After finishing dinner, Via and Stella returned to the room together.
As soon as they stepped inside, Little Ha started meowing nonstop at Via, clearly hungry.
“I didn’t forget. I brought you something.”
Via crouched down, pulled out a sausage, peeled it open, and held it out to the little yellow cat.
Little Ha snatched the sausage in her mouth and scampered to the corner to enjoy it.
“Via, you actually remembered Little Ha,” Stella remarked.
“If she’s hungry, she’ll keep yowling nonstop. It’s annoying,” Via explained. “I just don’t want her waking me up.”
“You still care about her.”
“She’s the annoying one, always coming over and refusing to leave no matter how much I shoo her.”
Even as Via said this, she walked over and ruffled the top of Little Ha’s head.
“At least with a cat, you don’t have to overthink things like you do with people.”
“Via, I saw some clergy from the Holy Land in town today. You’re not planning to go back to the Holy Land with them?” Stella asked.
“No.” Via answered immediately.
“Are you throwing a tantrum?”
“Do I look like I’m throwing a tantrum?”
“You look like it from every angle.”
Stella muttered under her breath.
After all, she had no idea what exactly Via had done in Kado City to make her so averse to the Holy Land’s clergy.
It couldn’t possibly be because of that one joke she’d made earlier, could it?
If so, that would really be over the top.
“I’ll head back to Avalon Academy with you. I’m not going to the Holy Land.”
Via kept her back to Stella, stroking Little Ha as she spoke.
“It’s getting late. We’ll wash up soon, then set out first thing tomorrow morning. Early to bed, early to rise.”
“Mm, alright. Since you put it that way, let’s rest early.”
Nighttime.
The couple’s room was quiet except for Stella’s soft, even breathing.
Via, lying beside her, suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.
She glanced at the time. It was already past midnight.
There was not a trace of sleepiness in her pink eyes. It was clear she had only been pretending to sleep earlier.
The pink-haired girl looked at Stella’s peaceful sleeping face, then slowly reached out a hand.
She gently brushed Stella’s cheek.
It was soft and pleasant to the touch.
Stella showed no reaction, still fast asleep.
“Stella?” Via whispered her name.
No response.
Stella simply rolled over.
Perfect.
The corners of Via’s mouth curved upward.
She carefully lifted the blanket, slipped out of bed, and deliberately left her slippers behind. Her bare, pale feet padded silently across the floor.
It was time to do what she had planned.
She had already decided during the day what she would do tonight.
She no longer wanted to remain in the human world. After careful consideration, every extra day she stayed increased the risk of unpredictable dangers. She would head back to the Desolate Fallen Continent ahead of schedule and leave right after midnight—the sooner the better.
As for why she chose to keep it from Stella, she had weighed multiple factors. The other girl had already invested quite a bit in her and might not agree to let her slip away like this.
One of those factors was money.
All her funds were currently stored in the Magic Workshop. Going back to retrieve them would take time.
Besides, if Sophie set up an ambush along the way, she would be walking straight into a trap.
After all, aside from the Holy Land, the only other place she could go was Avalon Academy.
That was why she had set her sights on Stella. Although the Ninth Princess of the Empire was not highly favored by the emperor, she still had some spare cash.
She would just have to “borrow” some for now.
As the great Demon King, am I really about to do something like this…?
Via could not help grumbling to herself.
This is so undignified. After all, I was once the most terrifying Demon King in all of humanity’s history. And now I’m going to steal—no, borrow money from a girl?
If her former subordinates ever found out, her dignity as the Demon King would be completely gone.
But the Demon King is supposed to do bad things! So she wasn’t wrong.
She quickly changed her train of thought. She was the Demon King; she had already done countless evil deeds, so one more wouldn’t matter.
Without money, she wouldn’t even make it to the border—she would starve on the road.
It should be here, right?
Via quietly approached the clothes rack, found Stella’s garments, and slipped her hand into the pocket to search.
Just as she was fully focused, a sudden sound behind her nearly made her heart leap out of her chest.
“Meow?”
“Ugh!”
Via spun around and saw Little Ha squatting in front of her, staring with curious eyes.
“Meow meow?”
“Shh—”
Via quickly raised a finger to her lips, signaling Little Ha to stay quiet.
She glanced over at Stella and watched for a long moment.
Thank goodness—Stella hadn’t woken up.
If Stella had woken, she would have no idea how to explain herself. It would have been mortifying.
“Don’t make a sound, Little Ha. Stay right here. Later… I’ll buy you some dried fish.” Via tried to bribe the cat.
Little Ha nodded, clearly excited about the dried fish, and obediently stayed put.
Via didn’t want any more surprises. She sped up, finally locating Stella’s wallet.
She emptied all the coins inside into her own pocket, then slipped in a note she had prepared earlier. After returning the wallet to its original spot, she grabbed her own clothes, hurried into the bathroom, changed at top speed, opened the room door, and slipped out without a sound. The entire sequence was smooth and efficient.
Next, she would find the carriage that had already been restocked with magic crystals and head straight for the border of the Saint Luo Empire.
“Via, are you kidding me?”
Stella stood by the bed, reading the note clearly under the moonlight, utterly helpless.
The note read:
“Stella, I’ve run into a bit of trouble and need to leave for a while. Don’t panic. Consider that money of yours as my investment for overcoming this difficulty! Once I’ve solved the problem and come back, I’ll help you ascend the throne and rule the Saint Luo Empire!”
“She actually ran off just like that. Could Via really be the Demon King?”
Stella had sensed something was off with Via earlier.
She had only pretended to be asleep and hadn’t disturbed her, but in the middle of the night she had been woken by Little Ha’s meowing. From the bed, she had watched everything Via did.
“Meow?”
Little Ha jumped onto the windowsill, staring outside as if asking where Via had gone.
“Little Ha, Via has left. She probably won’t be coming back anytime soon,” Stella said.
“Meow meow!”
Little Ha scratched at the window.
Stella blinked, seeming to understand the cat’s meaning. A faint smile appeared on her face as she helped Little Ha open the window.
“Little Ha, go ahead.”