A Succubus Queen's Remorse
It had been roughly a week since Kim Taegi left the Demon Lord’s army. Liris, the Succubus Queen, let out a sigh so heavy it seemed the ground might collapse beneath her.
“Haa… How did things end up like this?”
Only a week since Taegi had walked away. Seven days. One hundred and sixty-eight hours. That was all the time that had passed. Yet in front of her, documents were piled into a mountain.
Just how did Taegi handle all of these by himself?
No matter how many hours she spent buried in work, the stacks never shrank—they only grew. And the more she worked, the more his smiling face haunted her thoughts.
“What? It’s tough? Hang on, I’ll help you out.”
Taegi, who had always brushed it off like it was nothing and stepped in to help. The moment she pictured him, tears began to gather at the corners of her eyes.
“Ugh…”
She couldn’t cry. This was her own fault. She had voted for Taegi back then. But she had known. She had known the other two executives would vote for Van.
After all, the day before the vote, Van had come to her directly.
The day before the vote, Liris had passed her workload to Taegi as usual. Then she sat alone, quietly weighing who she should choose tomorrow.
Maybe it really is better to vote for Taegi?
But would he actually be happy about it? Becoming the Demon Lord might look perfect from the outside. In reality, the moment you took the position you inherited every single duty and responsibility that came with it. You also had to earn the trust of your subordinates. The pressure would be crushing. He was already carrying nearly all the work by himself—if he had to shoulder the role of Demon Lord on top of that, he might not survive.
Ugh. I can’t decide who to vote for.
Just as she sank deeper into thought, someone knocked on her door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Who is it?” Liris called.
“It’s me.”
The person outside was none other than Van. She told him to enter.
“Come in.”
The door creaked open. Van stepped inside, and Liris tilted her head.
“What’s going on? Why the serious face? That’s not like you at all.”
The man who usually wore a lazy, delinquent smirk was now completely solemn. Without wasting time, he cut straight to the point.
“Who are you voting for tomorrow?”
“Excuse me?”
“I asked who you’re voting for tomorrow.”
“Have you lost your mind? We agreed to keep the vote fair, and you’re asking me that the night before?”
Even if the Demon Lord was largely a symbolic role, the vote had to be fair because the position represented the entire demon race. Yet here he was, showing up the day before and openly asking who she would pick. While Liris stared at him in disbelief, Van spoke again.
“Looks like you’re planning to vote for Kim Taegi.”
“Hmph. Think whatever you like.”
“Let me say this first. Don’t vote for him.”
“Who are you to tell me what to do?”
His commanding tone irritated her. Demonic energy flared around Liris. Van took the pressure head-on without flinching. Then he answered her question.
“That guy is already handling every task, every front line, and solving every problem by himself. Now imagine what happens if he becomes the Demon Lord on top of that. Think about the consequences.”
“That’s…”
It seemed Van’s thoughts weren’t so different from her own. She asked, “Then who do you want me to vote for?”
“Vote for me.”
“What?”
His shameless attitude left her speechless for a moment. He continued his explanation.
“Out of all of us, I’m the one who does the least work. But I want my father’s recognition. If I become the Demon Lord, I’ll work until I drop—unlike before.”
He spoke with such gravity that she almost believed him. His face and voice were utterly serious, yet she could clearly see the greed flickering in his eyes.
He talks a big game, but all he wants is power.
If he had truly planned to work hard, he should have started long ago. Even if someone like him became the Demon Lord, nothing would change. Liris answered firmly.
“No. The vote will be fair. The more you act like this, the less chance I’ll vote for you. Get out. If you want my vote, leaving now would be wise.”
“…As you wish.”
With those words, their conversation ended.
Recalling the past, Liris’s expression darkened.
I can’t let my face look like this…
The more she remembered, the heavier her heart grew. Regret flooded in.
I should have called the other executives and stopped them from voting for Van.
Right now the other two Heavenly Kings were drowning in guilt. Seira, knowing she could regenerate, hurt herself on purpose to feel maximum pain. The dark elf Miel refused to leave her room, lost in a haze of drugs. And Van…
Grind.
Just thinking about him made her teeth clench. The new Demon Lord had zero conscience—he was still fooling around with succubi like always. On top of that, he was spending even more money than before.
“Haa…”
Liris sighed and collapsed onto the wide bed. Just how had Taegi carried all of this alone? How had he managed to smile while doing it?
Day after day, his smiling face refused to leave her mind. At the same time, tears kept falling.
I’m sorry…
It was far too late for regret. Still, she wanted to kneel before him and apologize—for forcing him to handle everything by himself, for piling every burden on him when the army was in danger.
But no matter how much she wished for it, he would never return. She had seen the look on his face that final day.
That expression made it clear he would never accept an apology.
It was the first time she had ever seen him truly angry. The face that had always greeted them with a smile now made her heart plummet.
What should I do…?
If things continued this way, the Demon Lord’s army would walk straight into ruin. Though it had grown stronger than before, the downward spiral was undeniable.
“Is there really no way…?”
There was one. A solution she had known but desperately tried to deny. The only answer was to bring Taegi back.
But would he even come? Would he even be willing to speak with her? She would be lucky if he didn’t attack her on sight.
“Yeah… No matter how I look at it, that’s too shameless.”
Instead of easing his burden, they had dumped everything on him and now expected him to return. It was ridiculous. They hadn’t even given him a proper apology.
So—
At the very least, I should go find him and apologize.
No matter how she thought about it, this was wrong. The Demon Lord’s army? Its decline had been inevitable the moment Van took the throne. This trip was simply to apologize. It didn’t matter if he refused to accept it. It didn’t matter if their meeting was the end.
Even if her knees bled. Even if he cursed her. Even if he condemned her and spat in her face.
She had to apologize. That was the bare minimum courtesy. It was the natural thing a friend should do.
Tears streamed from her eyes.
“Ugh…”
Liris wiped them away, but they continued to fall. Even after crying for an entire week.
A few days later, I had come to the royal capital to take the academy assistant exam. I had visited several times years ago, but not much had changed.
Well, if the place had changed drastically in four years, that would be the strange part.
Thinking that, I pulled out the academy notice.
Still, I never expected things to turn out like this.
In the original story, the academy wasn’t recruiting assistants at this time. They didn’t hire people with prior experience. But the sudden strengthening of the Demon Lord’s army over the last four years had changed that. The academy was now recruiting far more assistants because of it.
I didn’t realize the butterfly effect would work in my favor.
In most novels, the butterfly effect only caused disasters. In my case, it had created a rather nice opportunity.
Anyway, I shouldn’t be standing around.
I had relaxed too much. The exam would begin soon. I broke into a run so I wouldn’t be late.
Then—
Thud!
I bumped shoulders with a woman who looked strangely familiar. But I was in too much of a hurry to stop. I quickly bowed my head.
“Sorry! I’m in a rush!”
With that, I sprinted toward the academy.
A short while later I reached my destination. It really was the only academy on the continent—the buildings looked incomparably more luxurious than anything else in the capital.
The moment I tried to pass through the main gate, the guards blocked my path.
“What is your business here?”
Instead of answering, I handed over my application form. The guard checked the time, then took out a communication orb.
“Yes. There’s a man named Kim Taegi here. Is he one of the candidates taking the exam today? Ah, understood.”
The guard ended the call and opened the gate.
“You’re late. Hurry inside.”
“Ah, yes.”
It would’ve been faster if you’d just let me through from the start. I swallowed the complaint and stepped past the gate.
The next moment, a landscape that reminded me of a European university spread before me. I had seen plenty of scenery during my four years here, but this place was on an entirely different level from Roheln.
Of course, a week ago I probably wouldn’t have been in the mood to appreciate any of it.
It seemed everything looked beautiful when you were in a good mood. I admired the surroundings while using presence detection.
Hmm. A lot of people are gathered over there.
Violent mana signatures—most likely adventurers—were clustered in one spot. That had to be the examination area. I headed in that direction.
A crowd of men who looked like they had seen their share of combat milled about.
Seems the exam hasn’t started yet.
I scanned the adventurers. Just as I expected, nothing had changed from four years ago. They were all mediocre at best.
Then—
“You—!”
The guy I had robbed a few days ago after he tried to rob me appeared in front of me. Apparently he was taking the assistant exam too. His face flushed red. He glared and started to approach when—
Step. Step.
Crisp, refined footsteps echoed. Everyone’s eyes turned toward the sound.
A moment later, a woman appeared.
“I am Elaine von Davis, the supervisor for this examination. I look forward to your cooperation.”
The woman who would one day become the hero’s teacher and a renowned professor at Oxford Academy had arrived.