Vyea never felt that time could pass so quickly.
Just as half a month ago, she never imagined she would have a day where she would become a mother — no, a father.
After all, the world was like that. Even if plans were made meticulously, sudden and unexpected storms would appear… such accidents might be a good thing, or they might be a bad thing.
At the very least, Vyea was currently grateful for this accident.
sixty-five Nyx Avenue.
Vyea stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, lost in thought, but her gaze never left the direction of the bathroom. The sound of pitter-pattering water drifted from inside.
After leaving the alleyway, she had only walked a few steps before she saw the girl leaning against the corner of the wall.
The girl’s fair and tender face was covered in a lot of dust, but those heterochromatic eyes of gold and red shone with a faint light. She was like a very alert kitten, or a bird leaving the nest that instinctively took a few steps back before finally returning home.
She had just crouched there in the corner.
She didn’t rush to Vyea to complain about her grievances, nor did she show even a trace of a smile on her face. Her round eyes stared unblinkingly at Vyea, as if she were waiting and longing for something.
For a time, the hundreds of apology drafts Vyea had prepared in the depths of her heart were all stuck in her throat. After turning them over and over, she simply couldn’t say them.
She thought that if it were like the short videos she had seen in her previous life, a daughter who had never seen her father would cry like a 3-year-old child upon finding him, then throw herself into his arms and recount the hardships and sorrows of all those years.
If that were the case, Vyea would have been able to naturally take up the topic and comfort her.
But this was not a short video performance from her previous life. Vyea pursed her lips, looked at the girl by the wall, and squeezed out a gentle, forced smile.
“I’ll take you home.”
***
The rain hit the window with a pitter-patter, its rustling sound mixing with the water in the bathroom.
Vyea slowly turned around and stood in front of the bathroom’s glass door for a moment. She suddenly froze, remembering that she still needed to prepare clothes for her daughter.
The black cat lying on the windowsill was listless, its furry ears drooping. It only lifted its eyes to look when Vyea left the bathroom to go upstairs, and then gave a soft, aggrieved meow.
‘These days, even being a cat isn’t easy… compared to the malnourished Her Highness, I’m just a bit fatter and cleaner. Is it really necessary to slander me as a white-haired stinky brat?’
Thinking this, the black cat curled back up on the windowsill to pretend to sleep. It had decided not to get involved in this woman’s affairs. After working hard for so long, it would rest for a while these days.
For the long-lived Herkate, it didn’t matter if she stayed here and freeloaded for a while. Anyway, the matters on the Demon Race’s side weren’t urgent.
On the other side.
Vyea, who had returned to her room to prepare a change of clothes for the girl, was having a bit of a hard time. In the past, she had always worn whatever was convenient.
But now, she obviously couldn’t do that.
Looking at the clothes filling the closet, Vyea was dazzled. Because of her own nature, the closet contained clothes of all sizes, ranging from a young girl’s physique to an adult woman’s.
“This white piece isn’t bad. Hmm… but will she like this color?” Vyea recalled the tattered gray coat her daughter was wearing and then hesitantly pulled out a black casual outfit.
Her beautiful brows slowly furrowed.
‘This is so difficult, harder than a boss fight.’
“Flavail, can you hear me? Quickly choose some clothes for your daughter…” Vyea muttered to herself, but after a long silence, there was no response. It was as if all the previous communication had just been a big dream.
“Hmph, forget it… I’ll just grab a few random pieces for now. As long as she can wear them, it’s fine. I’ll take her to buy new ones after things are settled.”
‘I’ll have to get some money in advance, but I don’t have extra time to take commissions right now… Should I ask Rotissa for some? If she doesn’t even give me this much after helping her kill monsters, she’s way too stingy.’
Closing the wardrobe, Vyea carried the clothes downstairs and waited in front of the bathroom door.
The room was so quiet it made one feel a bit flustered. Vyea wanted to chat with her daughter through the door to help alleviate her tension while also killing this difficult time. But Vyea truly had no experience being a parent.
Realizing this, Vyea placed the change of clothes on the cabinet in front of the door and knocked.
“I’ve put the change of clothes on the cabinet by the door. If you’re finished washing, you can wrap yourself in a towel and come out.”
The water sound in the bathroom stopped for a moment. Just as Vyea was beginning to doubt whether she should go in and check, a tiny response came from inside.
“I know… um, thank—thank you…”
Suddenly, there was a thud!
Accompanying a faint sound of pain, it sounded as if something had fallen onto the floor inside the bathroom.
“Are you okay?” Vyea frowned, her hand gripping the doorknob.
“No—no! It’s just the floor is too wet, I accidentally slipped…”
Is it a problem with her legs?
Vyea thought of the girl’s somewhat immobile wrists and her thin body caused by malnutrition, which led to delayed muscle development. Her heart sank instantly.
Was the treatment at the Demon King City really that bad? Or were these injuries caused during the escape?
“You are my daughter. I won’t eat you, so there’s no need to be so polite. Be a bit bolder; it doesn’t matter even if you’re impolite,” Vyea sighed softly and said.
“Okay… Mom…” The voice inside was still very small.
Vyea wanted to say something more, but ultimately gave up.
To the daughter now, she was probably just a stranger who didn’t even have a blood relationship.
With a self-deprecating smile, Vyea turned and left the bathroom door.
‘After we spend more time together in the future, maybe it won’t be like this.’
After leaving the bathroom, Vyea returned to the floor-to-ceiling window and sat down beside the black cat, looking at the rain outside.
“Herkate, can you tell me about my daughter? I only learned that I had a daughter a short while ago.”
“Meow?”
The black cat pricked up its ears and looked up at Vyea, its eyes full of confusion. Did this only clone of the former Demon King left in the human world really have no memory inheritance at all? Or was she not Her Highness’s mother?
No, even if Her Highness’s inheritance of authority was incomplete, it was impossible for her to recognize the wrong mother.
Shaking her head as if it were a ball of yarn, the black cat stood up, slowly approached Vyea, and sniffed her. No mistake.
She had the faint aura of the Demon King on her; there was no mistaking it!
‘Hmph, it seems the former Demon King was too seriously injured, leading to memory damage.’ The black cat leaned in to sniff her again. ‘Yes, this is the aura! I’ll bet my nearly 1,000 years of life as a Demon on it!’
“Are you a dog?”
Vyea frowned and reached out to push the black cat’s head away.
“Meow!”
Pushed a distance away, the black cat stayed on the windowsill, propped up its front paws, and meowed unhappily. It licked its whiskers and said, “There’s a lot to say about Her Highness. After confirming that the previous Great Demon King was completely dead, those Elders in the Demon King City couldn’t sit still anymore.
After all, in our Demon Race world, we not only have to guard against naturally evil Human brats but also against naturally cruel kin.”
“When those Elders found Her Highness, she was being encased in a huge golden cocoon. Originally, those Elders planned to wait for Her Highness to breed and grow on her own, but some accidents happened along the way—”