In the windowpane not far across the bedroom, the side profiles of Talia and Hyperion were reflected.
In their naturally cool eyes, the emotional ripples could not be hidden.
"Hyperion, I can't replace your real mother, and I don't understand how humans express their feelings in every situation. I can only act them out through the human logic I know. Please don't think of me as clumsy," Talia murmured.
"Tata, you really are foolish sometimes," Hyperion said with a soft smile.
"..." Talia looked at Hyperion in astonishment.
"You've clearly done so well already, yet you still worry that you haven't done enough. It's the same with closeness—we're already so close, yet you still worry whether the other person might dislike you," Hyperion explained.
"Is that so?"
A flicker of relief passed through Talia's eyes, and a faint, subtle smile touched the corner of her lips.
"Yes," Hyperion nodded in confirmation. "If there's anything about humans you don't understand, you can ask me. I'll tell you everything I know. Even though I don't really count as human either, but... well, it's still better than asking Lanqi."
She thought about it: among the friends Talia could be honest with about her identity, she really was the most human-like.
Lanqi was entirely posing as human.
"Then from now on, please guide me," Talia responded softly.
"That's my Tata."
Hyperion hugged Talia once again.
Whenever she was with Talia, she turned into a facehugger, but she couldn't help herself.
Talia didn't move, letting Hyperion embrace her for a long while until she was finally released.
"...Does he know?" Talia finally asked.
"...He knows."
Hyperion knew that the "he" Talia referred to was Lanqi, and what Talia meant was the fact that she belonged to the demon race.
"When did he find out?"
Talia's gaze grew exceptionally complicated.
If he had already known she was of the demon race before heading to the Northern Continent, why was he still as warm and friendly to her as ever after returning to the Southern Continent?
"I don't know," Hyperion shook her head.
Lanqi always had inexplicable sources of intelligence, making her wonder if he possessed the function of a Prophet. But she didn't intend to pry; she trusted Lanqi.
"Do you think I should be upfront with him about my identity?"
Talia seemed to be asking for Hyperion's opinion.
She looked undecided, carrying a slight unease.
Even though Lanqi might already know everything, he might just be playing dumb; as long as she didn't lay bare the truth, he could keep pretending forever.
Yet before Hyperion could answer, a knock came at the bedroom door.
"Come in," Talia replied after exchanging a glance with Hyperion.
Next, Lanqi was seen pushing a three-tiered small dining cart inside.
"Tata, lunch is served."
The top tier of the cart was laid with a pristine white napkin, crystal glasses, neatly arranged silverware, and a fresh bouquet of flowers at the center.
Lanqi then began taking appetizers from the insulated compartments of the cart—a delicate portion of foie gras garnished with subtle herbs and edible petals.
Soon, with utter professionalism, he signaled for Hyperion to switch seats with him, took the chair closer to the headboard, and began feeding Talia her meal.
"..."
Talia kept her mouth closed, looking in bewilderment at the dish Lanqi held out and then at his face.
Though her right hand was wrapped in bandages and lacked sensation for the time being, she had never imagined that one day she would be hand-fed by a man.
"Thank you for protecting the Wilfort family," Lanqi said with a sincere smile, offering his humble effort in return.
When the Son of Destruction attacked that day, Talia had done everything she could to cover the Wilfort family's evacuation. Because she had prioritized shielding others, right from the start of the battle she had suffered several severe injuries that she could otherwise have avoided.
Now everyone in the Wilfort family, from top to bottom, viewed Tata as one of their own.
"I promised you, so of course I would see it through," Talia shook her head, feeling that it was only natural, or perhaps that she had simply fulfilled her contract.
"So while you recover from your injuries over these next few days, let the Wilfort family take care of you," Lanqi continued, still insisting on feeding her.
"..."
Talia fell silent for a long moment.
"I am Talia. I belong to the demon race, and Tata is just an alias. Are you still willing to keep spending time with me?"
She knew Hyperion would certainly not reject her, but she did not know whether Lanqi's utter lack of reservation was an act or if he genuinely was not afraid of her.
"Of course I am. I still want to keep learning demon card-crafting knowledge from you," Lanqi nodded, looking at her without the least bit of surprise.
"I am an eighth-tier great demon. Aren't you afraid of me?"
Talia looked down at her hands, not meeting his eyes.
Having pretended to be human and spending so much time around him, it would only be natural for him to feel wariness and dread.
"...Not at all," Lanqi said, pursing his lips and shaking his head.
"?"
Talia's brows knitted at once.
Did Lanqi seem to be mocking her just now?
She had thought it would be difficult to understand Lanqi's true thoughts about her, but now she was convinced that this guy truly didn't care about her race—and that familiar exasperating flavor was back again!
"So don't worry, Tata. No matter what race you are or what name you go by, the time we've spent together is completely real. And right now, we're getting along just fine, aren't we?"
Lanqi picked the plate back up after having set it down and asked.
"..."
Talia didn't reply.
Instead, she slightly parted her lips, accepting the food Lanqi offered.
"To be honest, at the very beginning I didn't realize at all that you and Hyperion were related. How did you recognize her?" Lanqi asked as he fed Tata.
This was his only real point of confusion; in his eyes, Talia and Hyperion bore no resemblance to each other whatsoever.
"Her half-demon form bears a slight resemblance to Efatia. Once I confirmed that she possessed the traits of demon royalty, I basically knew," Talia answered, looking toward Hyperion.
Back then, on the giant outdoor projection screen at Ikerite Academy, she had happened to see Lanqi and Hyperion challenging the Purgatory Corridor Academy Shadow World. In that Shadow World, Hyperion had directly transformed into her demon form. Later, commissioned by Lanqi, Talia had tailed Hyperion for a period of time, effectively protecting her.
After that, Lanqi had brought Hyperion to her home, where chatting with Hyperion further confirmed the details about the Duchess.
"Wait, but you don't look like your sister either," Lanqi noted, catching onto a crucial detail.
He had long heard that the Second Princess Efatia possessed exceptional talent, wielding abilities that struck fear into other great demons, and that her youth and unique feminine charm had even captivated Duke Mikhail, the once-in-a-millennium genius of the Hutton Kingdom. Unsurprisingly, Duchess Efatia, like Hyperion, had a very small appetite.
"..."
"Back then in the Demon Realm, civil officials raised similar questions, but without exception they were all executed by the Demon King. So the demons who are still alive either believe we are sisters, or don't believe it but dare not speak up."
Sensing Lanqi's cryptic silence, Talia's expression began to chill. Her tone was fierce enough that it felt as though she might bite down on his fork and swallow his hand along with it.
She couldn't fathom why a simple sentence from him, delivered with a slightly exaggerated tone, seemed to conceal a thousand unspoken words!
"I believe you, I believe you," Lanqi said hastily, waving his hands and shaking his head.
He had initially planned to ask Pranay, but thinking about it now, it was better not to pry into other people's family affairs.
When it came to secrets of the Demon Realm, Pranay usually knew the most. The difference between Pranay and Antanas was that Antanas would openly blurt out whatever she knew, whereas Pranay often pretended ignorance about many of the secrets he was aware of—he knew how to stay alive.
Then again, Pranay probably didn't know any explosive demon gossip anyway. Otherwise, if one day he accidentally let slip all the secrets hidden in his heart, Pranay himself would probably explode.
Chapter 516