Chapter 24: Sis, Your Daughter Is Amazing!

Early the next morning, soft sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains and spilled onto Lorin’s face.

She slowly turned over, stretching lazily like a cat. Then, her heavy-lidded eyes opened bit by bit, still hazy with sleep.

This had been the second most comfortable sleep she’d ever had—though the first, of course, was in Claire’s arms.

Not that she’d ever admit it.

“You’re awake?!”

A sudden voice rang out like thunder in her ears.

Lorin jolted upright, and only then did she remember—oh no, this wasn’t good.

She had gone to Phyllis’s room to steal the spatial cube… only she didn’t steal it.

Instead, she… fell asleep?

Lorin hurriedly lifted her head—only to meet Phyllis’s sly, mischievous gaze.

“Ahhh!”

A sharp scream pierced the morning calm.

Like a lit firecracker, Lorin shot upright in a panic, her entire being filled with the urge to flee.

Her eyes were wide as saucers, brimming with terror and confusion.

Right now, she was struggling with all her might to escape Phyllis’s embrace.

She flailed her arms wildly and kicked her legs with all her strength.

But Phyllis’s arms were like steel clamps, locking her in place without budging an inch.

Fear made Lorin’s voice tremble.

“Wh-what do you want from me?! Let me go!”

“I should be the one asking that.”

Phyllis sighed.

“I woke up first thing this morning feeling like I was being smothered. Turns out it was my darling little niece.”

“What’s wrong? Couldn’t sleep without my sister around?”

“Bullshit! Let me go!”

Lorin’s face flushed bright red as she shouted back.

“Hey, no need to rush.”

Phyllis shifted her body, pinning down the still-squirming Lorin.

“So tell me—why are you in my bed?”

“I… I…”

Lorin averted her gaze.

In the end, she simply turned her back on Phyllis and said nothing.

Phyllis’s lips curled into a wicked grin.

She tucked her hands behind her back and swayed them deliberately in front of Lorin.

“Were you looking for this?”

She slowly brought her hand around and opened her palm in front of Lorin’s eyes.

A metallic-looking cube sat quietly in her hand, gleaming faintly.

Lorin’s gaze was instantly locked onto the cube.

Her eyes went round, and her pent-up frustration finally burst out.

“Hey! Give that back!”

Before the words had even finished, she lunged forward to snatch the precious object from Phyllis.

But of course, Phyllis wasn’t going to make it that easy.

Just as Lorin was about to grab it, the ring on Phyllis’s finger shimmered—and the cube vanished in a blink.

“You—!”

“I’ll give it back when I’ve had enough fun with it. Dangerous items like this aren’t something a little girl like you—what, not even one year old?—should be playing with.”

Knock knock knock~ “Your Majesty?”

The knock on the door landed like a miracle from heaven, instantly breaking the standoff.

“Come in.”

The door opened slowly, and Grace stepped into view.

Though she was no longer a maid, she still wore the uniform—perhaps out of habit, perhaps out of sentiment.

Her gaze paused briefly on Lorin, a flicker of surprise passing through her eyes before she turned to Phyllis.

“Your Majesty, there are some documents I’m unable to process. I need you to handle them.”

She pulled a folder out from her ring and handed it to Phyllis.

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

The sight of paperwork clearly dampened Phyllis’s mood.

She slumped, grumbling half-heartedly.

After a polite bow, Grace turned to leave—but just then…

“Grace, wait for me!”

Lorin shot out of bed like a bullet and dashed to Grace’s side, pushing her toward the hallway in an attempt to flee from this traumatic scene.

“Grace! Stop her!”

Phyllis shouted behind them.

“Uhh…”

Grace froze on the spot, glancing left and right, utterly torn.

“Grace, could you really hand me over to that devil?”

Lorin clung tightly to her, pitiful as could be.

“You do remember who discovered your hidden talent, right? The one who rescued you from a life of servitude—”

Grace’s face darkened the more Lorin spoke.

“…Eh?!”

Before Lorin could react, Grace scooped her up and tossed her straight back into Phyllis’s arms.

She bowed once more.

“Your Majesty, I’ll take my leave.”

And just like that, she vanished from the room at lightning speed, leaving Lorin stunned.

“Grace! That was betrayal!”

Lorin shouted in outrage—but then, she met Phyllis’s amused gaze.

Her expression instantly froze. “!!!”

Phyllis shoved the folder of documents into Lorin’s arms without giving her a chance to refuse.

“These are all yours.”

“No way!”

Lorin leapt out of Phyllis’s lap.

“Who’s the queen here—you or me?! Huh?!”

“If you want, you could be the next Queen of the Bloodkin as early as tomorrow.”

Phyllis raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

“Heh.”

Lorin sneered coldly, then promptly tossed the folder back at her.

She had already lost enough dignity for one day.

“If you don’t finish this paperwork,” Phyllis said, holding up her phone, “I’ll send this photo to my sister.”

Lorin blinked and peered over—only to see herself, snuggled up and fast asleep in Phyllis’s arms on the screen.

“You—! You were awake last night?!”

“If I hadn’t been, some little thief would’ve made off with something important.”

When Lorin didn’t react, Phyllis began tapping the screen with obvious intent.

“Okay, I’m sending it—”

“Don’t!”

Lorin rushed over in a panic.

If Claire—who doted on her like a lifeline—found out that Lorin chose to sleep with Phyllis instead of her…

She might actually die.

“Then handle the paperwork.”

Phyllis patted the stack beside her.

“Ugh…”

Lorin trudged over with a look of utter despair, grabbed the documents, and slumped down at the desk to begin working.

Meanwhile, Phyllis watched her seriously flipping through pages, a satisfied smile curling on her lips.

Then, without a second thought, she forwarded the photo to Claire.

“Sis, your daughter is amazing!”

That was the caption.

She didn’t even know if Claire could receive the message.

With all the magical beasts, alchemical disturbances, and unstable weather phenomena, phone functions were often limited to the local area—or at best, the same city.

But if Claire got the message?

Now that would be a show worth watching.