She took a hard pull on the straw in her mouth. Her soft cheeks immediately puffed out like balloons, deflating just a little as she swallowed.
Mila had turned on the holographic TV for her. It was playing a rather childish cartoon, but she watched it with absolute focus.
For one, these shows helped her learn the common sense and written language of this world. For another, she genuinely liked them. In her past life, she had spent all her time studying, desperately trying to win her parents' affection. She had barely watched any cartoons; her life had been pitifully monotonous.
Sadly, no matter how hard she tried or how diligent she was, her parents never loved her as intimately as they did her younger siblings. To them—a divorced couple who had long despised each other—her very existence was likely a mark of shame. Whenever they looked at her, they were reminded of each other and those miserable days of mutual hatred.
Thinking about the past still brought Ruby Rowland a tinge of sorrow. But when she thought of her current father, a happy smile blossomed on her face.
The butler couldn't resist pulling out his personal terminal. He snapped a picture of Ruby sucking on her straw, her snow-white cheeks puffed round, and her bright, gemstone-like eyes staring earnestly at the screen.
In the frozen frame, the tiny girl sitting on the small stool looked exactly like a Little Mochi. Just glancing at the photo sparked an overwhelming urge to pinch her chubby little cheeks. A loving smile spread across the old butler's face. Who wouldn't love such a cute and well-behaved young miss?
When he thought of the woman who had abused her, he couldn't fathom how anyone could be so cruel. If that woman were standing in front of him right now, he would gladly tear her apart with his own hands!
He decided he couldn't keep such an adorable picture to himself. Recalling the heartwarming interaction between the Family Head and the young miss that morning, the butler slyly and "accidentally" forwarded the photo to Shawn Russell's terminal.
Shawn, who had just arrived at the legion headquarters, was reviewing a document. Seeing the flashing notification icon, he tapped it without a second thought. Instantly, an ultra-high-definition photo of a snow-white Little Mochi gnawing on a straw filled his screen.
His adjutant, standing right behind him, saw the photo and fell dead silent.
"How did a picture like that end up on the Marshal's terminal?!" the adjutant thought to himself in shock. It was way too cute. Where did this little darling come from? Just one look was enough to melt anyone's heart! He needed to look at it a bit longer.
Shawn stared at the picture for two or three seconds in silence. For some reason, his finger hovered over the exit button but refused to press it.
At that moment, the butler sent another message.
[My apologies, Family Head. I sent that by mistake. Should I recall it?]
Shawn replied expressionlessly.
[No need.]
Then, as if acting on its own, his hand tapped save before he returned to his work.
The adjutant witnessed the entire exchange. "What in the world is going on!" he screamed internally. "Who is that soft little ball of fluff? It definitely isn't a cub from our Starbeast Clan. How could the Starbeast Clan ever produce such a squishy, doughy cub!"
He shot the Marshal several questioning looks, but Shawn had zero desire to explain anything. The adjutant lacked the courage to ask.
Back at the estate, the butler chuckled at the Family Head's reply. From that moment on, he would occasionally slip up and send the wrong message. The two men developed a tacit understanding, neither of them ever explaining it. Any explanation offered was simply a slip of the finger!
Ruby watched cartoons for half an hour before resuming coloring the portrait of her father. Looking at her drawing of him, her eyes curved into pretty little crescents.
"Master Ruby, it is time for lunch," Mila announced.
"Oh, okay!"
Lunch today was quite a feast, but Ruby's absolute favorites right now were the various types of seafood. There were fragrant, golden-fried dried anchovies with bones so crispy they snapped at the first bite. There was a savory, milky-white fish soup, perfectly round and chewy fishballs, and mouth-watering pan-fried takoyaki. The portions for each dish were small, tailored perfectly to her appetite.
Ruby sat properly in her chair. The tiny, snow-white Little Mochi hugged her bowl, taking small, delicate bites while her blue eyes sparkled brilliantly. Her cheeks, looking as soft as milk jelly, puffed out just like a little hamster hoarding food.
Ruby had a quiet, gentle personality, making even her eating habits look incredibly well-behaved. Watching her eat brought about an inexplicable sense of profound happiness; it made whatever she was consuming look absolutely delicious.
Standing nearby, the butler recorded a video of the little one dining. He waited until Ruby had polished off every last crumb in her bowl before sending the clip to a certain parent's personal terminal at the Military Department.
Shawn, who was currently inspecting the troops, heard the notification chime. A flicker crossed his normally sharp, cold eyes. He didn't open his terminal immediately. Instead, he stood on the training ground like a block of solid ice, unmoving and unspeaking. Yet, just standing there, his overwhelming and oppressive aura was enough to make all the soldiers cower in absolute submission.
"Continue training. General Orville will supervise."
With that, the iceberg of a Marshal turned and walked away.
"That scared me to death," the first soldier whispered. "The Marshal didn't even reprimand us, but every time we see him, we turn into cowards. I didn't dare breathe a word."
"It's his aura, don't you get it?" the second soldier replied. "With the Marshal's sheer oppressive presence, who wouldn't tuck their claws away and behave? Even the biggest troublemakers have to lie down and submit."
"As expected of the undefeated God of War I idolize," the third soldier chimed in. "The Marshal is way too cool!"
"Do you guys think there's anyone out there who could make the Marshal soften up?" the second soldier asked.
"You've got rocks in your head," the first soldier scoffed. "Just look at how freezing cold the Marshal is. It's not like people haven't tried to cozy up to him before, but no matter how beautiful they were, have you ever seen the Marshal so much as twitch an eyebrow?"
"What are you all babbling about?" General Orville barked. "Is your training finished? Stop gossiping and get back to work!"
Shawn remained completely oblivious to the chatter on the training grounds. Upon returning to his office, he opened the message. The video and photos of Ruby eating immediately popped up on his screen.
He knew the butler had sent the wrong message again.
In the video, a soft, snow-white Little Mochi sat obediently in her chair, taking tiny bites of her food. With her puffed-out cheeks and watery eyes, she was cute from absolutely every angle.
"Marshal, your lunch has arrived."
The adjutant's voice rang out from outside the door. Shawn gave a flat command to enter.
Pushing the door open, the adjutant noticed a rare, subtle trace of deep seriousness on the Marshal's usually expressionless face. He couldn't help but assume that the Marshal was reviewing some highly classified document.
"Marshal, I'll just leave your lunch right here."
"Mhm."
As he walked over to set the food down, he caught something out of the corner of his eye. It was... a video?!