“Lady Elsa… are you really not coming with me?”
The Demon Domain’s sunset painted the sky in hues of orange.
The sun had turned blood-red, while a cobalt moon hung opposite it, as though two colossal sources of magic were clashing.
Countless shooting stars streaked across the heavens in breathtaking arcs.
Whenever night approached in the Demon Domain, the surging mana in the air always conjured dreamlike phenomena that the ordinary sky could never produce.
Philina’s short crimson hair fluttered messily in the wind.
She turned to look at the silver-haired maid walking beside her.
Her heart pounded with anxiety.
She had imagined reuniting with Grand Commander Elsa countless times, but when the moment finally came, the other woman had already become an obedient maid who followed every demon order without question.
To test her, and to confirm the truth, Philina mustered her courage and asked once more:
“Grand Commander Elsa, I completely understand your desire to save the Silver-White Sword Empress… but if you stay here and the demons capture you all at once, it will be a disaster! We can return to the Church first, find an artifact to purify the curse, and then come back to rescue Big Sister Gabriella. That wouldn’t be too late, right?”
This was already the fifth time Philina had begged her.
The previous four attempts had failed; Elsa remained utterly unmoved.
Every time Philina spoke of leaving, Elsa would use “saving my sister” as an excuse to stay.
Philina was going out of her mind.
As captain of the Second Knight Order, she technically had no authority to order the Grand Commander, but she had never expected Elsa to be this stubborn.
The Grand Commander didn’t even seem to care about the lands granted to her, the tens of thousands of soldiers under her command, or the vast fortune that came with her title.
In desperation, Philina revealed the plan she and Tina had prepared in advance.
“Lady Grand Commander, there is only one way to defeat the Demon King and save Lady Gabriella: overwhelm her with true military might. Make her understand that humanity today is not what it was eight years ago.”
“…”
“Even if we cannot defeat the Demon King and both sides suffer heavy losses, as long as we rescue the Goddess, we can still oppose the Evil God.”
Elsa wavered slightly.
The eyes hidden beneath her ribbon trembled.
Did she not realise how deeply her sister had already fallen?
If they kept delaying and Isabella swallowed Gabriella completely, turning their pretend play into reality, everything would be over.
But the reason she wavered was not Philina’s words.
She thought of Holy Queen Simona.
…Should I go back and check on things after all?
Elsa hesitated.
“Mm…”
She gave a small nod, agreeing in a daze, unsure whether she would change her mind tomorrow or leave decisively.
“Really?! That’s great!”
Philina cheered and quickened her pace toward the royal knights camped nearby.
Soon they would rejoin the main knight order and leave the Demon Domain.
Elsa followed.
Yet her heart remained deeply shaken.
She truly felt there was nothing worth missing on the human side.
Just as Lady Liya had said.
The Church’s atmosphere was suffocating.
On the surface the knight orders were harmonious, but knights who offended certain captains often vanished overnight.
When you asked, you’d learn they had been assassinated; not even a corpse remained.
Those filthy insects could never threaten her status or position, but she had no real reason to return.
She didn’t care about wealth.
The only reason she had become a knight in the first place was to follow her sister.
But if her sister had not abandoned humanity, then neither would she.
If she could find a way to break the curse for her sister… wouldn’t that be better?
At the same time, the smiling faces of the demon maids flashed through Elsa’s mind again.
Before she knew it, they had reached the camp.
The sun had fully set.
Bonfires rose in the darkness, smoke curling upward like a lone island in a vast ocean.
Even from afar she could hear the knights’ rowdy voices; they were drinking.
“That female knight saved us.”
“We still failed in the end…”
“What will Her Majesty the Holy Queen do when she finds out?”
Elsa stopped walking and simply listened in silence.
Philina noticed her hesitation and tugged at the sleeve of her maid dress. “Let’s go back?”
“You go greet them first… I need a moment to prepare myself,” Elsa answered expressionlessly.
Philina nodded and hurried off.
When she returned, the knights welcomed her with tears of joy.
Their voices carried clearly; only a single tent separated them from Elsa.
Tomorrow morning they would rendezvous with the main force.
All the demons stationed along this route had already withdrawn on Big Sister Gabriella’s orders.
Even if she truly betrayed the maids and left the Demon Domain, no one would notice.
Yet Elsa only stood quietly, listening to the knights’ conversation without making a sound.
The bonfire cast flickering shadows on the tents, monstrous shapes swaying, growing, shrinking, flashing bright and dark.
“Philina, heavens, you scared us to death! But… what about the others?”
“Tina stayed behind. She has something more important to do.”
Philina’s voice.
“And Elsa? She’s never coming back, is she?”
A sly male voice, sneaky and low. The captain of the Third Knight Order.
“She’s… well, not here right now.”
Philina had only meant it as a small joke.
She wanted to act sad, then bring Elsa out later for a big surprise!
But what followed spiralled completely out of control.
“No need to blame yourself, Lady Philina. If it weren’t for Elsa, you’d be the Grand Commander, wouldn’t you?”
“John?! What are you saying? Shut your mouth!”
But John, captain of the Third Knight Order, emboldened by drink, spilled every thought in his heart:
“Yeah, it has nothing to do with Lady Philina, nothing to do with us either…” The others chimed in agreement.
“The Saintess herself said there was a reason Elsa could never become one of the Four Saints or wield a 【Divine Artifact】. She only rose to her position because of Her Majesty the Holy Queen’s favour… No need to care whether she lives or dies!”
“I heard the same thing. When we wake up tomorrow, let’s just forget Elsa ever existed.”
At that moment
The golden insignia of the Grand Commander slipped from Elsa’s fingers and rolled across the crimson sand.
She turned and walked away, vanishing into the boundless night.
“Perhaps… the next time we meet, we will be enemies.”
…
After hearing Third Knight Captain John’s words, Philina nearly lost her mind with panic.
She was about to shout at him, defend Elsa, then reveal that the Grand Commander herself was standing right behind the tent, but there was no time to explain.
Philina bolted toward where Elsa had been, only to find the spot empty.
She looked down.
All that remained was a single golden insignia, glinting faintly in the firelight.
The proud, untamed Grand Commander who had never bowed to anyone in the knight order had become a maid among demons…
Both she and Lady Gabriella were under mental control.
Philina clenched her fists and glared at the Demon King’s castle floating in the distant sky.
“I will definitely save you both.”