Chapter 102 | Please Feed Me
"What did you do?"
Mira’s head hung low, her hair hanging forward to cover her face as she stared at the ground ad though it was the most interesting thing in the world.
She looked like a child who had broken something expensive and was waiting for the scolding. Her spectral arms had retracted slightly, curling behind her shoulders as if trying to hide.
Dexter exhaled slowly through his nose.
He understood immediately what had happened. Mira had tried to take care of herself. She had wanted to be independent, to handle her own morning routine without needing his help.
But her control over the spectral arms was still crude. She had probably gripped the shower head too hard, yanked it off the wall, panicked, and lashed out, destroying the toilet and punching a hole through the wall in the process.
Dexter rolled his eyes then stepped into the bathroom carefully, avoiding the broken ceramic.
"Since you’re not really proficient with your mana arms yet," he said, his voice calm and even, "let me be the one to take care of you until you are. For now, don’t enter the bathroom without my permission."
He didn’t scold her but what he said seemed to have more effect.
Mira blinked her eyes.
’He didn’t complain?’
She expected more but it turned out Dexter wasn’t really mad.
However, she didn’t look up or argue. She simply sat there with her ears burning red.
Dexter turned to assess the damage. He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a wooden stool, and carried it back to the bathroom. He climbed up, retrieved the mangled shower head from the floor, and examined the broken metal pipe.
"Whoosh!"
He immediately summoned a thin thread of Emperor Void Flame, wrapping it carefully around the severed joint, fusing the pipe and shower head back together as if they had never been broken.
Satisfied, he stepped down from the stool and turned to Mira.
She was still unusually quiet.
Dexter washed her hair carefully, lathering shampoo into her scalp and rinsing it with warm water from the repaired shower. He scrubbed her shoulders, her arms, her back and her legs with a soft sponge without a single change in expression.
But one could only imagine the insane struggle coursing through his veins.
Especially since his bloodline advanced to Ancient grade, he was becoming more and more active.
Thankfully, the pain managed to keep the dragon from rising. Otherwise, Mira wouldn’t be the only embarrassed one.
He supporting her weight against his chest as he washed the rest of her body.
Throughout the entire process, Mira said nothing.
Not a single mocking word or observations. Nor even clever jabs about him being gay or something.
Dexter found it both amusing and oddly cute.
Mira always had something to say. Always. The fact that she was completely quiet meant she was genuinely embarrassed.
He dried her off with a fresh towel, patted her skin dry, and dressed her with a purple sundress covered in small white flowers.
Mira’s eyes immediately snapped open when she saw it.
She gritted her teeth and glared at him.
Dexter shrugged innocently. "What?"
Mira continued to glare, her crimson eyes narrowing to slits. Then she let out a sharp snort.
"Hmph!"
Dexter smirked and dressed her in the flower sundress, adjusting the straps over her shoulders. He brushed her damp hair until it fell neatly over her shoulders, then wheeled her out to the kitchen.
Lyra and Selene were already seated at the dining table. Lyra’s eyes were locked onto the covered pot on the stove with the focus of a predator tracking prey.
Selene sat beside her, eyes closed, her echolocation painting a perfect picture of the kitchen around her.
Dexter served the meal.
He ladled the glowing, star-flecked Diamond Rice into four bowls.
The rice looked and smelled exactly like the premium Arcane meals he had made last night.
He placed a bowl in front of Selene. Her hand reached out instinctively, finding the spoon without hesitation.
He placed three bowls in front of Lyra. She didn’t even wait for him to sit down before grabbing her spoon.
Finally, he placed a bowl in front of Mira. She looked at it, then at him, and then summoned her spectral arms.
One arm reached for the fork.
This time, her grip was noticeably steadier than the night before.
Dexter sat down with his own portion and began eating.
The four of them ate in silence.
Dexter glanced at each of the girls as they ate. He couldn’t wait to see what they would become.
The food was, as always, nothing short of extraordinary.
The moment the girls took their first bites, their eyes widened in unison.
Mira’s spoon, froze halfway to her mouth.
"How much Diamond Rice do you actually have?" she asked, her crimson eyes narrowing with suspicion. She had assumed the previous meal was a rare, one-time luxury. The fact that Dexter was serving it again meant he either had a secret supplier or an impossibly deep storage.
Dexter shrugged casually. "Why do you ask? Do you want to cook for us?"
Mira glared at him, recognizing the jab instantly. She turned her head away and resumed feeding herself, her spectral arm trembling as it guided the fork toward her lips.
But after two more bites, the overwhelming taste of the meal broke through her pride.
The Diamond Rice seemed to melt on her tongue, each grain releasing a burst of warm, savory energy that spread through her damaged meridians like sunlight through cracks in a wall.
Her spectral arm faltered, the fork hovering uselessly in the air as her concentration wavered.
She glanced at the arm and then at Dexter.
She hated herself for what she was about to say as she gritted her teeth but eventually said it.
"Please feed me," she murmured, her voice so small it was barely audible.
Dexter’s grin could have lit up the entire bungalow. "Of course, my lady."
Mira pursed her lips so tightly they turned white, a deep flush crawling up her neck. She almost regretted asking. But the aroma wafting from the bowl was simply too tantalizing that it overrode her stubborn pride.