CHAPTER 597: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Well, for one, it was apparently longer than a certain princess could continue hiding one of her most important secrets.

In the dead of night, when the people of the Empire were supposed to be slumbering, one bright blue eye snapped open.

It was the kind of dramatic reveal only a toddler could pull off—pretending to sleep with all the seriousness of a soldier, only to spring awake the second she decided the coast was clear.

Her lashes fluttered, her lips pursed in determination, and then the second eye opened. Slowly. Secretively.

She lay still for a moment, listening with the intensity of someone three times her age. Not a whisper. Not a footstep.

Then, ever so carefully, the little princess turned onto her side.

A tiny shuffle.

A pause.

Another shuffle.

And just like that, she slipped into her secret base, the grand fortress she had built out of carefully stacked pillows and cushions. To anyone else, it was a mess. To her, it was impenetrable.

Her cushion fort was more than just play. It was a citadel of secrets. A hidden chamber. The one place where she could guard her most precious treasures away from the prying eyes of butlers and attendants.

Inside, she wiggled deeper, her small hands patting at the hidden compartments she had made between the cushions. Her breath came in soft little huffs, her cheeks puffing out with effort as she secured her position.

"Safe," she whispered to herself, as though the word alone carried protective magic.

If anyone had seen her now, they would not have seen a princess of the Empire. They would have seen a tiny strategist, a pint-sized conspirator, and the most determined smuggler of midnight secrets the palace had ever known.

From her fortress of cushions, Princess Nina wriggled deeper until her little hands found the hidden compartment. With a triumphant wiggle of her tiny toes, she pulled out her most prized treasure.

The space button that had her stash of strawberry-flavored ice cream.

The small container gleamed in the dim light like a holy relic. She had rationed it carefully for tonight, and tonight alone.

Settling into a more comfortable position, she hugged the container close, spoon in hand, and with all the dignity of a royal conspirator, began her secret operation: spoon, scoop, savor, repeat.

Her eyes sparkled as she turned her holo on, the forbidden light of the live stream illuminating her cushion fort.

Every few minutes, she cooed softly. "Oooh... ahhh..." Her tiny feet kicked against the pillows each time Dylan revealed another wondrous dish.

Then came the moment she had been waiting for. The part about the strawberry ice cream.

The audience on the screen screamed. Dylan held it up like it was divine.

And Nina, clutching her own little container, tightened her grip as if afraid it would vanish from her hands the moment he spoke of it.

"Yes!" she whispered fervently, nodding in time with the stream. "Yes! It’s definitely real!"

Her cheeks glowed pink, not from the cold of the dessert, but from sheer joy. She agreed wholeheartedly with every word Dylan spoke. Because he was right. Most people had not even tasted this, and here she was, blessed beyond measure.

She was so thankful, so overwhelmed, that she could hardly feel anything at all. Only gratitude filled her tiny heart.

And then—

"Yes! Yes! It’s definitely the best!" she cried aloud in excitement.

"Oh really? How so?"

The voice came from outside the fort.

Nina, still spooning ice cream into her mouth, did not even think twice. She answered naturally, her words muffled by her bite.

"Because it’s so good, so soft, so sweet!"

"Oh wow!" the voice replied, genuinely impressed.

"Yes!" Nina chirped again, nodding vigorously, her spoon wagging in her little hand.

But then—

Her eyes flew open.

"!!!"

She froze mid-bite.

That... that wasn’t her voice.

Nor was it a spirit that decided to grace her today.

No.

If only it were. Because in reality, even an assassin would’ve been a more welcome sight.

But the person who caught her was none other than the Empress.

Her mother.

She had just returned from an important meeting with the Emperor. It was already late, but she made it a point to check on her daughter, Princess Nina.

To make sure she wouldn’t disturb her child, she moved with the utmost care, using her spiritual abilities to silence every step. Not even a floorboard dared creak beneath her weight.

But imagine her surprise when she opened the door to find the bed empty.

Her baby daughter was nowhere to be seen.

Her breath caught, panic rising in her chest—until a tiny sound escaped from the far corner of the room.

Snicker. Snicker.

The Empress turned her head slowly.

There.

A suspicious pile of cushions. And from it, the unmistakable sound of muffled giggles.

She was just about to confront the "culprit" when she froze in place.

Because what she saw next was... utterly impossible.

Her precious child, inside her little cushion fort, was literally holding what could only be described as a spiritual relic.

Strawberry ice cream.

And while anyone could deny the existence of such a treasure, the Empress could not ignore the damning evidence: a smear of pink cream decorating the corner of her daughter’s lips.

"..."

It was undeniable. Just as undeniable as her questions that were met with such an excited and unfocused response. And she wondered how much more she could’ve found out had Nina continued remaining oblivious.

Unfortunately, she didn’t.

But before Empress Gisella Theron Solaris could finally ask, all she could do was blink in shock.

Because in the very next instant—almost like a movement drilled into instinct—the glowing treasure Nina had been holding disappeared. Gone. Vanished.

The little girl flopped backward with all the dramatic flair of a stage actress and shut her eyes tight.

Pretending. To. Sleep.

The Empress stared.

"???"

Seriously?

Seriously.

Her lips twitched.

Because if there was one thing she knew about her daughter, it was this: Little Nina could never lie to her mother. Not ever.

Therefore, if lying were impossible, the best solution was obvious.

Make sure she didn’t get asked any questions in the first place.

And while it was very, very late to start feigning sleep now...

Well, people did say it was better late than never.

The Empress blinked once. Twice.

Then, slowly, she pressed her fingers against her temple.

Her daughter had just staged the most unconvincing act of sleep she had ever seen in her life.

Ignoring the fact that she did it in front of her, the tiny girl’s blanket was even crooked.

Her breathing was far too quick. And most damning of all, a faint trace of strawberry still glistened at the corner of her mouth.

The Empress exhaled, soft laughter slipping free before she could stop it.

"...Honestly," she whispered.

She could have exposed her. She could have demanded answers, confiscated the treasure, and summoned every attendant in the palace for explanations.

But instead... she stood quietly for a while, simply watching her daughter’s tiny form twitching under the pressure of pretending.

She had several choices.

But it was obvious that this little girl was conniving with someone more experienced to pull off something like this.

What exactly had this child been doing all this time?

However, more importantly, how involved was Xavier in all this?

If only she knew, but the leader who had dealt with constant unrest and greed all day felt like showing generosity just this time.

Because then again, tomorrow was another day. Another day to actually ask.