumors about Demon King Castle spreading among the Human Race.
Humans were like that—upon first arriving and noticing how the sky above Demon King Castle was always gloomy, they’d slap on eye-catching labels just to make headlines in the Capital’s newspapers, shamelessly branding it as the so-called ‘Land Forsaken by the Gods’ or ‘a domain beyond the reach of the Goddess of Light’s blessing’—and similar terms.
They would willfully define it as the domain of an irredeemably evil race.
Never stopping to consider that the reason the sky above Demon King Castle was always overcast might simply be because Sidella Eve Cecilia, both Demon King and Queen of the Blood Clan, disliked the sun.
“Ha~~”
Sleepiness threatened to engulf her whole.
Sidella failed to suppress another long yawn, her posture growing even more languid and slack.
Opposite Sidella sat a silver-haired Blood Clan girl in plain clothing distributed by the royal palace for aiding refugees within the Royal City.
This was the girl Lilith had reported before—during the purge of the remaining vassals of the Sardin Marquis, she had been discovered by chance at their hideout.
Her name was ‘Nicole’, a silver-haired Blood Clan girl who claimed to be the daughter of the Blood Clan Queen, Sidella.
Every movement she made was laced with innate restraint, her gaze full of caution.
Her head hung low, lacking the courage to meet Sidella’s eyes.
“You’re saying…you forgot all your memories before last night, and the only thing you remember is that you’re my daughter?”
Sidella’s eyelids drooped, as if nothing could rouse her interest.
Her voice, like her always-calm expression, was devoid of emotion.
“Yes… Your Majesty.”
The Blood Clan girl, Nicole, answered weakly.
“Heh.”
Sidella suddenly chuckled—not out of mockery, but because she found it amusing.
Wasn’t this interesting?
Sidella couldn’t recall ever coupling with anyone to produce Blood Clan offspring.
If you were to count unions, even Hualí only amounted to half, since it had always been her unilaterally stabbing Hualí.
As for the first embrace, there was no need to mention it—not just anyone was worthy of her attention, worthy enough for her to bare her Blood Clan fangs and bite into their neck.
There was one thing Jeilinfa hadn’t said wrong—the Queen of the Blood Clan, Sidella Eve Cecilia, had always been alone.
A daughter that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
What was even more interesting was that Sidella genuinely sensed her own presence within the other’s body.
Her own blood?
The origin of this Blood Clan girl…wasn’t it fascinating?
At that moment, a pink-haired girl in a maid outfit slowly walked towards the pavilion where the two sat, braving the blazing sun above.
She held a redwood tea tray with black tea in her hands.
Sunlight poured down, casting a golden halo over her face, giving her a holy, untouchable aura—she was stunning.
Ordinary members of the Blood Clan lacked Sidella’s formidable resistance to sunlight.
Because of the weather, all Blood Clan maids in the Maid Team except for Hualí—a genuine member of the Human Race—couldn’t endure today’s scorching sun and had chosen to take leave and stay in their rooms.
So, the task of delivering black tea to Her Majesty the Queen naturally fell to Hualí.
“Hualí, you’re here~”
Sidella’s interest was rarely piqued; she rested her elbow on the marble table, her hand propping up her cheek, her smile blossoming like a flower.
Hualí didn’t respond immediately.
All her attention was drawn to Nicole, the girl beside Sidella, whose forehead was already covered in sweat.
Hualí blinked, her gaze flicking back and forth between the two before snapping back to her senses with a surprised cry:
“Wow! You two look so alike! Are you mother and daughter?”
“Mm…”
Sidella pondered for a moment, then chose to change the subject.
“Hualí, could you pour me a cup of tea?”
“Oh, sure.”
Recalling the proper etiquette she’d learned from Jeilinfa on how to serve Her Majesty, Hualí deftly picked up the inverted white porcelain teacup from the tray and placed it before Sidella.
She lifted the small teapot and filled the cup with black tea.
After finishing, Hualí naturally poured herself a cup as well, plopped down on the stone bench beside Sidella, pulled out a small bag of potato chips from her pocket, tore it open, and set it on the table before beginning to munch away.
Hualí remembered that before leaving, Jeilinfa had specifically instructed her that, as a future personal maid, she must stay by Her Majesty’s side during her break and be ready to pour her fresh tea at any time.
What else could she do?
Just wait.
After all, Jeilinfa hadn’t said she couldn’t bring snacks.
“If you want to keep chatting, go ahead.
Just pretend I don’t exist.”
Hualí said matter-of-factly.
“Your Majesty, even if you refuse to acknowledge me as your daughter, I would never blame you.”
The Blood Clan girl, Nicole, wiped her tears, her voice mournful.
“It’s just…there’s truly nowhere else for me to go now…”
“But…but if possible, I still hope I can stay by your side…because Your Majesty, you’re the only memory left in my mind—the hope that has kept me alive since I lost everything.”
Tears glimmered in the girl’s eyes, as if hiding a thousand shining stars.
No matter how blinding the sunlight, it couldn’t conceal the sorrow in her gaze.
Her slender fingers clenched the hem of her clothes so tightly they turned white from tension.
Her brows drooped, tears tracing down from the corners of her eyes, painting her delicate face with a look that stirred endless pity.
“Wow! She really is your daughter!”
Hualí was astonished, nearly forgetting to eat her chips.
Then she shot Sidella a look of utter disdain.
“To think you’d so casually abandon your own daughter, Sidella, you’re really heartless~”
Meeting Sidella’s smiling, innocent gaze, Hualí looked away, taking a light sip of black tea as if asking offhandedly:
“Weird, isn’t this supposed to be black tea? Did you use the wrong leaves? Why does it taste like green tea?”
Hualí stuck out her tongue in disgust.
“Ugh, green tea tastes awful. Where did this dead green tea come from?”
At her words, Sidella picked up her black tea, pink lips parting as she gently blew away the steam before taking a small sip.
“Mm, it does have an overwhelmingly strong green tea flavor.”
“……”