Although the nation bordering the Territory of the Flame Demon was not Lina’s own, she well understood the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will feel cold.
The current Human Nations and the Demon Realm maintained a delicate balance, and if one nation were to fall, it would shatter the peace.
Lina’s face turned pale, her body trembling as she instinctively shrank back behind Seraphina’s throne.
Seraphina herself felt a prickling sensation on her scalp. She should have expected this! The pain in her abdomen kept betraying her, growing worse with each passing moment.
She pressed her hand heavily on the armrest, wishing she had a gavel or something to bang down… Her voice suddenly turned cold, carrying an authority she had not shown before. “Silence!”
The clamor in the great hall instantly fell silent, all eyes turning to her.
“A campaign? And then what?” Seraphina sneered coldly, her sharp gaze fixed on the demon leaders who had offered their battle requests. “You crush a nation, seize some treasures, and collect a pile of useless heads along with fleeting so-called pleasures. Then what?”
“Next comes an even fiercer counterattack from the other Human Nations. They will set aside their grudges and unite, launching a prolonged and exhausting full-scale war. In the end, your Demon Realm subjects will pay the price for what is little more than your own selfish greed for plunder.”
If the humans united against the Demon Realm, Seraphina was certain it would be a mutually destructive war—one that would allow other races to profit as the two great powers weakened each other.
As the two major races of this world, the other species eagerly hoped for a conflict between demons and humans so they could grow rich from the chaos.
Maintaining the balance between humans and demons was the wisest decision. War could occur, but it must not be an all-out, direct war.
Moreover, still clinging to some illusions, Seraphina was unwilling to sow discord within the human camp by engaging in schemes to divide them.
Since she had been stripped of her knightly title, she only wanted to be a lazy person who enjoyed good food while holding on to what she had.
Seraphina leaned slightly forward. Although her complexion was far from good, her presence overshadowed all the demons in the room. “Your bravery is commendable, but it should be applied in the right place—like dealing with the Abyssal fissures—not on so-called fleeting campaigns!”
“Such a losing deal, I see no reason for it to be carried out. This matter is no longer to be discussed.”
Her one-year rule had been brief, but she had already established a reputation for shrewdness in the Demon Realm, showing a wisdom unlike these rough and crude demons.
Her words rang out with resolute power, laced with cold rationality rooted in calculating interests, successfully silencing the leaders, who lowered their heads. “Yes… Your Highness.”
Seraphina exhaled in relief. This round of intimidation had worked.
At that moment, a voice from the corner, sounding honest but a bit slow-witted, spoke up. From the large wings folded behind his back, it was clear he was the representative of the Giantwing Demons.
“Your Highness, you said we shouldn’t do complicated business with the humans, but that means our income drops to zero… what should we do?”
“Pfft—”
Some demon in the court couldn’t hold back and let out a faint chuckle, quickly stifled.
Seraphina: “…”
She knew Giantwing Demons weren’t the sharpest tools in the shed, but not this dumb… Was every business complicated to them?! Hearing this only worsened her abdominal pain. It seemed all those official documents she had reviewed were in vain!
“Why don’t you try cooperating with the neighboring Whiplash Demons?” Seraphina thought the Giantwing Demon was like the foolish son of a landlord family—sitting on a huge inheritance but clueless on how to manage it and always getting swindled.
“Okay…” the Giantwing Demon responded timidly.
“Ugh…” Seraphina had seen many Giantwing Demons before, but she didn’t know this new representative. “Who is that Giantwing Demon?”
She quietly asked a nearby maid, of course not Lina, who knew nothing.
“Your Highness, he is the second son of the Giantwing Demon chief. He’s considered somewhat clever within their tribe and currently serves as their representative.”
Clever?!
A suppressed, faint buzzing sound came from the demon leaders standing nearby. They were clearly trying hard not to laugh.
Seraphina helplessly rubbed her forehead, feeling mentally and physically exhausted. She then looked at the Whiplash Demon representative, who nodded slightly in acknowledgment of her earlier suggestion.
What followed were some trivial matters, which she casually gave advice on.
Finally, Seraphina waved her hand, too tired even to speak further.
The leaders bowed in succession and left one by one. Soon, only Seraphina and a pale, shaken Lina remained.
Seraphina slumped into her seat and let out a long, deep breath, feeling as if she had just fought a grueling battle.
“Do you see? If it weren’t for me, those warmongering demons would have started fighting long ago, and there wouldn’t have been this year of peace.”
Her voice was weak, laden with exhaustion.
Lina stood rooted, lips moving slightly as she looked at Seraphina’s pale, tired profile, swallowing back her words about “your demon race” and the like.
It seemed… Seraphina was truly suppressing those greedy desires aimed at the humans.
At that moment, Seraphina suddenly groaned, clutching her lower abdomen as she bent over, cold sweat breaking out across her forehead.
“Ugh… damn it…”
“You, are you alright?” Lina blurted out before she even realized it.
Why was she concerned about the leader of the Demon Realm?! Their enemy!
Her outstretched hand froze halfway, her eyes filled with struggle and confusion.
“I’m… fine! This is none of your concern!” Seraphina gritted her teeth, her voice barely escaping between clenched jaws as she forced herself to steady.
By sheer willpower, she maintained a facade of calm, slowly retreating toward her chambers. She refused help from any maid who tried to assist her along the way.
“Lina, no one may enter without my permission.”
The door closed behind her, and Seraphina immediately collapsed onto the bed, curling up and letting out stifled groans of pain.
“What exactly is going on…”
This was no ordinary abdominal pain, but rather a strange, unfamiliar soreness spreading from the “deep code” of her body, accompanied by bouts of inexplicable irritability.
“No way…”
Though unwilling to think in that direction, the repeated abnormalities forced her to face the possibility.
Ever since some of her abilities were stripped away, she had been reluctant—or perhaps embarrassed—to face that place, even deliberately avoiding looking there while bathing.
She attributed it to guilt toward her brother.
Now she was forced to check again whether he was still there…
“Hmph… good…”
Just a glance, and Seraphina quickly averted her gaze, sighing deeply.
No sooner had Seraphina settled her mind than an overwhelmingly powerful and familiar aura suddenly engulfed the entire Demon King’s Castle without warning!
“Movira?!”