Isis vaguely discerned Beacai’s thoughts. She remained silent, simply watching as the maids, carrying cake ingredients, approached her one by one. Then…
*Clang—*
The plate crashed to the ground, its contents scattering across the floor. The maid, having accidentally fumbled, instantly turned pale, her teeth chattering.
Trembling, she crouched down, seemingly intending to gather the spilled ingredients, all while profusely apologizing to Beacai: “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! Your Eminence, Your Eminence, I didn’t mean to…”
At this moment, all the maids around her retreated several steps, distancing themselves from the clumsy servant. Not a single one dared to stand by her side or speak up in her defense.
Simultaneously, they all gazed at Beacai with trepidation, fearing she might punish them alongside the offending maid.
Witnessing this scene, Beacai’s smile vanished completely, replaced by an endless chill. A bloodthirsty glint flickered in her eyes.
“If I’m not mistaken, this was the last portion of ingredients prepared, wasn’t it?”
As she uttered these words, the maids standing in the kitchen began to tremble even more violently. The maid who had dropped the plate, her legs giving out, collapsed onto the floor, large beads of sweat trickling down her forehead.
‘It was definitely not her imagination. She could feel it; the divine wrath of Her Eminence was far more terrifying than any she had witnessed before. What awaited her was likely something far worse than death itself.’
‘Yet, she couldn’t comprehend why. She had merely accidentally spilled some cake ingredients. Why would this provoke such immense fury from Her Divine Eminence?’
As she reeled in confusion and fear, Beacai gracefully rose, smoothing her skirt.
With a hint of languor, she walked before the maid, gazing down at her. Then, with a cold expression, she slowly extended a fingertip towards the maid’s forehead.
The maid’s pupils constricted with terror. Her face was utterly devoid of color, and her lips were frighteningly white. Just as she believed she would perish beneath Her Eminence’s fingertip, a hand suddenly grasped Beacai’s wrist.
“Beacai, don’t blame her. We can make cake another time. I want to see the castle rooftop now. Any later, and it will be time for bed.”
“Eh? Oh, as Mother says.”
Isis took Beacai’s hand, pulling her out of the kitchen. Beacai offered no resistance, allowing herself to be led away.
However, before completely leaving the kitchen, she cast a chilling glance at the maids and commanded, “Clean this up.”
‘Once the kitchen was cleaned, everything would be over.’
Understanding Beacai’s unspoken meaning, the maids who had feared implication immediately patted their chests, letting out a collective sigh of relief. The maid still slumped on the floor leaned against the wall, utterly drained of strength.
Large beads of sweat still rolled down her cheeks. She lifted a weary arm to wipe her brow, finding the situation increasingly unbelievable.
‘According to Her Eminence, that woman was her mother?’
‘When did Her Eminence acquire a mother?’
‘Confusion once again swirled in her mind. She didn’t understand why Her Eminence would have a mother, but that didn’t stop her from feeling immense gratitude. Had it not been for that woman, she likely wouldn’t have escaped punishment today.’
After offering a silent prayer of thanks, she stood with the help of the other maids and began cleaning the cake ingredients splattered across the kitchen floor.
****
Meanwhile, Isis led Beacai through several turns within the castle, eventually arriving at the rooftop.
The castle’s rooftop was vast and open. As the breeze swept through, it carried a faint, cloying scent of blood. Isis walked to the railing of the terrace and looked up at the sky.
“So the sky here is only this dull, dark red?”
She had imagined the castle sky would be a brilliant sea of stars, but instead, it remained shrouded in crimson clouds, much like the sight she had witnessed earlier in the palace.
‘Perhaps the entire Divine Realm was like this?’
“Yes, this is a place I created, so the sky only has this color. Is something wrong?” Beacai asked, puzzled.
Isis silently averted her gaze from the sky, turning instead to look out ahead.
At the edge of her vision, a city seemed to gleam with countless lights. Their bright glow softened the crimson clouds in the sky, making them appear a lighter hue.
As if experiencing a mirage, she perceived it as Angel Town, and memories of bygone days surged from the depths of her soul.
“When Nona was still little, we would often come to the rooftop terrace at night. We’d gaze at the stars while sharing the interesting things that happened that day.”
“Later, as she grew up, she started having her own secrets, and her behavior became a little rebellious. Gradually, the rooftop became the place where we confided in each other.”
Beacai followed her gaze towards the city. However, upon hearing about Nona’s rebelliousness, she let out a soft sound of surprise and asked, “Rebellious? Did Nona ever clash with you?”
“Of course. When she was young, she took a liking to a very revealing dress and wanted me to buy it for her. How could I possibly agree? So she got very angry and didn’t speak to me for an entire night.”
Recalling Nona’s stubborn little face, Isis couldn’t help but cover her mouth, a hint of helplessness softening her smile as the breeze ruffled her golden hair.
It was a girl’s nature to love beauty, but Nona had been too young then to be exposed to such things. She wouldn’t even listen to Isis’s guidance, which led to their argument.
Neither of them had slept that night.
Hearing that Nona had caused Isis such trouble, Beacai turned her head away, muttering, “I don’t like revealing dresses. The ones the maids wear, they get changed every two days.”
It was as if by saying this, she could somehow gain an advantage over Nona.
“Pfft—”
Isis chuckled aloud. Without pausing, she continued to list Nona’s minor flaws.
“She’s also a picky eater; she doesn’t like mushrooms. Some vegetables look like caterpillars, and she won’t just refuse to eat them, she’ll find them disgusting. Sometimes, she’s truly difficult to please…”
“I’m not picky about anything. As long as Mother makes it, I’ll like it all.”
Tilting her head, Beacai placed a finger to her lips and smiled as well.
From Isis’s words, she sensed the helplessness regarding Nona’s picky eating. In contrast, she herself was never picky, a point on which she completely surpassed Nona.
Watching Beacai’s triumphant expression, Isis closed her mouth, simply gazing silently into the distance, speaking no more.
‘Beacai desired to be more perfect than Nona, and Isis had satisfied that desire.’
‘So…’
‘Where could Nona be now? She was very worried about her.’
“Mother, are you thinking of Nona?”
“Yes.”
Lost in thoughts of Nona, Isis instinctively answered Beacai’s question. After she regained her composure, a jolt of alarm went through her, and she immediately regretted it.
‘Wouldn’t such an answer make Beacai angry and jealous?’
Just as she was frantically trying to think of a way to amend her words, she saw Beacai slowly raise her hands beside her. The divine power within the Divine Realm, as if commanded, transformed into countless rays of divine light that shot straight into the sky.
The crimson clouds were instantly dispersed by these divine lights, and a brilliant sea of stars reappeared at that very moment.
Gazing at the profound starry sky, Isis felt a sudden disorientation, as if she had returned to the past, to those days when she and Nona would admire the night scenery together.
“This kind of scenery must make Mother nostalgic for the past.”
“…Beacai?”
Having accomplished all this, Beacai lowered her hands and walked alone towards the rooftop stairs. However, upon hearing Isis’s soft call, she turned her head back with a smile.
“If Mother misses her, then miss her. Regardless of how much Mother thinks of her, your present and your future will always belong to me.”
Leaving behind a statement imbued with possessiveness, she departed the rooftop. Isis, astonished that Beacai wasn’t angry, continued to admire the brilliant starry sky.
Gradually, Beacai’s words lingered in her mind.
‘Her present belonged to Beacai, but her future…’
‘She no longer had a future.’