358. Sugar in the Trap
358. Sugar in the Trap
- 1 -
The moment the title conferment ceremony ended, nobles flocked to the two of them.
"Marchioness, congratulations!"
"Countess, you are truly beautiful...!"
Greetings from the nobles of the five nations, including Orbis and Hysen, continued endlessly.
Their demeanors, however, were completely opposite.
While Evangeline responded with a perfect smile, Serica... well, she didn't even bother hiding her look of utter annoyance.
'Ah, so annoying.'
She sighed inwardly. To her, a demon realm noble, human social circles were nothing but a bothersome ritual.
Amidst the shower of invitations and praise, Serica spotted a familiar figure approaching.
A black dress and purple eyes. It was Libertas, wearing a gentle smile.
"Rita— Ah, no. Philia!"
Serica sprang to her feet and rushed over.
That was close. She had nearly called her by her real name.
But that wasn't what mattered. The languid expression Serica had worn until moments ago gave way to a bright smile.
Beside her, Evangeline also straightened her attire, gently waving off those approaching her.
Tok-tok.
As Libertas walked forward,
the nobles naturally parted to make way for her.
Those who knew she was a demon did so out of knowledge; those who didn't simply followed the mood.
"Forgive me for being late."
"No, it is perfectly fine."
At her master's apology, Evangeline bowed respectfully.
That Libertas had been dealing with something was obvious just from the expressions on the faces of Saya and Esther behind her.
Serica, on the other hand, puffed her cheeks out slightly and whispered into Libertas's ear.
'If you give me a kiss later, I'll forgive you.'
'Alright. I will.'
Naturally, Libertas drew a soft line at the corner of her mouth and nodded.
When she gestured lightly in the air, the shadows at her feet spat out two large boxes.
The boxes moved toward the two women in response to her gesture.
"Will you accept these?"
"This is...?"
Both gave her a curious look as they took and opened the boxes.
Inside was a special item.
"Is this... a bouquet?"
Evangeline asked, as if it were a wondrous thing.
The reason her tone lacked certainty was that the object was clearly different from an ordinary bouquet.
"Chocolate...?"
Serica murmured as she caught the fragrance.
It was a special bouquet made of long chocolate confections, intricately arranged in the shape of flowers.
She had never seen or heard of such a thing before.
"...Thank you."
Evangeline, on the other hand, wore a cozy smile, as if gazing at a nostalgic keepsake.
She had received this same gift in the first round.
"How did you think of something like this?"
"I just... I was simply considering what would suit a special day."
At Serica's question, Libertas answered, for once a little awkwardly.
'It's not like I can say it's Pepero Day.'
She gave a wry smile inwardly.
Giving 'Pepero' on November 11th was a culture that didn't exist here.
She couldn't explain a tradition that didn't exist in this world. She had no choice but to call it a special day.
Immediately, her expression grew serious.
To convey words fitting for that 'special day.'
"My happiness... is something you all create."
Libertas whispered in a low voice.
Her usual gentle smile had vanished, and her eyes studied the two of them with sincerity.
"Every single day, every single moment. That is why I, too... always believe I must repay all of this. Now, and forever onward."
In an instant, both of their faces turned red.
"Rita..."
"Master..."
The names they each called out were different, but the emotion contained within them was the same.
Serica spoke with feigned cheerfulness.
"It's really pretty! I love it!"
Her eyes sparkled as she inhaled the sweet scent of the confectionery bouquet.
Evangeline carefully placed it back in the box and held it preciously.
Sincere joy bloomed on their faces.
"How could I ever eat this? It's far too precious."
"Shall I put a preservation spell on it? Or we could eat it together later on. Well, then..."
As Libertas turned away first, a small murmur escaped her.
"...Please take good care of me from now on. Let's go. I've arranged a place where we can eat together, just us."
The two did not miss the fact that the tips of Libertas's ears were slightly red.
Seeing her back—inexplicably shy like a young girl in a way she never normally was—Serica and Evangeline unconsciously exchanged glances.
As if bound by some unspoken pact, soft smiles bloomed on both their lips at the same time.
'Honestly, how is she this cute...!'
'So there are times when you show this side of yourself.'
An understanding that needed no words.
Their smiles mingled deep affection for their master—their liege and fated one—with a warm anticipation for the future they would build together.
- 2 -
At Andras's demon realm, in the Head of the Hoga Family's residence.
"...That is all."
Hosorang knelt before the 'fake Hocheon' and delivered her report.
"I see. So it is true that Agares has formed a connection with Libertas..."
"Yes, that is correct, Head of the Family."
Hocheon muttered in displeasure. The tone of Sorang's response, however, was calm.
Inside her, contempt and rage toward the being occupying the head seat simmered, but not a trace of that emotion showed on the outside.
"Other than that... did you find nothing of use?"
Hocheon rested his chin on his hand and drummed the table with his fingers.
His sharp gaze fixed on Hosorang.
"The Duke of Paradox—I mean, any weaknesses that woman might have."
"One thing. I was only able to confirm that the Duke of Paradox holds special affection for her subordinates. Furthermore... I heard that she has formed deep bonds with humans."
"A fact we already knew..."
Hocheon nodded with a grave expression.
"Were that not so, the current behavior of humans dancing to Hecate's tricks would be inexplicable. Tch, bonds with humans... It grows more and more displeasing to the eye. Still, we have confirmed a weakness to exploit, so that will suffice. You are dismissed."
"Yes."
Hosorang bit her lip for a moment as she kept her head bowed.
It was out of resentment.
The Hocheon sitting here was the 'real' one, but to her, with her mind manipulated by Libertas, he was a 'fake.'
But for now, she had no choice but to bow her head. Because it was true that this fake ruled the clan.
However, the person to whom she would offer her 'true loyalty' was one alone.
'The elegant and beautiful Head of the Family, Hocheon...'
The image of the 'true head' imprinted on her mind was a being straight out of myth.
Golden eyes that shone like stars in the night sky, nine pitch-black tails that traced elegant trajectories with every step—a 'White-faced Golden-furred Nine-tailed Fox.'
Clad in an alluring black traditional dress and bearing a benevolent smile, that person was the true monarch of the Hoga clan.
Then, suddenly, Hosorang tilted her head as a question arose.
'Why is Head Hocheon a woman? The one I knew was definitely... no.'
But soon, she shook her head and dismissed such an irreverent thought.
If anything, it was herself, for never having found it strange that the head had presented as a man until now, who was the strange one.
Because the modifier 'elegant and beautiful' suited the female Head of the Family more than anything else.
She collected her thoughts and raised her head.
'It's chaotic.'
Hosorang shifted her gaze and surveyed the clan's situation.
Throughout the clan grounds, an unusual fighting spirit stirred.
This was because Andras was preparing to invade the continent of Shinna soon.
Invading the continent was the fate and duty of every demon realm archduke.
Dungeon Lords were increasing in number by the day, and the more they multiplied, the less land there was to claim as territory.
'But the Duke of Impulse won't move alone.'
If a demon realm archduke invaded, humans, too, would put aside their various conflicts and unite to fight.
To divide that cooperative effort, a link with Gaph, another archduke on the Western Continent, was essential.
'Will this information be of use to the true Head of the Family and Her Excellency?'
She wasn't certain, but it was right to inform them first.
Just as Sorang was about to move to a secluded spot, a loud roaring voice resounded.
"I apologize for my tardiness!!"
"How dare you be late at a time like this!!"
Turning toward the voices, she saw a man of massive build.
A hard-featured man with long, wild black hair grown down to his back.
'The Great Warrior Chief of Hyunyo...'
Great Warrior Chief Manho.
He held the position of Great Warrior Chief of the main family, but among the managerial figures of the Hoga clan, he was the sole yokai born of an outside clan.
'Someone to be wary of.'
He was a warrior who maintained the stance of a purely militant faction, one step removed from the power structure of the main family.
Always poised and composed, he could become an obstacle to the true Hocheon (Yuran) at any time.
After taking note of him, Hosorang finally headed into a corner and discreetly pulled out a communication device.
「Well done. You've brought excellent information.」
A sweet praise that crossed her mind.
"Huh...!"
Simultaneously, a dizzying sensation that thrillingly stimulated every nerve in her body rode up her spine and spread throughout her entire being.
As if her very soul were being melted, overcome by an addictive pleasure she had never before experienced in her life, Hosorang involuntarily trembled and gasped for breath.
'Wh-what in the world is this...?'
A feeling she was experiencing for the first time in her life, an addictive sensation that seemed to pierce her from head to toe.
The thrill was such that Hosorang momentarily forgot to breathe.
A foreign yet irresistible ecstasy.
She had no way of knowing that this was a sophisticated manipulation implanted by Libertas to maximize her 'sense of reward.'
'This is... the joy of a servant who feels the master's happiness together. Yes, this is what true loyalty feels like...!'
Thus, she firmly believed without a doubt that all these sensations were a vivid realization born of 'true loyalty.'
'I must be... of even greater help...! If only to feel this ecstasy once more!'
Her eyes grew moist, brimming with 'loyalty.'
That it was closer to madness, she could not know.
- 3 -
Pitter-patter...
A space that fell briefly silent after the communication with Hosorang ended.
The sound of Evangeline pouring tea into an empty cup filled the surroundings.
"Andras and Gaph are planning to march soon, she says..."
I stroked my chin and sank into thought.
Hosorang's information had come in faster than expected. As if she were squeezing it out.
I could grasp the meaning of that without even thinking too deeply.
"It's a classic strategy of revealing an opening to lure you in and then laying a trap."
"...Master. If what Lady Evangeline says is true, I believe they really are trying to pull something on you."
Evangeline and Saya each stated their opinions.
Evangeline was composed, but Saya's voice betrayed an agitation she couldn't hide.
"That you should be put in danger because of me is... and besides, under these circumstances, there is no way they would truly wish to see me..."
In her eyes were a mix of a faint hope she couldn't easily erase for her blood kin, a deep sorrow, and her worry for me.
"How about reconsidering this meeting?"
"I also believe that would be wise, my lord husband."
In this moment, not only Saya but even Yuran seemed to have lost her usual cool-headedness.
Part of it was because I was considering moving toward the enemy camp, but part of it was likely because she couldn't predict the outcome.
Because this was something that had not happened in their 'past.'
I put on a soft smile.
"It is an invitation, but I don't think they intend to lure me directly into a trap."
"Do you believe they intend to bring them within our camp and use some other trickery?"
At Evangeline's question—the only one still maintaining her composure—I nodded.
"Have we not successfully rooted out the spies from the Western Continent up until now?"
Yuran and Saya had thoroughly blocked the attempts of Andras and Gaph to insert spies.
We allowed spies from the Eastern Continent to enter our camp in a controlled manner, since we could keep an eye on them and leak false information through them, but we had no such need or value for spies from the Western Continent.
Yuran, who had been listening carefully to our conversation, lit up her eyes.
"You mean they are in a desperate state to extract whatever information they can about you, my lord husband."
"That is exactly it. There is one key difference between myself in the previous life and myself now."
According to what I had heard from them, in the first round, I did not have the shadow of my half-sister Vellastella cast over me.
At that time, she had already been reduced to a cripple by Semira's tricks, so there had been no way to help her at all.
My title had also been a count, not a duke as it is now.
That difference was significant.
"An attack on me would be an attack not on an ordinary noble, but on a demon realm royal."
Simply attacking the head of a single clan and threatening a duke of the demon realm and a collateral relative of the royal family carried vastly different repercussions.
"So they are hungrier for information. They must want to know what intentions I hold, what cards I am hiding."
Unlike when I was a count, they had to construct a much more elaborate and solid 'justification' to strike at me.
Because if they mishandled their approach and touched me the wrong way, they could even invite the intervention of the other demon realm archdukes—or the royal family itself.
Unless I publicly declared that I would make all demon realm archdukes my enemies, the situation was such that it was even harder for them to launch a coordinated attack.
"So, Saya."
I smiled and looked at Saya.
"Don't worry, and prepare to bring them here. Whatever tricks they try to pull, I will receive them with sincerity."
"...Thank you, Master."
A glimmer of moisture shone in Saya's eyes.
She didn't end up shedding tears or showing agitation, having suppressed it, but the waves of her emotions were deep.
As I patted her hand to soothe her and help her settle down, I looked at Yuran, who was sitting across from me.
"As for everyone else, let us prepare for the next ritual."
A ritual to elevate an elite Dungeon Lord to a higher rank.
I could not pause solidifying my inner strength.
To handle more tasks, and to climb higher.
The strength of a high-rank Dungeon Lord would surely be a crucial asset.