Chapter 31: The King Must Maintain Seriousness

Chapter 31: The King Must Maintain Seriousness

“Alright, Mios. No matter how close you get, there’s a line. Look at you, you’ve scared the poor child.”

Ouxs, not hesitating, delivered a swift chop to the back of Mios’s head, putting a stop to his so-called creepy uncle antics.

After breaking free from Mios’s embrace, Aierjisi immediately ducked behind Ouxs, eyeing him warily.

“Ah, I’m so sorry! It’s just my first time seeing such a cute girl, and I couldn’t help myself.”

Mios sheepishly rubbed his head and sat up.

“By the way, what brings you here today? Is it because the Ice Dragon King came back, and you want me to pretend to be Lady Ailin again?”

“No, not at all! I just wanted to ask about someone. You’re the only one who knows their whereabouts.”

“Who are you talking about? Just me knowing his whereabouts? That’s kind of exciting!”

Mios wiggled in excitement, making Aierjisi even more suspicious. This creepy lady definitely seemed dangerous.

“The person you’re looking for is named Yake. You should know where he’s gone, right?”

“Oh, Yake! I know where he is! He should be resting in an empty room at the Royal Palace. Are you going to see him?”

“I don’t need to see him, but this young lady here does. Yake is her companion.”

Ouxs pointed to Aierjisi next to him while explaining to Mios.

“Oh, I see. Alright then, this cute little girl can come with me. I’ll take you to Yake.”

Mios grabbed Aierjisi’s hand and dashed down the halls of the Royal Palace.

“Hey! Mios! How many times do I have to tell you not to run in the palace corridors?!”

Ouxs shouted from behind, but whether Mios heard him or not was another story.

<What in the world is wrong with this woman? She's totally out there! And my legs hurt so much, I feel like they're going to snap!>

Aierjisi mentally complained as Mios dragged her down the hall until they reached Yake’s room.

“Here we are. Yake is resting inside. It’s best not to disturb him right now.”

“Don’t be silly. I need to talk to him, and even if he’s resting, I have to wake him up.”

Aierjisi pushed open the door and saw Yake sleeping soundly on the bed.

Somehow, the moment she saw his peaceful sleeping face, her earlier urge to wake him up and test new weapons evaporated.

Forget it, let this guy continue sleeping. He hasn’t had a proper sleep for a while, so let him rest here for a bit.

After all, who could blame her for being such a generous master? There’s no second person in the entire world who treats their servant like this.

“What’s up? Aren’t you going to wake him up?”

Seeing Aierjisi just standing there, Mios entered to look at her.

“Never mind. Seeing how soundly he sleeps for the first time, even I can’t bring myself to disturb his peaceful slumber.”

“Oh, I see. You’re unexpectedly nice.”

“What do you mean unexpectedly nice? I’m nice by nature!”

Aierjisi shot a glare at Mios. This lady was getting weirder by the second.

“Then how about we grab some afternoon tea? I have delicious cookies and cakes!”

“Cookies and cakes?! I want some!”

Hearing that there were cookies and cakes, Aierjisi completely lost any remaining sense of rationality. After all, for a girl, sweets were the most important thing.

“Yep! Turns out girls love sweets! Lady Ailin was the same—she’d forget everything else the moment cookies and cakes were mentioned.”

Watching Aierjisi react just like Lady Ailin used to, Mios’s expression softened considerably.

“Then come with me, and we’ll have some afternoon tea. Let’s also invite Gaia; he’s been so busy with work lately that he could use a proper break. Otherwise, he’ll wear himself out.”

“Are you really close with Lord Gaia? You seem pretty casual when mentioning him. You don’t show respect like Ouxs does.”

Aierjisi was curious as to why Mios addressed Gaia so informally, wondering if their relationship was closer than she thought. Could it be something like a fiancée?

No, wait, wasn’t Lady Ailin already married to Gaia? So it couldn’t be that, right? But then again, it would be normal if a king had a harem.

“My relationship with Gaia? Hmm… If I had to say, we’re childhood friends. We’ve known each other since we were little, so I feel a bit closer to him. I never add ‘Lord’ when I refer to him.”

Mios explained why she never appended a title when mentioning Gaia.

“Oh, I see. That kind of relationship seems nice.”

“Right? It’s a pity my old man is really stubborn. In front of him, I have to call Gaia ‘Lord’, or he’d lecture me about respecting the king!”

Mios couldn’t help but sigh when mentioning her father. Even though her relationship with Gaia was closer than anyone else’s, why did she have to call him by the same title as everyone else?

“Well, after all, etiquette is crucial in the palace.”

Aierjisi recalled how she had been educated as a child; etiquette was an immensely important subject in the royal family. Nobles were quite attentive to these matters.

“I actually can’t understand why etiquette is necessary. It feels like calling him ‘Lord’ puts distance between us.”

“That’s a valid point. But… perhaps a king should keep a certain distance from others?”

Reflecting on her father, the king of the Blood Clan, Aierjisi remembered how he always wore a cold expression around others, as though nothing in the world could ever bring him joy. Even his subjects felt a bit intimidated by him.

But Aierjisi, being his daughter, knew that he wasn’t a heartless killing machine. He only revealed his true self when alone with family.

“Ah, really, wearing that sour face all day must be tiring.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. After all, he’s a king. He can’t exactly walk around with a smile all the time; otherwise, no one would fear him.”

After a long, busy day of work, he would always find himself complaining to his mother.