Volume 3, Chapter 10 – Scheming

At the same time, deep within the Deepwinter Forest, the eastern region returned to its usual tranquility following Yumo’s departure. The Abyssal Demons who had previously been acting cute around Yumo returned to their respective territories to begin their daily patrols.

As for Shuoyue, she returned to the central lake district she managed.

In this world, there were thirteen attributes of magic power, battle aura, holy magic, and Shadow Essence. Each had its own characteristics, with some being mutually reinforcing or neutralizing.

Shuoyue’s Shadow Essence possessed the dual attributes of water and mind. Naturally, she preferred staying in places with water. The reason she usually liked to hang around the eastern region was mainly to get close to her dear Mommy in secret. Now that Mommy had gone out, Shuoyue naturally returned to her Ice Soul Lake region.

At this moment, little Shuoyue sat quietly by the lakeside, her small feet soaking in the freezing water.

“Sigh, what a shame…”

The little girl couldn’t help but sigh.

Evidently, her plans to go to the central continent to investigate had fallen through; no matter how much she acted cute, Mommy ultimately didn’t agree. Not only did she refuse that, but her plan to have Mommy take her out to play together also ended in failure.

‘Ugh, seriously…’

Shuoyue couldn’t help but complain about her older brothers and sisters. If even one of them had stayed behind to watch over the forest, wouldn’t she have been able to go out and play with Mommy?

How annoying!

However, after complaining for a moment, the displeasure on Shuoyue’s face faded, replaced by a meaningful smile.

‘Hehe, didn’t Mommy say before that Old Man Sai losing his horse is a blessing in disguise? Although I couldn’t go play with Mommy or look for my little sister, now that I’m the only one left in the Deepwinter Forest, I can do whatever I want. Since Mother isn’t here, I don’t need to work so hard to hide my previous plans.’

‘Heeheehee~’

Rеαԁ oո ΚаtReαⅾiոɡCαfе

Thinking of this, Shuoyue couldn’t help but let out a silver-bell-like, pleasant laugh.

After giving a very ladylike smile, Shuoyue spoke slowly. “It’s been a long time, Saibok.”

As she spoke, Shuoyue slowly turned her head toward the forest behind her.

Not far away, a middle-aged white-haired man exuding elegance, wearing a monocle and a black butler’s suit, stepped out of the forest under the guard of two Abyssal Demons and approached the lakeside.

The newcomer was their former playmate and the old butler of the Blackrose Family, Saibok.

“It has been a long time, Lady Shuoyue,” Saibok said respectfully.

“We’re old acquaintances, there’s no need to be so polite. Are you here to see Mommy? Unfortunately, she just left.”

“I see. It is truly a pity that I missed the chance to visit Lady Yumo. But it doesn’t matter; I can find Lady Yumo once I reach Windward City anyway,” Saibok said nonchalantly.

In truth, his heart felt a bit uneasy.

After all, because of the incident with Mengxi’s ‘sit-ups’, he figured Yumo still had a grudge against him. For a short while, until Lady Yumo completely forgot about that matter, Saibok really didn’t dare show his face before her. Otherwise, he feared his backside would suffer a major problem.

His old bones couldn’t take that kind of punishment.

After grumbling to himself for a few moments, Saibok focused his attention back on Shuoyue. “Actually, I didn’t come here to find Lady Yumo this time.”

“Oh?”

Rеаⅾ оո КatRеаԁіոɡCаfе

Upon hearing this, Shuoyue immediately showed a playful smile. “Then, are you here for me, Teacher Saibok?”

“Yes, indeed.” Saibok nodded slightly. “The Duke was curious about the progress of your experiment after learning you successfully captured a Hero. Since the plan is about to begin, he hopes it can keep pace with the schedule if possible.”

“As for that…”

Shuoyue gradually revealed a chilling smile and looked toward the center of Ice Soul Lake with cold eyes. Beneath the calm waters, inside a massive barrier, lay Shuoyue’s laboratory. At the center of the laboratory was a woman with vacant eyes who was almost entirely unclothed, surrounded by countless nauseating Abyssal Demons with bizarre tentacles.

Furthermore, the area was filled with a dense, shudder-inducing number of strange black orbs.

After sensing the situation below, Shuoyue smiled with a great sense of achievement and looked smugly at Saibok. “Don’t worry, that female Hero’s physical constitution is excellent, making her a high-quality nursery bed. Therefore, the quality of those eggs is also quite good. Once they hatch, we should obtain Abyssal Demons with extremely strong resistance to holy magic, right? Heehee~”

“I see.” Saibok nodded with satisfaction. “I hope so.”

In recent years, although the Ashurmos Church had become increasingly corrupt, it remained the strongest force against Abyssal Demons. The reason was simple: holy magic possessed devastating lethality against Abyssal Demons, far greater than magic power or battle aura. A powerhouse with dense holy power could indeed cause significant trouble for Abyssal Demon swarms.

Now, in order to target the followers of the Ashurmos Church, Shuoyue and the Blackrose Family planned to breed a batch of Abyssal Demons with resistance to holy magic. Shuoyue captured the subjects and provided the venue and suitable demons for the experiments, while the Blackrose Family provided the corresponding technology.

From the current situation, the collaboration was going quite well.

The smile on Saibok’s old face deepened. The old butler then met Shuoyue’s pale gold eyes again. “Lady Shuoyue, could you give me a few eggs? The Duke likely wants to see the finished product as well.”

“That’s easy. Also, we are friends, so there’s no need to call me ‘Lady’…”

Rеaⅾ οn КаtReαdinɡСαfе

On the other side, while Saibok and Shuoyue were at the shores of Ice Soul Lake discussing their evil plans and letting out ‘joyful’ laughter like true villains, Yumo had secretly returned to Marquis Duke’s mansion. With a ripple of crimson light, Yumo transformed back into the pink-haired young girl.

After changing into her cook’s attire, Yumo went to the Marquis Mansion’s temporary kitchen.

Upon seeing Yumo’s arrival, the chefs all showed respectful and affectionate looks, quickly gathering around her to ask if she needed any help.

In response, Yumo offered a kind smile and politely declined. Cooking was one of her specialties, and she didn’t need any assistance. It was just three dishes; she could handle them quickly.

Looking at the fresh ingredients she had brought back from the Deepwinter Forest, Yumo smiled with satisfaction.

‘Not bad, not bad~’

However, seeing the massive Camel Dragon tail and recalling the scene when she encountered it, Yumo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

‘My luck really is quite good today.’

The most delicious part of a Camel Dragon was its tail. Today, as soon as she went looking, she learned that the Camel Dragon King’s tail was fractured and needed amputation.

Thus, by such a coincidence, she had obtained incredibly fresh and fatty tail meat.

‘That girl Mengxi is in for a treat.’

Under the apprehensive gazes of the chefs, Yumo suddenly raised a large cleaver and brought it down on the Camel Dragon tail.

After nearly an hour of work, the three delicacies were finished. Yumo then pushed a dining cart carrying the three dishes toward the small house where Mengxi stayed, followed by the gazes of the chefs and maids.

Rеаⅾ οn KatRеaԁіngСαfe

Watching the girl’s receding figure, the chefs and maids who had been watching her cook the entire time let out sighs of relief. Then, a sense of disbelief appeared in their eyes.

Duo’er, who was Xia’er’s personal maid, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavens, the young lady is actually so good at cooking. I thought she only knew how to make porridge, but I didn’t expect her to know such complex dishes.”

“Sigh, look at how the young lady has lived these past few years. She’s had to fend for herself, so it’s not surprising she can cook.”

“Yes, the young lady must have worked very hard all these years. Think about it, which noble girl her age could lift that black iron cleaver if she hasn’t trained? Yet the young lady swung it with such ease. She must have done a lot of manual labor over the years.”

“Waaaah, my poor young lady, wuwuwu.” Duo’er couldn’t help but cover her mouth, her eyes turning moist.

The head chef was also filled with emotion. After letting out a sigh, he looked solemnly at everyone present. “In any case, the young lady has finally returned, so we must compensate her well! We can’t let her suffer anymore, do you understand?!”

“Understood!” Everyone replied in unison with teary eyes as they watched Yumo’s back.

“Still, the young lady is not only gentle, cute, understanding, and caring, but she’s also so good at cooking. She really is a model for a virtuous wife and mother.”

“True. I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry the young lady in the future.”

“Sigh, that depends on fate. Speaking of which, why is the young lady cooking specifically for someone? Who is she taking it to? That area is… wait, it couldn’t be that the young lady is interested in some knight, could it?!”

“No way, what are you thinking? The young lady is delivering food to the Chosen Maiden. They’re both girls, so it’s nothing.”

“Uh… that’s hard to say…”

“What?”