Chapter 11: Rumors

“Hualí, wake up. After breakfast, we’re going to Lilith’s office.”

“Oh, wait for me~”

The next day, when Hualí woke up again on the bed in her cell, her whole head was dizzy and her body felt weak.

She blinked, glancing around at the layout of the cell.

Surprisingly, during the time she slept, Lilith had kept her promise and replaced all the furnishings in the cell with new ones.

The soft, pink, girlish bed under her, and the small wooden table against the wall, both stood in stark contrast to the steel-black walls.

Even the tungsten lamp, which used to flicker off and on, had been replaced with a brand new one.

Hualí tried pressing the switch several times—it had three different settings!

Rolling off the bed, she felt the soft, hand-knit carpet under her feet, the plush sinking between her toes like grapes, tickling her.

“That evil Sidella!”

Hualí blamed everything that happened last night on the wicked plan of the Blood Queen Sidella, especially how she let her guard down in the hot spring.

She had only been careless for a moment, giving the other side a chance!

But to be honest, Hualí couldn’t remember much after she fainted—she vaguely recalled waking up once, maybe on the way back to the cell.

Most likely, Lilith had carried her back.

Hualí looked down.

Her Hero battle dress, which she’d always worn, had been taken off, folded neatly, and placed on the table along with the Saint Sword.

She had been changed into a pink-and-white little dress, like an under-uniform from some Noble Academy.

Lace butterfly decorations adorned the collar and sleeves.

The size fit perfectly—neither loose nor tight, tailored to perfectly show a girl’s graceful figure.

If she had to mention a single flaw…

Hualí tugged the skirt down.

It barely covered her panties.

The dress was still a bit too short for her.

Finally, before leaving, she put on her stockings and small leather shoes again.

Equipping the Saint Sword, Hualí stood before the iron door of the cell.

Pushing the half-closed door open, she stepped out, signaling the official start of the plan!

“Let’s go, Penina!”

Outside the door, Penina, who had been waiting for quite a while, looked Hualí up and down and suddenly asked a question out of nowhere.

“Hualí, what’s your relationship with that Demon Queen?”

Hualí blinked, replying as if it were obvious:

“It’s the relationship between a Human Race Hero and the Demon Queen, of course. Why?”

A Human Race Hero and a Demon Queen?

Penina pondered for a moment, then casually brushed it off.

“No, it’s nothing. Let’s go, codename ‘Statue Plan’!”

***

During the following days, Hualí used her knowledge from the Human Race side, assisting Lilith with preparations for the Blood Queen Sidella’s Succession Ceremony.

At night, she returned to her cell, resuming her role as a captured prisoner.

However, there’s no such thing as a wall that can’t leak wind.

Rumors quickly spread through the prison, and the name of the Human Race Hero Hualí once again became the hottest topic among inmates.

After all, it was far from what a Hero’s identity should be.

Adding in the recent rumor spreading through the Royal City—that the Demon Queen coveted the beauty of the Human Race Hero and had no heart to attack the Human Race—people started to wonder about their true relationship.

Humans love gossip and drama, and the Demon Race was no different.

Speculations flew: perhaps Hero Hualí was Sidella’s first love from many years ago.

In the end, they couldn’t be together due to differing positions.

Even the conflict on the front lines between Human Race and Demon Race was recast as a play between the two.

Doujinshi of Hero Hualí and Queen Sidella quickly circulated through the prison, becoming hard currency.

A certain Minotaur, who wished to remain anonymous, reportedly wept after reading, repenting for nearly harming the Queen’s soul mate.

“Slander! It’s all slander!”

Sitting in a Royal City tavern, Hualí pounded the table, her cheeks puffed and her whole face flushed red with anger.

Lilith and Penina, sharing the table, seemed used to her outburst, letting Hualí rant without stopping her.

To other patrons, it was just another cute girl having a drunken fit.

Luckily, these rumors remained within the prison and barely made a splash outside the Royal City.

“How far along is the process?” Lilith asked Penina.

“The final step. We’re just missing a giant statue of the Queen,” Penina replied.

Just like how a grand statue stood in the Capital square to display the king’s dignity, a huge statue representing the Demon Queen was the missing piece for the Succession Ceremony.

“There’s a group of Goblin craftsmen in the Royal City skilled in sculpture and construction. We could let them try.”

“Hey!”

Hualí, dissatisfied, cut off their conversation.

“Lilith, can’t you shut those guys up?!”

Being tied to Sidella with some ambiguous relationship was something Hualí couldn’t accept.

That person was obviously just someone who liked to tease her!

Lilith’s gaze at Hualí was complicated.

She had tried to stop the rumors—at least before the Queen got her hands on the doujinshi featuring her and Hualí.

No one knew which inmate had written it, only that the Queen, with her twisted tastes, seemed to enjoy it.

So of course, there was no stopping it.

“Sorry, I’m powerless too,” Lilith tried to comfort Hualí.

“Actually, you could see it positively. With this kind of status, at least no one will target you anymore, right?”

“Who would want this kind of status?!”

Realizing she couldn’t escape this reputation for a long time, Hualí turned her grief into appetite, stuffing her cheeks with food.

After that, the three split up, using the money Lilith provided to hire a group of skilled Goblins, beginning the carving of the Sidella statue.

Penina oversaw the entire process as supervisor.

“Are you sure this will really work?”

Hualí leaned in close to Penina, lowering her voice.

“The kind of Cursed Stone that can explode isn’t sold in Demon King City.”

It was common in the Human Race region, but in Demon King City, it was extremely rare, completely messing up Penina’s original plan.

“I’ll think of something,” Penina frowned, searching her mind for a substitute.

Hualí’s big eyes blinked.

Suddenly, she recalled an item from her previous life that always appeared at big events.

She hadn’t seen it in this world yet.

“Hey, Penina, do you know something called ‘Fireworks’?”