Chapter 204

Don’t be fooled by how patiently Sheffy was letting Timani lean on her—it looked picturesque, sure, but in truth, she was quite distressed.

Hurry up and help. I’m worried the Fire Lizard might start vomiting again.

If it spews on me, I’ll scream and run for my life.

Wait, no…

“Pervert! Where did you even get that rope?”

“Ah, it’s for tying horses! You know, from the carriage we rode in on! I saw those horses all tied up and felt bad, so I untied them. The rope happened to be reusable!”

“You tied your horse?! That means the horses all ran off, didn’t they?!”

“My mom’s right here… Lady Sheffy, what are you saying?”

“Face the wall and reflect!”

………………………………

Thankfully, the horses hadn’t run off.

The horses of the Hero’s family were all thoroughbreds—top-class among their kind. Just like their disguise for entering the Demon King’s Castle, the rope meant to tie them was merely ornamental. Even without it, they wouldn’t run off blindly.

Rather than worrying about the horses, it would be better to worry about the growing number of “injured” each day.

This bed, reinforced under Sheffy’s orders by the maids, was now taking on new pressure daily.

Yesterday, Livra had collapsed from magical depletion and lay flat for an entire day.

She still hadn’t fully recovered.

Now, the Fire Lizard had gone down as well.

Xiarette, who was better at taking care of others, gently pulled the bedding up to Timani’s neck. Only when she saw that her breathing had finally evened out did she breathe a sigh of relief, tiptoeing out of the room and quietly closing the door behind her.

Outside the door, Sheffy and Livra were waiting.

As for Sylatrella—she had returned to the sword, facing the wall in silent reflection.

Sheffy, looking like someone who had clearly done something wrong, was whistling a silent tune. Her face wore an expression that said “Yes, I messed up, but I will absolutely not admit it.”

Xiarette wasn’t mad—just found it amusing.

“Pfft… Sheffy, I’m not blaming you, but you did go a bit overboard, didn’t you? Can’t you see how scared Timani was by your magic just now? And you didn’t even give her time to catch her breath before unfurling your wings. It’s a good thing she’s physically fit. If it had been Princess Livra instead, she might’ve already… Sorry, since Her Highness Livra is standing right here, I’ll stop there.”

“Is Lady Xiarette implying that if it were me, I’d have died from fright?”

“No need to put it so bluntly. Speaking of which, Sheffy, you told Timani directly about the Eight Wings—are you sure that’s okay?”

“If I didn’t, she’d probably be nagging about it all the way home. Better a sharp pain now than a lingering one.”

“Is that so… Fair enough. Timani doesn’t represent any particular faction. Besides, she could already be considered a friend of ours. If you think it’s fine, then it’s fine.”

That was right.

Sheffy had already warned Timani—she could know about the Eight Wings, but it must remain a secret.

If Timani couldn’t keep it, Sheffy wouldn’t have said a word in the first place. After all, this concerned her peaceful life!

Compared to the Fire Lizard, one could say…

Sheffy’s gaze subtly shifted toward the innocent-looking Livra.

“Just to be safe, let me remind you—Livra, you…”

“I swear I’ll keep it secret! Everything I just saw—I’ll pretend I was blind!”

“……”

One could only say—this was exactly what to expect from Livra.

Her intelligence came in intermittent waves: sometimes sharp, sometimes dim-witted. But right now, clearly, her analytical skills were in full gear.

Sheffy had thought she’d need to give her a reminder, but Livra seemed to have already realized on her own the absolute necessity of keeping this matter a secret.

Keeping it secret was one thing.

But Livra’s curiosity still burned.

She glanced around the corridor to make sure no one else was present, then leaned in close to Sheffy and asked softly,

“By the way, Miss Shaya… just how strong are you, really? That Eight Wings thing… I’ve only ever read about it in legends. Was that the real deal just now?”

“If you believe it, then it’s real. If you don’t, then it’s not. Truth or falsehood—it doesn’t matter. All you need to know is, I’m more than qualified to be your teacher~”

“That’s for sure! Teacher Shaya is the strongest in the world!”

“Right~?”

With a light hop, Sheffy reached up and exchanged a smooth high-five with Livra.

From a concealed angle, Xiarette silently reached out and held Sheffy’s other hand.

Sheffy noticed the warmth now wrapping around her palm.

She was momentarily surprised, but then continued to smile naturally, allowing Xiarette to do as she pleased.

Sniff… Xia, if you want to hold hands, just go ahead. I totally understand—you’ve been holding in a lot of resentment lately. I’ll make it up to you… but please, just don’t use that rope from earlier to tie me up!

If you’d just stop running off, big sister might consider not tying you up, okay?

Xiarette held onto Sheffy’s hand tightly for a good moment.

Then, very naturally, she let go.

Because—

Xiarette had sensed that Belith had returned.

There was no need for unnecessary conflict. Less was better.

“Oh oh…! Belith, you’re back! Thanks to you, things stayed in order without any accidents. Great work—uh, wait, what’s with that look?”

“Royal Sister.”

No one had provoked Belith.

But as she returned through the corridor, her steps were heavy, and the fury on her face was impossible to ignore.

That furrowed brow made her current frustration abundantly clear.

As if someone had stolen her donut.

Her eyes swept across Xiarette and Livra, then returned to Sheffy.

She didn’t say a word, but the message was obvious.

—She probably wanted to discuss Demon Domain administrative matters, and hoped the kingdom’s hero and princess would excuse themselves.

“It’s fine, Belith. Just say it. These two aren’t outsiders.”

“They are outsiders…! Hah… Stay calm, don’t get worked up… hah… I won’t argue that for now. If you think it’s fine, Royal Sister, then I won’t object. But right now, there’s something I must report.”

“It’s about government affairs, isn’t it…?”

“Yes. I know you don’t like dealing with this stuff, Royal Sister, but… this matter is highly unusual. I believe it warrants discussion.”

Belith gathered the intel she had just learned, her gaze sharpening.

“Just earlier, I went to the top floor of the Demon King’s Castle to maintain order. There, I overheard the Chief of Staff of the Demon King’s Army, Salnor Yarin, making an urgent report to Father King.”

A chilling glint flashed in her eyes.

It carried the barely contained fury unique to a princess of a nation.

“The Demon King’s Third Army Corps, stationed in the frontier city of Riedekidu, has unilaterally severed intelligence communication with the capital. Upon confirmation, they were found to have raised the banner of rebellion and are now charging toward the Northern Territory in full force, launching an insurrection.”

“Rebellion? I didn’t mishear that, right? Belith, did you just say rebellion? The Third Corps? Wow… is this for real?! That’s so exci—cough—I mean, outrageous! When was the last time a rebellion even happened? Stuff like this still goes wrong these days?!”

“Yes, Royal Sister. There’s absolutely no falsehood in the report. I don’t have the full details yet. Father and the others are still in the grand hall discussing countermeasures. We need to go there and listen as well. Tch… you two? Do you have to come along?”

There was no room for debate in their response.

Xiarette, her silver hair disguised, and Livra—who had swiftly returned to her room to change into formal attire—both wore solemn expressions as they followed behind the Sheffy sisters, walking briskly toward the Demon King’s Grand Hall.

Their approach could only be described as shamelessly bold—heads down, marching forward.

“Lady Belith, I know I should technically excuse myself due to my identity, but I believe that if this concerns the kingdom… then perhaps my status could actually be of use. Besides, I’m still under disguise. There won’t be a problem.”

“Yes, yes, exactly as Lady Xiarette says. We’re definitely not tagging along because of Sha—uh, I mean, we’ll do our best to contribute somehow. Princess Belith, please allow us to come. We absolutely won’t speak out of turn. Silence is golden!”

Of course, if you say you’ll cut me down right here, I’ll turn right around and go back to bed.

Belith and Sheffy walked side by side in the lead.

With a glance angled diagonally behind her, Belith quietly observed the firm expressions of the two following them. No matter how she looked at it, she really wanted to issue another command for them to leave.

But under the current circumstances, she couldn’t afford to waste time on that.

All of them… they just want to follow Royal Sister around, that’s all. Yet they always say it in such noble-sounding ways.

Although, Belith’s resistance was also because of her Royal Sister… so really, everyone was just as guilty.

Standing atop the teleportation magic circle that would take them to the Demon King’s Grand Hall—

Before activating the transfer spell, Belith pushed her silver hair back and turned to face Xiarette with a serious reminder.

“Especially you, Xiarette. Remember—once we arrive at the Grand Hall, there’ll be many officials present. Whatever you do, don’t say anything unnecessary.”

“I understand. In political settings like this, silence is mo—”

“I will never acknowledge that Royal Sister has a lover out there! I’m warning you—don’t even think about using your disguised Demon identity and your closeness with my sister to stir up any sort of scheme!”

“……”

Xiarette broke into a cold sweat, overcome with guilt.

Princess Belith… If you hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have even considered the possibility that this identity could be used that way!

A valuable lesson indeed.

But…

You think emotional matters are more urgent and serious than political ones, don’t you?!

What a coincidence.

Xiarette thought the same exact thing, too.

…………………………………

The dark purple magic teleportation array landed them directly in front of the Demon King’s Grand Hall.

The towering doors were slightly ajar, and even while sidestepping inside, one could immediately feel the intense pressure radiating from within. The atmosphere was heavy—yet noisy.

Two rows of candlelight barely managed to illuminate the space, leaving much of the hall in dim shadow.

The moment Sheffy and the others appeared, the figure seated upright upon the throne—the Demon King Dielzner—visibly jolted.

With a sharp slap of his armrest, the entire hall’s Light Magic Crystals flared on in a chain reaction, casting brilliance across the formerly mysterious gloom.

—Shuaa!!

There went Father King’s ever-so-carefully maintained ominous ambiance. Gone, just like that.

Only with the hall now fully lit could one see that the typically vast and empty space had long since been filled with a bustling crowd of demons. That was the source of the earlier commotion.

When the lights came on, quite a few demons actually clicked their tongues in disappointment.

Hey, hey… just how obsessed are you all with that moody, ceremonial darkness?!

Most present bore Four Wings, with a handful of Five-Wings among them.

Judging by their formal attire and ceremonial wear, these were clearly nobles of the Demon Royal Capital, Campeno.

Upon noticing the arrival of Princess Sheffy and Princess Belith, half the hall fell silent.

The other half, however, hadn’t yet turned around. Deeply worried, they remained immersed in heated debate over the current crisis, continuing their passionate discussion.

“How could something like this happen…? What exactly is Her Highness the First Princess Ailellek doing? Wasn’t it said that she already departed from Campeno a few days ago? If she was already there, why would a rebellion still break out?”

“The Third Corps has always been insubordinate… it’s the weakest link in the Demon King’s Army to begin with. Tch… a bunch of faithless fools, always causing problems for His Majesty. Hmph! Let me personally lead a heavy force and wipe out those traitors myself!”

“Hah, save your strength. You think an old relic like you would get the honor for this kind of task? The young generation of our Demon Clan is full of talent—wiping out the Third Corps is as easy as snapping fingers! Sigh… it’s just a shame this is an internal conflict. Outsiders will laugh at us for tearing ourselves apart—what a disgrace.”

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