Chapter 22: Little Sister’s Body Is Burning?

Gabriella suddenly felt that something was slightly off.

By saying that, wasn’t she essentially telling her little sister, “I trust Her Majesty the Demon King”?

Yet…

Gabriella truly believed there was no reason to keep it from Lady Isabella.

Isabella was indeed different from what most humans imagined; she was a gentle, wise monarch.

The Demon King had never once actively invaded human territory.

The final plot twist of the game was that a human duke, coveting the mysterious ancient ruins in the Demon Race’s Eastern Ridge and the priceless treasures within, had started a decades-long war with the demons.

Although Gabriella had lost to the Demon King, Isabella had not pressed the attack on humanity. 

Instead, she drew the “Black Stone Mountains” as the boundary line, took what belonged to her, and then stopped paying any attention to human affairs.

Especially after the demon traitor incident, the Demon King had become gentler and gentler.

The old Demon King would never have held a wedding for Gabriella.

That was why Gabriella thought informing the Demon King would actually allow them to prepare.

Besides, she was doing it to hollow out and control the Demon King anyway~

She had no desire to hide anything from Isabella.

…What truly worried Gabriella in the end was the matter of the Evil God.

Could Isabella really be that malevolent Evil God?

But right now she was nothing more than a silly, sweet, idiot Demon King, hey!

“Sis…”

“What is it?”

Gabriella suddenly sensed that something was wrong with her little sister.

Her voice sounded soft and limp, as if she had just woken up or was simply exhausted.

A girlish blush of embarrassment bloomed on her cheeks, and her body seemed to grow restless.

It looked exactly like she had caught a cold.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Gabriella stepped forward and touched Elsa’s forehead.

Her temperature was a little high.

But she wasn’t running a fever, and someone of Elsa’s level shouldn’t be able to catch something as minor as a cold anyway.

“I’m fine!”

Elsa’s delicate body trembled. 

Like a startled little bird, she instantly backed several steps away, looking for all the world as though she were shy.

Why was this idiot little sister acting embarrassed in front of her? 

They were real sisters who had grown up together since childhood.

Elsa immediately realized her reaction had been excessive. 

She hurriedly bowed her head and apologized to Gabriella. 

“I’m sorry… I, I don’t know why my body is…”

“Shall I take you to a doctor? Hmm, actually, it would be best to leave it to your big sister. I’m the only human here, after all.”

“No need, I know…”

Elsa backed up a few more steps, clearing the path and indicating they could now go report the prophecy to Her Majesty the Demon King.

Yet Gabriella still felt something was wrong.

She stared deeply at her sister’s face and suddenly remembered: right now, Elsa was still technically the Grand Commander of the human side.

Even though humanity was planning to wage war on the demons, she wasn’t stopping Gabriella from telling the truth to the Demon King.

It was as if everything were perfectly natural.

Hmm… lately she’s been getting along pretty well with Liya, hasn’t she?

And then Elsa’s next sentence deepened Gabriella’s suspicions even further.

“Sis… I, I want to know… how do you lift the curse of 【Demonification Corruption】~?”

She asked tentatively, her eyes filled with anticipation and pleading.

…

“Grand Commander-sama has been missing for an entire week!”

Inside the knight order’s encampment, a female knight stood in the center beside the campfire and spoke to the knights gradually gathering around her.

She had icy-blue long hair, wore form-fitting white knight armor that was both light and sturdy, and the two pieces of armor at her waist accentuated her curvaceous figure. 

Her slender legs were wrapped in long boots and black thigh-high stockings, adorned with golden Church-style armor plating, making her look every bit the holy knight.

Hearing the female knight’s voice, many knights who had still been resting in their tents came out one after another, uniformly surrounding her. Many began responding to her words.

The autumn wind was bleak, just like the knights’ mood.

“What about Grand Commander-sama’s guards?”

“No news at all. It’s as if they vanished.”

“Nothing’s happened to her, right?”

“Silence! Grand Commander-sama is the strongest among us. Waiting is the best choice!”

A dark-skinned knight with fiery-red hair shouted. 

He was tall and burly, his thick hair and beard making him resemble a lion, and the golden medal on his chest was the strongest proof of his status.

He was the Seventh Knight Captain, one of the mightiest existences in the Holy Knight Order.

He looked at the female knight, arms crossed, eyes filled with disdain. “【Ice Saint】, Lady Tina, your reckless impulsiveness will only cause trouble for Grand Commander-sama.”

Tina’s face remained expressionless as she replied coldly to the man, “We should follow in Lady Elsa’s footsteps.”

“Want a duel?” 

The man suddenly raised his fists, gripping two curved blades. 

“I’ve been annoyed with you for ages. Just because His Majesty the Holy King bestowed the title of 【Ice Saint】 on you, don’t get too full of yourself!”

More and more people gathered to watch.

The female knight also drew the sword at her waist.

Tina’s title of 【Ice Saint】 was by no means an empty name.

In fact, before setting out on this expedition, Grand Commander Elsa had personally told her: if anything happened to Elsa herself or if she died, Tina was to lead the entire knight order.

She was one of the strongest in the army, nearly catching up to Grand Commander Elsa’s own power.

“Ice…”

Tina quietly chanted the incantation. 

She closed her eyes, and more and more frost gathered beneath her feet, quickly forming an ice lotus.

In an instant, the scorching black stone ground was covered in a layer of white frost that spread throughout the entire encampment, making everyone shiver uncontrollably.

The girl’s icy-blue hair gradually turned snow-white. 

The ice continued to accumulate, forming a massive holy sword of ice that floated in the air and spun, as though it would strike the Seventh Knight Captain’s head at a single command.

Her pupils turned into ice-blue gems. 

The frigid air lifted her into the sky, making her look like a goddess of winter descending with the calamity of frost.

“Damn it, you…”

Seeing this, the man instantly lost all will to fight. 

He threw down his weapons and raised his hands in surrender.

Only then did he realize that someone personally granted a title by the Holy King was not an opponent a mere Seventh Knight Captain like him could challenge.

“Anyone else want to object?”

Tina swept her gaze across the surrounding knights. No one replied.

“Eight years ago, Lord Silver-White Sword Empress was abandoned by that incompetent duke. Now Lady Elsa’s life or death is unknown. We must not repeat the same mistake.”

“One hour from now, we march on the Demon King’s Castle!”

The girl’s pleasant voice reached every knight’s ears.

The knights dispersed. 

Tina landed on the ground and lowered her head.

In those deep eyes of hers, distant memories seemed to surface.

“Lady Gabriella…”

“I am merely a clumsy imitator of the tiniest fraction of your power.”