Vol 4. Chapter 13: Yuan’er’s Expectations

During the time she spent with Youlan, Yuan’er not only learned some basic knowledge about the Shadow of Silence Power and techniques for controlling it, but also learned quite a few things about the Great Winter Forest. Of everything she heard, what interested Yuan’er the most was naturally the ‘family’ Youlan had mentioned.

Mother, and all those older brothers and sisters.

Big Brother Piere, who had a fiery temper and liked acting like a hooligan sometimes, but was fiercely protective of his own;

Big Sister Karina, who was valiant and imposing, serious and rigorous, yet somewhat inflexible;

Big Sister Limo, who was lively and active, a somewhat silly glutton;

Big Sister Liyu, who handled everything meticulously but whose cooking skills were rather worrying;

Big Sister Shuoyue, who spent most of her time sleeping and was a little mischievously scheming;

......

Yuan’er was extremely excited about the family members Youlan had told her she would be living alongside day and night in the future. As the young lady of the Duke Family, Yuan’er had essentially always been kept protected inside the Marquis’s estate, and she had very few playmates around her.

And after her father, mother, and Big Sister Xia’er left one after another, Yuan’er was the only one left in that enormous courtyard. Marquis Xiumu-Duke frequently patrolled the borders around Wind Facing City, and although Grandma Avnora remained in the Marquis’s estate, she was constantly occupied with all kinds of official duties and simply had no time to accompany her.

After the tragic loss of her parents and older sister, the security around the Marquis’s estate had become extremely strict in order to strengthen Yuan’er’s protection, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to set foot inside. Even when children from other families occasionally visited the Marquis’s estate, the enormous disparity in status made them too intimidated to properly interact with Yuan’er.

As time passed,

Yuan’er’s young heart gradually became filled with loneliness. She wanted companions, companions who could play with her and interact with her as equals. Like those other older brothers and sisters, for example. And after learning about the existence of those older brothers and sisters from Big Sister Youlan, Yuan’er couldn’t help but become filled with anticipation.

Stars of expectation glittered within her heterochromatic red-and-blue eyes.

However,

the person Yuan’er looked forward to meeting the most was naturally that mother.

Yuan’er’s favorability toward Lady Yumo had been completely maxed out from the very beginning. After all, when Yuan’er had fallen into absolute despair and stood on the brink of death, it had been that black-haired girl who pulled her back from the gates of death. From that moment onward, Yumo had become ‘Goddess Big Sister’ within Yuan’er’s heart.

And after discovering that this ‘Goddess Big Sister’ was actually her new mother, Yuan’er had become even more excited.

Having lost her biological mother at a very young age, Yuan’er deeply missed a mother’s embrace and a mother’s care. Although Yumo was not Yuan’er’s biological mother, she was nevertheless the mother who had given her a new life. Combined with the connection between their bloodlines that Yuan’er had sensed from Yumo back in Wind Facing City, all of this made Yuan’er increasingly eager to meet her new mother.

Lying beneath the covers,

once Yuan’er had calmed down, she couldn’t resist tirelessly asking Youlan question after question about Mother Yumo.

And surprisingly,

when Yuan’er brought up Yumo, Youlan did not reveal the same impatient expression she usually did. Instead, she thoughtfully opened her eyes and gazed toward the bright moon hanging high in the sky.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. She will cherish you, protect you, and give you all the love and care you could ever want. All you need to do is be a good child. If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell her, and she’ll do her best to satisfy you. Of course, the prerequisite is that you don’t eat anything disgusting, or human flesh. If there’s something you want to do, as long as it isn’t going into human society to cause destruction, she’ll basically help you accomplish it. If someone bullies you, once you get back, all you have to do is try squeezing out a few tears, and she’ll help you severely teach whoever bullied you a lesson. One thing you need to remember is not to attack children. You also need to remember what she tells you. If she has to emphasize the same thing over and over again, then no matter how good her temper is, she’ll eventually explode. Also......”

Normally,

Youlan would finish speaking after only a few sentences.

However,

once Yumo was mentioned, words began flowing endlessly from her mouth, while a faint trace of nostalgia appeared intermittently within her deep-blue eyes.

Meanwhile, Yuan’er silently wrapped her arms around Youlan’s snow-white arm and lay quietly beneath the covers, listening to Youlan while continuously committing everything she learned about her new mother to memory.

And as Youlan continued speaking, the anticipation within Yuan’er’s eyes only grew stronger and stronger.

......

Although Youlan had said that she would only allow Yuan’er to sleep beside her for one night, after that night, Yuan’er practically scampered over to Youlan’s side every single evening. After repeatedly trying and failing to drive her away, Youlan could only gloomily accept reality.

And whenever Yuan’er slept together with Youlan in the hammock, the little girl couldn’t resist asking her questions about Mother Yumo. Contrary to her usual behavior, Youlan would patiently tell Yuan’er the stories she wanted to hear.

As one interesting story about Yumo after another entered the little girl’s ears, Yuan’er’s anticipation toward her new mother grew with each passing day.

She wanted more and more to meet this new mother of hers.

Actually,

when Yuan’er had first lost control of her power, Yumo had beaten her back to her senses with a feather duster. Because of that, deep within her heart, Yuan’er still vaguely felt a little afraid of the black-haired girl. However, that trace of fear had long since been completely washed away by the overwhelming torrent of anticipation gathering within her heart.

--

And with precisely those feelings in her heart, Yuan’er finally saw this mother again in Skyvault.

While Grandpa and Grandma were observing the movements of the surrounding Abyss Demons, Yumo came over to Yuan’er and gently raised a hand to stroke the little head of this ‘runaway child.’ When Yuan’er saw Yumo again, she was actually extremely nervous and uneasy.

While training together with Big Sister Youlan, Yuan’er had imagined countless times what it would be like when she finally met Mother Yumo.

But,

what did Yumo herself think about it? Yuan’er genuinely didn’t know.

Although Big Sister Youlan had repeatedly told her that Mother Yumo would never dislike her and would cherish her greatly, the moment Yuan’er remembered that she had originally been transformed from a human, while humans were currently the greatest enemies of the Abyss Demons, she inevitably began letting her imagination run wild.

She was somewhat worried that Mother Yumo might dislike her as a child because of her previous identity......

Of course, that worry immediately crumbled into nothingness the moment Yumo’s warm little hand touched her head.

The warmth from Yumo’s hand, the affection in her gaze, and that indescribable connection between their bloodlines instantly filled Yuan’er with overwhelming excitement. After receiving Yumo’s tacit permission, Yuan’er immediately wrapped her arms around Yumo’s waist without another word and buried herself in her embrace.

And when she realized

that while she had been spending time with Grandpa and Grandma earlier, it was Mother Yumo who had sent away the nearby Abyss Demons so that Yuan’er could communicate with her grandparents without fear. It was also Mother Yumo who had ordered the Abyss Demons to block the approaching Imperial Guards.

Such thoughtful behavior caused Yuan’er’s affection toward Yumo to soar even further.

Her favorability had already been maxed out, and now it had completely broken through the limit.

Thus, after nuzzling around in Yumo’s embrace, Yuan’er raised her head and looked toward Lady Yumo with watery eyes overflowing with innocence and anticipation.

“Um, I...... Can I call you Mother?”

Faced with Yuan’er’s request, Lady Yumo smiled gently before affectionately poking Yuan’er’s little cheeks with both hands:

“Of course you can, little one.”

--

Time returned to the present.

Since she was still only a child and had limited ability to express herself, Yuan’er could only barely explain to Liyu why she liked Mother so much. However, Yuan’er didn’t have the energy to spend more time clearly explaining all the details,

because just as Yuan’er roughly finished her story, Lady Yumo also concluded her conversation with Xiao and was slowly walking toward where her daughters were gathered.

Seeing Mother approaching, Yuan’er immediately revealed an expression of pure delight and ran toward Lady Yumo while waving her hands.

Then,

just as expected, she threw herself straight into Yumo’s embrace, while Yumo likewise gave Yuan’er a warm hug without the slightest hesitation. For a moment, the two of them entered an exceptionally warm and tender atmosphere.

However,

on the other side,

after listening to Yuan’er’s story, Liyu simply froze in place. She stared at Yuan’er’s back in disbelief as her emerald-green eyes trembled slightly.

Although Yuan’er wasn’t particularly good at explaining things, Liyu had still managed to extract several key pieces of information from her story.

And among them was one particular piece of information that left the gray-haired girl completely dumbfounded.

What Yuan’er had just said......

‘You...... Youlan??’

She actually met that lunatic?