As night fell and everyone in the palace had finished bathing, Carl entered the bedroom with Kalifa in tow.
Lily squinted as she watched the bedroom door close. The fruit core in her hand turned to ashes and drifted away in the air. She spoke faintly,
"Figarland finally produced such a descendant. Looks like the family is about to thrive again."
The women exchanged glances. Shalria was the most afraid of Lily. Ordinary people might not be as intimidated by Lily's status, but Shalria—who had grown up in Mary Geoise as a Celestial Dragon—was different. The oppressive pressure Lily gave off was like a towering mountain. Usually quite lively, Shalria now didn't dare make a sound.
Sugar blinked twice and leaned toward Robin, about to whisper something—only to be swiftly pulled away by Monet, who had been watching her closely. Monet gave her a silencing gesture.
Monet knew Sugar's mischievous nature. She was definitely planning to gossip about Lily. But Monet also understood that someone like Lily possessed unimaginable abilities. Whatever Sugar planned to whisper likely wouldn't escape Lily's ears.
Lily wasn't like Carl. If Sugar said something that actually annoyed her, who knows what kind of mess it would cause? Carl would surely step in to protect Sugar immediately, but Monet didn't want to create such trouble for him.
Lucia, who had seen Monet's actions from start to finish, nodded approvingly and gave her a smile of praise.
After a while, Lily's face flushed slightly. She clicked her tongue and muttered,
"Finally started, huh? He's being gentle this time… huh."
Scenes of Carl's past "discipline" flashed in her mind. Lily bit her lip and abruptly stood up from the couch, startling the other women.
Without saying a word, she turned and walked toward her own bedroom. Whether it was intentional or not, her footsteps grew noticeably heavier as she passed Carl's door—thud, thud, thud—as if she had a grudge against the floor itself.
...
Inside the bedroom, Carl lay on his back, hands behind his head, a wicked smile playing on his lips as he watched the breathless, wild-haired Kalifa before him.
Just as he expected, Kalifa was the repressed type. At first, she had been incredibly shy, bubbles from her powers filling the entire room like they were out of control.
But once things got going, Kalifa shed her timid image completely. She became so bold that she clung to Carl like a water snake, as if she wanted to merge completely with him.
Carl admired the bewitching expression on Kalifa's face and murmured,
"How can two women be so different?"
...
Meanwhile, in her own room, Lily had just lain down, curled on her side. Her ears twitched at his words. Her brow furrowed, and her long lashes trembled.
She had tried her best not to listen to the sounds from Carl's room—but she couldn't help herself. And wouldn't you know it, she just had to hear that line. It left her utterly defenseless.
There was probably only one person in the entire world who could affect her like this—Carl.
Taking a deep breath, Lily pulled the blanket over her head and endured the night in a classic case of self-deception.
...
The next morning, Carl—refreshed and energized—took a bite of fried egg, then popped two cherries into his mouth as a finishing touch. Sugar snuck up to him, glancing around guiltily, and whispered,
"Carl-sama, why isn't Lily up yet?"
It wasn't just Lily—Kalifa hadn't woken up either. But everyone knew why Kalifa was still asleep. As for Lily, this was... unusual.
Sugar couldn't help but wonder if Carl hadn't been satisfied last night and snuck over to Lily's room for round two. But with Lily's constitution, it shouldn't be enough to keep her in bed the next day.
Monet wiped Carl's mouth gently with a white handkerchief, shooting Sugar a warning glance as she said,
"Eat your food. Lily isn't someone you can talk about so casually. Be careful she really does deal with you."
Sugar pouted pitifully and looked at Carl with big eyes, whining,
"Carl-sama, you'll protect me, right?"
Carl chuckled softly and pinched Sugar's slightly chubby cheek.
"Of course. No one in this world can handle little Sugar but me."
Sugar giggled and made a face at the exasperated Monet, then dove into Carl's arms, hugging his waist tightly and cooing,
"I like being handled by Carl-sama~!"
Robin, who had been quietly listening the whole time, suddenly burst out laughing, spraying the milk in her mouth everywhere. She quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth, then cleaned up the milk-soaked tabletop.
Sugar wrinkled her nose and said with disgust,
"Ew, gross~"
Robin's hand trembled in anger, nearly knocking her cup off the table. She glared at Sugar.
"This is all your fault! You're getting more shameless by the day! Can't you even eat breakfast like a normal person?"
Sugar rolled her eyes, completely unconcerned.
"Tch, I think you're just jealous~"
"Jealous of what!?"
"Jealous of how close I am with Carl-sama~!"
Looking at Robin's eyes, which looked ready to shoot fire, Sugar grinned like a little devil. As long as she stayed in Carl's arms, she was untouchable. Robin could do nothing about her—she was completely in "can't be targeted" mode, and that only made Robin feel all the more helpless.
Carl flicked Sugar on the forehead.
"You just love making Robin mad. Try to get along, okay?"
Sugar giggled and snuggled against him.
"Oh come on, Carl-sama, Robin and I get along great! No need to worry!"
Robin narrowed her eyes at Sugar and sneered.
"Yeah? Then come to my room later. I've got a new book—you can tell me what you think."
Sugar's eyes lit up at the mention of a new book. Carl blinked in surprise and asked,
"Robin, you wrote a book?"
Robin nodded, smiling.
"Yes, Carl-sama. It's my second one."
Carl clapped his hands.
"Not bad. What kind is it?"
Robin's face turned strangely red. She looked away and muttered,
"Um... a novel."
Carl's curiosity grew even more.
"Nice. Bring it to me too—I bet it's amazing with your talent."
Robin suddenly looked like a startled rabbit. She shook her head quickly, waving her hands.
"Maybe later, Carl-sama! I've only finished the first volume—it's barely a draft!"
Carl nodded thoughtfully.
"I see..."
What he didn't notice was that Olvia was now watching Robin with a suspicious look.
Robin wrote a book?
Even as her mother, she hadn't known a thing about it.
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+140 chapters on p@treon/tambeerg