Xuefei didn’t immediately turn her attention to the impending mother-daughter interaction. Instead, she shot a surprised glance at Leia.
If she remembered correctly, Leia, Laer, and Mitrice were like inseparable sisters… Though Mitrice wasn’t quite as close to Laer and Leia, she undoubtedly held a special place in the Dragon King’s heart.
Leia smiled and nodded in confirmation.
“Demon King, good afternoon.”
“Noble greetings, Demon King.”
“It’s the Demon King!”
“Mo-Mother…”
Mira trembled violently.
Naturally, this included the servers still bustling with tea and dishes, the soldiers standing guard, and even the handsome female butler with her gray short hair. They all dropped to one knee, paying their respects to the uninvited guest who had barged into the restaurant.
Only Leia and Xuefei remained utterly composed, offering Mitrice a casual wave with their eyes.
But the Demon King—or rather, the girl known as Mitrice—had no time for this crowd performing their rituals. She didn’t even glance at her two silver-haired old friends, striding straight toward Mira’s seat.
Seeing this, Mira wanted nothing more than to bury her head under the table. Unfortunately, her small stature and the chair’s height left the little loli with nowhere to hide, fully exposed under Mitrice’s gaze.
At a loss for what to do, little Mira simply curled into a ball, clutching her head. Her earlier arrogance vanished, replaced by pure regret as she kept mumbling to herself:
“I’m sorry, Mother. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have run off on my own. Waaah…”
In an instant, the rude little troublemaker in Xuefei’s eyes was gone. All that remained was a deeply aggrieved little girl, crying her eyes out like a wilted flower.
Do I look like that when I cry?
No way.
I’m 165 centimeters tall. How could I possibly resemble this little squirt?!
Mitrice took just two or three steps to reach Mira—standing not far from Xuefei at all—and raised her hand…
“Eek—!”
Mira instinctively shrank even tighter, burying her entire face on the table. Clearly, though, she had no experience with beatings.
The anticipated slap and punishment never came. Instead, she felt herself enveloped in a warm embrace…
Mitrice had scooped up the little loli and was gently stroking her head. At the same time, with Mira’s illusion dispelled, her fox ears and tail emerged into the open air—almost identical in style to Mitrice’s own.
“You little rascal, running around everywhere. Don’t you know what I’d do if you ran into danger?”
“Waaah… Demons like us aren’t in any danger.”
“Humans love tricking kids like you, you know?”
“Bad!”
Mitrice patted Mira’s back as she stood. In response, the girl ungratefully sank her sharp fangs into the fox girl’s shoulder—though they couldn’t pierce the skin of someone at Soul Tier Layer 6.
“I thought… you were going to hit me.”
Ultimately, feeling the motherly warmth from Mitrice, Mira stopped her crying and quieted down in her embrace. She spoke in a aggrieved tone.
Xuefei felt like she’d gained some enlightenment.
When children make mistakes, you have to move them with love. Blindly criticizing them would have a hugely negative impact on their growth and future. Mmm, if only she had that kind of motherly love and patience.
And if memory served, Mitrice had once been a mischievous little fox herself. Now, it seemed that while her knack for scheming hadn’t changed much, becoming a mother was still somewhat moving.
After all…
Mitrice gently set Mira back in her seat and, just before kissing her forehead, grinned.
“…Who said I wouldn’t? I’ll tan your hide the moment we get home.”
“You…!”
Hearing those words from her mother—the Demon King herself—Mira nearly choked back her tears in sheer fury.
But leaving any mark on her mother was no longer an option.
“Demon King, this is my failure in discipline. Punish me as you see fit.”
The butler didn’t rise, bowing her head to admit her fault. Mitrice merely shook her head.
The butler felt puzzled. By Mitrice’s nature, she shouldn’t be so nonchalant—at the very least, she’d complain a bit verbally. But what Mitrice did next nearly made the butler’s heart leap from her chest.
Ignoring the weight of her own knees entirely, Mitrice dropped to one knee and closed her eyes in loyalty.
—to the two silver-haired girls seated at the next table over.
Her words nearly shattered the souls of the servers—already deep in self-doubt and shock—and the female shopkeeper who had long since half-kneeled on the floor.
“Dragon King, Dragon Consort, noble greetings.”
Mira was still stewing in her anger, baring her teeth as she fantasized about how, once she became the Demon King, she would humiliate her mother with a collar or something equally degrading.
But the moment she heard the words “Dragon King,” her face drained of color, returning to its previous pallor.
“Oh my, I was just saying this was supposed to be a secret date between Little Xuefei and me. And around me, you don’t have to be so formal, Mitrice~”
Leia let out a sigh and dispelled the illusion. At the same time, the dragon horns and tail—symbols of the Dragon Clan’s supreme authority—emerged into the sunlight. Accompanying them was the overwhelming dominance and pressure that marked her as the pinnacle of Dark Filth.
By comparison, the power of Demon King Mitrice seemed like that of a cute little kitten. No… more like a little fox.
This was the Dragon King.
Leia waved her hand, signaling everyone to stand and return to their duties. Only then did the farce truly come to an end. Mitrice rose to her feet as well, scooping Mira into her arms before sitting down across from Xuefei—which also happened to be right next to Leia.
“But there are so many people around. Etiquette has to be observed properly.”
“I don’t recall you being such a stickler for rules.”
“I never imagined you’d turn into the Dragon King, either.”
Mitrice shook her fluffy ears and sighed at the fickleness of fate.
Not long ago, she had been fighting alongside Leia and the other members of the Hero Party against the Evil Dragon. Now, she served that same Evil Dragon, while Leia had become the Evil Dragon herself.
And what of the Hero?
Mitrice’s gaze drifted to Xuefei, who looked a bit shy. But Mitrice had long since known that the Hero had become the Dragon Consort, so she flashed a mischievous grin.
“Hehe, doesn’t Xuefei remember me? Wasn’t it just that I arrived a little late to the wedding?”
“I have absolutely no recollection…”
“That’s because Xuefei’s head was full of me, so she didn’t notice you,” Leia said, coming to her rescue as Xuefei grew visibly embarrassed. “Speaking of which, Mitrice, your daughter has grown so much! I almost didn’t recognize her at first.”
“Hehe…”
Mitrice’s cheeks flushed slightly as she pinched the face of little Mira, cradled in her arms.
At the same time, she caught something in Xuefei’s expression—a certain quality that mirrored her own.
It was the trait of motherhood, revealed in the subtle nuances of emotion and facial expression. As a fellow mother, Mitrice quickly picked up on this heartwarming revelation.
With a beaming smile, she turned to Xuefei and asked, “So, has the Dragon Egg already been laid?”
