The God of Dreams leaned back lazily, toying with the soft pelt at her side, and mused, "As for our plans moving forward... first, let's have the Abyss Mages operating everywhere keep a low profile, especially around Liyue. They've already been noticed."
Recalling the Geo Archon's "warning," Baimeng couldn't help but sigh.
For a smooth and safe life, it was probably best not to go wandering about in front of that deity again.
It was just a pity she wouldn't get to see Xiao.
Perhaps she could sneak a quick glance?
"As you say, I'll give the orders right away," Aether said, bowing slightly to interrupt Baimeng's reverie. "But... I actually wanted to ask, would Your Highness care for some pastries now?"
"Considering we aren't quite sure of your preferences, let's start with around twenty varieties. What do you think?"
Seeing the boy's completely earnest expression—as if he found nothing remotely unusual about this—Baimeng screamed internally:
*Don't spoil me so much! This is way too extravagant, way too wasteful!*
Or could this be some kind of insidious plot to make her fat?!
One had to remember that during the Archon War, a single cube of sugar could be considered a rare and precious delicacy. Due to the extreme scarcity of resources, even Asmoday, despite being a god, could only manage to eat some sweets once every few days—and even then, they were mostly extracted from plant fruits, carrying a slight, lingering bitterness.
Truly, times had changed.
"Anyway, twenty kinds is much too many. Just pick one or two at random. I trust you."
"As you command."
A look of delight crossed the blonde boy's face, yet Baimeng still didn't hear the sound she was waiting for.
"Hmm. You—yes, you, come here." After thinking for a moment, she pointed at random to an Abyss Mage that looked relatively pleasing to the eye.
"What can this humble one do for Your Highness?"
That Pyro Abyss Mage wobbled and drifted over to the steps, prostrating itself without daring to get any closer.
"Come over to my side."
Not daring to disobey the command, the Abyss Mage could only drift toward the armrest of the throne, trembling with every step, and lower its head to study the patterns on the floor.
A hand suddenly pressed down on its head. In the grand hall, the monsters all drew in a sharp breath simultaneously, their varied gazes practically nailing the poor little Pyro Abyss Mage to the spot.
Oblivious to the shock she had caused below, Baimeng casually patted the top of the Abyss Mage's head.
Fluffy.
The texture was softer and smoother than a stuffed toy, and it retained a pleasant warmth. Baimeng gave it a pat, and before she could stop herself, she patted it again.
"Feels nice. You must groom your fur regularly."
"Y-Yes! This humble one takes great care of it whenever there's time! I just used some newly arrived essential oil yesterday! Does Your Highness think this humble one is being too idle..." Grown too excited, the Abyss Mage started chattering nonstop, its round eyes curving into two crescents while its staff flashed with light.
"Not at all, you're doing very well." Baimeng curved the corners of her lips into an approving smile.
[Level up. Current favorability: Level 2.]
[Level up. Current favorability is...]
The favorability increase notification rang out several times in a row, buzzing so loudly in Baimeng's head that she didn't even notice what level it finally reached.
*Since when was the system such an inconvenient gadget?!*
Warding off her dizziness, Baimeng waved a hand to dismiss the Abyss Mage back to face the envious and jealous glares of its peers, feeling even more bewildered.
If the system was working fine, why couldn't she hear any favorability increase notification for Aether?!
Was what she was doing still not enough?
Just then, the Prince of the Abyss stepped forward holding a tray of delicate little cookies. Baimeng decided to make good use of the opportunity.
She pinched a flower-shaped cookie and popped it into her mouth. The delicately shaped treat tasted far more... ordinary than she had imagined.
Right, simply ordinary.
There was neither the sweetness that jolted the taste buds nor any astonishing richness. It didn't look like a master chef's elaborate creation, nor did it use any rare ingredients. It was just an utterly plain, unremarkable homemade cookie.
Like the kind of simple little snack a family's parents might bake by hand to satisfy a child with an itch in their teeth. Ordinary, yet gentle.
It was entirely unexpected. The simple little cookie carried a taste that filled Baimeng with nostalgia, and before she knew it, several of them had vanished into her stomach.
"Are you satisfied with the taste?"
As if anticipating this exact reaction, the boy's smile carried a trace of mischievous cunning, much like a child whose petty scheme had succeeded, unable to help showing a wicked little grin.
"Why don't you taste it and see?"
Detecting her attendant's smugness, the god laughed. With her fingertips, she casually picked up a cookie and held it out toward Aether's lips.
The room abruptly fell so silent that even breathing vanished. The blonde boy hesitated for a fraction of a second, tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear with one hand, and with lowered eyes, bit off the heart-shaped cookie.
His warm lips brushed against her cold fingertips. Maintaining a completely calm expression, Baimeng withdrew her hand and rubbed her fingertips together.
Chewing for a moment, the boy's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He licked the crumbs from the corner of his lips and smiled brightly.
"It's delicious. Thank you, Your Highness."
Now it was Baimeng's turn to be flustered. She could hear her own heartbeat hammering against her eardrums. All her probing and suspicion were cast to the winds; right now, she just wanted to grab her wildly pounding, unruly heart and tell it to stop beating so shamelessly, lest the person beside her hear every single thud.
"Is that so? I think so too." After a few covert, deep breaths, the god offered a faint smile, betraying not the slightest sign of agitation.
Only the overburdened armrest of the throne knew the truly turbulent waves inside Baimeng's heart.
"Since you made so much, share some with everyone else too."
*Hmph, trying to make me fat? In your dreams!*
Her words fell, but no one moved.
Baimeng looked in puzzlement at the statue-like monsters. The expressions on their faces looked as though they had all been cast from the same mold—eyes wide round and mouths tightly shut.
"Or do I need to feed each of you by hand, as well?" Baimeng said with amusement.
That instantly brought motion. The statues came alive, shouting words of gratitude while swarming forward in a mad scramble.
The blonde boy pressed his lips together, a flash of displeasure crossing the depths of his eyes, though it quickly melted back into a smile.
"One by one. Be good."
The hound-like monsters lined up, stepping forward one by one to obediently thank the two Highnesses before marching back to their original seats in an orderly fashion.
The favorability increase notifications chimed endlessly.
Only Aether's remained absent.
Baimeng ground her teeth, wishing for the one-hundred-and-first time that she had a mind-reading skill so she could crack open the Prince of the Abyss's head and see what on earth was inside it, and why his favorability was so infuriatingly hard to farm!
Yet the dissatisfaction signals Baimeng radiated were destined to receive no response; that attendant merely looked at her with a beaming, innocent expression, making it seem as though she were the one who had done something wrong.
Baimeng was beginning to suspect that even if she added up the favorability of everyone in the entire room, it still wouldn't be enough to fill the gap of this guy's first favorability level.
The road of conquest was long and fraught with difficulty.