It seemed the pair in the secluded stairwell hadn’t noticed the Demon King and her consort approaching quietly.
Simona and Liya were still continuing their intimate moment.
Simona was pressed against the wall by Liya, whose eyes—filled with greedy desire—bore a slight resemblance to the Demon King’s.
Yet Holy Queen Simona showed no resistance at all. She softly called out “Master” between light, breathless moans, leaving it unclear whether she was simply enjoying herself or somehow saving the world.
Gabriella was momentarily speechless.
She and Isabella stopped in unison, taking a few steps back without a word.
“Liya… Master, is this… enough?”
“Simona~ I love you. I miss the gentleness you bring me.”
“Master, I… mm, me too~”
Gabriella felt that humanity was utterly doomed.
If any human were standing here right now, they would assume a human whose will had been completely eroded by demons was being disciplined by her demon master.
But in reality, this golden-haired maid whose lips had been kissed swollen was none other than their Holy Queen!
Please, as the heroine of humanity, could you hold out a little longer~?
If humans learned that their current Holy Queen had willingly submitted to demons and become a minor kin, what on earth would happen… Though Simona had claimed last time that many humans could replace her, not everyone could cultivate to her “Emperor-level” strength.
“Let’s go around.” Isabella whispered.
Yes.
So Gabriella and Isabella had no choice but to take a detour.
While accompanying the Demon King with her work, Gabriella kept a constant eye on the movements of the demon army.
Ever since sensing that the Evil Tree was about to awaken, most of the Demon King’s forces had stationed themselves with the Eastern Ridge army on the hills north of the Black Stone Mountains.
There were currently no signs of human forces advancing into demon territory, and scouts reported that the human army in the castle also showed no indications of mobilizing.
It was as if everything had fallen into stagnation.
Just as Gabriella was at a loss, Liya came to find her that afternoon.
The two met in the lounge.
“Lady Gabriella, good afternoon…”
A trace of shyness colored Liya’s face.
She kept her head lowered, avoiding Gabriella’s eyes.
Soon enough, she explained why she was so nervous.
“I hope… what happened this morning between me and Simona didn’t disturb you.”
“Ah.”
Gabriella felt a bit awkward too.
Simona’s demonification had certainly been unexpected, but as Liya’s friend and superior, she still needed to be somewhat gentle.
“It’s fine~ By the way, did you know Simona from before? She’s the human Holy Queen, you know.”
Gabriella asked probingly.
She figured Liya must have had some ulterior motive to corrupt Simona with darkness and make her a servant.
To humans, a demon capable of pulling the Holy Queen into the enemy camp was the most dangerous existence—one that could even threaten humanity’s survival.
However, since Liya was deeply loyal to both her and the Demon King, Gabriella hadn’t pressed the issue.
Now that Liya had brought it up herself, Gabriella intended to get clear answers.
She had already heard some of their past from Simona’s own mouth.
But what she learned from Liya turned out to be an entirely different version.
“Simona and I… we’ve liked each other for a long time.”
Liya said it very earnestly; she didn’t seem to be lying.
“A long time ago, we were enemies on the battlefield. I fought her to protect the power of the Divine Maiden and even gave her the [Gift].”
“Were you trying to turn her into a demon?”
At this point, Liya lowered her head again in embarrassment.
There was even a hint of grievance in her voice.
“We fell in love. She said she liked me and would be loyal to me forever. So I still wanted to…”
Gabriella didn’t know what sound to make.
The mastermind behind the Evil Tree—an ancient, powerful evil demon who knew the past and might be over a thousand years old—was now acting like a lovesick teenage girl simply because she had fallen for Simona.
Could you at least maintain a little dignity?!
Still, Gabriella remembered that eight years ago, when she first met Liya, the demon had given off the impression of a rather bully-able little imp.
“By the way, Liya—who exactly are you? What’s your past? Can you tell me?”
Gabriella sighed, simultaneously flicking her tail behind her to keep Liya from noticing.
Though it was pointless—Liya’s eyes were already locked on it, her pupils moving rhythmically with each sway.
“Actually, I am your follower, Lady Gabriella. You may call me a [Heavenly Herald].”
“All [Heavenly Heralds] are your followers. As the Evil Tree awakens, our reincarnations will gradually regain their memories.”
“That’s why I follow you.”
Gabriella stroked her chin.
In short, the lackeys of some righteous big shot, right?
But the fact that Liya had awakened as a demon wasn’t hard to guess the reason for.
“I am the last Heavenly Herald dominated by your [Shadow], Lady Gabriella.”
After thinking for a long while, Gabriella finally looked up and asked,
“The [girl] you mentioned—the girl who died alone beneath the Evil Tree—was that me?”
Liya confirmed, “Yes. You are the girl who followed the Evil God. I once witnessed your obsession and saw your end. I know of the love between you and the Evil God.”
Gabriella fell silent for a long time.
If the Divine Maiden who protected humanity and the girl who followed the Evil God were the same person, that would be far too contradictory.
But if Isabella’s memories were correct, where had the Divine Maiden who killed the Evil God gone?
Based on the current information, there was only one possibility.
What exactly had happened in the past?
However, Gabriella didn’t want to keep digging.
She had no desire to be bound by the past or dwell on old grudges and affections.
She was Gabriella—just herself.
But if she really was the Divine Maiden, things would become a bit complicated moving forward.
“Will the other Heavenly Heralds gradually awaken as well?”
“Yes.”
Liya answered quite seriously.
“This world will soon descend into chaos. Only you and the Evil God can oppose them. And if the Heavenly Heralds learn of your love with the Evil God, they certainly won’t accept it easily.”
“I’ll figure something out.” Gabriella said gravely.
Liya gave a knowing smile—she understood that the Divine Maiden would always find a way.
But before that, Liya grew shy again and murmured, “Lady Gabriella, I actually have one more small request. I hope you can help me with it.”
“Please, go ahead.”
She lightly touched her own lips. “I want you to help me win over Simona.”
“Eh?”
“You know her very well, don’t you~”
Gabriella’s head began to ache.