On the second floor of the Boss Cat Restaurant was Talia's home.
Glass skylights were set into the ceiling of wooden planks and slanting beams, their angled incline giving the living room the open feel of a terrace from which to gaze at the starry sky.
On this quiet night, sitting in her home and looking up felt like bathing beneath the brilliance of the Milky Way.
The fine wood grain on the walls carried a tranquil elegance, while the warm-toned decor and furniture brought an effortless warmth to one's heart.
Originally, aside from an armchair lounger, the only seating Talia had in the apartment was a single chair paired with the desk in her bedroom.
At some point, however, another chair had appeared in the living room.
It seemed she had bought it for Lanqi.
At the moment, Lanqi had offered that chair to Hyperion, while he stood to one side.
Without Talia's permission, he never touched her personal belongings, such as going into her bedroom or using her reclining armchair.
Moonlight and starlight spilled down through the glass skylights. Warm, pale yellow light inside enveloped the wooden-beamed bookshelves, and an aromatherapy burner on the chest of drawers gave off a layered, gentle fragrance of milk, magnolia, and distilled liquor.
"Miss Tata's home feels so peaceful," Hyperion murmured wistfully, gazing up at the Ikerite night sky.
Even now, as she thought back, she felt that if Talia and the Poet of Great Love were stood side by side, they would look completely indistinguishable from real twins.
Perhaps because she had spent so much time around the Poet of Great Love, Hyperion inexplicably felt a strange, instinctive fondness whenever she looked at Talia.
"That is the dependability of an older woman," Lanqi remarked with a smile.
Yet the very next second, the sound of the door lock clicking made Lanqi—who had been carrying himself with the poised elegance of a butler—instantly pull back his smile, pretending he hadn't just been chatting with Hyperion.
Talia pushed the door open, her golden eyes sweeping over Hyperion, who sat rather nervously in the chair, and the well-behaved Lanqi standing beside her.
"..."
It seemed she would have to buy yet another chair for the house in the future.
Talia pondered briefly.
She didn't linger her gaze on Hyperion, not wanting Lanqi to pick up on any clue.
Though Talia had fantasized about how wonderful it would be if Hyperion could stay with her, it was obviously improbable.
A duke's daughter could hardly just move in with a strange woman.
Most likely, they had come today to ask her for guidance on some matter, or perhaps regarding the recent Shadow World.
Still, now that she had met Hyperion today, there would be opportunities to gradually get to know her and invite her over often.
"What do you need," Talia asked, her question delivered in its usual flat, inflectionless tone.
"My classmate has been targeted by an assassin. Tata, could you help me protect her? Since the intelligence came from an unconventional source, you're the only one I can trust."
Lanqi and Talia had always believed in speaking plainly to one another—not that he could lie to her anyway.
"Protect her how?"
Talia was utterly baffled as to how this fellow always managed to foresee danger.
To this day, she still hadn't figured out who had wanted to kill Lanqi back then.
And now Lanqi was telling her someone wanted to kill Hyperion.
What was more, her discernment told her he was speaking the truth.
"Let her stay here with you for a while. Two weeks at most," Lanqi requested, his eyes earnest.
Talia froze the instant she heard that.
She wondered for a second if she had misheard.
Then she caught herself almost immediately.
"What's in it for me?" Talia asked with her usual icy aloofness.
Agreeing unconditionally would definitely arouse Lanqi's suspicion, so she had to nominally demand a bargain.
Whatever Lanqi promised, she would simply accept when the time came.
Ever since meeting Lanqi, it felt as though her misfortune had peaked and turned to supreme luck.
Even if she stayed home and did nothing at all, her wishes would come true on their own.
Could this be what humans called "happiness"?
"..."
Lanqi appraised Talia briefly without rushing to speak.
Talia's response was better than expected.
Since she was open to negotiation rather than outright rejecting him, it meant that so long as the price was right, she wouldn't object.
"...While it is a promise that cannot be cashed in immediately, if you keep Hyperion safe, you will gain the friendship of House Aransal. Within two years, you will become the ducal house's honored guest and advisor," Lanqi spoke on Hyperion's behalf.
A favor from a ducal family could not be measured in money.
Of course, that was on the premise that the duke could return, or that Hyperion could inherit the ducal seat.
"I promise you in the name of the Aransal family, Miss Tata," Hyperion added, bowing solemnly to Talia in pledge.
Talia looked at them in silence, lost for words for a moment.
She didn't know what kind of trouble Hyperion had run into that would drive them to plead with her like this.
What Talia understood even less was what wire had crossed in Lanqi's head—he seemed intent on plunging headlong into a raging tempest just to track down Duke Mikhail.
Yet Lanqi had no idea.
She, too, had always wanted to find her beloved sister.
It was only after meeting Lanqi that she had inadvertently discovered clues about her sister, Efatia, through Lanqi's Shadow World trials—specifically, a half-demon girl who resembled her sister, Hyperion.
Later, after observing Hyperion in secret, she had confirmed beyond doubt that Hyperion was indeed Efatia's daughter.
This had given Talia, who had once seen no hope, a vital objective at last.
Yet Talia never could have imagined that Lanqi wouldn't stop there; he seemingly wanted to orchestrate a grand family reunion for the ducal house.
If she let him keep digging, perhaps while she simply continued enjoying her delightfully melting days of comfort in Ikerite, Lanqi would just end up bringing her sister back to her.
"Tata, I will do everything in my power to ensure this promise is fulfilled," Lanqi added, seeing that Talia remained unmoved.
"..."
Hearing Lanqi's voice, Talia shifted her usually placid gaze away.
At this moment, her eyes were filled with a tangle of complicated emotions—gratitude, bewilderment, deeply stirred sentiment, and resentment.
She was grateful to Lanqi for the good fortune he brought into her life.
And yet, she desperately did not want to become overly entangled with a human.
Finally, once Talia gradually calmed her thoughts,
"Let's go," Talia said, rising to her feet.
"So it really won't work..."
Hyperion, who had been anxiously waiting for Miss Tata's answer, felt all the air leave her chest like a punctured balloon.
As expected, asking someone to house a demon in their home was asking far too much, even of Lanqi's teacher.
"Go to school and fetch your change of clothes. We also need to buy some daily necessities, along with a pillow and a quilt. I only have one quilt here," Talia said softly as she walked over to the door and turned the doorknob.
"Thank you... Miss Tata..." Hyperion said, dumbfounded.
From Lanqi's descriptions of Miss Tata, Hyperion had always imagined her to be a terrifying person. Who could have thought she would be so gentle?
"...?"
Lanqi, who had already begun formulating a backup plan, found his train of thought abruptly derailed in astonishment.
His lips parted slightly as he stared at Talia's back.
Was that ancient demon spinster—unmarried for hundreds of years with severe personality flaws—really this easy to talk to?
She had actually agreed to let Hyperion stay! And from the sound of it, she was even planning on sharing half her bed rather than making Hyperion sleep on the floor or the couch!
Thinking this over, Lanqi pulled out the Poet of Great Love card and frowned at it, double-checking that he wasn't being fooled by some counterfeit Talia.
"..."
Yet Talia seemed to sense something.
She turned her head and glared at Lanqi.
What did that bastard mean by pulling out the Poet of Great Love card and staring at it right now?
On the surface he looked as innocent as could be, but deep down he was definitely thinking something that deserved ten thousand deaths!
Sooner or later, she would read this kid's mind.
He'd better not let her catch him!
Chapter 180