Compared to Herta, the moment Bai Ming's head touched the pillow, all her old memories of sleep surged back and took over.
On top of that, researching nonstop for two months straight while still having to fight on the side—it was exhausting. Her body was fine, but mentally she was worn to the bone.
And whenever Herta used something on her, it was always the best of the best, no matter the cost.
So, with Herta not kicking her off the bed in the next second—
Bai Ming let her guard down completely. The instant her head hit the pillow, she sank into a deep, heavy sleep.
Herta stared at Bai Ming, who had practically lost consciousness the moment she lay down. The hand she'd just reached out—ready to pull her closer—froze midair.
"She's already asleep?"
Unlike Bai Ming, who hadn't looked too closely before, Herta wasn't about to ignore the possibility that she was faking it.
Her fingers slipped beneath the blanket, first brushing against Bai Ming's back, then her waist, then her arm.
The silk pajamas were smooth as water, and Bai Ming's skin even more so—fine and delicate to the touch.
Her fingertips slid from arm to shoulder, then to her neck. Even with such intimate, unreasonably close contact, Bai Ming didn't react at all.
Was she dense, or just completely defenseless?
"…No reaction to that either?"
Herta rested her fingers lightly against Bai Ming's neck, carefully sensing her condition. All the signs aligned perfectly with someone who was genuinely asleep.
Of course, it was also possible Bai Ming had woven some elaborate lie with her power to fool her.
But if that were the case, Herta didn't really care.
Awake was fine too. The only one who'd get flustered was Bai Ming anyway—so if someone ended up overheating, she'd better not blame her.
Thinking that, Herta carefully shifted closer beneath the covers.
She wrapped one arm around Bai Ming's waist and tugged her gently into her embrace. Her other arm slid under Bai Ming's neck from below.
While she was at it, she pressed Bai Ming down just enough so she could rest her chin comfortably atop her head.
One arm above, one arm below—Bai Ming was neatly boxed into her arms.
Herta felt the fragrant, soft, non-resisting "body pillow" in her embrace and was immensely satisfied.
At the same time, she couldn't help but be surprised that Bai Ming still hadn't woken up through all that movement.
Was she really asleep, or was her acting just that good?
Whatever.
As long as she made a qualified body pillow, that was enough.
Herta buried her face into Bai Ming's hair. The body she'd specially constructed was, naturally, flawless.
A faint, lingering fragrance and silken texture made it hard for her to pull away.
For a fleeting moment, she even entertained the thought of having Bai Ming sleep with her every night from now on.
But it was only a thought.
No matter how proud she was, Herta wasn't so arrogant as to be blind.
She knew very well that Bai Ming had stepped into an entirely different realm.
From human, she had transformed into an existence capable of formally taking a seat at the grand table of the cosmos.
The Aeons moved their pieces across the universe, steering it toward futures of their choosing—and Bai Ming had already leapt beyond the board.
Even if, for now, Bai Ming was still the same as before, their interactions unchanged by power—
After a hundred years? A thousand? Ten thousand?
Would things still be the same?
Herta couldn't guarantee it.
In moments like this, alone, she sometimes wondered how long it would take her to decipher that equation—to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bai Ming.
Or perhaps… carve out her own path?
It all felt impossibly distant from where she stood now.
All she could do was keep walking the road before her. Not that she doubted herself. She simply wondered how much time it would cost her to reach that point.
Gradually, her thoughts settled.
At least for now, Bai Ming's scent still lingered at the tip of her nose.
Her arms were still filled with Bai Ming's warmth and softness.
Cradled in that sense of reassurance, Herta slowly drifted off to sleep as well.
--+--
When Bai Ming woke up, more than ten system hours had passed.
And the arms draped over her body—still firmly attached—belonged to Madam Herta.
At some point, she had rolled from one side of the bed to the other.
She could feel Herta's soft breaths brushing over her hair, her cheek pressed snugly against her own.
Those arms were still wrapped tightly around her, utterly unconcerned with personal space.
"…"
The moment Bai Ming realized exactly what kind of position they were sleeping in, she fell silent.
And after a full night's rest, it finally dawned on her—
When Herta said "sleep here" yesterday, did she mean in Herta City… and not in Herta's bedroom?
No matter how you looked at it, sharing a bed with Herta was way too ambiguous.
It didn't feel like something Herta would do.
On the other hand, if Herta had meant staying at Herta City instead of specifically in her bedroom—
Then everything made sense.
After all, Bai Ming had rested here many times before. The room reserved exclusively for her was meticulously maintained by the puppets.
Only…
She had clearly misunderstood.
Yet Herta hadn't refused her either.
In fact, she was holding her this tightly.
Bai Ming's thoughts began to wander.
Maybe Madam Herta saw how exhausted she was—passing out the moment she hit the pillow—and kindly decided to let her off?
Although… wasn't this hug a bit too tight?
She felt like an actual body pillow, locked immovably in Herta's embrace.
Bai Ming tried to wriggle free, but that only made Herta mumble in her sleep and tighten her arms even more.
"…"
Since she was sleeping in someone else's room—on someone else's bed—Bai Ming didn't feel right waking Herta up, and, though it was a little embarrassing, Herta was soft and smelled nice too.
Not very big, but still just the right amount of softness.
Honestly, curled up in Herta's arms like this wasn't bad at all.
So Bai Ming closed her eyes again and went back to sleep.
Whether it was because her fatigue hadn't fully faded, or simply because this place was unusually comfortable—
She didn't know.
All she knew was that she drifted off again not long after.
When she woke up once more—
She found she'd rolled over again. This time, she was face-to-face with Herta.
Madam Herta was propped up on one elbow, chin resting on her hand, watching her with an unmistakably teasing smile.
"Oh? Awake already? I thought you were going to sleep for days."
"Haah…"
Bai Ming turned her head and buried her face into the pillow, letting out a sleepy yawn before squinting at her.
"I woke up ages ago. You just wouldn't let go and kept hugging me, so I had no choice but to fall back asleep."
"…"
Herta's small face flushed faintly.
She'd thought that since she'd woken earlier and let go in time, Bai Ming wouldn't realize she'd been used as a body pillow.
Turns out she'd noticed.
"Well, whose fault was it for suddenly climbing into my bed and passing out without even saying a word? Of course I had to collect some interest."
Though Herta sounded like she was making excuses, the one who'd misunderstood still turned red.
"Ahem. That's because you were being ambiguous. You didn't say anything about a guest room or whatever—I thought you wanted to sleep with me."
"Narcissist! You're the one who wanted to seize the chance to sleep with the great Herta."
Herta huffed lightly. As if she'd wanted that.
If Bai Ming hadn't collapsed the moment she touched the pillow, she'd have definitely kicked her to the guest room.
"…Then who was the one hugging me so tightly last night I couldn't pry your hands off?"
"That was the interest you paid."
With that, Herta smiled and reached out, hooking a finger under Bai Ming's chin.
"You look even prettier than before this time. Using you as a body pillow just about cancels out you barging into my bedroom and insisting on sleeping with me."
"…Who insisted on sleeping with you."
Bai Ming swatted her finger away and sat up.
Only then did she notice several Herta puppets waiting off to the side, holding various items—clearly here to assist with Herta's morning preparations.
Herta sat up as well and leaned closer.
She reached out, lifting a strand of Bai Ming's almost luminous silver-white hair.
"Wasn't it you? I never knew you liked me this much. 'Madam Herta is the most important person in this world to me'—those were your exact words~"
Satisfaction was written all over Herta's face.
Some of what Bai Ming had said last night hadn't pleased her much—but that line? That one she liked.
Bai Ming's face burned red instantly.
Yesterday's memories surged back once more.
Thinking about how the heartfelt confession she'd planned to bury for life had been heard in full by Herta—
She wished she could sleep another ten years and wait for the embarrassment to blow over. But then, in her flustered haze, she suddenly snapped back to attention.
"Wait—no. That's not exactly what I said, was it? I don't remember making it sound that ambiguous?!"
Faced with her protest, Herta remained perfectly calm. She idly twirled the tip of Bai Ming's hair, brushing it lightly against her cheek, and shot her a sideways glance.
"Are you going to deny it?"
"…One of! Can you at least add 'one of'?!"
Bai Ming was overheating.
Was that something you could just answer yes or no to?!
Herta had treated her well. Helped her many times.
And when she first arrived in this world, Herta had been her very first opponent. There was something undeniably special about that.
So was Herta important to her? Of course she was.
But couldn't you at least add "one of"? Didn't that sound way less suggestive?
"No."
Herta cut her off cleanly.
"I'm a genius. And you want me to be 'one of'?"
She radiated pressure—but Bai Ming still tried to argue.
"Ruan Mei is a genius too…"
"I don't care. The great Herta is unique."
She forcefully stripped the "one of" from Bai Ming's sentence, then paused before adding—
"And you said that yourself. I won't accept you disappearing someday without a word."
"…You make it sound like I'm running away from home."
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL