Chapter 1
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Assassinated Princess Is a Demon
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0.
I knew full well how grueling it was to survive in the human world as a demon.
Demons were evil that had to be exterminated, after all.
That was why I had tried so hard to live like a proper human—a proper princess—and eke out a long, slender life.
"It's okay, Deyna. Anyone who suspects you... we'll take care of them."
All sorts of adversities began crashing in, disrupting my flawless act as a kindhearted human.
"Wait, just hold on a second."
I forced myself to calm down and stared at the black-haired man about to do something utterly insane. He tilted his head at my plea.
"Put that down."
"Put what down?"
"The dagger you're holding to the Emperor's throat."
The man scowled as if to say what's the problem? and replied,
"Don't worry. No one will know. This is a perfectly sealed chamber, after all."
As if agreeing with him, a familiar voice chimed in from behind me.
"That's right, Your Highness! I checked it myself. No one will come here for the next hour!"
It was my most trusted maid. She seemed to have slipped through the palace's stringent guards all on her own and pinpointed the perfect moment for an assassination.
Then, the masked figure beside the black-haired man added,
"We won't leave a trace. I've got it covered. We'll tamper with the scene so perfectly, no one will suspect a thing."
Not to be outdone, the robed woman keeping watch by the window called out in a haughty voice from her vantage point outside.
"We don't need your help! If it looks like we're about to get caught, I can just blow the whole room sky-high with the explosion spell I've planted here!"
Did she just say she's rigged a time bomb in the Emperor's bedroom?
I looked up involuntarily. If only I could see the vast night sky... but the dark ceiling only made my chest feel tighter.
This is weird. Aren't you supposed to become a good human after overcoming hardships?
Why did these people, who I saved, turn into the hardships themselves?
No one answered my question.
Regardless, the four who claimed I had saved them pointed at the Emperor and said—in reverse order this time—
"So, Your Highness!"
"What do you want to do?"
"We'll get ready too!"
"Shall we kill the Emperor?"
I never dreamed that I, a demon, would end up teaching them how to be proper humans.
1. The Assassinated Princess Is a Demon
Liribel, the new maid at the annex palace, froze at the sight before her and held her breath.
Moonlight poured into the bedroom, illuminating her mistress lying lifeless on the old but elegant bed.
Sh-she's really... gone.
It was the first corpse Liribel had ever seen, and her legs shook so badly she thought she'd collapse right then and there.
She'd come to replace the bedroom candles because of a bad feeling today, but she never imagined she'd be the first to discover her mistress's death.
Her face as pale as the corpse, Liribel steadied her pounding heart and offered an awkward prayer.
"...M-may you rest in peace, Your Highness."
The body before her belonged to the annex's mistress, Princess Deyna.
Liribel, who handled the bedroom cleaning, had never even spoken to her, but she knew Princess Deyna was a royal with an incredibly tragic backstory.
Her hair and eyes are so pretty, but the nobles say they can't tell what she's up to.
The princess's deep indigo hair and golden eyes, brighter than pure gold, were one reason for her persecution.
There were plenty of other vicious rumors too—that being around her would infect you with plague, or that she cursed people with black magic every night. But Liribel didn't pay them much mind.
For Liribel, who had to feed her family, having a mistress who lived like a mouse was actually quite convenient.
Besides, black magic? As if something that cool could exist in real life.
Liribel had been fascinated by black magic and such ever since she was little. She gazed at Princess Deyna again and murmured without thinking,
"But... she passed so beautifully."
Realizing how rude that sounded even to herself, she clapped a hand over her mouth.
Princess Deyna's appearance felt not like a creepy death, but a serene beauty. Her pure white nightgown, hands neatly folded over her stomach—it was all perfect.
The princess, too frail to even leave the bedroom, seemed to have accepted death with the same quiet grace.
Stop it. That's disrespectful to the dead.
Deciding to quit her irreverent thoughts, Liribel turned to leave the room and report to the head maid.
"...Huh?"
But when she turned, she stiffened at the sight of a familiar man standing in the corner of the bedroom.
"Butler Hans?"
He was lurking in the shadows, glaring at her murderously. It was shocking enough to see him in the women-only bedroom, but the rage in his eyes froze her solid.
Then Hans charged at Liribel with savage fury.
"Eek!"
"You—you hid it!"
"Wh-what?"
"Where the hell did you hide the stake?!"
Hans's thick hand seized Liribel by the collar and yanked her up. The force was so intense she choked and gasped for air.
"Liribel, you're in charge of cleaning this bedroom! Where did you put the stake from the cupboard?!"
He ranted incomprehensibly, pressing her relentlessly.
Liribel shook her head in denial. The only stakes she knew were the ones from her rural hometown, used to grow vine vegetables.
"If it's gone, I...!"
Hans was the one cornering her, but he looked the most desperate of all. Liribel shook her head vigorously to show she had no idea, but he didn't seem convinced.
"Not gonna talk, huh?!"
With that, Hans drew a sinister-looking dagger from his pocket. As he raised it high, the moonlight made it gleam wickedly. Only then did Liribel realize what he intended.
He was willing to torture her for answers.
"I don't know, please!"
"Let's see if you say the same after I draw some blood!"
The dagger flew toward Liribel.
Sun God, Winter Queen, Fairy King... any god out there, please!
Liribel squeezed her eyes shut and desperately prayed to every divine being she could think of. She just wanted someone—anyone—to save her.
"...Shut up."
Did someone hear her prayer?
A voice she thought she'd never hear again sliced between Hans and Liribel.
Both their heads creaked around like unoiled hinges toward the source.
There stood...
"What's with all the noise in my bedroom?"
The corpse she'd confirmed was dead had sat up and was staring right at them.
Her platinum eyes, glowing even more eerily in the moonlight, took in both Liribel and Hans.
Liribel murmured in disbelief,
"P-Princess?"
Hans cried out as if it shouldn't be possible,
"No, that's impossible! I definitely killed you!"
You killed her?
Liribel's jaw dropped at the shocking truth. Ignoring her, Hans kept babbling the facts he didn't want to face.
"I saw the stake take effect! With the amount we used today, it should've been lethal... Our calculations were perfect!"
And accomplices too?!
Liribel reeled at the realization that this peaceful annex had been a gruesome murder scene.
In response to Hans's screams, the revived Princess Deyna swung her legs off the bed and said,
"I don't know what's going on, but can you let go of that girl first?"
But Hans, out of his mind, gripped the dagger even tighter.
"Protecting the maid... so you were in on it. That's why you hid the stake!"
"What the hell is this stake thing anyway?!"
Liribel's indignant shout only seemed to rile him more. Hans swung the dagger viciously.
"Still lying!"
The moment it was about to strike Liribel—
"...!"
The shadow on the bedroom floor surged up, morphing into dozens of spikes that mercilessly pierced Hans's arm.
"Aaaagh!"
Hans screamed, releasing Liribel and rolling on the floor.
Liribel stared blankly before turning to Princess Deyna.
The princess had extended her right hand toward Hans. She sighed and muttered,
"That's why I told you to let go."
Black magic.
The words flashed through Liribel's mind.