Chapter 393: Significant Changes

"...Mommy!! Mommy!!" Kali runs into Evelyn's arms as we arrive home. I watch Evelyn hug Kali with a smile, scooping her up into her arms. Her touch is extremely careful and affectionate to avoid hurting Kali — even the way she lifts her off the ground is cautious because of her horns.

"Kali, are you happy to see Mommy?" Evelyn asks, giving her the best smile she can manage, though I notice her smile is shaky, like she's straining to make it seem as genuine as possible.

'...I wish she could smile genuinely... it's hard for her...' She loves Kali, but she hasn't given a truly genuine smile in a long time. It's always a very good attempt, but one I've learned to recognize.

"Yes!!! I'm really happy, Mommy!!" Kali hugs her while I just stand there watching the two of them. Kali glances at me briefly and shoots me a dirty look, like I'm ruining the moment even though I haven't done anything.

"Esther..." She mutters my name with an irritated expression, but I ignore it. I'm more interested in focusing on my wife, who sets Kali down on the ground, sensing the tension building.

But obviously I can't just let this disrespectful brat look at me like that, so I decide to frustrate her a little.

"You look really ugly in yellow. Evelyn likes purple, white, black, and red, so you just look stupid in that outfit," I say to Kali, who's wearing a yellow dress with white flowers.

"And you look really ugly in anything! There's no color that can help you, because your evilness makes you hideous!!!" She always tries to use words I doubt she even knows the meaning of.

"Esther... no fighting..." Evelyn says in a slightly pleading tone as I step closer and slide my hand around her waist. I was going to say something else, but Evelyn is mentally drained from the entire coronation, so now isn't the time for this childish argument.

"Listen here, brat. Evelyn is busy. If you want to talk to her, wait until later, because right now she and I have matters to deal with. So go back to whatever filthy mud hole you crawled out of," I tell Kali, who grabs onto Evelyn's hand.

"No! Mommy's coming to play with me." I take Kali's hand to pull it away from Evelyn, but of course I notice Evelyn's eyes — her pupils turned vertical in an almost primal way, like a warning. It's cute how she can't hide her physical reactions like that.

Though I know she wouldn't be able to attack me. It goes against all her instincts, something she's incapable of. So she just keeps that stare fixed on my hands while her wings curl inward and her tail stabs into the ground, cracking the stone tile.

"Kali, I don't have time right now... go play with Auntie Saluvia. I'll talk to you later. I'm a little tired at the moment," Evelyn says to Kali, who looks disappointed but pulls her hand back and starts walking into the castle complaining about me.

"Esther... please don't provoke Kali... we're all she has. She's feeling lonely... it's only natural she wants me close since she doesn't have any friends her age. Be more understanding." She leans against me, asking in a slightly manipulative tone.

"Of course, love. Whatever you want." I lead her inside the castle as well, guiding her toward our room.

"Do you feel good about this crown and the clothes? I put in a lot of effort, but your horns and tail ended up complicating the design a little, so I had to adjust the adaptations," I ask affectionately. I had to make a lot of adaptations. The worst part was the crown — because of her horns, the crown needed many adjustments to avoid looking strange.

Of course, I wasn't the one who literally made it, but I designed every part of it, so the overall form of the crown was defined by me for her to wear.

"It's... I did like it, yes. Thank you." She just accepts it. It's a little sad that Evelyn has become so passive about everything. If I give her something, she always says she liked it, so I never know if she actually did or not.

She's far too good at lying, so this part is always frustrating, because even her tail doesn't move excitedly anymore. A very lukewarm reaction.

"..." I pull her gently into the bedroom, close the door, and lock it with the key while spinning Evelyn around and tossing her onto the bed. She just follows the motion, spinning until she reaches the bed and falls onto it.

"You seem happy..." she says, lying on the bed as I pull a bottle of wine and two glasses from inside my storage ring.

'At least she tries to make conversation to see me happy.' It's not as if she's become indifferent. She still tries and makes an effort for me, but trying doesn't change what she feels. Still, to keep her satisfied, I of course show my happiness.

"Of course I am. Almost everything is perfect, and I truly love the life we have now." I pour a glass for her, dropping a pill inside, and pour my own glass as well, with a pill so my hunger won't get in the way of the moment.

"The kingdom is in excellent stability, with perfect financial growth planned for the next five years. The humans made a new deal with us, and now we have excellent trade agreements using the ships."

"And using the magical floating stones we found in the beastmen's kingdom, we made an agreement, and now they're used on the ships, making them fly. That removes the problem of being attacked by monsters in the oceans, allowing safe intercontinental transport!!"

"And above all, I finally have total possession of my beloved queen. It's literally the best possible scenario, and that makes me completely happy."

"Did your blessing do this?... Your blessing is so... strong... and you've become incredibly powerful over the past few years..." She asks a question I don't know how to answer. Maybe my blessing had a finger or two in this scenario, but there's no way it was just that. After all, I only started using it all the time after Evelyn became queen.

"Now, sit properly on the bed and drink a glass. I chose a very delicious wine." Evelyn is still extremely weak to alcohol, but I've been letting her drink for some time now. It helps her stay more "calm" about the problems.

It helps her avoid endlessly bottling up her feelings. I wonder how Evelyn sees the world. She clearly no longer has a normal vision like mine or others'. Her eyes have changed a lot in what they show her.

"..." She takes the glass and starts drinking softly. I also take a sip of my wine. This wine has an extremely strong alcohol content, so one glass will already get her drunk enough to lightly distract her.

"Esther... can I sleep? My head feels heavy..." She asks in a cute tone. It's kind of adorable. Because of all the emotions she had to witness at the coronation, she's overwhelmed and wants to sleep.

"Of course, but I still want to play a little. Is that okay?" I ask for permission. Even if she didn't want it, I'd still do something when she woke up, but I want to respect her. She's cute and has become much more receptive to everything, so obviously I'm going to respect her choice. And she knows I'll "obey" what she wants in that regard.

"Yes, yes... just let me sleep for a while. Do whatever you want once I'm asleep, Esther." She accepts, making me smile. I sit down in a chair, grabbing the wine bottle and pouring myself another glass.

"You can sleep. I'll start once you're fully asleep." Another change is her sleep routine. It's much heavier. Even if we do something rougher, she doesn't wake up.

The only way to wake Evelyn when she's sleeping is to use magic to alert her and make her body stir. She's really drawn much closer to her nymph side. Nymphs also sleep in a way that they can only be woken if the magic around them changes too much.

But unlike a nymph, even while sleeping, Evelyn murmurs things and reacts to my touch. So it's quite entertaining to interact with her while she's asleep. Even touching her face makes her react softly.

"Hmmm..." I swirl the glass in my hands, savoring the wine. I think a little about the past. If someone had told me back then that this would be my life, I would have said it was ridiculous, that this person was insane, and above all, that it would be a miserable life.

Living your entire life taking care of a broken girl would have sounded simply stupid. But now? It's like a dream I want to last forever. Evelyn being broken satisfies me more than if she were whole.

I don't like her sad. It's not like I enjoy seeing her cry. But the fact that she can't live without me, can't even decide whether or not she wants to eat without me interfering — that kind of control gives me a satisfaction nothing else could.

"If Kali didn't exist, everything would be absolutely perfect... it's a shame. But whatever. It's good enough for me." I finish an entire bottle of wine and grab another. I'll give Evelyn some time to fall completely asleep. I don't want to disturb her, and I want her to rest well from all the exhaustion of the coronation.

"Sleep well, love. Have a good rest," I say to Evelyn, who lets out a cute murmur, shifting on the bed.