Night, inside the Palace of Demon King Castle Aisaridu.
The coup launched by the Three Marquis had come to an end, and after that great battle, the destroyed Royal City Square and streets were being urgently rebuilt.
Blood Queen Sidella Eve Cecilia sat lazily upon the throne, a Crystal Crown on her head, a few smooth silver strands falling by her ears as she listened sideways to the reports of the Ministers below the throne.
“Your Majesty, the recent expenditures for the basic reconstruction of the Royal City and the arrangements for homeless demon citizens within the city have all been drawn from the Royal Treasury. If this continues, the treasury may soon run dry!”
Below, the Treasury Minister of the Royal City held a report in his hand, his tone urgent.
So boring~
Sidella couldn’t help but yawn, her voice flat.
“Oh, was Demon King Castle always this poor? Before I took the throne?”
The Treasury Minister choked, his tone becoming stammered.
“The money in the treasury… was all spent by the previous Demon King… used to build the Palace under Your Majesty’s feet…”
“Oh~”
Sidella didn’t even lift her eyelids, but asked with interest, “Then should I tear down the Palace now and sell it for money to fill the treasury for you?”
“臣不敢！”
The Treasury Minister broke out in cold sweat, his lips trembling.
Before Sidella truly claimed the crown, as Treasury Minister and the most loyal follower of the previous Demon King, he naturally harbored dissatisfaction towards this new queen.
Though not rebellious enough to stage a coup, whenever Sidella issued commands, he often showed signs of disobedience.
Whenever Sidella tried to take money from the treasury, as Treasury Minister, he could always find different excuses to refuse.
Such as, “Your Majesty, all the money was used for the previous Demon King’s departure; there’s really nothing left!”
Every time, it made Sidella so annoyed she could barely stand it.
But after the Three Marquis coup failed and he witnessed their tragic end with his own eyes, the last bit of calculation in the Treasury Minister’s heart vanished completely.
What a joke!
Even if you’re dissatisfied, you must hide it well, or else you’ll be buried too!
After all, serving one king or another is still serving a king, isn’t it?
“If you have any ideas, just say them directly. Don’t wait for me to ask.”
Sidella’s face was filled with impatience.
“Are you all made of wood?”
No, who would dare speak if you don’t give the word?
The grass on the graves of those three arrogant colleagues is already a meter high!
The Ministers below suppressed their urge to complain, bowing their heads even lower, afraid of being noticed.
From this, the effect of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys far exceeded expectations.
“I believe we should temporarily reduce the salary expenses of the Royal City army and increase taxes on the surrounding small towns…”
Finally cornered, the Treasury Minister clasped his hands and proposed to Sidella on the throne.
“Reduce your damn expenses! Koneki, what the hell do you mean?!”
Among the Ministers, the Minister of Armaments Satou exploded in anger, unable to hold back a furious curse.
“What’s wrong, Minister of Armaments? A few days ago during the chaos in the Royal City, as Minister of Armaments, you didn’t even show your face, which led to such heavy damage to the city.”
The Treasury Minister pretended to frown in thought.
“Could it be that you were actually an undercover agent arranged by those Three Traitor Lords who challenged Her Majesty, and that’s why you intentionally dispatched most of the army away from the Royal City that day?”
“What fucking evidence do you have? Making baseless accusations against the Minister of Armaments—do you, as a Treasury Minister, even have the guts to take responsibility for that?!”
The Minister of Armaments’ face shifted from blue to purple, gritting his teeth in threat.
“Heh, evidence? Wasn’t your suspension and investigation a few days ago enough proof?”
The Treasury Minister sneered.
“I suppose you simply didn’t expect Her Majesty’s strength to be so great, eliminating your three Traitor Lord accomplices, so you showed up late after the chaos ended.”
“Koneki, fuck your ancestors. You son of a bitch, I fuck your son of a bitch”
“……”
The quarrel between the two grew ever more intense, echoing beneath the palace dome.
On the throne, Sidella’s brow arched in amusement.
That Treasury Minister Koneki seemed to be trying to curry favor with her, and might know some inside details about the unrest?
Just then, the sound of hard armor colliding and scraping came from outside the palace doors, accompanied by the dripping of water onto the floor.
Everyone stiffened, their noses twitching at an unusual scent.
This smell… is blood!
On the throne, Sidella couldn’t suppress her blood clan instincts. In her blood-red eyes, a crimson light flickered as her pink, delicate tongue licked at her newly grown fangs.
The taste of blood—it truly had been a long time since she’d savored it~
“Lilith Kofara! Who allowed you to show up at the banquet looking like a ghost?!”
The rebuking voices of the Ministers sounded even before the appearance of the Dragon Princess Lilith, as the crowd instinctively parted to allow the bloodstained, armored Lilith through.
Fresh blood still flowed from her armor, its suffocating stench causing several civil Ministers in the hall to pale.
Just how many people had she killed?
Ignoring the Ministers, Lilith strode toward Sidella on the throne and knelt on one knee.
“Your Majesty, all the visible Party Members and Retainers left by the Three Traitor Lords have been purged just now. I have returned to report.”
The pupils of the Ministers contracted, and the sound of swallowing echoed around.
All of them?!
That lineup could fill the entire Nika Daya Square!
“Mm~”
Sidella’s satisfaction was unmistakable as she asked,
“Why the rush to return—did something unexpected happen?”
Below, Lilith bowed her head, her eyes flickering with hesitation, silent.
Sidella raised an eyebrow, withdrawing her hand from her chin.
She pinched her stiff cheek with slender fingers, put on her little shoes, and stood up from the throne.
“If there’s nothing else important, you all may go. Lilith, stay behind—I’ll take you to wash up and change.”
After the Ministers departed, only Blood Queen Sidella and the Dragon Princess Lilith remained in the vast palace.
“Come. You’re filthy. I’ll take you for a bath.”
“Yes, thank you, Your Majesty!”
Walking along the marble road inside the Palace, Sidella walked ahead, pondering the nearest place to bathe…
Hmm, perhaps the Maid Dormitory where Hualí and the others lived?
Might as well drop by and see that Hualí—give her a star or two~
“Your Majesty!”
Closely following Sidella, Lilith looked around to confirm no one was nearby, then resumed her unfinished report.
“After finding the hiding place of the Three Traitor Lords’ Retainers, an unexpected event occurred during the purge!”
“Hmm? Did someone escape by accident? If so, I’ll have to restrain you.”
“No…”
Lilith sweated.
Restrain her? Your Majesty, maybe go find Hualí instead.
“What happened then?”
“In their hideout, we found a tattered, imprisoned blood clan girl. She claims to be your…… daughter.”