Iphatia Asks About Hyperion

Dressed in pure white, Talia cut an elegant, graceful figure, yet her angelic face was completely stunned. Her gaze slowly drifted downward. All she saw was that familiar silver hair. By now, the silver-haired woman's entire focus was on her. She buried her face against Talia and wept bitterly, her sobs causing Talia's eyes to sting with tears. "Iphatia..." Talia had always believed that heaven-sent luck would eventually run out—that good fortune could never last forever—yet her longing had never ceased. A hundred years. She had wandered endlessly, traveling under assumed names, almost traversing the entirety of both the Northern and Southern Continents. She had witnessed hundreds of changing seasons, imagining their reunion countless times. In the end, it was meeting Lanqi that marked the turning point in her journey. She had found clues about her sister, met her sister's daughter, learned of her sister's whereabouts, and now, at long last, she was finally looking at her sister in person. Was Lanqi truly her wishing machine...? Could wishing upon him really accomplish anything that seemed impossible? She had waited far too long for this moment. She was ready to abandon all restraint just to touch this overwhelming happiness. Yet, as if guided by some strange instinct... Talia subconsciously glanced at Lanqi. Her golden eyes, once eternally cold, were now brimming with a complex mix of gratitude, confusion, and deep emotion. She was profoundly grateful for the blessings he had brought her, yet she had always insisted that she did not want to become too entangled in grievances or debts with a human. Still, she could not resist the intense surge of emotion within her heart. "Actually, it's quite natural. As long as your sister, Miss Iphatia, shared our objective and was striving here in the Creti Empire, you were bound to run into her sooner or later," Lanqi said to Talia, having grasped the unexpected situation. Back in the Kingdom of Posen, after hearing the intelligence from Miss Etio, they had known that Iphatia was most likely in the Creti Empire. Considering that Duke Mikhail's disappearance was linked to the Blood Clan in the heart of the empire, Iphatia was probably fighting against the Blood Clan as well. Seeking along this trail, it was inevitable that two parties investigating the Blood Clan would cross paths. He knew what Talia was hesitating about at this moment. When meeting someone from the past, the fear did not stem from the initial shock of the encounter, but from a deep, heartfelt dread of losing them all over again. Lanqi gave Talia a gentle pat on the back, signaling that she shouldn't be looking at him right now, but should focus entirely on her sister. "..." *Honestly, do you think you can just touch my back whenever you feel like it?* Talia grumbled silently in her heart, but said nothing more to Lanqi. She gently rested her slender hand against Iphatia's back, pulling her into a tight embrace just as she had embraced Hyperion before. Iphatia froze for a moment before abandoning all hesitation, burying herself even deeper into her familiar sister's arms. "To be honest, it was always me hugging you, Sister, but this is the first time you've ever taken the initiative to hug me." Memories flooded uncontrollably into Iphatia's mind. In her recollection, the flawless demon princess Talia had always fulfilled every duty of an elder sister in caring for her, yet she had remained magnificent, rational, and breathtaking—bearing the dignified composure of an eldest princess, never expressing her emotions openly like humans did. "We all change..." Talia murmured, stroking Iphatia's head with a gentle sense of relief. Perhaps in Iphatia's eyes, her present self seemed much more embarrassing, but this was her true self at this stage of her life. "No, in my eyes, Sister, you will always be that radiant, shining elder sister." Iphatia shook her head firmly. She might indeed view her sister through rose-tinted glasses, but she was certain that filter would never break, because her sister was simply that perfect. "..." Lanqi remained silent beside them, merely raising a hand to cover his mouth with a solemn, contemplative expression. Yet Talia was already starting to feel that he deserved a beating. That gesture was so irritating! He was definitely struggling to hold back a smirk. "Sister, are you married?" Iphatia asked suddenly. She was certain that her sister had become far gentler. Although her sister was naturally among the milder of the demon race and had always treated her well, at this moment, Iphatia felt that she resembled a gentle, virtuous wife and mother—virtually indistinguishable from a human. "Of course not!" Talia's reaction was quite pronounced as she hastily denied it. "Really...?" Iphatia murmured playfully, remaining close against Talia. Her intentionally drawn-out tone seemed to say: *I see right through you.* "Really, I'm not," Talia promised. "Hehehe," Iphatia giggled softly. To her, her elder sister was like a mother. Ever since she was a demon child, she had been brought to the Demon King's Palace to live alongside the grown Talia. In the beginning, she had been terrified of the Demon King, as well as this outwardly cold elder sister. To survive and deceive the Demon King, she had forced herself to act clingy toward Talia while pretending to be completely useless, ensuring the Demon King saw no trace of ambition in her. Over time, however, she discovered that slacking off was extraordinarily comfortable. In fact, it was the Demon King who couldn't stand her useless behavior and began urging her to act like a princess. Back then, the Demon King had spared her—the orphan of a Nine-Seal New King who had failed in challenging the ruling Demon King—precisely because he valued her talent, not because he wanted her to be a shut-in. The Demon King had even been deeply perplexed, wondering what had gone wrong to cause such a genius to turn into a total slacker, as if infected by a plague. As for Talia, completely oblivious to all of this, she had consistently doted on her like a real sister, day in and day out for decades. Even a heart of iron would have softened under such treatment. Revenge and the like could scatter to the winds; she would simply consider mooching off her sister for the rest of her life as her form of vengeance. That had been Iphatia's thought. Unfortunately, the good times did not last. The Century Holy War arrived, the demon race fractured and collapsed, and she began a life on the run under assumed identities, hoping to lay low while wishing for the day she might reunite with her surviving demon friends. Her life as a demon had been full of ups and downs. After repeatedly experiencing gain and loss, witnessing both hope and despair, she was no longer that Second Princess who only cared about lounging around in peace. She had been forced to reawaken her long-dormant talents, determined to become a powerhouse capable of changing the status quo. Yet just when she had felt the most despair, her sister had actively sought her out. As expected, her sister was still her sister, just like the sister from her childhood. After a long time, Talia finally pressed her hands against Iphatia's shoulders with reluctance and pushed her back slightly. "Iphatia, how did you end up like this?" Her gaze fixed on the scars around Iphatia's neck as she asked. There was so much to say between the two sisters, but what Talia cared about most was undoubtedly her sister's physical condition. "That's a long story. We can talk about it slowly later," Iphatia replied, looking away now that her true face was exposed. Her features bore a faint resemblance to Hyperion's, though she appeared cuter and carried a touch more charm. Moreover, compared to the tall Hyperion, Iphatia was slightly shorter. She subconsciously tried to raise her collar to hide the scars, having already sensed her sister's worry and anger—resembling a parent who had discovered their child was being bullied. "All right." Even without asking, Talia could guess it was related to the Blood Clan. Guilt welled up in her heart. While she had been living peacefully in Ikerite, Iphatia had likely been wagering her life every single day in the depths of peril against the Blood Clan. The more she thought about it, the more Talia felt she had failed her sister. Seeing the despondent look in Talia's eyes, Iphatia roughly guessed what her sister was thinking, but fumbled frantically, at a loss for words to alleviate her guilt. "Don't think like that. You protected Hyperion in Ikerite, which was an indispensable prerequisite for our victory," Lanqi chimed in from the side. "Mm..." Talia immediately looked up at Lanqi. Even if Lanqi were about to say something rude next, she had no intention of blaming him this time. Whenever she was in a good mood, this fellow would always provoke her to anger, but whenever she was genuinely sorrowful, he treated her better than anyone else. "That's right! On the front lines, all I have to think about is how to fight the Blood Clan, whereas you had so much more to consider while caring for Hyperion in Ikerite, Sister," Iphatia quickly added, casting a grateful glance at Lanqi. Fortunately, there was someone here who knew how to comfort her sister, giving her a cue on what to say. "Iphatia..." Talia's voice carried a soft, tearful cadence as she looked at Iphatia once more. In the past, she had always viewed her younger sister as a child who would never grow up. Yet her sister had already matured, no longer the child who needed protection, having quietly developed the strength to stand on her own without Talia even realizing it. *Master, why are you acting so girlish? I'd feel bad saying anything that might upset you now,* Lanqi thought secretly to himself, seeing Talia look so fragile for the very first time. Correspondingly, he could not imagine what Talia would have become in that cruel destiny foretold by the Goddess of Fate in that alternate future. "I *am* a woman, all right?" Her eyes brimming with tears and a hint of indignance, Talia grabbed Lanqi's tie, causing him to stumble half a step closer to her. Her stare was as if she wanted him to look closely and see whether or not she was a woman. "Uh..." Lanqi awkwardly shifted his gaze away. Pinned under Talia's gaze—at once vulnerable yet domineering—he found himself at a loss for words with her for the very first time. He had never felt that Talia's demon eyes could look so human, like the gentle, warm sunlight of spring, her tears washing her gaze until only an ethereal, breathtaking beauty remained. "By the way, Sister, did you two come from Ikerite? And have you met Hyperion?" Iphatia caught onto the crux of the matter. She had assumed her sister had simply come to find her, never expecting that her sister had already met Hyperion while passing through the Hutton Kingdom, and even seemed to care deeply for her. Iphatia had only seen Hyperion as an infant. In the blink of an eye, more than a decade had passed. Hyperion had surely grown into a beautiful young woman by now. Ever since she began clashing with the Blood Clan, Iphatia's greatest fear had been that those unscrupulous fiends would direct their malice toward Hyperion in an attempt to break her and Mikhail. Fortunately, she had instructed Barton to keep an eye on the situation in the Hutton Kingdom. Not only had there been no news of the ducal daughter coming to harm, but Barton had even spotted her and her classmate's names in the news concerning High Priest Loren. Thinking about it now, with her sister protecting Hyperion, it was no wonder the Blood Clan's claws had failed to reach her daughter. "Yes, I live with her..." Talia let go of Lanqi's tie and nodded. "What... what does she look like now? What is her personality like?" Iphatia grabbed Talia's arms, asking with eager concern. "She is very beautiful, just as beautiful as you. I can have him draw a portrait of her for you. As for her personality, her personality..." Talia felt her vocabulary running short, unable to find the right words to describe her Hubao at that moment. Because to her, Hubao was a perfect ten out of ten, so she had never considered how to evaluate her in detail. In the end, Talia could only look at Lanqi for help. Lanqi wasn't omnipotent, but to her, he felt practically all-powerful. He had even managed to track down Iphatia; she had already begun to place blind faith in him. "Rest assured, Miss Iphatia. Hyperion possesses an elegance and a sharpness, a temperament blending melancholy and resolve, caution and boldness. She carries a pure innocence, yet that does not prevent her from possessing a wealth of wholesome and sound knowledge," Lanqi described in an unhurried, gentle tone, smiling as he stood by their side. "Moreover, she loves you very much, thinking of you every single day." It was a pity he didn't have paper and brush on hand, making it impossible to draw Hyperion for Iphatia to see right then and there. "Sniff... thank you both... After I let Hyperion down so terribly, is she really still thinking of me...?" Hearing this, Iphatia tearfully choked up once more. She knew that what she had done was wrong. Whenever regret surfaced in her heart, she would also grow fearful of facing Hyperion, feeling that things were beyond redemption. She had never anticipated that this kind-hearted child would still miss an unfit mother like her. Alongside the joy in her chest, she felt an even greater ache. In truth, she had fantasized countless times that she would rather Hyperion hate her than miss her, for the latter only drowned her in boundless guilt. "Then... then does Hyperion have a boyfriend? Will she encounter romantic rivals?" she asked anxiously, wiping away her tears. Hyperion was both outstanding and honest; Iphatia worried that her daughter would be deceived by bad men or taken advantage of by wicked women. "..." The air suddenly fell completely silent. Boss Cat, having just poked its head out of the shadow, looked back and forth between them. It felt as though both Lanqi and Talia had frozen stiff. "Why did you both stop talking?" Having wiped away her tears, Iphatia's eyes were much clearer as she looked at the two tongue-tied figures before her. "She doesn't have a boyfriend yet. I will vet them for her," Talia replied with absolute certainty, her tone devoid of any fluctuation. "Then I can rest easy. With you personally vetting them, Sister, Hyperion is sure to find a good man." Iphatia broke into a radiant smile and nodded. "Meow..." Boss Cat's mouth twisted into an 'x', holding back its words. In the past, it had enjoyed watching the spectacle from the sidelines, assuming there would never be any romantic battlefield between Hubao and Tata. Now, however, it was genuinely starting to feel terrified.