Avira didn’t want to think about why the Demon King was so heartbroken. Were all demonkin the type to care deeply about their children?
It made sense.
Her eldest daughter, Lena, was now inside her belly.
If anything happened to Avira, it wouldn’t just be one life at stake.
Ophitia cherished her two children, Lena and Lace, above all else. And now, with one of them “bound” to Avira, her importance went without saying.
From servant to the Demon King’s wife.
She began to wonder if this wasn’t such a bad thing after all. The only price she had to pay was to hold the wedding with the Demon King under the identity of Vera, swearing that she was the Demon King’s wife… But if she turned into a demonkin during the process, that would spell big trouble!
Avira wasn’t as anxious as she had imagined…
Wasn’t it just turning into a demonkin, becoming a wife, and laying an egg?
Hatching the egg was out of the question!
Compared to that, she cared more about Lace.
If Lena, the older sister, had become her child, then where was Lace?
It couldn’t be that Ophitia had absorbed her for nutrients—no, no, Ophitia wasn’t that cruel.
“As expected, you’re the best. When will our wedding be? Now? Or later? You pick the time, Vera. I’ll accept it whenever it is.”
“Ophitia-sama, we should be thinking about how to win this war right now, not discussing this,” Avira said speechlessly.
“Wuu.”
“To speak bluntly, Lady Demon King, the current demonkin are weak and frail. We’ll soon face our first setback—the Moon Heavenly King is utterly incompetent, and we don’t even have time to take in more monsters.”
The current demonkin weren’t as prosperous as they seemed.
The reason Ophitia was the Demon King was that she had risen from the barbaric lands collectively called “demonkin territory” to become their queen. But that didn’t mean she commanded all the powerful monsters.
Near human civilization, there were still many formidable demonkin legions.
For example, the Spider Queen.
In the original plot, the Hero defeated the Spider Queen through various means, earning the trust of Krenbel’s queen and establishing the first resistance force. Though they couldn’t yet defeat the mighty Demon King Army, it gave them a chance to escape the Demon King’s grasp.
And Avira, this princess, hadn’t only killed the Spider Queen—she had even slain the Demon King’s strongest Moon Heavenly King, the beastman known as Andre.
That said, Avira had already thought of a corresponding solution.
It was just that the original plan required assistance from Lena and Lace.
Now, the only one who could help her was probably Lace.
“Right, Lady Demon King, where is Lace?”
Since you stuffed Lena inside me, Lace couldn’t have mysteriously disappeared, could she?
—
Following the path from the pavilion toward the plaza nearby, the nobles’ Residential District had already turned into a demonkin encampment.
Demonkin troops stood guard everywhere. Burly Evil Demons perched on rooftops, scanning for potential threats. Several red-skinned beastmen hauled building materials, trying to construct houses suitable for beastmen. Meanwhile, the regular demonkin carried out infiltration work in an orderly fashion under Field’s orders.
More demonkin troops would gradually station themselves in Tilves, encircling all of humanity’s key cities.
“Vera-sama, who are you looking for?”
The guards approached. Under the Demon King’s orders, Vera had become the fourth Moon Heavenly King.
This news had spread widely among the demonkin.
No need for exaggeration—Avira knew how to manage these demonkin.
“I’m looking for Lace. If I’m not mistaken, she’s still here, right? I heard a dragon’s voice.”
“…” The guard fell suddenly silent, as if wary of the topic.
He exchanged glances with the other demonkin guards, all mutually silent, none uttering a word.
But before they could speak, Avira headed off in one direction on her own.
She didn’t need anyone to guide her.
“Vera-sama…? Vera-sama! You can’t go that way!”
The guards hurried after her to dissuade her, but by then, Avira had already vanished from their sight. Even the Evil Demons on the rooftops exchanged puzzled looks, unable to spot Vera’s figure.
Everyone had a question mark hovering over their heads… Who was this Vera they’d never seen before?
The nobles’ mansions stood in neat rows, somewhat grayed and battle-worn, but still retaining their elegance and grandeur. Avira arrived at a three-story villa that had once been the private residence of one of Tilves’s confidants, now reduced to demonkin territory.
She hadn’t gone far when she heard a young girl’s clear, captivating voice:
“I don’t want to see you defying the Lady Demon King’s will again. Understand? Think about where your status and position came from!”
There were no guards here, as if guarding against something.
Pushing open the door and entering the living room, Avira came face-to-face with several demonkin and high-ranking Evil Demons.
Their normally pale purple skin had paled to white from the scolding, and they trembled.
In the center of the group of Evil Demons stood a graceful dragon girl with her beautiful legs clad in black lace stockings crossed. She had her arms folded across her chest, her long silver-white hair streaked with deep blue—like a sacred white lotus defiled by blue. Her gown clung to her slender waist, a blue decorative ribbon at her neck, her fair skin soft and supple.
Her crimson eyes were sharp as knives, sweeping over every trembling demonkin.
And standing right in the center was Berika.
She looked full of regret, her hands clenched, nodding subserviently in a rather comical way.
“Especially you, Berika. Not only did you not follow her opinion, you even sided with Field to defy her! Do you know what the consequences are?”
“Hey, newbie, you’re late!”
Avira didn’t know who the subject of her lecture was, but she knew this dragon girl had just scolded her too.
The Evil Demons and demonkin all turned to Avira, their eyes as if beholding a corpse.
As if saying, “How dare you be late! How dare you provoke this lord!”
But when Avira met the dragon girl’s gaze, both fell silent.
Only then did Avira notice that this celestial beauty of a dragon girl bore a striking resemblance to the Demon King.
Her eyes were identical to Ophitia’s, radiating a chilling aura that inspired fear.
Moreover, aside from Lena, Lace, and Ophitia, there shouldn’t have been a fourth dragon!
What made it even harder for Avira to believe was that this dragon girl looked six or seven parts similar to herself!!
Her mind blanked out in an instant, leaving her almost unable to breathe.
The dragon girl, however, had a completely different reaction.
Upon seeing Avira, her domineering air vanished. She suddenly stood up, arms opening wide, a soft smile on her lips as she called out:
“Mom~ You’ve finally come!”
