Victoria curled up under the blankets.
She had confronted Kalian and spoken words she didn’t even mean.
She had to become the wicked Demon King, mock him, and wound him.
She repeated to herself over and over, “This is just an act.”
She had to hold back the urge to break down in tears on the spot.
That day, when she returned to the Demon King’s castle, she cried all day long.
Days passed.
The tears had dried up, but the exhaustion in her body remained.
“Are you still lying down?”
Alcatraz entered the room.
He was the one who had instigated the war between humans and demons, the one who had ruined all of her memories with Kalian.
Until now, she had placed absolute trust in him as one of the Four Heavenly Kings and a capable commander.
She never imagined he would tear her heart apart like this.
Victoria spoke coldly.
“Leave.”
“I know you’re very angry with me. But I had no choice if I was to protect you from the wicked humans.”
“You didn’t act for my sake. You just wanted to bring suffering to humanity.”
“If taking your anger out on me makes you feel better, I’ll gladly be your scapegoat. But at least, you should eat something.”
“I have no appetite.”
“This time, it’s not mana fruits, magic herbs, or magic stones. I’ve prepared something special to lift your spirits.”
Alcatraz placed a meal on the shelf.
“Skewered chicken, firewood-grilled meat, corn soup… All your favorite dishes, my lord.”
Victoria turned her head and saw that the food before her was exactly what he claimed—dishes she had enjoyed when she was outside.
Food she had never tasted in the Demon King’s castle but had first tried in human society.
Crash!
She overturned the shelf.
The food scattered across the floor.
“Did you think I’d forgive you just because of this?”
“Ah… What a waste. I brought these with great effort, and now they’re ruined.”
“Stop doing pointless things and get out. Disappear from my sight. Forever.”
“You are quite troublesome.”
With a snap of his fingers, the spilled food returned to its place, neatly arranged once more.
“The humans are calling for your extermination, my lord. You must not grow fond of them.”
“So what?”
“The only ones you can trust are me and the demons here. Instead of dividing, we must unite and stop humanity.”
“Don’t bother. If humans come here… if he comes… I will do nothing and accept my death.”
She meant it.
She no longer wished to live.
If Kalian came and demanded her heart, she would gladly die by his sword.
If that would make him happy, then so be it.
Alcatraz shook his head.
“Please, do not speak such ominous words. Your life does not belong to you alone. Have you forgotten that the fate of all demons rests upon you?”
“Please, prepare for war against humanity. I will do my utmost to make the necessary arrangements.”
With that, he left the room.
Left alone, Victoria curled up once more.
Baldric had succumbed to Evelyn’s persuasion.
He was flustered by Evelyn’s declaration that she would abandon the Rose family name, leaving him no choice but to accept the duel he had previously refused against me.
They claimed he was a hero who would save the world?
As if a single person could put an end to the centuries-long war between humans and demons.
“Why don’t you see for yourself whether my father’s judgment is right or wrong? If he fails to convince you, I will step back and give up.”
Evelyn had hailed me as the “one who would save the world” and used that as leverage to arrange a duel between me and her father.
If I won, Baldric would rally the great noble families and lend his strength to forming a demon-slaying army.
The outcome was inevitable—I won.
Given the conditions, I had no choice but to show Baldric my full strength.
After experiencing it firsthand, he accepted the result without protest.
“Truly, he is a man who can save the world…”
With those words, he pledged his full cooperation in our plan.
Not long after, Baldric gathered the great noble houses.
Kalian, Evelyn, and I visited the Imperial Palace to attend the highest council meeting.
As expected of an assembly of the empire’s most powerful figures, the sight upon our arrival was anything but ordinary.
Kalian gaped at the palace entrance.
“It’s the first time all nine families have gathered… It really is on a different scale.”
Despite this being merely a meeting, some nobles arrived on the backs of dragons, others teleported in as if it were nothing, and floating castles hovered in the sky.
The gathered citizens paused in their tracks, marveling at the rare spectacle before them.
Evelyn turned to me and spoke.
“We’ve gathered the heart of the empire. That’s half the battle won. But now, we must win their support. My father will try to persuade them, but we must prepare for failure.”
“I have a contingency plan.”
“Another brute force solution?”
“No, not this time. I have a proper strategy. You don’t have to worry.”
As we conversed, we stepped into the palace.
From the security procedures to the size of the palace and its staff, there wasn’t much difference from the Rose Ducal estate.
After all, the Emperor himself was technically part of one of the nine great houses, standing on equal footing with the others rather than being inherently superior.
“What about Elia and Serena?”
“Elia has been convinced. The Belmore family is already taking action to form the demon-slaying army. As for Serena… she’s struggling.”
“Lusevian is obsessed with profit. If there’s no benefit to them, they won’t move.”
“That will be dealt with soon enough.”
I had personally asked Elia, Serena, and Lumia—all powerful individuals—to join the demon-slaying army.
At first, they were shocked to learn that Victoria was the Demon King, but once I explained that she was not the true mastermind, they accepted it surprisingly easily.
I had expected this to be the hardest part of the persuasion process, but it turned out to be simpler than I thought. I hadn’t realized just how much trust they placed in Kalian and me.
Then, a familiar voice interrupted us.
“What are you doing here?”
As we walked through the palace, we ran into a man we knew all too well.
It was Gerold, the captain of the Imperial Knights.
“We’re here to attend the council of the nine houses.”
“A meeting of the family heads? You lowly creatures think you belong here?”
“Anyone permitted by a family head is allowed to attend. We are here under the authority of Duke Baldric of House Rose.”
“Hmph… Is that so?”
Come to think of it, Gerold was not only the Imperial Knight Commander but also a member of the Belperon family, one of the nine great houses.
If he was lingering around here, that meant he had been invited to the meeting as well.
Gerold raised an eyebrow, then turned his gaze to Evelyn.
“They used to say the Rose knights were the best. But that must be old news, judging by the company you keep.”
“Watch your tongue. These are not men you can insult so carelessly.”
“Look at you. You’ve spent so much time with these lowlifes that you don’t even realize how pathetic you’ve become.”
He sneered at Evelyn, his mockery cutting deep.
I held back Evelyne, who was about to step forward, and instead, I spoke up.
“Sir Gerold, you are from the noble Belperon family, correct? Seeing you here, I assume you were also invited to the family head meeting?”
“Of course. I am the younger brother of the family head and the one who carries our family’s blood most purely.”
“How impressive.”
“Not bad for a country noble. Seems like you have a quick mind.”
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about myself. I was saying that the Belpheron family is impressive. To be generous enough to invite someone as incompetent as you to an important meeting… It’s quite surprising.”
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing much. Just making an observation. Well then, I’ll be on my way.”
I walked right past Gerold.
He looked like he wanted to grab me and argue right away, but as the great family members began arriving one after another, he forced himself to calm down.
Upon arriving at the conference hall, we each took our designated places.
The heads of the great families sat around a massive round table, while their attendants stood behind them.
As expected from a gathering of the empire’s elite, the entire room was protected by defensive magic.
The grand walls, the open ceiling, and even the round table itself—everything was a product of magic.
In addition, massive golems stood guard, ready to eliminate any intruders.
So this is what the imperial palace’s guardians looked like in the original story.
Kalian admired the gathering of family heads.
“They’re all incredible warriors.”
“Are you nervous?”
“Yeah.”
“Relax. No matter how impressive they seem, every single one of them is beneath you.”
The lineup of family heads was dazzling.
Nervas, Rikelant, Altera—renowned knights and mages filled the room.
Each and every one of them had made at least a brief appearance in the original story.
Being the head of a great family meant holding a status equal to the emperor himself, so naturally, they were all powerful figures.
Once all the heads were seated, the meeting’s facilitator, standing beside the emperor, spoke.
“We will now commence the family head meeting, convened by Duke Baldric Rose.”
At those words, all eyes turned toward Baldric.
He casually raised a hand in greeting.
“It’s been a while, everyone. I called you here because there’s something important we need to discuss. You’ve all heard about the recent clash with the demonic forces at the border, haven’t you?”
He then proceeded to explain how the battle between the imperial army and the demonic forces had begun, what impact it would have on the empire, and what strategy the empire should adopt moving forward.
His reasoning was quite convincing.
As one of the most knowledgeable in military strategy among the great families, he naturally emphasized the necessity of forming a demon king subjugation army.
After speaking at length, Baldric concluded his argument.
“To put it simply, the demons are meticulously preparing to attack us. To counter this, we must unite humanity and seize the initiative.”
Although this was supposed to be a meeting, he had spent most of the time talking alone.
The facilitator then turned to the other family heads.
“Are there any opposing arguments or questions regarding Lord Baldric’s proposal?”
However, no one responded.
“Then, those in favor of forming a demon king subjugation army, please raise your hands.”
The vote commenced.
The result: 2 in favor, 7 against.
Well… of course.
Baldric had made a fairly logical argument, but there was no way a demon king subjugation army would be formed so easily.
I hadn’t expected it to be.
One of the family heads scoffed.
“What a weak-minded notion. Gather our strength to drive out the demon king’s army? You’re saying humanity will lose if we don’t unite? Hah! That’s only because you are weak, Baldric.”
A man with bulging muscles sneered and shook his head.
“Strength. With overwhelming strength, no matter how many of those insignificant creatures gather—be it thousands or millions—they can all be crushed. There’s no need for an alliance. My own territory alone is more than enough to handle the demon king’s forces.”
Other family heads voiced their opposition as well.
“There’s no profit in it. Even if we shed our blood in battle, it’s not like we’ll achieve any significant magical advancement.”
“The demons causing trouble is nothing new. I have no desire to make a fuss by joining hands with lesser beings.”
One by one, the silent family heads began to voice their disapproval.
It was clear they had no interest in Baldric’s proposal from the beginning.
Baldric simply shrugged and looked at me.
It was my turn now.
A vote in a family head meeting wasn’t set in stone.
Through negotiations and persuasion, we could still achieve a real outcome.
These arrogant fools thought they were above everyone else, but that was fine.
I knew exactly how to deal with people like them.
I stepped forward without hesitation, placing both hands on the round table.
Then, loud enough for everyone to hear, I spoke.
“You absolute idiots.”