Ryan grinned excitedly, as though he could already imagine the smiles on everyone's faces and their words of praise after he shared the wild fruit.
After indulging in this lovely fantasy, Ryan reached to pull Homelander along, wanting to fetch the wild fruit stored in his room together.
Just then, Queen Maeve also emerged from the direction of the restroom with light steps, glancing at her hands from time to time with a very strange expression.
She seemed utterly disgusted with her hands, yet had to struggle to maintain her composure.
After only a few steps, she spotted the people standing in the middle of the hallway.
"Looks like I just missed a good show." Maeve leaned against the wall, a smile tugging at her lips.
She had spent a long time washing her hands in the restroom, so naturally she had heard Homelander ordering Soldier Boy around.
At first, she had thought Translucent was bound to take a beating, but the more she listened, the stranger it sounded.
Homelander seemed to be deliberately using the incident to mess with Soldier Boy, making Soldier Boy so furious that he kept cursing.
She had known Homelander for many years and could be considered one of the people who understood him best in the world.
She had never seen this sort of childish, mischievous joking from Homelander before.
Ryan blinked, then waved, greeting the familiar woman.
The smile on Maeve's face immediately softened. "Hey, little guy."
She walked over, crouched down, and ruffled Ryan's hair. It felt as soft as wool, making her even more reluctant to take her hand away.
Smiling broadly, Homelander walked over to Maeve and looked down at her, his tone deliberately casual. "You really like Ryan, huh? Any interest in becoming his stepmother or something..."
"Oh, shit."