Forced to Sell Myself to the Female Lead After Killing the Male Lead

”Like me?”

Hearing that answer, Mengxi’s cheeks flushed red for what felt like the first time in her life.

”Like.”

She had heard that word countless times before.

Influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit, nearly everyone around her constantly showed her affection. The phrase ”I like you” had become something people repeated to her every single day. Over time, Mengxi had gradually developed a trace of disgust toward those feelings that had been forcibly twisted into existence by the Holy Spirit’s power...

But now,

a Demon King-class existence who was completely unaffected by the Holy Spirit’s power—and who even despised both that power and the Holy Aura surrounding her—

had actually said she liked her...

It was...

a strangely wonderful feeling.

And...

it felt nice.

Hehe~

Thinking that, a brilliantly radiant smile slowly blossomed across the silver-haired girl’s face.

Already a peerless beauty that seemed like the Creator’s greatest masterpiece, that heartfelt, sweet smile made Mengxi shine even more brilliantly. Like the warm sun in the middle of winter, it seemed capable of melting countless glaciers, leaving even Miss Yumo, sitting across from her, momentarily stunned.

After quietly admiring her for a moment,

Mengxi, now completely satisfied with the answer she’d received, happily reached out and gently rubbed Yumo’s little head.

”I like Xiaomo very much too~ So you have to stay by your big sister’s side, okay~”

”Mhm.”

Like a child, Yumo swung her little legs back and forth as she smiled and nodded. Then, curiously, she asked,

”Sister Mengxi, why did you suddenly ask that?”

”It’s nothing. I was just curious. Oh, right...”

Mengxi smiled faintly before picking up the nearby fork. Without another word, she speared a juicy piece of Camel Dragon tail meat and brought it directly to Yumo’s mouth.

”Come on, open wide. Ah~”

”Hm? Sister, I’ve already eaten. You should have it.”

”It’s okay. Eat a little more. Camel Dragon meat is incredibly rare. Besides, you’re still growing, aren’t you? Eating more won’t hurt. Come on, ah~”

”Enmm...”

Faced with the piece of meat held before her and Mengxi’s hopeful eyes, Yumo finally gave in with a helpless sigh, opening her mouth and accepting the bite.

Honestly...

A moment ago I was feeding her.

How did it suddenly turn into her feeding me...

Still, as bite after bite was brought to her lips, Yumo couldn’t help puffing out her cheeks.

”Enmm, Sister, if you keep feeding me like this, I’ll get fat!”

”It’s fine. A little weight won’t hurt. Eat more. Besides~”

Mengxi said nonchalantly,

”You barely have any meat on your body to begin with~”

At that moment, a maid who had just entered with water couldn’t help objecting.

”You shouldn’t say that, Miss Mengxi. Miss Xia’er still has to maintain her figure. Otherwise it’ll be hard to find a good husband in the future. If she gets too chubby, no one will want her.”

”If nobody wants her, then I’ll take her~”

Mengxi still looked completely unconcerned.

Ignoring the maid’s helpless gaze, she continued feeding Yumo one bite after another.

At this point, the roles in their little feeding game had completely reversed.

”It’s fine. Xiaomo’s still growing, so eating more is perfectly normal. Besides~”

As she spoke, Mengxi gently kneaded Yumo’s soft cheek with a meaningful smile.

”I don’t think Xiaomo is the perfect body pillow just yet. Growing a little more would be nice~ Around one meter sixty-six would be perfect~”

”...Eh...”

Yumo’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

Because...

that was almost exactly her height in her original girl’s form.

This girl...

She isn’t hinting at something, is she?

Yumo frowned slightly.

However, when she met Mengxi’s crystal-clear pale violet eyes, filled with nothing but innocence and pure anticipation, she couldn’t help dismissing the suspicion in her mind.

’Enmm... I’m probably overthinking it.’

Shuoyue had sealed away everything that happened in the Great Winter Forest.

When she’d appeared in her older girl form before, Mengxi had also been unconscious most of the time.

There was no way she could know any of that...

Meanwhile,

just as Yumo was lost in thought,

Mengxi seemed to recall something as well. Setting down her fork, she thoughtfully looked in Marquis Xiumu-Duke’s direction.

”By the way, Xiaomo, do you remember when Marq... um, your grandfather came to talk to me before?”

”Hm?”

Yumo raised her head curiously.

Come to think of it,

that had happened.

Before the Heavenly Punishment Holy Church attacked, Marquis Xiumu-Duke had indeed privately spoken with Mengxi once.

”Did... Grandpa... talk to Sister about something?”

”It was about whether you should come with me to the Asumos Church.”

”Hm? Th-that? Then... what did Grandpa say?”

”The Marquis said he’d respect your decision. If you wanted to go, he’d let me take you with me. However, he hoped you could stay with the Marquis’s family a little longer first, so you could spend more time with Lady Avnora.”

”I... I see...”

Yumo looked slightly surprised.

She had originally assumed that, considering how much Marquis Xiumu-Duke loved his granddaughter—and how much he despised the Asumos Church—he would never agree to let her go to the Church’s headquarters.

She hadn’t expected him to say something like that...

”So, Xiaomo, what do you think?”

”As for me...”

After thinking quietly for a moment, Yumo slowly answered,

”For now, Sister... I’d like to stay here for a while and spend some time with Grandpa and Grandma...”

Although Avnora still didn’t know Yuan’er’s true situation,

the Marquis would surely tell her soon enough.

Once they learned that Yuan’er had become the very Abyss Demon they hated most, the elderly couple would undoubtedly be heartbroken.

She wanted to stay and keep them company.

It would be her way of repaying everything they had done for her.

Besides, if possible,

she also wanted to resolve Yuan’er’s situation first...

Only...

if she stayed here,

then Mengxi would probably have to...

Thinking that, Yumo hesitantly raised her head, meeting Mengxi’s gem-like pale violet eyes.

However,

as if she had already guessed what Yumo was thinking, Mengxi immediately answered with a sweet smile.

”It’s okay. I was planning to stay in Wind Facing City a while longer anyway. You can stay here and keep the Marquis and Lady Avnora company. When you’re ready to leave, we’ll go together.”

At this moment,

Mengxi had already chosen to completely ignore the Archbishop’s order demanding that she return.

’Even if I don’t go back, what can that old geezer possibly do to me?!’

Besides,

she honestly had no desire to return to that place and spend every day scheming against a bunch of people.

It was boring.

Not to mention,

training beside Sister Yumo was vastly more efficient than returning to headquarters anyway.

So why would she go back?

”Hm?”

’What’s wrong?’

Just then, while Mengxi and Yumo were chatting, the wooden cabin’s door suddenly burst open.

Another maid hurried inside with an extremely anxious expression before rushing straight toward Yumo.

”Miss Xia’er! This is terrible! Please, come with us right away!”

Yumo: ??

Mengxi: ??

—

At the same time,

on the open ground in the center of the Marquis’s estate—where the original main residence had once stood—

two groups of people stood facing each other in tense confrontation.

The atmosphere had already frozen to the breaking point.

Like barrels of gunpowder waiting for a spark, either side could explode at any moment.

One side naturally consisted of Marquis Xiumu-Duke, the backbone of the Northern Border, along with part of the Blizzard Knights.

Opposing them,

stood a group of knights clad in golden armor, white cloaks draped over their shoulders, each bearing the royal crest of the Snow Night Empire.

Anyone from the Snow Night Empire would recognize those distinctive uniforms at a glance.

They were the Sabrino Royal Knights,

the elite force directly under the imperial family and personally commanded by the Emperor of the Snow Night Empire.

They were also acknowledged as the strongest military force in the entire empire.

Simply standing there,

the Golden Knights radiated an overwhelming pressure that crashed over everyone from Wind Facing City, causing many to instinctively suck in a sharp breath.

Even Marquis Xiumu-Duke himself couldn’t help revealing a solemn expression.

Nevertheless, as the lord of these lands, he withstood the pressure, stepped forward, and shouted fearlessly,

”This violates our agreement! You neither consulted us nor informed us beforehand, yet you dared to enter Wind Facing City’s territory without permission! Aren’t you afraid of His Majesty Luojie holding you accountable?!”

However,

the amber-haired woman standing at the very front of the Golden Knights merely looked at him with open contempt.

”My apologies, Marquis. Communications in your Northern Border are rather poor. Even if we’d wanted to notify you, there would’ve been no way to do so. Besides...”

She smiled faintly.

”We came here under His Majesty’s direct orders.”

”Nonsense! His Majesty Luojie would never do such a thing! We had an agreement!”

”No, no, no. I think you’ve misunderstood.”

She shook her head.

”Those weren’t the late emperor’s orders.”

”...Hm? The late emperor? Wh... what do you mean by that?”

Hearing those words, the short-haired woman couldn’t help revealing a mocking smile.

”Honestly... I suppose that’s what happens when you live in a remote frontier city. News travels rather slowly.”

She looked directly at the Marquis.

”It seems you still don’t know.”

”Several days ago, His Majesty Luojie passed away.”

”The one ruling the empire now...”

”...is His Majesty Xue Tianao.”

”Wh... what did you just say?!”

At that instant,

utter disbelief spread across Marquis Xiumu-Duke’s weathered old face.