When Flora placed the ring back into the drawer, she took care to set it perfectly straight, as if hiding a dangerous object back in its place.
‘I’ll deal with the ring later. Right now, the most important thing is to keep moving and use this “free activity time” during the day to observe everything I can.’
She took a deep breath, straightened the hem of her skirt—which felt as if it came with its own noble buff—and prepared to leave the room.
Just as she reached the door, there was a light knock from the outside.
“Your Highness,” a maid’s voice said, respectful and cautious, “Her Majesty requests your presence.”
Flora froze in her tracks.
‘Didn’t she say I had free time?’
‘Why is Ilya looking for me again?’
‘Could she have found the ring?!’
All sorts of chaotic questions jumped around in her mind.
However, she could only maintain a calm exterior, her tone gentle. “I understand.”
She followed the maid toward the furthest end of the corridor, a direction she had not taken before. The walls they passed grew increasingly silent, and the magic patterns became more complex.
The air felt as if it held some kind of suppressed power.
‘With things looking like this, this should be the administrative wing. It makes sense; Ilya should be working at this time.’
The maid stopped before a thick, deep-blue door and pushed it open gently.
“Your Majesty, Her Highness has arrived.”
The moment Flora stepped inside, her first reaction was:
‘It’s so big, so quiet, and so… desolate.’
It was more desolate than anywhere else in the palace.
The Demon Queen’s office was not as luxurious as she had imagined. There were no overwhelming displays of gemstones or giant magical statues. Instead, it looked like an ancient sea of books.
Rows of black wood bookshelves stretched from the walls to the far end, filled with heavy scrolls and grimoires.
Light streamed down from high windows, creating tiny motes of dust in the air.
Ilya sat at a desk by the window, her long, deep-blue hair draped over her shoulders. She held a quill in her hand, reviewing a gold-leafed official document.
When she looked up, her silver eyes seemed to brighten slowly.
That gaze held no royal pressure, no commanding coldness, only something… very light and warm.
“Flora, come here.” Ilya put down her pen, her tone so soft she didn’t sound like a ruler. She sounded more like she was calling a lost child back to her side.
“Don’t be nervous. I won’t take up too much of your time. Just a moment.”
Flora’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Why does it feel like she’s coaxing me?’
‘I’m not a kid… am I?’
‘Fine, this body really does look like a child’s right now.’
She kept her head down and walked over, her movements as cautious as if she were treading on thin ice.
Then, she froze.
Next to Ilya, on the other side of the desk… stood a chair.
It wasn’t the kind of formal chair for visitors that sat across half a table’s distance. It was placed right next to Ilya. They were positioned so closely that their shoulders would be only one arm’s length apart.
“I… sit here?” Flora’s voice was extremely soft, carrying a hint of wary hesitation.
“Yes.” Ilya nodded slightly, as if it were only natural. “Sit beside me.”
Flora wondered if she had misheard. Why would the Demon Queen let a human who had been turned into a member of the demon race sit right next to her?
Without maintaining any distance? Especially in this office area that didn’t look like a place where anyone could just approach freely?
This was too abnormal.
Alarm bells rang in her head, but she still sat down obediently. As she did, she pulled the chair away just a tiny bit, maintaining a safe distance that was neither too distant nor too intimate.
Ilya noticed this subtle movement. She turned her head, her gaze landing gently on Flora’s face.
“Are you nervous?”
Flora replied, “…No.”
There was a tiny bit of defiance in her tone, yet it felt very natural and was part of her plan.
The corners of Ilya’s lips curved slightly, as if she were amused by that slight display of stubbornness.
“Don’t worry, I said I wouldn’t keep you long,” she said softly. “I just… wanted you to keep me company for a while.”
Flora’s heart raced again.
‘Keep her company? Why me?’
Flora couldn’t panic. She maintained a well-behaved, upright posture, though her eyes betrayed a glimmer of unease.
Ilya seemed to see through her but didn’t press further. Instead, she pulled out a stack of thin scrolls and began to review them carefully.
After a moment, Ilya seemed to think of something and looked up at Flora.
“Flora,” she said in a gentle tone, “would you… be willing to look over these administrative matters with me? If you’re up for it, we could handle them together. You can tell me your thoughts.”
The warning bells in Flora’s mind reached a crescendo.
‘Letting me handle administrative affairs with her? What is she trying to do now? Letting an outsider handle internal matters… no matter how I think about it, it’s strange.’
‘No, no, no, this is getting weirder and weirder.’
Flora had no choice but to frown slightly. “Isn’t it… too early for me to look at these? I—I’m not familiar with anything…”
The resistance was weak but real. It was enough to make Ilya feel she wasn’t blindly submissive, yet not so much that it would be considered excessive defiance.
However, Ilya only watched her quietly.
In those silver eyes, for that one moment, there was no majesty or dissatisfaction. Instead, there was a very faint, very subtle emotion… like a flicker of touched tenderness.
“It’s all right,” she said softly. “I’ll explain them to you, just to give you an early understanding.”
Ilya followed up with another sentence, but Flora didn’t hear it.
“Consider it a small selfishness of mine.”
There was a deep, hidden sense of relief in her voice. It was as if, finally, someone could sit beside her…
The words ‘I never asked to be your successor’ stayed stifled in Flora’s heart.
Still, she maintained her pre-planned obedient demeanor and nodded slightly. “Then… I’ll try my best.”
The curve of Ilya’s lips softened even more as she brought a simple scroll forward. “Let’s start with this one. It’s just to understand; don’t push yourself.”
Flora took the scroll. Her fingertips accidentally brushed against the back of Ilya’s hand as the scroll was passed.
In that instant, Ilya’s movements visibly faltered. It wasn’t due to discomfort, but rather because her emotions had been suddenly touched. Her gaze dropped slightly, masking the momentary flicker of agitation.
Flora didn’t dare think too deeply about it and could only focus on the scroll with Ilya.
***
Meanwhile, Ilya watched her quietly. That gaze was as tender as a lamp in the night, silently shining upon a child who had finally returned to her side.
After a while, Ilya finally spoke softly. “That’s enough; let’s leave it at that. You’ve already done very well. Go and attend to your own matters.”
Flora looked up slightly. “…Is that really enough?”
She was actually dying to leave, but her feigned attitude had to remain obedient yet slightly cautious.
Ilya gave a light laugh. “You have plenty of time. A little bit every day is enough for the future.”
Then, she added a final thought.
“Thank you for staying with me.”
Her tone was so light it felt as if it might break at a touch.
Flora’s heart tightened suddenly.
‘She’s thanking me? Why is she thanking me?’
She didn’t dare respond and could only whisper, “I… I understand.”
As if afraid of scaring her, Ilya only gently stroked her hair. The gesture was so tender it felt impossible to refuse.
“Go on. You are free for the rest of the day.”