"Huh? Master Luciel, why are you carrying this… Aunt?"

The moment Mino stepped out of the inn, her words landed like a critical strike.

"A–Aunt???"

The Moon Lord's elegant smile froze. Her heart felt as if pierced by an arrow with the word Aunt carved on it.

She turned her head toward the rabbit-eared girl with a forced smile, suppressing the sudden urge to tug those long ears.

"My mother's injured, so Luciel is helping her," Yue Feiyan quickly explained, winking at Mino.

She knew her mother was sensitive about her age—it would definitely end up in her "blacklist notebook."

"Oh… Is Aunt badly hurt?" Mino asked with genuine concern.

"Ah, call me 'Moon Lord'… or 'Big Sis Moon,'" the Moon Lord replied with a kindly smile. "If you keep calling me Aunt, people will think I'm old."

"But…" Mino's blue eyes twinkled slyly.

"Ahem. Feiyan, lead the way," Luciel cut in, twitching his mouth as the Moon Lord's hand gripped his tightly in mock distress. If these two women kept at it, he was the one suffering.

"Okay, come with me." Yue Feiyan hurried to the front.

Luciel carried the Moon Lord in a princess hold, following behind, while the two younger girls trailed after.

"Minuo, you were really brave just now," Liyue praised, then tilted her head curiously. "Why weren't you timid like before?"

Mino pouted. "Because I saw Luciel holding that Aunt… and it made me upset. So upset I forgot to be afraid."

She had known Luciel the longest, yet she had never once been carried like that.

"…Irritating," Liyue muttered, glancing at Luciel's back. And the longer she stared, the more irritated she became.

The Moon Lord, of course, overheard every word with her keen senses. She turned her head slightly, smiling sweetly, and even blinked her blue eyes at them in a teasing provocation.

It was payback. If they dared call her Aunt, she'd retaliate.

"I'm furious…" Mino puffed her cheeks like a squirrel, trembling with indignation.

"That old woman…" Liyue ground her teeth.

"Old… woman?"

The corner of the Moon Lord's eye twitched. An idea struck her.

She mouthed silently: I'm being carried by Luciel. Envious? Bet you've never been held like this.

The two girls understood instantly.

"Unbelievable! She still has the energy to tease us? She could clearly walk on her own!" Mino's ears shot upright in a sharp V, and she almost stomped forward.

"Don't. She really is hurt." Liyue quickly stopped her, though she too was baffled by the Moon Lord's childish antics.

"Hmph." The Moon Lord smirked triumphantly.

"What's wrong? Did something hurt?" Luciel asked innocently, pretending not to notice their silent war.

"N–no, nothing." The Moon Lord's blue eyes flickered with guilt, and she shook her head quickly.

"Do I need to walk slower?" Luciel teased.

"No!" she blurted, instantly ending her provocations.

"Such an act," Mino grumbled, tugging angrily at her ears.

"Endure it. We'll be leaving tomorrow anyway," Liyue said calmly, though her gaze lingered on the rabbit ears. She almost asked aloud—don't they hurt when you pull them like that?

"…Oh." Mino drooped, defeated. The pure-hearted bunny had lost her first skirmish against a cunning fox.

Ta-ta-ta.

Under the hunting team's escort, they reached the Moon Lord's residence in the tribe's central area.

"Lay my mother on this bed," Yue Feiyan instructed.

"Got it." Luciel gently set the Moon Lord down.

"Mother, are you okay?" Feiyan asked, worry plain in her eyes. She had no idea her mother had been teasing the others all the way here.

"Let's step outside." Luciel gestured for the girls to leave, giving the Moon Lord privacy for treatment.

"Mm." Mino nodded obediently. But as she turned, she stuck her tongue out cheekily at the Moon Lord.

The Moon Lord caught it instantly and burst out laughing—only to tug at her wound in pain.

"Ow…"

"You're injured and still laughing?" Yue Feiyan frowned in disbelief. "Did you hit your head too? You're acting strange today."

Her mother had been hurt before, but never this… bizarre.

"Ah, so my daughter thinks I'm old and crazy now?" The Moon Lord wiped at the corner of her eye in mock sorrow.

"Stop acting, I won't fall for it." Feiyan rolled her eyes. She wasn't a little girl anymore—seventeen now, not fourteen.

"Tch. It's no fun when you grow up." The Moon Lord slumped, disappointed.

"Fun?" Feiyan's lips twitched.

She tightened the bandages, and the Moon Lord gasped. "Careful! You'll kill me, stupid girl!"

"The pain means you're alive." Though her eyes softened in worry, Feiyan still scolded. "Sometimes I think you live just to play around."

"Who said that?" the Moon Lord coughed lightly.

Inside, though, she sighed. My poor daughter… all the debts owed by your aunt, I've pushed onto you. If I don't tease you, I feel restless.

She had never married, never been in love, yet here she was with a daughter—all because of her twin sister's selfish choices.

"Who said that? I should be asking you." Feiyan finished bandaging her, then dressed her in clean clothes.

"Nothing… I just think you're not as dull as you pretend." The Moon Lord looked away, hiding her fondness.

"…Hmph, I'm not dull." Feiyan's expression softened at last. So her mother had only been teasing because she was upset.

"Bring Luciel in. I have something to discuss with him," the Moon Lord said gracefully.

"Alright." Feiyan checked the bandages once more before leaving to call him.

A short while later, Luciel entered with the two girls. The Moon Lord, now changed and reclining elegantly on the bed, looked less like a patient and more like a fragile beauty.

"Your Excellency Luciel," she said softly, lips pale but smiling. "Thank you for your help. I must have made you laugh."

"No need to thank me. It was just business." Luciel waved it off casually. But then he remembered—the Blood Beard had targeted the crystal fish because of him. Was this woman covering for him?

"A deal?" The Moon Lord arched her delicate brows. "Then, Your Excellency Luciel, shall we make another deal?"

Luciel narrowed his eyes. "If you're about to tell me to marry Yue Feiyan, don't bother. Stop with that kind of joke."

"What?!" Yue Feiyan shot him a fiery glare. Don't bother? What's that supposed to mean? Am I not good enough?

Across the room, Liyue and Mino exchanged a look. Both thought the same: Finally, someone said it.

"Oh? I wasn't even going to mention that," the Moon Lord drawled. "Could it be that Your Excellency Luciel is secretly interested in my foolish daughter?"

She watched their reactions with sly amusement, her eyes glinting.

"Mm… now that I look closely—you three don't seem half bad together."

"One. Word. Not. True." Mino hid behind Liyue, speaking each word firmly.

Liyue gave her a discreet thumbs-up.

"That's right," Yue Feiyan muttered, her expression stiff.

"…What?" The Moon Lord froze, her smile cracking.

Her idiot daughter—if not for her injuries, she'd have dragged her into bed and given her a good spanking.

"Ahem. Moon Lord, what exactly was this deal you wanted to propose?" Luciel quickly cut in, desperate to steer the conversation away before the three girls exploded again.

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