After entering the office and sitting down, the two continued the topic.
Whenever Isabella fell into thought, she would often stare fixedly downward.
It looked less like contemplation and more like penance.
To prevent her from slipping into that self-reproaching tendency again, Gabriella sat beside her, able to feel the warmth radiating from her thighs.
“What I remember… are only fragments.”
“Mm.”
Gabriella nodded and leaned closer to the Demon King, listening attentively.
“The Goddess and I… we were never originally enemies. I trusted her, yet I was betrayed by her all the same.”
“We weren’t enemies?”
“Yes. I clearly remember it was a misunderstanding. After being pierced through the heart by the Goddess, I wanted so badly to cry, yet I couldn’t make a single sound.”
Isabella spoke these words with little emotion, as though she were completely relaxed, but Gabriella could tell she was still haunted by lingering fear.
She always hid her feelings whenever matters touched upon the interests and emotions of the two of them.
As expected, she half-jokingly added:
“Back then I was thinking—Gabriella doesn’t hate me… Could she be the reincarnation of the Goddess, coming to repay a debt of gratitude?”
Gabriella’s eyes flickered.
Legend said the Goddess slew the Evil God to end the catastrophe.
But if that had been a misunderstanding, then the problems stemming from that incident became rather intriguing.
Was the Evil God’s hatred for the world something innate?
Or was the very idea that “the Evil God would destroy the world” nothing more than a false premise?
Gabriella nodded.
“Then just treat me as if I’ve come to repay that debt, Lady Isabella.”
She slipped into Isabella’s embrace, skillfully lifted into her arms, then took the initiative to kiss her lips.
When their entanglement finally ended, both of their faces were left with a shy blush.
She felt the Demon King was on the verge of being completely conquered by her… but it still wasn’t enough.
Because she had yet to fully untie the knot in Isabella’s heart.
In that sense, she and the Demon King were quite similar—she too did not particularly want to face the past or destiny.
She harbored no so-called hatred or sense of mission; she didn’t want too many ties with the past and disliked grudges and disputes.
She even thought that those who made themselves out to be tragically burdened with bitter hatred were all idiots, no different from the humans who shouted about subjugating the Demon King.
However,
although she disliked any sense of mission, she did rather like the Demon King.
Just a little bit.
If I really am the Goddess, then please let me take responsibility for my mistake.
That was the duty of a wife.
Thinking of the humans who had already set out—the ones preparing to subjugate the Evil Tree—Gabriella suddenly felt the urge to kill them all.
It wasn’t because she hated humans.
Rather, she believed this war should never have happened in the first place.
Her master hated war.
Gabriella walked behind the Demon King, gently resting her hands on her shoulders and letting them slide down, pressing the tip of her nose against the top of Isabella’s head.
Her only flaw was that she wasn’t brave enough.
“Lady Isabella~” Gabriella whispered as she kissed her ear.
“Mm?”
“This time, let me play the 【Goddess】, and you play the 【Evil God】.”
…
South of the Black Stone Mountains lay the vast plains and the human frontier city of Sokoris.
A majestic castle stood atop a hill where rivers converged, serving as the final stronghold for the grand human expedition.
After a few more days of rest, once the Holy Queen and her forces arrived from the western coastal cities, they would launch their assault on the Black Stone Mountains to seize the Evil Tree.
By the Holy Queen’s decree, once this war ended, they would receive the Goddess’s blessing.
The castle was brightly lit. As dusk fell, the soldiers would hold duels to boost morale—roasting meat and drinking beer—the atmosphere boiled with excitement, as if subjugating the demons was as easy as clearing out the northern barbarians.
The Knight Orders’ retreat had not frightened them in the slightest.
On the contrary, some unknown force seemed to drive their morale even higher.
Tales of the Silver-White Sword Empress began circulating once more.
Yet deep within the castle’s unknown dungeon…
In the pitch-black, damp prison, a red-haired girl knelt amidst the straw.
Chains shackled her wrists and ankles, forcing her to remain on her knees.
Her armor had been tossed into the corner of the cell, glinting silver-white beneath the candlelight.
Tear tracks marred her beautiful face; her eyes were covered with a black cloth, preventing her from seeing the outside world.
“Lady Saintess… why…?”
Another golden-haired girl stared at her with cold, cruel eyes while blue lightning danced between her fingers.
She was the Saintess.
The pure, righteous exterior was not her true nature.
The Saintess in this prison was no longer holy or kind—she had become as terrifying as a demon.
She had personally witnessed Gabriella being bewitched by the Demon King, and even Elsa reduced to serving the Demon King as a maid.
Yet for some reason, the Saintess insisted she was lying.
No matter how she explained, her fate seemed to be endless imprisonment and interrogation.
“Why did you lie to me? Philina, why deceive humanity?”
“I… didn’t…”
“You’re lying.”
As she spoke, white silk slowly extended from beneath the gorgeous, holy robes.
The Saintess stepped on Philina’s shoulder, her golden eyes filled with murderous intent.
“Philina, as Captain of the Second Knight Order, not only did you fail your mission, you even dared deceive the Saintess. Do you know what sin that is?”
“B-but I… really saw Gabriella…”
“I told you, it was all an illusion—your delusion and misjudgment.”
The Saintess declared with absolute certainty.
A few days ago, the Knight Orders had withdrawn to the castle.
Everyone assumed the temporary retreat was merely to recuperate, but the Saintess thought otherwise.
She had seized Philina—the knight who had tried to send a letter to the Holy Queen…
“Gabriella is already dead.”
“The demons will bewitch you and your companions, making you abandon the will to fight. Philina, you are one of them.”
“As expected, ever since Lady Silver-White Sword Empress died, you knights have all fallen into depravity.”
The Saintess’s voice grew increasingly horrifying, tinged with mockery.
This was no longer an interrogation—it was one-sided venting of rage.
“I… I understand…”
Philina trembled, praying only that she would not be punished again by the Saintess’s lightning.
“Philina.”
Seeing that she had nothing more to say, the Saintess tilted her head and grabbed her by the collar.
“Tell Lady Ice Saint this: when the Demon King’s army arrives, activate 【Judgment】 and slaughter the demons.”
“I will personally kill that fake Silver-White Sword Empress and the fallen Elsa.”
With that, she walked out of the cell.
The iron door SLAMMED shut heavily, leaving behind only a trembling, struggling girl lying sideways on the floor, still shaken with fear.
Of course, Philina could still use telepathic magic.
Focusing her mind, she sent her current situation—and everything about the Saintess—to Tina, far away in the Demon King’s Castle.
Now she only wanted Tina and Lady Elsa to be careful of this mad Saintess.
“Please save me, Lady Tina…”