Gabriella gave her a gentle smile, then turned and walked away, catching up to Isabella’s steps.
All the while, she and the Demon King kept their arms intimately linked, the affection between wives displayed openly before the maids.
Just two weeks ago, Gabriella would still have been a little more discreet.
But Elsa was no longer as shocked as she had been when she first arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.
Elsa had accepted dark magic, and among it, a portion of shadow.
She had grown horns and demonic pupils.
On ordinary days she did not appear nervous at work, yet the horns on her head still made her body feel faintly strange.
When her big sister had grown horns, her expression had been so calm, so perfectly at ease, not even caring if others stared.
It seemed her big sister had long since fallen, and had already accepted that this day would come… She was not insensitive to the changes in her status and body; rather, she had unconsciously come to believe that she was already a member of the demon race.
“Haa…”
Elsa stood guard outside the office, able to faintly hear the conversation between her big sister and the Demon King.
It was said that a few days ago, part of the Evil God Isabella’s power had awakened, and then her sister became what she was now.
Elsa’s feelings were complicated.
She wanted to save her sister, yet she no longer knew why she should.
Big sister looked very happy.
And she herself had already made her choice: to abandon humanity and follow her big sister.
While she was lost in thought, an ice-blue-haired maid peeked out from the side.
“Lady Elsa?”
It was Tina, the Ice Saint.
Her voice was low, and her sneaky demeanor suggested she wanted to discuss something.
“Lady Elsa… could you come with me for a moment?”
“Lady Tina? Of course.”
Every time she witnessed the sisters interacting, the way they obediently and respectfully followed behind the Demon King, Tina’s delicate body would tremble as she prayed the curse would not continue corroding the poor pair.
Tina cautiously pulled her into an empty changing room and explained everything.
The private cubicle inside the changing room was not cramped and was extremely secluded.
The two sat on the resting sofa while Tina, probing carefully, told her about Philina.
“The Evil Tree has appeared again… I just received word. War is about to begin. We have to do something.”
Tina’s eyes were resolute.
“The Evil Tree… the one Lady Simona subjugated…”
She had been waiting for an opportunity, but now there was no reason to keep waiting.
As one of the 【Four Saints】 who had fused with Gabriella’s divine artifact, the Adjudicator, Tina required special magical replenishment to maintain her sanity.
But she had been away from the knight order for far too long; there was nothing left to replenish her magic.
If she kept waiting, both Philina’s plan and her own would fall apart.
Humanity would be defeated, the Evil God would awaken.
And Lady Gabriella would, as the apostle of the Evil God, help her destroy humanity.
The fall of the Divine Maiden would plunge humanity into despair.
Grand Commander Elsa, who had not yet fully fallen, was her last hope.
At that moment, the Ice Saint Tina seemed to recall something.
With a trace of embarrassment, she confessed that her body needed magical replenishment.
“Hm?”
Elsa tilted her head.
Of course she knew Lady Tina had fused with her big sister’s weapon.
Her first reaction was… a little jealousy.
It was exactly as the other knight captains had said.
Tina had been promoted to knight captain by the Holy Queen, but that was only after she had earned recognition through her own strength in battle against the Queen.
That was why so many knights had been willing to follow her.
Yet humans, in times of crisis, would tear one another apart and slaughter their own kind.
Elsa never wanted to return to that.
At that thought, a shadow passed through Elsa’s eyes.
But she did not dislike Tina.
If she could help her, if she could bring Tina along with her…
“Just have big sister restore your magic directly. After all, a counterfeit can never compare to the real thing~”
“But…” Tina could not help voicing the suspicion in her heart.
“Lady Gabriella is already under the Evil God’s control. If I accept her dark power again, I’ll end up lost just like her.”
On the day the Evil God awakened, Lady Gabriella had poured dark power into Tina’s body.
That sensation had been strange.
Her body, especially her chest and head, had grown hot; she had felt slightly out of control, imagining the moment Lady Gabriella bestowed that power… The Adjudicator inside her had originally been a weapon created by Gabriella—her weapon.
Now, Gabriella’s dark power was merging with her body.
If she were filled with that power just a few more times, she would probably fall into the abyss just like Gabriella.
After listening to Tina, Elsa’s gaze flickered, finally settling back on her.
The corners of her mouth curved upward, her smile carrying a faint, almost imperceptible trace of wicked charm.
“Lady Tina, if you beg big sister, she will definitely help you.”
“Really?” Tina tilted her head.
“Yes. Big sister is very gentle and very rational. She will surely understand the difficulties you’re facing~”
Tina pondered for a long while, as though finally grasping what Elsa meant.
Even though Lady Gabriella had fallen, she still retained a shred of humanity, hadn’t she?
How could that be?
This contradictory feeling had been present ever since Tina arrived at the Demon King’s Castle.
Liya had said that the Demon King and the Silver-White Sword Empress were married, that they had confessed their love and vowed to spend their lives together.
Perhaps Lady Gabriella was not contradictory at all.
When the knight orders invaded, not a single person had died.
Had everything been under her control?
Was it mercy, or love for the Demon King?
Tina wanted to know exactly what had turned Lady Gabriella into what she was now, and what, precisely, she was following.
If she wanted to understand Lady Gabriella, she had to find a way to get closer to her.
“I understand.” Tina nodded.
The two quickly left the changing room and returned to their posts.
They stood together on either side of the office, serving as guards for Lord Demon King and as assistants to the personal maid, Lady Gabriella. That was their duty.
Suddenly, Tina had the illusion that this life was not so different from before.
Admiring Lady Gabriella together with Lady Elsa and becoming her capable subordinate.
Was there really any difference?
…
When Elsa saw the determined look on the Ice Saint Tina’s face, for some reason she felt a twinge of guilt.
Back in the knight order, whenever Tina needed magical replenishment, it had usually been Elsa—whose power was closest to her sister’s—who created “energy capsules” and handed them over.
In truth, if Tina wanted pure power, she could simply have asked Elsa for help.
Yet Elsa wanted to follow her big sister…
If big sister had already completely submitted to the Demon King, then what she would pour into Tina would no longer be the silver-white power, but the terrifying 【Shadow】 instead~
Everything… would be left to big sister to decide.