Kurei was doubting whether Via was truly Demon King Ville.
This situation wasn’t strange at all.
If Via hadn’t stopped Kurei from killing Sophie, the other party wouldn’t have become suspicious in the slightest.
After all, such behavior was utterly impossible for a Demon King.
A Demon King who had once been accompanied by humans would never show mercy to them.
“Impostor, did you not hear a word I said!”
Kurei said angrily.
In her eyes, this person pretending to be the Demon King was unforgivable.
“…”
Via could never remove the mask.
If Kurei saw her human appearance, the maid would unquestionably kill her without hesitation—no words would help.
“Death Hunt!”
Kurei activated Death Hunt, locking all the threads onto the Demon King’s body.
She stepped forward.
“Since you won’t do it yourself, I’ll strip that armament off your body!!”
The demon maid charged, swinging her giant hammer in a horizontal sweep toward the Demon King.
Facing the oncoming heavy strike, Via did not move her feet. She stood in place, with no intention of countering, and simply uttered a sentence.
“Kurei, on the late night of your very first day of employment, you came to me on your own.”
“…Huh?”
Kurei forcibly halted her giant hammer.
It had been just a hair’s breadth away from smashing directly into the Demon King. The airflow made the pitch-black cloak flutter fiercely.
“While cleaning, you were frightened by a monster in the Demon King’s Castle and couldn’t sleep alone, so you came begging for my help.”
Via recounted the past events at a leisurely pace.
“So I arranged for you to stay in another demon maid’s room for that night. Your senior teased you about it for a long time afterward. Every time it was mentioned, you were embarrassed—after all, as a member of the royal court, you were actually scared of a grotesque-looking monster.”
“T-This…”
Kurei’s cheeks flushed slightly. She looked extremely flustered.
This was indeed a deeply embarrassing incident.
That night, while Demon King Ville was alone in his room, she had mustered her courage to seek his help.
Only she and Ville knew about it—no third person.
“On your fifth day of employment, you mixed up salt and sugar, making the dessert you prepared for me salty.” Via continued.
“I… that was…”
Kurei lowered her head, beginning to sweat profusely.
That day in the kitchen, after another maid served the dessert, she realized that—because it was her first time cooking for the Demon King—she had been too nervous and swapped salt for sugar.
She was so terrified her soul nearly left her body. When she ran out to stop it, the dessert had already been placed before the Demon King and even eaten.
Yet after taking one bite, the Demon King had simply looked at the ashen-faced little maid and said nothing.
If the Demon King had spoken of it, she might have been expelled from the castle long ago.
Thus, she was deeply grateful for the Demon King’s magnanimity at the time.
“Kurei, do I need to list all your other embarrassing moments one by one?” Via sneered. “I remember them all very clearly.”
“No need, Lord Demon King! Please stop!!”
Kurei hurriedly waved her hands.
She didn’t want to continue being executed by her dark history here.
At this point, she was completely convinced that the person before her was indeed Demon King Ville.
Because these secrets were known only to Ville.
“You wanted to remove my mask, didn’t you? Go ahead. I’ll stand right here and won’t move.”
Via turned the tables, proactively stepping in front of Kurei.
Since the Demon King Armament was active, she could look down at the little maid from above, using the height difference to create an invisible sense of oppression.
“I’m sorry, Lord Demon King! I was wrong!!”
Kurei quickly flung away the heavy hammer in her hands and dispelled Death Hunt.
She was now filled with immense regret for her earlier offense—not only disrespecting Lord Demon King but doubting whether he was real.
How could the little maid possibly dare to remove the Demon King’s mask now?
She knelt on the ground, hugged the Demon King’s leg, and burst into tears.
“Please forgive me! I won’t do it again!!”
“Hmph.”
“I’m sorry, Lord Demon King. I was simply too foolish. I didn’t understand your intent in sparing those humans earlier and became confused, which led me to doubt you.”
“Actually, Sylvia’s daughter is my pawn.”
“A pawn?”
“The existence of a saintess is crucial to the human world. Even if you kill one, the Holy Land will simply find another saintess candidate to fill the position.”
Via slowly explained.
“But Sophie is different. Under my arrangements, she has unknowingly become my pawn. If she successfully becomes the saintess, at the critical moment, she will be able to play a role for me.”
“So that’s how it was? Lord Demon King, your schemes have already spread into the human world?”
“When the time is right, I will naturally stir up a new storm and proclaim my return to the entire world, making those traitors of the past pay a painful price,” Via paused. “But for now, the timing is not yet ripe.”
“I will look forward to that day—when Lord Demon King once again rules the world and sweeps across everything!!”
Kurei looked up with eyes full of worship, a complete and utter little fangirl.
After all, from long ago, she had wished to become a demon as powerful as Ville.
“Kurei, what you need to do now is lay low while preparing the groundwork for my future return. Understood?” Via instructed.
“Yes, Lord Demon King!!”
Kurei proactively bowed to the Demon King before her.
……
……
“Phew… I finally managed to bluff my way through.”
Via had already left the ruins of the Demon King’s Castle. With the Demon King Armament’s energy depleted, it had deactivated.
Fortunately, she had parted ways with Kurei before it ran out, preventing the demon maid from discovering the truth.
Otherwise, everything would have been ruined.
Now, she was heading toward the outskirts of the Demon King’s Castle ruins, preparing to rendezvous with the teachers and students of Avalon Academy and return to the human world together via the maglev airship.
Despite experiencing quite a few upheavals in the Demon King’s Castle ruins, she had ultimately obtained the crucial Demon King Armament.
As long as she possessed the Demon King Armament, she could continue operating under the identity of her past life’s Demon King Ville.
Thinking of this, the corners of her mouth curved upward as she let out a low, arrogant laugh.
“Heh heh heh, hahaha! Damn fate—no matter how you hinder me or kill me, it’s useless! This king will still step back onto the path of the Demon King!”