Teaching him things he should have learned but didn’t.

Meruem really knew nothing about the beautiful things in this world.

‘Fortunately, I have a good sense of beauty.’

I taught Meruem how to play musical instruments.

I wasn’t particularly deep in music; it was always my fifth sister’s forte.

But having watched and learned over the long years, there wasn’t an instrument in the world I couldn’t play.

One day, I called Meruem to try painting.

Painting wasn’t my area either, but there’s no rule to painting whatever you want.

Meruem’s painting skills were precisely five levels lower than his musical ability, worse than a three-year-old child’s.

But he wanted to paint again the next day, and the day after that.

He had a competitive spirit.

After teaching him arts, I taught him about desserts.

To live in Nyx, you have to know its culture.

Nyx was a country with highly developed tea parties and banquets. And desserts always accompanied these events.

It wasn’t just tasty, but a culinary art that was a joy to behold.

“Here, this is a strawberry-topped whipped cream cake.”

Charlotte brought the cake just in time.

Meruem didn’t look too happy seeing it.

He didn’t say it outright, but he seemed not to prefer sweets.

Teasingly, I smiled and said,

“This whipped cream cake has another use.”

“Another use?”

“Yes. Like this…!”

Ignoring the perfectly fine fork, I scooped up cream with my index finger and smeared it across Meruem’s lips, horizontally.

It looked like he had a mustache. I burst into laughter, and Meruem twitched his eyebrows.

“You’re cute.”

“You’ll see.”

“Will you do it to me too? Go ahead.”

I was willing to be pranked once, so I closed my eyes and leaned forward, curious to see how he’d do it.

Meruem hesitantly scooped up cream and carefully dabbed it on my nose.

I couldn’t help but laugh and pound the table.

“Ah, you’re adorable. How can you be like that?”

“How do you normally do it?”
“Hmm… you grab the back of the head and smash the cake into it. Or you can grab a plate and smack it into the face.”

That’s what I used to do with my sisters.

But Meruem looked incredulous at such a barbaric act.

“Getting messy with cake is fun too. I miss it.”

I shrugged my shoulders and reached for a napkin.

That’s when it happened. The cream, barely hanging from my nose, suddenly dropped onto my philtrum.

The moment it happened, Meruem, who had just caught my eye, twitched his lips as he witnessed it in real time.

“Ah, you smiled!”

“……No, I didn’t.”

“You just smiled. Really. Your lips were curving up!”

“You saw it wrong.”

Meruem vehemently denied it, but honestly, that was definitely a smile.

I wiped the cream off him with a napkin and smiled brightly.

“I’m glad you can smile. Keep smiling more in the future.”

“……Okay.”

“Shall we go to the training ground now that we’re done eating?”

The temperature was definitely warmer than in winter, making it much more livable.

Being with Meruem every day, I didn’t collapse as often as before, as my energy was replenished as much as it was drained.

‘Today’s energy replenishment is complete.’

I stretched widely and looked at the sky, dotted with floating clouds, leisurely thinking.

‘Come to think of it, it’s about time I heard from the Duke of Ahillo.’

About my advisor.

What happened to him?

“Cake mess is fun, isn’t it? I miss it.”

Empress’s tea time.

Derek, who was on guard in one corner of the garden, twitched at the soft voice.

‘When has Her Majesty the Empress ever played with cake?’

It’s likely just a casual remark.

It should be dismissed as nothing, but why does it strike so deeply in my heart?

That’s because… the Empress has changed.

‘Sometimes she seems like a different Empress than I know.’

Quietly following behind, Derek tried hard to compose himself.

Don’t think strange thoughts. It’s even a sin to doubt the person I serve.

But why does it feel so unsettling…