"Really?" Lucy Luan's eyes lit up. "The Queen Dowager has come too?"
The Queen Dowager of the Radiant Palace is her adoptive mother and treats her extremely well.
"Yes." Soren Lann nodded. "She’s been in the palace for a long time—partly to get out and stretch her legs, but mostly to see you!"
"I miss her so much too!" Lucy Luan said with a bright smile.
"Then go early tomorrow and keep her company," Soren said.
"Okay." Lucy nodded.
Soren got up to leave, and Lucy called Mia Quinn and Sean Shaw over so they could all pay their respects and see him out.
But halfway down the corridor, Soren suddenly stopped walking.
"What’s up, Divine Lord?" Lucy asked.
"I don’t think you’ll ever be richer than me in this lifetime," Soren said, teasing.
"...Well, it's harsh, but it's true! So what?" Lucy retorted, grinning.
"If I keep waiting for you to give me something, who knows how long I’ll be waiting? Why not give me something now?" Soren coaxed.
"So, what do you have your eye on?" Lucy gestured around her room. "All I’ve got are books, and those aren’t allowed to leave the house."
"That one." Soren pointed at the low table. "This Flower Egg is pretty cute. And it’s your favorite—Luminous Golden Chalice Bloom. Give it to me!"
Soren’s always been like this.
He just loves asking her for little things.
Combs, handkerchiefs, you name it—if it’s hers, he wants it.
Even now that he’s Divine Lord, he hasn’t changed.
Lucy smiled and shook her head, about to hand it over, but she couldn’t shake the feeling of someone’s eyes burning into her.
She turned and found Sean Shaw staring at her, his gaze intense and impossible to read.
For some reason, Lucy instinctively refused, "Divine Lord, this is my only Flower Egg with a marigold in Drake Abyss—I need it to scent my room!"
"Can’t bear to part with it, huh?" Soren teased.
"There are tons of marigolds at the Radiant Palace! Why do you need to take away my one and only companion here?" Lucy pouted.
"Look at you, so stingy!" Soren laughed. "Fine, I won’t take it—but you can’t give it to anyone else either."
"Why not?" Lucy asked.
"Because it’s something your junior brother has his eye on. If you won’t give it to me but give it to someone else, doesn’t that mean that person matters more to you than I do? I absolutely can’t accept that!" Soren declared.
Lucy looked bewildered. "Ugh... you’ve totally confused me..."
Soren chuckled and ruffled her hair. "I’m off! Fifth Highness, Mia, you two take your time cleaning up."
The three of them bowed to him, and Soren walked out with his patched umbrella.
...
Lucy turned to see Sean Shaw staring unblinkingly at her Flower Egg.
Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with my Flower Egg? Lucy wondered.
"How’s the cleaning going?" Lucy asked.
"Why don’t you come take a look, Lucy?" Mia Quinn suggested.
Lucy nodded and went to check the room next door.
She opened the door and her jaw dropped. "Wow! You guys really know how to clean! It’s so neat and tidy! Compared to this, my room looks like a doghouse!"
It’s all thanks to Fifth Highness!" Mia Quinn said proudly.
"Really?" Lucy looked at Sean Shaw. "How about you help me tidy up my room too?"
Lucy blurted it out as a joke.
But to her surprise, Sean Shaw’s face suddenly turned red, and he avoided her gaze.
Only then did Lucy realize what she’d just said, and felt a bit embarrassed. "I... I was just kidding," she stammered.