YM778.TV Chapter 39: Sweet Reunion
The hall was filled with ornate mirrors, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling like drops of crystal, and red velvet curtains.
In front of her, an enormous tray of unusual sweets rested, a sight that could easily make any mortal question their sanity.
They ranged from cakes topped with dragon-shaped frosting to macarons that changed color with each bite.
"So, dear... you were kidnapped, were you?" The melodic and drawn-out voice of Roxanne\'s mother cut through the silence as she delicately placed a sweet in her mouth, watching her daughter with bright eyes.
In front of her, an extremely beautiful woman, with blood-red eyes like hell, cascading hair in grayish tones leaning toward a very light blue, and a slender body, without many of the exaggerated curves typical of demonic women, but well-proportioned enough to still be called one of the four demon queens, sat calmly enjoying the eye-catching treats while dressed in a tight white gown, reminiscent of Victorian-era queens.
Roxanne, picking up a small monster-shaped cake, sighed deeply. "Mother, I already explained. It wasn\'t exactly a kidnapping. I... technically agreed to stay captive. But...
you could say I was... caught by surprise, they tricked me..."
Her mother, Stella Sitri, raised a fine eyebrow, her eyes glinting with a mixture of confusion and interest. "Dear, being \'caught by surprise\' sounds a lot like kidnapping to me. Either you were abducted, or you were bored and decided to go on vacation with your captors...
It\'s hard to keep up." She smiled mischievously, grabbing a sweet that seemed to float in the air before it disappeared into her mouth with a pop.
\'Oh... we can use our lineage technique like that... it\'s a good idea...\' Roxanne thought, watching her mother control the breeze as if using telekinesis.
Roxanne laughed, though she felt a bit nervous. Talking to her mother was always a mix of fun, tension, and complete surrealism. "I know it sounds strange. It was... a complicated situation."
"Complicated?" Her mother leaned forward, intrigued, as she brought a glowing truffle to her mouth. "Complicated how? Explain it better. I\'ve always imagined that anyone who tried to kidnap you would end up being the real victim in the situation." She laughed, sounding almost like a tease.
Roxanne bit her lower lip, chuckling to herself as she recalled how the whole thing played out. "In a way, you\'re not wrong. You see, they... thought I was vulnerable. And, well, I didn\'t disappoint them right away."
"Ah, you played the game. I see." Stella nodded as if discussing something as mundane as the latest tea room fashion.
"Sort of. But then... Vergil showed up with my friends..." Roxanne said, trying not to sound too casual.
She watched her mother\'s reaction cautiously.
Lady Stella\'s eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Vergil? Vergil who?"
Roxanne hesitated, trying not to sound nervous. "A... new demon. Tall, strong, dangerous... you know, the way I like them... gives me sweets..."
Her mother paused for a second, analyzing her daughter\'s words.
Then, she snapped her fingers, and a kind of liquid candy flowed from a flower-shaped vase into her glass. "A demon, you say? What kind of demon? Please, don\'t tell me he\'s one of those chaotic, uncontrollable types. You know how problematic they are."
"No, mother, he\'s not the \'complete chaos\' type. He\'s... he\'s different." Roxanne spoke with a shy smile, picking up a macaron that suddenly winked at her. She ate it, feeling the sweetness melt in her mouth. "Vergil is... powerful.
And, uh, peculiar."
"Peculiar how?" Her mother leaned in, now genuinely intrigued, as she bit into a piece of chocolate that shimmered like a small constellation.
Roxanne shrugged, trying to find the right words. "Peculiar like... he\'s still learning to be a demon? Like, he was kind of... thrown into all of this. He didn\'t ask for it."
"Oh, poor thing. He didn\'t ask to be a demon? That must have been... inconvenient." Stella placed a dramatic hand over her heart, her eyes sparkling with sarcasm.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. "Mom, I\'m serious. He\'s trying to adjust, and... I kind of like that. He\'s not like other demons."
Stella let out a long "ah," as if she were uncovering something profound. "So that\'s it... what attracted you was the mystery? Or... wait, did you fall for him? No, that can\'t be possible, right?
My daughter... Oh, my poor little girl, she wouldn\'t be capable of falling in love."
Roxanne nearly choked on the candy she was chewing. "I didn\'t... I mean... we barely know each other! I\'m not in love! I-I just like that he gives me sweets!"
Her mother chuckled softly, popping another piece of candy into her mouth. "Oh, darling, don\'t worry. Falling for confused demons runs in your blood, after all. Remember your father? He didn\'t know what he was doing half the time either, such a shame I had to kill him after he tried to forbid me from eating sweets... at least his lineage was strong!
Look at how beautiful you turned out!"
I should\'ve stayed in Los Angeles... here she goes again talking about how she killed dad... Roxanne thought, Soon she\'ll bring up how he used to torture me... She sighed, gathering the strength to continue.
Roxanne sighed, though still a little unsettled. "Well, I\'d say Vergil is a bit more... aware than Dad was."
Stella nodded, as if deeply agreeing. "Yes, your father always had... shall we say, a more distracted approach to life. Well, his fault for dying. I still remember when he tortured you for stealing candy... But tell me more about this Vergil.
Does he at least know how to treat a lady?"
Roxanne laughed, pushing her chair back and crossing her arms, looking up at the decorated ceiling. "You know, he\'s really not the prince charming type. He\'s... cute. But there\'s something about him that makes me curious. He\'s oddly attractive, but at the same time, there\'s something human there.
He\'s still figuring himself out."
Her mother clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Cute, huh? Well, that\'s certainly something I never expected you to say. Humans have all those... annoying feelings and moralities. But then again, you\'ve always liked a good project." She smirked mischievously.
Roxanne narrowed her eyes, trying not to laugh. "He\'s not a project, Mom."
"Ah, of course, dear, of course. But let\'s be honest, you\'ve always had this... tendency to take what\'s broken and make it work your way."
Roxanne leaned forward, her voice now a little softer. "He has potential, Mom. A lot more than you think."
Stella\'s expression softened for a moment, and she looked at her daughter with a touch of pride. "If you say so, dear. If you say so." She picked up a candy that looked like a tiny star, shimmering and delicate, before finally changing the subject. "Now, about this \'kidnapping.\' Did these captors even stand a chance?"
Roxanne snorted. "Mom, they didn\'t even know what they were dealing with. It was almost... pathetic. Vergil killed both of them with just a snap of his fingers!" Roxanne didn\'t even realize she was smiling, a radiant expression that her mother hadn\'t seen in years.
Stella laughed, leaning back in her chair. "But tell me... are these sweets better than the ones you had while you were \'kidnapped\'?"
Roxanne looked at the tray in front of her and laughed. "These are... different. But yeah, nothing beats the sweets here."
The two women continued to share their stories while indulging in exotic and strange sweets, each absorbed in the other.
A few moments later...
"So, Katharina decided to revive him! And look at me now, married to him! Can you believe this nonsense? I mean... I kinda like it; he gives me sweets! Doesn\'t forbid me from anything!
He\'s already better than Dad, you know?"
The effect was immediate. Stella\'s smile froze on her face, her eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the sweet she was holding. Her expression shifted from amused curiosity to a mixture of absolute shock and barely contained fury. "You... married him? Vergil?
And you\'re only telling me this now?"
Roxanne, sensing the rising tension, quickly tried to backtrack. "Mom, I... oh, crap, my big mouth! It was a last-minute thing, it wasn\'t exactly planned. We... it was more of a...
weird situation, okay? It\'s not my fault!"
"Oh, of course," Stella said, trying to regain her composure, though her tone was clearly confrontational. "Why do I even care anymore..." She muttered, placing her hands on her head.
"M-m-mom..." Roxanne murmured, watching as Stella ran her hand through her hair, attempting to reclaim some dignity. "So, let me understand this... You, my daughter, decided to marry a demon without telling me. And now you\'re saying it was \'a weird situation\'?"
"You heard the story! Why are you acting like this?! It\'s Katharina\'s fault!" Roxanne whined, stomping her feet like a spoiled child.
"Hey, sweetie, if you were with her and gave your blood, it\'s because you wanted to!" Stella said, frustration evident in her voice.
"Damn it... how am I going to explain this..." Roxanne muttered, exasperated. "No more sweets for you until I meet him and approve." With a snap, the table in front of her vanished!
"You can\'t!!!" Roxanne screamed, but before she could protest further...
"S-sorry, Lady Roxanne, orders from the Queen..." A towering demonic maid, standing over eight feet tall, said as she gathered the remaining sweets from nearby tables.
"UGH... Mom..." Roxanne groaned, her voice cracking with sadness as she was on the verge of tears.
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<Author\'s Note>
Hey, remember to use your Golden Tickets and Power Stones to help the work reach new heights!