The dim twilight of dusk shone in from outside the door, casting a deep, obscure shadow over Iserin’s eyes.
Beneath the shroud of her pale hair, Mowan clearly saw the ashen despair on Iserin’s face.
Her crimson eyes looked as though they were about to bleed.
Iserin’s gaze was filled with hopelessness, a despair like falling into an ice cellar.
Inconstant fate mocked her meticulous planning with silence, and unpredictable accidents had crushed all her schemes.
She simply stared at Mowan in despair.
She watched as her cute, beautiful, and obedient canary transformed into a terrifying, formidable, and hateful crow.
Mowan walked up to Iserin.
She took Iserin’s hand and gently placed the ring into her palm.
“Don’t go.”
Iserin didn’t know what to say; she could only numbly repeat the deepest desire of her heart.
“Don’t leave me. Stay.”
“This might be a trap. The Demon Race is designing a conspiracy, waiting for you to go back and die. They are waiting for the Descent of the Demon God to reshuffle the Royal Sovereignty, so they can bring the Demon Race completely under their control.”
“So, stay by my side. I will give you safety and everything you want. Stay by my side, and I can answer all your doubts. Stay by my side, become my tomorrow, and become my Sun.”
Iserin took Mowan’s hand and lifted her right arm.
“Stay. You aren’t the Demon King, you aren’t Movier — you are Mowan. You are my beloved.”
She aimed for Mowan’s ring finger and pressed the ring down.
However, a Magic Forcefield resisted the entry of the ring. Iserin stood in a deadlock with this power until the ring was flicked away, sliding from her trembling fingers.
The crisp sound of it hitting the ground echoed in Iserin’s ears over and over again.
For the first time, Iserin heard the sound of her own heart breaking.
She stared intently into Mowan’s eyes, knowing Mowan loved her and that Mowan surely wouldn’t want to leave her.
But the faint glow around the girl’s pupils instantly evaporated the tears in her eyes, making it impossible for Iserin to clearly see the emotions within.
“I won’t go, Sister Selin. I’m willing to stay by your side.”
The girl, who had stopped crying, used incredibly calm words to comfort her favorite sister.
She knelt, picked up the ring from the floor, and smiled as she handed it back to Iserin.
“Can you put it on for me again, Sister Selin?”
Iserin lowered her head, testing it cautiously.
When she saw the ring successfully slide onto Mowan’s fair ring finger, her lips curled up in an expression of immense relief.
After her internal struggle, Mowan still chose her.
‘She really is such a gentle girl, such a kind girl, such a wonderful girl, such a pure girl.’
“I will.”
Mowan clasped her hands together, and the pitch-black wings retracted into her back.
She raised her eyes, seemingly looking at Iserin, but Iserin felt that Mowan’s gaze was focused on the distant sky behind her.
It was as if she were making a pious wish to a distant God.
‘She said she is willing to stay by my side.’
Iserin smiled, and her trembling hands gradually steadied.
“Oh, right. Welcome back, Sister Selin. Let me make dinner for you.”
Finally, the glow in Mowan’s eyes faded.
She seemed to have changed back into that ordinary girl of the Demon Race, an ordinary Demon Princess.
Iserin was extremely gratified. “We’ll do it together.”
“Just sit for a while, Sister Selin. You’ve been busy all day.”
“Alright.”
Iserin sat down in the dining room, but her eyes never left the kitchen, as if she were afraid Mowan would vanish.
She saw the torn holes in the back of the clothes Mowan was wearing while she prepared the ingredients, and that terrifying scene surfaced in her mind again.
She shook her head, stood up, and walked into the kitchen.
Mowan looked back at her, gave a sweet smile, and then refocused on the food.
Iserin stood behind Mowan, carefully inspecting the openings in her clothes.
She could see Mowan’s clean, white back, with not a single black feather in sight.
She reached her hand into the hole, stroking Mowan’s skin.
Mowan’s ears turned bright red. Iserin withdrew her hand at the right moment, and Mowan kept her head down, not blaming Iserin for the teasing.
Preparing Western food was always quick.
Mowan simply stewed some vegetables, put the bread in the steamer to reheat, and seared the beef in a pan until it was 70% done.
As a person from Huaxia in her previous life, Mowan couldn’t accept beef that was too raw, but fully cooked beef was indeed difficult to chew.
Mowan knew Iserin was willing to accommodate her tastes, so she prepared it the way she liked.
No matter what she made, Iserin would taste it without criticism, though there weren’t many compliments either.
They ate dinner together.
Mowan took her new clothes and went to the bathroom with Iserin.
However, Mowan still kept her back to Iserin, shy as always.
Iserin hugged her from behind.
Mowan leaned back comfortably against Iserin’s shoulder, feeling Iserin’s tenderness press against her back.
She suddenly grabbed Iserin’s hand; she couldn’t just let Iserin take advantage of her.
“Sister Selin, do you think… I can still grow?”
“You can.”
“Mm… then help me more. I heard that external stimulation can help with growth.”
The girl was very shy, yet unexpectedly proactive.
However, Mowan’s threshold seemed very high today; after only a short while of messing around, she gave up.
—
Late at night.
Mowan lay in bed, pressed against Iserin’s arm, and quickly fell into a deep sleep, snoring softly.
The girl was very quiet, her brow softly relaxed.
It was as if they had suddenly reconciled, as if no conflict had ever happened between them.
Iserin held Mowan in her arms.
‘As long as you don’t leave, my dear girl.’
Iserin couldn’t sleep until the sky began to brighten.
She watched as the girl in her arms rubbed her eyes dizzily and then stared at her blankly.
After a moment of dazing, the girl raised her hand and gently stroked Iserin’s lower eyelid.
“Sister Selin, didn’t I say I wouldn’t leave you?”
“Yes, my baby never lies.”
Iserin kissed Mowan’s forehead lightly.
She didn’t know why, but she had somehow started using such a cloying nickname.
Iserin got out of bed and dressed, bidding Mowan a reluctant farewell.
At noon, she bought a flower and rushed to Mowan’s small house.
When she saw Mowan still in the room, fiddling with vases on the floor, the heart that had been hanging in her chest finally settled.
“Are you off work, Sister Selin?”
“Yes.”
Mowan took the fresh flower from Iserin’s hand.
“Thank you, Sister Selin.”
Placing the flower in an empty bottle, Mowan used more empty vases to line the corners of the room, except for the area around the door.
“Where did you get the money to buy vases?”
“I traded some food for spare change with the neighbors. Sister Selin, could you take me out to eat today?”
“Alright.”
Seeing that Mowan was still there, Iserin felt at peace.
Mowan hadn’t left; Mowan wouldn’t lie to her.
‘It is I who am full of lies. It is my heart that is covered in filth. My own murky eyes see others as murky too, assuming everyone is just like me. But how could a girl as pure as Mowan ever lie?’
“I want to go to that place, the Crovia Grand Manor! Sister Selin, you owe me a lot of commission fees. The rewards I’ve accumulated should be enough for three gold coins, right?”
“It’s enough.”
Iserin nodded.
It was more than enough — enough for Mowan to eat there for a lifetime.