Avira did not dislike loyal subordinates. Both she and the Demon Race needed loyal, powerful demons as their primary combat force.
Therefore, Avira had no intention of punishing the Moon Heaven King. Moreover, as colleagues who would see each other constantly while serving the Demon King, it wouldn’t do to make their relationship too awkward.
Berika was a smart person.
She possessed a simplicity mixed with good emotional intelligence, which was why Avira appreciated her.
However, this time, Avira was nearly driven to fainting from anger by her.
Berika first lavished praise on Avira and the Demon King’s appearances, remarking on how perfectly matched they were.
Then, she gave Lace a rather “interesting” evaluation.
“Lady Lace looks just like the human princess.”
“…”
At these words, Avira nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
She had no time to explain anything—or rather, she had no way to explain it.
If she had not mentioned Lace’s appearance, then with the Demon King’s intelligence, she absolutely would not have noticed!
Long before the Demon Race set out to conquer Tilves, the Evil Demon Berika had been engaged in intelligence work for a time.
She had gathered information on Tilves’ key figures, facilities, armies, and weaknesses, leading her highly mobile Evil Demon army in and out of enemy lines multiple times.
In a world without media or the internet, Avira’s true appearance was of a level that wouldn’t even make the newspapers!
But Berika was different.
She didn’t need to use magic perception like the Demon King to judge someone’s identity.
She had genuinely seen Avira.
This was bad…
With Berika’s reminder, even if the Demon King had been knocked silly by her, she couldn’t possibly fail to notice.
Because she and Ophitia had met once at the top of the Gold Vault!
Strictly speaking, they had even spent a night together!
“Ahem…”
Avira had already begun pondering how to deal with the Demon King’s suspicions and punishment, as well as finding evidence to refute them.
It wasn’t just her—Lace was now trembling with nervousness too!
She knew that Mommy was the Saintess, the princess, but Mommy did not want the Demon King to know her identity.
Otherwise, she would have no blood to drink…
Moreover, she did not want to make Mommy sad. She was so gentle, had healed the Demon King’s wounds, and treated her with the tenderness of a real mother… No, strictly speaking, she was Avira’s biological daughter.
Lace feigned calmness and smiled, “That must be an illusion. How could I be as ugly as those lowly humans~?”
Berika touched her lips, her slender legs pressed together as she sat on the ground in a “duck sit,” looking somewhat cute.
“The inheritors of the Saintess Bloodline in history were all very beautiful girls, ones even our Demon Race admired. There’s even a saying that the ‘Saintess Bloodline comes from the Demon Race.’ Lady Lace, don’t mind it~”
Berika thought herself incredibly clever. These words offended no one and even allowed her to escape perfectly. Lady Vera would surely be pleased!
Sure enough, Avira did not mind—because her mind was fully occupied with how to handle the Demon King!
As expected, the Demon King was stunned too.
Yes, she had noticed the anomaly!
Her tail began to sway restlessly, and her breathing quickened.
Avira thought that once her identity was discovered, she might lose her status as a Moon Heaven King and become a prisoner, but her Saintess Bloodline would still be exploited… Her Moon Mark would be discovered, she would be corrupted into a demon, and forced to continue bearing powerful demon kin with Ophitia.
Lace’s trust in her would plummet. If she was lucky, Lace might help, but Lace clearly cared deeply for the Demon King.
Thus, Avira could only flee before disaster struck.
Before she could think of a countermeasure, Ophitia smiled and said:
“I think it’s also an illusion. I’ve seen the Saintess—she’s very beautiful, just like Lace, but… Little Lace doesn’t look exactly like the Saintess.”
Ophitia smiled composedly.
Avira also breathed a sigh of relief.
Phew…
Fortunately, the Demon King was a fool. It seemed these demon kin were not all that smart after all~
“Mm, that’s exactly what I meant!”
With the misunderstanding resolved, Avira let out a long breath, steadied her mindset, and returned to her usual state.
“Berika, I need you to prepare something for me.”
“Please speak, my lady.” Berika sat up properly.
“I want you to give me one of your Evil Demon Crystal Cores. In exchange, you won’t need to join the battle at Krenbel this time.”
“As you command. I will prepare it for you before nightfall.”
Avira nodded in satisfaction and dismissed Berika.
The Crystal Core of an Evil Demon.
Evil Demons did not only come from normal births. There were low-level Evil Demons revived from human corpses, as well as those selected by higher-level Evil Demons.
Selected humans could swallow an Evil Demon’s Crystal Core and transform into new Evil Demons.
And now, Avira already had a good candidate.
—
At dusk, the afterglow of the setting sun spilled over the wilderness and the winding paths. A well-equipped cavalry army marched with mighty momentum, their armor radiating a chilling light, the sound of horses’ hooves uniform and powerful.
At the forefront of the formation, a young woman in a dress-style combat uniform sat tall. Her cyan curly hair fluttered slightly; for comfort, her greaves were worn over black thigh-high stockings, making her appear even more beautiful. There was a heroic air about her brow, her gaze firm and calm, like a general unruffled by chaos.
Suddenly, the girl’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she raised a hand to halt the troops.
Her gaze coldly sized up the girl blocking the path directly ahead.
She had long silver hair and was stunningly beautiful.
“May I ask, are you the princess of Tilves?”
“Yes, I am Maryvian August. I have come on behalf of the Tilves royal family to meet the leader of Krenbel, Miss Atia.”
Maryvian nodded slightly. Before the vast army, she appeared as insignificant as an ant.
“We shall conquer the Demon Race and kill those arrogant Beastmen.”
The girl named Atia smiled.
“In exchange, I require half of Tilves’ artisans, silver and gold, and the Holy Church’s tokens… Since you represent Tilves, I must ask: can you provide such resources?”
Maryvian smiled slyly in return. “That depends on whether Miss Atia can defeat the Demon Race first. Tilves is in imminent danger; if you can reclaim our territory, you may have as much as you wish.”
“Are you implying that my subordinates cannot defeat mere demons?”
Atia tilted her head and smiled.
She raised a hand, and in unison, the cavalry let out a thunderous, low roar.
It seemed that with just one command from her, they would sack the city kilometers away.
This was a terrifying, well-trained army.
However, Maryvian’s next words caused the girl’s expression to change.
“Supporting Tilves is not our request. The reason for this urgency is the order of [That Person].”
Atia’s brow furrowed tightly.
“Take me to see her.”
