Mom Can Help You Now!

"Anlìyà, your cooking keeps getting better and better."

Xian took the handkerchief the girl offered, wiped his mouth, and praised her sincerely.

He could tell from the changes in his own weight.

After transmigrating, he had lost a lot of weight mainly because he had trouble adjusting to the new environment and his living conditions had worsened. But after arriving at the castle, Anlìyà had nearly fattened him back up.

"Not at all. It's all thanks to Aunt Mei Li's guidance," Anlìyà said shyly, her face reddening.

In truth, she studied the recipes and cookbooks she had brought back from the library almost every day. At night, when no one was using the castle kitchen, she stayed up practicing until dawn.

But she did not want His Highness to know. This was simply her duty; there was no need, nor should she let him know about it.

She only hoped that the food she worked so hard to make could make His Highness a little happier. Just then, a flash of white light appeared, and Xian instinctively looked over.

Beside the "Commoner" Status Blessing above Anlìyà's head, another line of white text slowly appeared—"Apprentice Chef."

"Anlìyà, you received a Profession Blessing!" Xian said in surprise.

"Huh?"

The girl froze for a moment, then quickly ran over to a patch of water on the floor. Sure enough, in her reflection, another line of text had appeared above her head.

"Your Highness, my Blessing ability is Delicious! It can make the food I prepare even tastier. I can bring you even better meals now!"

After checking her ability, Anlìyà excitedly bounced over to Xian.

The corners of her lips rose uncontrollably, and her azure eyes seemed to light up, sparkling like stars.

"Congratulations, Anlìyà."

Xian smiled and gently patted the girl's head in encouragement, though a trace of regret flashed through his heart.

He had originally wanted to teach Anlìyà the Moonlight Meditation and have her become a Magic Apprentice. But now, it seemed he could only let the girl be a cook.

Knock, knock.

Just then, the library door was knocked on softly again.

It was quite lively today. Xian was a little surprised, but he got up and opened the door.

Standing outside was a tall noblewoman—Danielle Martha.

Today, she wore a pink scarf, her violet waterfall-like hair pinned high up. A few loose strands hung casually by her ears, making her look languid and elegant.

She was also pushing a small cart bearing two silver trays. On them sat an exquisite cake, a pot of steaming black tea, and several teacups.

The cake was decorated with fresh berries and cream flowers, while the black tea gave off a rich, fragrant aroma.

"Prince Mingyu, I heard from the servants that you've been staying in the library reading these past few days. You've worked so hard~"

"So I specially made some cakes for you myself, to fulfill my duties as your host. If you can be a little happier here at Black Wolf Castle, that would be the greatest honor for my husband and me."

Danielle spoke slowly in a voice as gentle as water. Her purple-blue eyes were filled with tenderness, and a perfectly measured smile rested on her delicate face.

"I'll accept your kindness."

Xian replied calmly, stepping aside to let the lady enter the library.

"This must be your maid, Your Highness? I've heard Karen mention her before. She really is as beautiful as a jade sculpture. Oh my, I'm jealous of you, Your Highness~"

"Unfortunately, a woman like me probably isn't even worthy of being your maid."

"Little Ilith, you're getting cuter and cuter. Your silver hair is like silk woven from moonlight—it's so beautiful. Do you have any secrets for caring for it?"

"Share them with Mom, okay~"

The moment she entered, Danielle's gaze moved back and forth between Anlìyà and Ilith, praising them as though she were admiring two exquisite works of art.

"You're beautiful too."

Praised by a noblewoman, Anlìyà's cheeks immediately flushed red. She lowered her head, unconsciously twisting the folds of her pale blue dress with her fingers.

Her golden hair gleamed under the sunlight streaming through the stained-glass windows, while her blue eyes shimmered with shyness.

Ilith's reaction, meanwhile, was rather cold. She merely gave a slight nod to show respect to her stepmother and did not say a single word.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward, but Danielle seemed not to notice, her bright smile remaining unchanged.

Her gaze swiftly searched the library, and she soon noticed an open notebook on the floor beside her, covered in drawings of magic patterns.

"Your Highness, did you write this?"

Danielle reached out curiously, wanting to pick up the notebook, but quickly realized that doing so would be impolite. She withdrew her hand and merely asked softly.

After receiving Xian's affirmative reply, her purple eyes narrowed slightly, and a meaningful smile curled across her lips.

"Your Highness, I still need to take care of Little Hayden, so I'll be leaving first. I wish you success in your studies. If you need anything, please feel free to tell me~"

Danielle folded her hands together and gave a slight bow, then left the library.

"Ilith, has Madame Danielle always been this enthusiastic?"

Watching the woman's departing figure, Xian could not help asking Ilith beside him.

".Heh. Before you came, I'd never seen her smile at me," Ilith said resentfully.

Whenever they met in the castle corridors before, Ilith would witness the art of changing faces at lightning speed.

One moment, the lady would be chatting and laughing with the servants. The next, her expression would turn as cold as an ancient iceberg, and whenever their eyes met, those beautiful purple-blue eyes would sometimes flash with disgust and disdain.

She had even once overheard, outside her bedroom door, that shameless woman serving her father while asking him to drive Ilith out of the castle.

She had been truly frightened at the time. Though she should have covered her ears and left, she could only stand there and eavesdrop until she heard her father refuse, after which she finally dared return to her room.

That incident had left quite a psychological shadow on her.

"Your Highness, that woman would never be so kind for no reason. She must want something from you. You need to be careful!" Ilith warned.

"Sigh, with this above my head, is there anyone in the world who wouldn't want something from me after seeing me?"

Xian gave a bitter smile, shrugged, and pointed at the "1.4 Billion" above his head.

Ilith was momentarily speechless. An awkward look also flashed across Anlìyà's face, since when she had first cared for His Highness, she had indeed been somewhat selfishly hoping to save her village.

Elsewhere.

Back in her bedroom, Danielle began rummaging through boxes and cabinets.

"I remember that when Mother sent me off to be married, she should have included a high-quality magic crystal..." Danielle frowned slightly as she looked at the mess of boxes and cases scattered across the floor.

She had received so many blessing gifts from her family that she could not even find them herself.

"I can only search through them one by one." The woman sighed. When she had still been a noble young lady, she had hated dealing with such trivial chores the most. But now, she was a mother.

After a long while, Danielle finally found a crystal in a small box. It was surrounded by a blue glow and faintly radiated a chill.

"Wonderful. My Little Hayden, now Mom can help you!"

The woman clutched the crystal tightly to her chest, paying no attention to the bursts of stinging pain caused by its coldness.