Chapter 129: The Deception
Chapter 129: The Deception
The orgy between Hilda and the guards continued on the screen. As time passed and they regained their strength, the men lunged at Hilda one after another as if clinging to her, only to be defeated repeatedly by the insurmountable gap between their races.
By the time the second and third rounds had passed, the guards began to collapse one by one. Only Hilda remained standing tall among them, her Lust Crest on full display, looking very much like a queen seated upon a throne receiving homage.
It had been a month and a half since she was reborn as a Lust Demon. Her seduction of the guards, which had begun with simple conciliation and physical intimacy, had ended in their complete submission, with them groveling at her feet.
Their pride and dignity as knights of the kingdom and as guards responsible for public order were nowhere to be found. The sight of them prostrating themselves before a Lust Demon, their heads trodden upon, foreshadowed the future of Capia Castle.
Watching this ruinous scene, Walter was thoroughly addicted to the handjob Karin was giving him. She alternated between lightly stroking the length of his shaft with her gloves and a glans-focused handjob, rapidly rubbing the head of his member.
He accepted everything Karin did with pleasure; both his body and mind now belonged to her.
The Lust Demon's conspiracy in the reception room concluded with the perfect co-opting of the last remaining opposition in Capia Castle—a somewhat ill-tempered but highly capable administrator.
Knock, knock. A middle-aged butler opened the door and entered. He merely looked on as his master sat there with a vacant expression and an erect cock, then walked forward to bow his head at Karin's feet.
"Thanks to you, things went smoothly, Mr. Butler. Thank you ♡"
As Karin sat her backside down on his back, the butler relished the sensation of her soft buttocks, basking in the reward for his betrayal with great delight.
By turning the butler—someone close to the target—into a slave beforehand, the task had been made much easier.
"Then all the preparations are complete. All that's left is to see how well our Master performs."
Karin looked around with satisfaction and prayed for the success of the final operation being carried out in parallel.
Eliminating variables by winning over those close to the target—this was a principle that also applied to the process of subverting King Anzens.
While Hilda and Karin joined forces to bring down the guards and the last of the opposition, Jaejin was walking through streets that were livelier than ever just before the festival.
Although the Demon God Cult was expanding its influence and continuing its work beneath the surface, the atmosphere of the streets hadn't changed much since before the Lust Demons took over, as there were no oppressive mechanisms like the Gestapo in place.
If anything, it could be said that the streets had become more boisterous as the number of beauties increased, followed by a growing number of enthusiastic male admirers.
What caught Jaejin's eye was the King's inspection team. A group of people walked by, wearing epaulettes emblazoned with the Royal Crest.
Jaejin, sensing the flow of their mana, realized that each one of them was a powerhouse only slightly inferior to Hilda, which made him exceptionally nervous.
Before the plan began, Lena and the other Lust Demons had given Jaejin a word of caution.
"Never, ever overdo it. If you succeed, Jaejin, it will make things easier, but there's no need to take unnecessary risks."
Anzens was a medium-sized country on the scale of the entire continent, but even such a nation was filled with talents that could not be ignored. The reason the Demon Race had lost the last war was the sheer difference in the talent pool resulting from the absolute difference in numbers. It was a disparity in strength that made one realize that no matter how many battles you win, it is difficult to win the war.
Therefore, even in this declining kingdom, the King's inner circle and the Royal Guard, composed only of the elite, were opponents that should never be underestimated.
Don't think of your success so far as anything more than luck, and don't let your guard down. Since they had all expressed this common opinion, Jaejin didn't even attempt to approach them despite having spotted them.
At the very least, he was able to gather some information about them through Erdia and Hilda. The Royal Guard, consisting of one Captain and two Vice-Captains, was the strongest martial group in the kingdom, each member possessing talent that ranked among the best in the nation.
Among them, the one out on inspection this time was Vice-Captain Florence Lugins and her subordinates. She was a close relative of the King—his first cousin once removed, to be precise—and was in her early thirties.
If he could secretly approach Florence and charm her as a Lust Demon, just as he had with Hilda, everything following would proceed without a hitch.
However, he couldn't see an opening. He felt like he would be caught if he got even slightly close, and even watching from afar, he couldn't find a gap in the defenses of a woman accompanied by her subordinates.
Jaejin, wanting to be helpful to those around him, agonized over a way, but there was nothing he could do except follow from a distance without being noticed.
Ten minutes, then twenty passed without any opportunity to intervene. Just as he was about to give up, he saw Florence enter a side alley alone.
Finally seeing his chance, Jaejin waited calmly for the right moment. Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching from behind. Before he could even turn his head, a dull thud hit his neck, and his consciousness cut to black.
A voice echoed in his fading consciousness.
"Caught a suspicious fellow. We'll detain and investigate him."
He felt that things had gone wrong, but unable to even lift a finger, Jaejin fell asleep on the cold floor.
*
When he opened his eyes, he couldn't see anything. The pressure on his eyes told him he was wearing a blindfold, and the chilly sensation suggested he was underground rather than on the surface.
Click, clack. Jaejin flinched at the sound of approaching boots. The owner of the footsteps stopped nearby, and then came the creak of a chair being pulled out as they sat comfortably across from him.
"This is a strange city. There's a faint aura of the Demon Race lingering in the streets, yet the people go about their business as if they're used to it. So, I was on my way to question the Lord, and what do you know? I find someone gloomily following me."
The somewhat cynical and prickly voice belonged to someone who had noticed the abnormalities in the city during their brief stay. It was a moment that revealed she possessed detection abilities far exceeding the concealment skills of Karin and Liana.
"To think they'd use a kid like this, and even play some kind of trick on his body... I can't say anything other than that this smells fishy."
Judging by her words, it seemed his identity as the next Demon Lord hadn't been discovered. Certainly, there was no one capable of making such a deduction just by looking at Jaejin.
"I'll assume you're one of the victims, so I won't speak harshly. Tell me, who put you up to this? If you confess obediently, this will end without any pain."
"I... I just saw some knights I'd never seen before and followed out of curiosity... I don't know anything..."
Thump. His body recoiled at the sound of her boot heel striking the floor. A burst of mana, an application of the Lion's Roar, pressured him intensely, exerting a sense of intimidation.
"You don't know? In times like this, you're supposed to say you have nothing to do with it, kiddo."
"Ah... ah..."
At this rate, he would be found out. Everything related to Capia Castle, centered around him, would be exposed.
Jaejin racked his brain.
It didn't matter if the situation wasn't fully resolved. If he could just escape this immediate crisis, he could buy time for Lena to come and rescue him. Amidst the rapidly escalating pressure, Jaejin found a single clue.
It was a somewhat embarrassing and shameful method, possible only because the opponent was judging him solely by his appearance, but now was not the time to be picky.
Jaejin cowered and trembled at Florence's stomp. He used his fear to the fullest, shaking violently and shedding tears. A soul-infused lie that didn't feel like acting was the only way to save him.
To pursue perfection, Jaejin added the detail of wetting himself. Florence, who had been watching his reaction, was greatly startled and removed his blindfold.
His vision finally cleared to reveal a dungeon illuminated by faint light. Standing there was a beautiful blonde woman looking flustered. Her yellow eyes, which could be mistaken for gold, trembled unsteadily as she looked at Jaejin.
"A-Are you okay!? Ah, I didn't mean to scare you like this... What should I do... There, there, shall we stop crying?"
Jaejin thought it was a stroke of luck that he had heard basic information about these people. Florence. She was the Vice-Captain of the Anzens Royal Guard and an elite who had been the youngest Royal Knight before Hilda.
And he knew the fact that, because she was too outstanding, she hadn't been able to marry and was now a bride-to-be full of maternal instincts, standing on the verge of being past her prime.
Due to her personality, her environment, and the kingdom's civil war, she had never married and had a weakness for children.
Of course, no decent human being is 'strong' against children, but an appearance like Jaejin's was one of the few conditions that caused this woman, who usually showed no openings, to lower her guard.
He hadn't considered such an extreme situation, but as a result, it worked out perfectly.
Florence was doing her best to soothe the sobbing Jaejin, and while Jaejin buried his face in her chest to enjoy her softness, he was also buying more time.
She was at a loss as to how to resolve this tangled situation. Threatening him by stomping her foot was clearly her fault, but she had never expected a boy tainted with demonic energy to burst into tears.
Thinking she should wash the boy first, Florence untied the ropes binding his hands and feet and headed for the bathroom. Jaejin felt the current crisis gradually turning into an opportunity.
In her state of utter confusion, she hadn't noticed at all that he possessed the power of a Lust Demon.
He even rejoiced at the fact that she was voluntarily going to a confined space where they could have skin-to-skin contact.
Of course, his wet underwear and pants were uncomfortable and unpleasant, but being attended to by a beautiful blonde woman who stripped him as he held his arms up more than compensated for that discomfort.
"Go on in first. I'll follow you shortly..."
Florence spoke as if she had no choice, yet she loosened her tie with a slightly excited heart. When was the last time she had been in a bathroom with a male? It was probably in her childhood when she offered to help her father wash.
She had seen peers who married as soon as they became adults walking around with sons this age; perhaps if she hadn't had a talent for the sword and hadn't become a knight, she might have had a son like that boy.
Of course, if he still wet his pants at that age, she would have to scold him severely...
"What kind of scandalous thoughts am I having... Let's just focus on washing him first."
Realizing her delusions had gone too far, she finished taking off her shirt and leather pants and entered the bathroom in her underwear.
The bathroom was still cold. She had just turned on the mana crystals, so the water would warm up soon, but the boy was shivering from the cold. Her own body, trained daily, didn't mind such cold thanks to temperature-protection magic, but this frail boy was different.
Florence hesitated for a moment, but seeing Jaejin shivering, her heart softened, and she pulled him into an embrace.
"Are you cold? Let's just hug for a moment..."
"T-Thank you. Big sister..."
She knew her own age. To a boy like this, she must look like she was old enough to be his mother, even if she might look younger to someone her own age.
However, Jaejin, who had spent the last few months surrounded by women, could easily fabricate the words and actions his opponent would like.
"B-Big sister...?"
"You're a very high-ranking person, aren't you, Big sister? I'm sorry for causing you trouble because of me... and thank you..."
The words were thoroughly calculated. But Jaejin's silver tongue, choosing only pleasant things to say, softened Florence's mood, and all the while, Jaejin's pheromones were bypassing her magic resistance.
The seeds of doubt gradually vanished from Florence's mind. Not everyone associated with the Demon Race was bad, and there must have been a reason he was lingering nearby.
Quietly and secretly. In that confined space, she was being enchanted by Jaejin.