As soon as the last of the shadow guards disappeared beyond the towering doors, the cold atmosphere of the throne room shifted. The frost in the air melted, replaced by an unexpected warmth. The rigid posture of Empress Ayame softened, and the ice in her piercing blue eyes thawed into something far more tender.
Kaguya blinked in surprise. It had been a long time since she had seen this side of her mother—the side that was not the Empress of the Cherry Blossom Empire, but simply Ayame, the woman who had once been a loving, doting mother before the weight of the crown had hardened her.
Ayame let out a soft sigh, her lips curving ever so slightly. "It has been too long since we have spent time together, my little moonflower."
Kaguya's heart clenched at the nostalgic nickname, a remnant of her childhood. She had always been her mother's "moonflower," named for her pale beauty and the way she seemed to glow under the moonlight.
