Chapter 17: I not only sleep in your bed, i also want to sleep in your melo

After speaking, she let out another yawn.

“Well, that’s the gist of it. What are your thoughts?”

Melina gazed at Sephilia, a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

After their brief quarrel, their relationship seemed to have paradoxically grown closer.

Sephilia no longer carried herself with an air of haughty superiority, and Melina had shed the demeanor of a downtrodden punching bag.

In essence, both of them appeared to have become significantly more… normal.

Sephilia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “How else am I supposed to see it?

If she’s truly the Radiant Knight, then my spot in the junior knight’s tournament is practically guaranteed, isn’t it?

Everyone else can just pack it in and go to bed.”

With that, she flopped back onto the bed, burying her head in the pillows.

Melina froze, clearly bewildered by Sephilia’s rather erratic train of thought.

“No, that’s not what I meant. Melo is a wanted criminal, you know? Don’t you have any thoughts on that?”

She had previously attempted to lie, hoping to gloss over the matter.

But for one, Sephilia was far too astute; any casual falsehood would never deceive her.

And for another, with a genuine member of the Radiant Clan right there, how could she possibly lie?

Sephilia’s response to the question, however, astonished both Melo and Melina.

“Why are you being so annoying? What else am I supposed to think?

Should I go report her to the Alliance right now?

To say that the Alliance’s number one most wanted criminal, their biggest traitor, is right here? Am I insane?”

Her rapid-fire questions only left Melina more utterly bewildered.

‘But… no?’

‘Shouldn’t it be like this?’

‘Isn’t that the normal course of action?’

‘Otherwise, why would Melo be hiding and living under an assumed name, only to end up here?’

‘And if it wasn’t a big deal, she wouldn’t have bothered to concoct such an elaborate lie when her moves were recognized earlier!’

Driven by a stubborn disbelief, Melina yanked the blanket off Sephilia once more. “Don’t go to sleep yet, I’m telling you…

You’re confusing me. You genuinely don’t care? Wouldn’t reporting her earn you a lot of money?”

“Do I look like I’m in need of money?”

“But aren’t there also… other rewards?”

“Hmph, do I care? What kind of pathetic trinkets could those old fogeys (TL Note: A derogatory slang term for elderly, often powerful, men) possibly offer?”

Hearing this, Melina was once again dumbfounded.

‘This is bad!’

‘Sephilia is completely off her rocker!’

She had initially thought Sephilia was merely an arrogant young lady, then she suspected she was a little odd, but now…

Now she barely resembled a noble at all!

‘What did she mean by “old fogeys”? And “pathetic trinkets”?’

Such vulgar language was coming from the mouth of a young lady who supposedly held upbringing and virtue in such high regard!

‘And come to think of it, she even referred to herself as “this old lady” (TL Note: A casual, sometimes aggressive, self-reference) earlier, didn’t she?!’

“Are you genuinely ill? What exactly do you want, staying up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?” Sephilia asked, her voice laced with exasperation, clearly resentful at having her peaceful slumber disturbed.

Melina was equally speechless. ‘You’re sleeping in someone else’s bed and you still have the nerve to complain?’

That was her thought, and it tumbled out of her mouth almost instinctively.

Sephilia stared at her intently. “Then do you believe I’d dare to sleep with your Melo, too?”

Melina gaped at her, her face a mask of utter shock. Beside her, Melo’s cheeks flushed crimson, and she quickly averted her gaze.

In Melo’s arms, little Huiyao’s (TL Note: The name of a character, meaning ‘radiance’) antenna-like cowlick on her head snapped upright with a soft ‘berp!’, and she groggily stirred awake.

“Sleep what? Who’s sleeping?”

With a sigh of exasperation, Melo gently pressed her back into her embrace, swaying her body, and murmured with a shy tenderness, as if coaxing a baby, “Go back to sleep.”

A soft, rhythmic breathing soon emanated from the little one in her arms.

Soon, the small figure in her arms was once again sound asleep.

Sephilia reclined on the bed, propping her head with her hand, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she fixed her gaze on Melo. “To think the esteemed Radiant Knight possesses the potential to be a virtuous wife and loving mother.”

She then turned her attention to Melina. “My little Huiyao happens to need a gentle and attentive nanny. How about you let your Melo come and look after her? They’re of the same clan, after all, so they’re sure to have plenty to talk about. I also think little Huiyao quite likes her. What do you say? Shall we discuss it?”

Melo’s cheeks burned crimson. Cradling little Huiyao and gently lulling her back to sleep, she rose and walked away, pretending not to have heard a word.

Melina, meanwhile, glared with intense vigilance. “Don’t even think about it! Melo is mine!”

Sephilia, however, remained unfazed. “Don’t be so absolute; everything is negotiable.

I’m well aware of the situation with your Esber family. If things get really tough, you and Melo can both come. Don’t worry… I can certainly afford two maid outfits.”

Melina stared at the girl before her, utterly incredulous. “You want me to be your maid too?!”

“Serving me wouldn’t necessarily tarnish your family’s reputation, and it could be done discreetly, couldn’t it?

As I speak, I find myself growing increasingly eager to see you in a maid outfit!

If you and Melo were both to serve me, dressed in maid uniforms… that sight, tsk tsk.”

“Humiliation! Utterly humiliating! Don’t you dare even think about it!”

“You’re a noble; don’t use such language.”

“You, who called others ‘old fogeys,’ have no right to criticize me!”

Melina huffily plopped onto the bed, her small bottom bouncing gently with the soft mattress.

“You… seem different than usual.”

As the tension slowly dissipated, Melina’s tone grew considerably calmer.

“Aren’t you the same? The person you are now is practically unrecognizable from the punching bag you used to be.”

Sephilia did not deny it.

Melina glanced at Melo, who had approached them. “Perhaps it’s because… Melo’s presence changed me. Her arrival gave me so much courage.”

As she spoke, a gentle smile graced Melina’s face. “That day, before everyone, when Melo swore her contract with me, becoming my bonded spirit weapon (TL Note: A unique type of weapon that forms a deep, often sentient, bond with its wielder), I will never, ever forget that moment.”

Melo carefully placed little Huiyao back into Sephilia’s arms, her tone resuming its former graceful elegance. “It is merely that you, Young Lady, already possessed such potential; perhaps your past experiences had simply suppressed it for too long.”

As she spoke, she attempted to rise, only to find little Huiyao’s tiny hands surprisingly clutching the lapel of her top.

Melo froze, her face flushing crimson.

The already somewhat snug maid uniform, pulled like that, nearly revealed a flash of cleavage!

Fortunately, Aida possessed not only sharp judgment but also impeccable taste.

The maid uniform she was wearing was made from rather luxurious, highly elastic material, which was precisely why it hadn’t been torn apart by the little one’s surprisingly strong grip.

Melo, feeling helpless, tried several times to pry open Huiyao’s small claws, but each attempt caused the sleeping child to make a pained expression, on the verge of tears.

“This child…”

“If you can’t, then just hold her,” Sephilia said.

Having no other recourse, Melo could only pick up little Huiyao once more.

Returning to that warm and soft embrace, little Huiyao instinctively burrowed her small head, finding that supremely comfortable ‘pillow,’ and drifted off to sleep, utterly content.

Yet, unbeknownst to anyone, a sly smile briefly flickered across her tiny face.

“So, why did it end up like this?”

A moment later, Melina, still lying on the bed, gazed at the face so close to hers.

Sephilia met Melina’s gaze, her expression wry. “What can I say? I’m just too kind-hearted to watch a future teammate sleep on the floor.

Of course… if this future teammate possessed such unique tastes that they insisted on sleeping on the ground, my benevolent self would naturally be quite pleased.”

At that moment, the two girls lay face-to-face, squeezed onto a single bed.

The other bed, of course, belonged to Melo and Huiyao.

The little one had monopolized Melo’s embrace, sleeping sweetly, and Melo herself soon drifted off.

Finally, the boisterous night settled into a quiet calm.