A few days passed quietly after the sudden, yet fortunately unknown, conflict in Isaac City settled.
The royal capital’s handling came down quickly.
They settled the matter in a rather wise manner.
Given that New Year celebrations were right around the corner, the cabinet reached a consensus that it was not appropriate to publicly disclose the scandal of Isaac City’s upper echelons nearly committing treason at such a sensitive time, lest it create unnecessary complications.
However, the net of justice was wide. The involved parties had already been secretly arrested, yet they still could not escape punishment. The final trial would be held after the New Year.
A few days later, inside Astraea’s residence.
Steam filled the kitchen.
Astraea was crushing several kinds of dried herbs and sprinkling them into the soup that was bubbling away.
Movira stood to the side, staring at a piece of steak in front of her.
The knife in her hand removed the excess fascia, and her movements had already become much smoother.
When Astraea went to fetch other spices, she glanced sideways at Movira and spoke in a seemingly casual, soft voice, “To be honest, I still find it unbelievable to this day. The great Demon King of the Demon Realm would actually lower herself to learn these trivial kitchen matters for the sake of a little girl.”
Movira’s hand gripping the knife handle trembled slightly, but she quickly returned to normal.
She placed the blade on the cutting board and stopped her movements.
She did not look up, however. She simply stared at the steak in front of her, as if thinking about where the next cut should land.
“You… knew.”
She spoke plainly. It was not a question, but a statement.
That day in the underground chamber, when she had urgently used Demon Realm magic, she had never expected to hide it from this elf with such sharp perception.
What truly surprised her a little was that the other party was so certain she was the Demon King.
“I was just a bit curious.” After Movira made the final cut and placed the prepared meat onto a plate, she finally raised her eyes to look at Astraea. “How were you so sure that I am… the ‘Demon King’? Perhaps I was only a Demon Realm noble?”
The Demon Realm magic she had used that day was not particularly powerful magic at all.
Basically anyone who knew Demon Realm magic could do it.
Astraea stirred the newly added seasonings evenly with a ladle.
She turned around and leaned against the counter, her eyes carrying a look of reminiscence.
“This… it’s actually quite simple. Our relationship with the Demon Realm cannot be called close, but it is by no means hostile either. Many years ago, you once visited Miracle Forest. Although I wasn’t present at the time, I later heard the description from Her Majesty herself.”
The “Her Majesty” she spoke of was naturally the Elf Queen.
“Oh?” Movira gestured for her to continue.
She did indeed remember that trip. It had been roughly over ten years ago.
At that time, the Elf Queen had only recently ascended the throne. In front of Movira’s long life experience, this queen was indeed still of a childlike age, having lived for less than a hundred years.
“Her Majesty said…” Astraea tried to imitate the Elf Queen’s tone. It sounded full of vitality. “Demon King Majesty is a… very straightforward… big sister.”
This tone coming from Astraea’s mouth was indeed full of dissonance.
She also felt it was very inappropriate, so she quickly cleared her throat and returned to her own voice.
“Her Majesty also said that you can occasionally be very stubborn and don’t know how to be flexible. She described your appearance and even some of your unconscious little habits to me. So the first time I saw you at the academy, I already had my suspicions. It was just that this thought was too shocking.”
Her tone then became certain. “After these past few days of interaction, I became completely sure of your identity.”
As Movira listened, scenes from over ten years ago couldn’t help but surface in her mind.
She hadn’t expected that a meeting lasting only two days back then would result in the other party observing her so carefully.
As for that giant “Don’t Forget” tree, Movira hadn’t seen it during that visit.
As a secret of the elven race, it naturally wasn’t something just anyone could see.
Even knowing of its existence didn’t mean one could find its location.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have needed to say she could act as their “guide.”
In the living room, Dekalorin was sunk deep into the soft sofa, looking energetic. Almost no trace of her recent serious injuries could be seen.
The bandages that had once been wrapped around her were nowhere to be found.
Her recovery ability was so strong that it still wasn’t something forced out by Movira back in the day.
She gently nudged Saint Eustacia, who was sitting beside her, with her elbow and gave a meaningful look toward the direction of the study.
“Hey, stop spacing out here. Do you still remember what I told you before? There isn’t much left that I can teach you. Especially in terms of how to conduct yourself and how to plan and arrange things.”
“I remember. It’s just… do you mean… let me go find Seraphina?”
Saint Eustacia knew that Seraphina was currently in the study researching magic.
Dekalorin nodded. “Go talk to her. Think about it. She was able to push through peaceful new policies in the Demon Realm, a place that worships power and where the strong prey on the weak, making that group of warmongers whose minds are full of nothing but killing willingly pour their sweat into the fields instead of splashing it across battlefields. You should understand that this little girl’s methods are very clever!”
Saint Eustacia’s mouth was almost pressed into a straight line, her face full of unwillingness.
Asking a demon (at least she thought Seraphina was a demon) for advice on “how to handle matters” was simply absurd.
“Ask her for her opinion on your reckless operation from a few days ago, and have her propose a better solution. Anyway, she currently knows almost nothing about that incident.”
“Don’t be unwilling. If you don’t believe it, you can go ask her yourself.”
“…Alright.”
This was ultimately her teacher’s order.
She still took a deep breath, stood up stiffly, and walked toward the study with heavy steps.
Inside the study, when Seraphina heard the knock on the door, she subconsciously told the person to come in.
When she saw that the visitor was Saint Eustacia, she was momentarily stunned.
“Is there something you need?”
Seraphina closed her book and asked in confusion.
Saint Eustacia walked in and closed the door behind her with her backhand. Her movements were a little unnatural.
“Nothing else in particular.”
She walked to the desk, pulled over a chair, and sat down at a neither close nor far distance from Seraphina.
“It’s just… I wanted to talk about what happened that night in Isaac City.”
Seraphina still couldn’t make sense of it and became even more puzzled.
“Isaac? That matter has already been resolved, hasn’t it? Dekalorin said everything afterward was handled.”
“It was resolved, but…” Saint Eustacia nodded, seeming to find it a little difficult to speak.
After a brief pause, she continued, her gaze not landing on Seraphina but instead looking toward the desk.
“Dekalorin feels that my plan at the time had… many problems. She wants me to hear your opinion.”