Forget it.

She was already dumb enough.

How much dumber could she possibly become?

After rubbing the little wolf cub's head, Yumo let out a sigh of resignation.

"Forget it. As long as you're fine."

"Meowuu~~"

Naturally, the little wolf cub enjoying Yumo's caresses had no idea what Yumo was thinking. She was simply delighted, happily wagging her little tail nonstop~

Seeing her older sister turn into such a silly and adorable little creature, Liyu helplessly sighed.

Looks like,

For the foreseeable future,

She would once again be playing the role of babysitter.

After a soft sigh, Liyu slowly raised her head and met Yumo's ruby eyes, which were filled with motherly affection.

"Mother, what should we do now? There are still quite a lot of people over there."

As she spoke,

A chilling killing intent emerged in Liyu's emerald eyes, causing the two little white birds on her head to shiver.

She cast a sidelong glance toward the southern part of Garos Fortress, where Marquis Xiumu-Duke and the others were located.

In Liyu's eyes, they were also people of the Snow Night Empire.

Accomplices who had hurt her sister.

For those people, Liyu already had the urge to slice them all into pieces.

Most of them were unconscious anyway.

A few billion wind blades would solve everything once and for all.

However,

Facing Liyu's question, Yumo merely shook her head indifferently.

"As for them, it doesn't matter. Just leave them alone."

"Understood, Mother."

Seeing that Yumo had no intention of killing them, Liyu immediately withdrew the murderous intent from her eyes and transformed back into her usual gentle and obedient daughter.

Compared to venting her anger,

Maintaining her image as a good daughter was obviously far more important to Liyu.

"Then, Mother, shall we... go back?"

"Mhm."

Yumo nodded slightly.

Then, under Liyu's somewhat astonished gaze, she walked over to the silver-haired girl nearby and gently lifted the heavily injured and unconscious Child of Destiny into a princess carry.

?!!

This...

A trace of anger flashed imperceptibly through Liyu's eyes, though she quickly concealed it.

Afterward, the gray-haired little girl carefully walked beside Yumo and pretended to ask curiously:

"Mother, are you bringing this child back with us too?"

"Mm, yes."

Yumo nodded without hesitation and thoughtfully looked into the distance.

Originally, she had planned to leave Mengxi inside Garos Fortress and let the knights over there rescue her.

But after witnessing what the Snow Night Empire had done earlier, Yumo felt somewhat uneasy.

What if those knights wanted to harm the heroine?

Wouldn't that be terrible?

Even if they didn't, what if a bunch of men saw such a beautiful and enchanting Mengxi lying unconscious and had some indecent thoughts?

Yumo couldn't guarantee otherwise.

After all,

Even she herself occasionally came up with strange ideas...

In any case, she absolutely didn't want the heroine's purity to somehow disappear for no reason.

It was better if she personally kept watch over her.

Besides,

Such an opportunity was rare.

While Mengxi remained unconscious, she could use all those precious medicines for strengthening the body and soul that Saiboke-Baniya had given her~

Helping the heroine establish a stronger foundation would also be beneficial for her future growth.

After coming to that conclusion, Yumo summoned a gigantic tiger-type Abyss Demon and prepared to ride it back to the Great Winter Forest.

And,

Just after Yumo climbed onto its back, Liyu's cute and puzzled voice entered her ears again.

"Mother, what about this one?"

"Hm?"

Following the direction Liyu pointed toward, Yumo raised her eyebrows.

"Ah... I almost forgot about her..."

Looking at the half-dead White Yama, whose head was still buried in the ground, Yumo fell into brief contemplation.

After a moment,

Miss Yumo sighed.

"Forget it. Let's just treat it as buy one, get one free. Bring her back too."

"Understood, Mother."

Liyu obediently nodded and trotted over to White Yama.

However,

Liyu had no intention of treating her gently like Mother treated the heroine.

The gray-haired little girl expressionlessly grabbed White Yama by the ankle.

Then, with the white-haired Heavenly Apostle's face scraping the ground, she dragged her like a mop and accelerated to catch up with Yumo's departing figure...

As Yumo and Liyu departed,

The Abyss Demons around Garos Fortress gradually retreated back into the Great Winter Forest.

Thus,

The crisis in the northern border of the Snow Night Empire finally came to an end...

—

At this moment,

Thousands of miles away,

Inside the Imperial Palace of Sky Dome, the capital of the Snow Night Empire—

Accompanied by azure spatial fluctuations, a blue portal suddenly opened inside the vast royal garden.

The next moment,

A disheveled and terrified blond man tumbled out of the portal and landed in the fountain in an extremely undignified manner.

This blond man was none other than Bernard,

The Third Prince of the Snow Night Empire, who had previously commanded the firing of the Mana Fission Bombs at the Nivelle Mountains.

As a member of the royal family,

Bernard's ring contained one of the rare Spatial Pearls treasured by the royal house.

In times of extreme danger, it could teleport him to a designated safe location.

Although he had been scared out of his wits by the sea of Blood Butterflies,

His instinct for survival had unconsciously activated the spatial magic within the ring.

In the end,

Just before the crimson lightning devoured the Nivelle Mountains,

The shattered prince managed to escape back to the palace at Sky Dome.

Naturally, the pearl itself shattered afterward.

Struggling out of the fountain,

Bernard sprawled upon the grass like a beaten dog, panting heavily.

His entire body still trembled with lingering fear.

Only after several dozen seconds, upon realizing that he was finally safe, did he slowly regain his senses.

What...

What were those butterflies?

N-no...

I must tell Father immediately!

Thinking this, Bernard forcibly suppressed his terror and struggled to control his trembling body.

He barely managed to stand up.

However,

The moment he raised his head,

The Third Prince's pupils suddenly contracted!

The fear he had only just suppressed exploded once again inside his heart.

Along with it came an intense feeling of foreboding.

Because,

Standing before him,

A blond man had appeared without him noticing.

He was a handsome man with a long golden braid and luxurious formal attire.

His face was sculpted to perfection, his icy and proud eyes seemingly unfocused, while his deep blue pupils were calm and tranquil.

Golden hair draped beside his ears, and the jeweled earrings upon them emitted noble golden brilliance.

His figure was tall and slender without appearing rough.

Undoubtedly,

A peerless beauty among men.

Moreover, his appearance bore sixty percent resemblance to Bernard.

Combined with the crown upon his head, symbolizing the position of Crown Prince—

His identity was obvious.

The Crown Prince of the Snow Night Empire.

Bernard's elder brother.

Xue Tianao-Valedin.

Upon seeing the greatest member in the history of the royal family,

Bernard felt not joy,

But an unprecedented terror.

Looking uneasily at the golden sword in Xue Tianao's hand, he trembled.

"B-Brother? W-what... what are you trying to do?"

Facing Bernard's words, Xue Tianao merely smiled faintly and asked mockingly:

"And what were you trying to do, my dear younger brother?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Taking advantage of my negotiations with the Crimson Leaf Empire, you stole two Mana Fission Bombs behind my back."

"You wanted to destroy my relationship with the Asumos Church."

"You even wanted to kill the Child of Destiny."

"Did you really think you could hide such things from me?"

Xue Tianao spoke coldly.

Killing intent slowly seeped from his eyes.

Bernard's entire body began trembling violently.

"Y-you... what do you want?"

"What do I want?"

"You betrayed me and laid your hands upon my woman."

"I've already warned you what the consequences would be, haven't I, my foolish little brother?"

"Kill me? Don't joke around! Father won't—won't allow it! And your woman?! Stop daydreaming! That girl has never been—"

?!!

Before Bernard could finish speaking,

The golden sword swept across his neck.

"Xue Tianao?! Y-you!—"

Blood sprayed everywhere.

Bernard's head, still filled with terror and disbelief, rolled across the grass.

His consciousness plunged into endless darkness...

Putting away his golden sword,

Xue Tianao's heart remained completely calm.

As though the person he had killed wasn't his half-brother,

But merely a worthless pig.

Looking at Bernard's headless corpse, Xue Tianao mocked him with a smile.

"Heh. Actually, little brother, you aren't wrong."

"The Child of Destiny isn't my woman yet."

However,

That was only a matter of time.

After all,

That girl was destined to become mine.

(End of Volume, hehe~)