Chapter 23

“Y-yes!”

At this moment, one could not even tell who was truly the Demon King anymore.

Dielzner let out a sigh of relief and turned back to the stone table in front of him.

Even so… as he looked at the pile of petitions urging continued attacks against the humans, he still felt as though a heavy stone was pressing on his heart.

“This is sheer nonsense… Sheffy pretending to be captured, does she even consider whether you or I would believe it? If she were truly caught, I might as well give up being Demon King! I bet she must have bribed the Hero; otherwise, why would they play along with her nonsense?”

“Haha… I think Sheffy simply foresaw this. Even if we don’t believe it, there’s nothing we can do about it, right? After all, she’s my daughter clever as ice and snow, and her escape is flawless.”

“And you’re actually proud of this… Is this something to be proud of?”

“That depends on how you see it~ I think it’s fine. Just treat it like letting the child take a vacation and go on an outing. Isn’t that nice?”

“You certainly know how to take it lightly…”

As for whether Sheffy had truly been captured or was merely pretending, both the Demon King and the Demon Queen felt there was no need to even consider the answer.

After all, only the two of them knew Sheffy’s true strength.

Eight wings.

And humans trying to capture her?

With what?!

So, when the Demon Clan messenger brought back the news to the palace that the First Demon Princess had been captured alive by the Hero, unlike the wails and laments of others—

The Demon King’s face was covered in black lines.

While the Demon Queen outright laughed aloud.

One could only say, “As expected of my daughter~ She certainly knows plenty of ways to slack off!”

The more Dielzner read those petitions demanding a fight to the bitter end, the more his head ached.

He wanted to sigh again, but under the pressure of his wife’s presence, he did not even dare to breathe too loudly.

In the end, he could only push the papers aside and absentmindedly ask this question.

“What is Belith’s situation lately?”

“For a father to ask me about his own child…” Herilet said this with a gradually worried expression, “That child has been locking herself in her room these past few days. She didn’t even attend the recent royal meeting.”

“Absurd!”

Dielzner’s broad palm suddenly struck the armrest of his chair, which was engraved with the image of a demonic beast’s head.

At once, a massive wave of wind pressure echoed through the spacious Demon King’s Hall.

“As the Second Demon Princess of the Demon Clan, behaving so willfully how is she supposed to command respect in the future?”

“There you go again… Though the two sisters don’t usually get along well, blood is thicker than water after all. Belith thinks Sheffy was truly captured. It’s understandable that she would feel upset.”

“Let’s hope she is merely upset.”

The conversation ended abruptly.

The doors of the Demon King’s Hall were struck by a deep, powerful knock.

The massive doors let out a beast-like, muffled groan.

Someone had come to visit.

This was precisely the reason the Demon King and Demon Queen were present in the hall today.

The Demon King adjusted his posture. With a gentle tap of his toes, the several-ton doors slowly began to open.

After a moment, the sound of heavy boots striking the crystal floor echoed through the hall.

Footsteps approached, growing steadily louder.

Finally, a six-winged figure emerged from the dim purple flames.

At the same time, the Demon King’s deep voice resounded abruptly.

“Sir Jeffriel, you’ve arrived?”

“Your old servant is here, Your Majesty.”

An aged, steady voice responded to the Demon King’s summons.

An elderly man with snow-white hair stepped forward through the flames with his head held high.

Upon seeing this familiar, aged face, the Demon King could not help but gently furrow his brow.

Jeffriel, the head of the Demon Clan’s greatest ducal family, was rumored to have lived for more than three hundred years an elder of great experience.

Counting Sheffy, the Demon Clan had a total of five Six-Winged Demons.

Jeffriel was one of them.

Compared to the Demon King, who had lived for over a century, Jeffriel had witnessed far more of the Demon Clan’s history.

Jeffriel folded his six wings neatly and placed one hand over his chest, kneeling on one knee before the throne.

The Demon King waved his hand, signaling that such formality was unnecessary.

“Sir Jeffriel, I hear you have important matters to report?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After Jeffriel stood up, his body swayed unsteadily. A staff, formed from condensed magic power, appeared in his hand to support him, allowing him to steady himself on the floor below the platform.

His frail appearance was merely superficial.

In truth, the Demon King knew well what Jeffriel was capable of.

A Six-Winged Demon was no mere ornament.

Jeffriel’s slightly clouded eyes were unfathomably deep, revealing no hint of emotional change, as he reported to the Demon King.

His speech was unhurried, yet every word was spoken with perfect clarity.

And the content of his report was entirely within Demon King Dielzner’s expectations.

“Your Majesty, the capture of Princess Sheffy is a great shame upon our clan. The humans must pay the price for this.”

“Oh? How fitting these recent petitions are all about this matter,” Dielzner propped his arm on the throne, resting his cheek on his palm, exuding regal poise. “Sir Jeffriel, so tell me, do you have a sound strategy?”

“I do not.”

“…”

You do not?

Then what are you here for today?!

Truth be told… the Demon King had been quite irritable lately. Lords and nobles of all ranks in the Demon Domain were submitting petitions urging further attacks against the humans. And now, even this old Jeffriel insisted on personally meeting with the Demon King today.

And after my Queen and I waited here for you for so long this is all you had to say?!

Just as Dielzner was about to hold him to account—

Jeffriel’s magic-formed staff lightly tapped the ground, signaling the start of his continued speech.

And these eight words rang out forcefully, each carrying immense weight.

“Tear up the accord attack with the entire clan.”

“Oh…? Tell me in detail.”

Without the slightest change in expression, Jeffriel continued, speaking each word with deliberate clarity.

“This old servant believes… the capture of Princess Sheffy has already stirred great indignation across our entire clan. Why should we continue to abide by the accord with the higher races? Now is the time for our clan to muster all its strength, to wage war against the humans, and achieve swift victory.”

“The Sixth and Eighth elite divisions of the Demon King’s Army have not yet withdrawn from the human borders and can resume the offensive at any moment. Should war break out anew, the humans would surely continue to use Princess Sheffy as a bargaining chip to maintain a ceasefire, and dare not act rashly.”

“At the same time, we should dispatch Six-Winged Demons to the Royal Capital of Aurus, to rescue Princess Sheffy amidst the chaos, and utterly destroy the Kingdom of Aurus. That would be the wisest course.”

Dielzner listened somewhat impatiently and spread his palms as he pressed further.

“Then if the higher races come to attack our clan what then?”

“This old servant would bear the burden alone.”

With that—

From beneath Jeffriel’s feet, waves of magic power rippled outward in concentric circles.

Though the aura was vast and imposing, not a single stone or tile of the grand hall was disturbed.

—Outside the Demon King’s Castle, however, the clouds in the sky were swept aside, the force overwhelming.

As his staff struck the floor once more—

Jeffriel withdrew his magic power and once again appeared as the frail old man.

“Even should the Dark Dragon King arrive in person, what could he do to me?”

A moment of silence followed…

But what Jeffriel heard was not the Demon King’s approval.

Instead, it began as a low, muffled chuckle.

Which gradually turned into unrestrained laughter!

“Hahaha… hahahahaha!”

“Your Majesty…?”

“Hahaha… Sir Jeffriel, such boldness, such might!”

As the laughter subsided—

A sharp, ominous gleam suddenly flashed in Dielzner’s crimson eyes.

“Sir Jeffriel… setting aside for the moment whether you alone could truly repel the higher races even if you could! if, during this rescue you propose, anything were to happen to my daughter Sheffy, could you bear that responsibility?! How can you be so sure the humans will not dare to act rashly?!”

A torrent of magic power, more terrifying than Jeffriel’s own, surged wildly.

The force whipped Jeffriel’s robes with a deafening flurry.

In an instant, it extinguished the entire row of dark purple flames to the left while the row to the right continued flickering undisturbed.

As the waves of magic dispersed—

There remained no visible emotion in Jeffriel’s eyes.

But he let out a silent sigh, and the magic-formed staff in his hand gradually faded away. As before, he knelt on one knee.

“My deepest apologies… Your Majesty. This old servant failed to consider it fully.”

“It matters not! Hahahaha! Hm…?!”

At an angle unnoticed by Jeffriel, the Demon Queen Herilet suddenly smacked the Demon King’s head from behind!

Thump! The sound echoed through the empty hall, resonant and lingering!

As Jeffriel looked up in confusion, Herilet took a slight step forward. Her tone, though lacking the ferocity of the Demon King’s words, carried no less authority or dignity.

“Sir Jeffriel, we can understand your feelings as well as those of the other ministers. As parents, Dielzner and I are even more anxious, but as leaders, we cannot act on impulse.”

“Her Majesty speaks with great wisdom.”

“We will open negotiations with the Kingdom of Aurus and seek to bring Sheffy back through peaceful means. If that fails, then we will take up arms. The weapons remain in our hands. Since Sir Jeffriel is loyal to our clan, why the need for such haste?”

“……”

Jeffriel had nothing more to say on this visit.

Whether he was truly convinced remained unknown.

He merely withdrew from the Demon King’s Hall with impeccable, proper noble etiquette flawless as always.

The doors of the Demon King’s Hall closed once more.

And the dark purple flames were all reignited.

Demon King Dielzner frowned as he looked in the direction Jeffriel had left, clicked his tongue, and said disdainfully:

“Ambitious and greedy, eager to be remembered in history that old fellow already has one foot in the grave… Rushing to achieve merit and glory, speaking so grandly does he really think he cares about whether my daughter lives or dies?”

“That may be true, but there is no need to say it aloud.” Herilet, as always, smiled calmly with narrowed eyes serene and beautiful. “Rather than dwelling on that, you’d do better to pay more attention to Sheffy’s mood and see when she might come home.”

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