DGDITMIAE 14

Chapter 14

Terestia almost let out a shriek at the words of Isolik, who introduced himself as a holy knight.

A holy knight wants to become my knight?

Absolutely not! What if he finds out my true identity?

What if he reports to the Empress Dowager and the Vatican that I’m a demon!

Since I’m a bad demon who runs away without granting wishes, my true name would be exposed and I’d be destroyed on the spot.

Terestia gasped at the sudden situation and froze stiff.

Whether or not Isolik noticed Terestia’s state, he still waited patiently with a resolute expression.

“W-Wait, you said you’re a holy knight, right?”

Terestia timidly grabbed the hem of Argo’s clothes behind her and asked in a small voice.

Argo, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, seemed completely unconcerned with her panic, maintaining his relaxed demeanor and expressionless face as he simply bent down to match her height.

“I didn’t mishear you, did I? You said a holy knight wants to become my knight, right?”

“Yes, you heard correctly. Hmm, ‘Isolik Yennier’… That name sounds familiar. Ah, he’s the captain of the Holy Knights, the son of the Pope, and the one appointed as the next Pope.”

“What?!”

He’s even more of a big shot than I thought!

Judging by what Argo said, he seems quite capable—doesn’t that mean the chances of my identity being discovered are even higher?

Terestia discreetly glanced around at the corpses.

There were the bodies of knights who had died in the monster attacks, but the ones lying in unsightly heaps were clearly Oket tribesmen.

Had the Oket tribe really committed crimes?

They only worshipped demons, but those terrible holy knights had slaughtered even helpless children and the elderly.

They were ruthless bastards who did this just for believing in demons—if I get tangled up with them, something terrible could happen.

‘O-Of course, to a tremendously powerful demon like me, he’s nothing but a bite-sized snack! But what if my territory’s people get involved?’

If my territory’s people get captured… who will offer me sweet treats?

If my loyal subjects and minions die, I’ll become weaker too!

I’ll grow frail, won’t be able to run away, and will surely be destroyed.

And that absolutely cannot happen!

Terestia, her face even more pale than usual, spoke to Isolik without mercy.

“No, I can’t accept you.”

“…Is there something about me that doesn’t meet Your Highness’s standards?”

“A holy knight is absolutely out of the question.”

“…”

Because I don’t want to die.

Terestia hid her fear as best she could and pressed her lips firmly shut.

Her curly golden hair scattered in the cold wind, and her violet eyes coldly looked down at Isolik.

Isolik, who had been standing dazed for a while, slowly reacted to the voices of the holy knights calling him from behind and turned around.

“Yes, Sir Yennier! Sir Marquez’s condition here is…”

“That’s impossible… Sir Higgins’s body is—ugh! Damn monsters!”

After slowly looking around and swallowing a sigh, he then gave a formal bow to Terestia and turned away.

“Sir Callahan, first assess the wounded, divide them by severity, and report back. The recovery of the knights’ bodies will proceed after that.”

Watching Isolik turn away so easily, Terestia blinked.

She had been worried he might cling to her and beg to be accepted as her knight, but contrary to her concerns, his attitude was remarkably clean and composed.

Feeling a bit awkward, she stared at his back for a moment, then shook her head.

It’s better for me if he gives up quickly.

After all, he’s someone who might find a way to see through my identity, discover my true name, and destroy me.

The original Terestia’s memories—which said not to trust the Vatican people—also contributed to that thought.

Even now, they make a fuss and run away when monsters appear, but they only killed those poor demon worshippers.

It seems they think monsters and demons are different things.

Even while believing there’s a real demon beyond this border.

Terestia inwardly mocked the Vatican and the Holy Knights, then spoke cheerfully to Argo, who stood beside her watching.

“Let’s go back now! It’s time for dessert.”

“Well, you did have some this morning. If we go back… and if we don’t get caught by the Madam, I might be able to sneak you some.”

“As long as you keep quiet, just you!”

Argo’s face seemed to say “Is that so?” as he shrugged, but he said nothing more and extended his hand to Terestia.

Then, just as when they came, they vanished without a sound.

And Isolik Yennier watched that sight for a long time.

Those insolent holy knight bastards who caused trouble in her territory had been driven out, and the monster horns—trophies from the hunt—turned out to be quite valuable.

Terestia was in a good mood, thinking today had been quite successful.

That is, until she ran into the head maid, Lady Kirardu, in the hallway just before entering her bedroom.

Lady Kirardu was a pigeon beastman, and due to the Empire’s sentiment of排斥 beastmen, she had barely been getting by in the Inyument Territory as well.

When the Grand Ducal Castle put out a notice that they were hiring, she saw it as her opportunity.

‘The Grand Duke is a demon? All humans are demon-like anyway, why should I be picky?’

And so she entered the Grand Ducal Castle and secured the position of head maid.

“Halt!”

At Lady Kirardu’s command, Terestia reflexively snapped to attention—then flinched and relaxed her posture.

“W-What brings you here at this hour, Madam?”

A face that makes even a magnificent demon like herself cower in fear…

But not wanting to be caught being afraid, she swallowed hard and barely managed to speak.

“…Wait, I can explain everything.”

“Where is Sir Argo? I have told you time and time again!”

“Why are you looking for Argo?”

“Because Your Highness never listens to a word I say!”

Terestia felt absurd at Lady Kirardu’s words, treating Argo as her guardian.

But before she could voice her objection, Lady Kirardu fluttered and rushed toward her, making her instinctively step back.

Who ever said pigeons were gentle and kind symbols of peace?

Though Terestia rarely batted an eye at most things, a huge pigeon with vague red eyes glaring unfocused in anger was absolutely terrifying.

“Blood stains don’t come out easily, you know! Come here right now, I’ll prepare separate bathwater.”

“…Fine.”

Terestia gave up resisting and surrendered herself to Lady Kirardu.

‘That disloyal brat. He ran off on his own?’

That bastard Argo must have known Lady Kirardu was prowling around near the bedroom.

Otherwise, there’s no way he’d just slip away alone!

‘Should I… not have taken her on back then?’

Lady Kirardu was the first pair of hands to arrive at the Grand Ducal residence after it had been thrown into chaos following the removal of those who spoke with silver tongues.

The servants who survived the large-scale purge were stunned when the demon-like Grand Duke hired Lady Kirardu without any particular reaction, but soon they came to regard her with respect as she unhesitatingly nagged the Grand Duke about this and that.

As warm water soaked her body and the monster bodily fluids stuck here and there washed away, Terestia grew increasingly languid and her heart softened, asking innocently.

“But wait, are feathers okay to get wet?”

At that, the enraged Lady Kirardu cooed and raised her voice.

“Well, if Your Highness the Grand Duke hadn’t secretly gone to the border, I wouldn’t have to be soaking my feathers at this late hour either!!”

“Ow! I’m the Grand Duke! You can’t treat me so harshly!”

“I never thought I’d be attending to your bath at this hour of the night either! You never give me a moment’s rest! I quit!”

“No! If you were going to quit, why did you get hired in the first place? Absolutely not!”

Though her hands were rough, Terestia didn’t want a worker who did the job of three people to run away.

Ignoring Terestia’s indignation, Lady Kirardu began grumbling.

“It’s fine that you come back drenched in sweat from the training grounds every day. It’s fine that you go on border subjugations too. But at this late hour, with so few attendants around, to come back this filthy…”

“Weren’t you done with your nagging?!”

Come to think of it, the usual maids were nowhere to be seen.

“But a few will be coming soon. There are some preparing snacks.”

As soon as she finished speaking, several maids entered the bathroom carrying steaming food.

“Give those here. I’ve been attending to His Highness’s bath alone, but it seems my feathers make it difficult to finish neatly. You girls help out with the rest.”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Oh my, Your Highness! You look like a drowned cat.”

“Hey now, Dalia. Daring to call His Highness a cat?!”

“But you’re so cute… Yes, I’m sorry, Madam. Please stop glaring, it’s scary.”

“You should be apologizing to His Highness for your rudeness, not to me!”

Fortunately, the maids whose bedtime had been delayed didn’t seem to have bad expressions, but Terestia felt unnecessarily guilty.

Humans suffer and die if they don’t get enough sleep, after all!

Making people work late into the night is something only a really bad demon would do.

Of course, I am a demon! But I don’t want my minions to die!

Terestia shook her head at the apology Dalia offered, looking dejected under Lady Kirardu’s sharp glare, and said with dignity:

“I’m not cute, I’m cool.”

Though for all that, Terestia looked as exhausted as a cat forced into a bath.

The maids exchanged glances among themselves, then giggled and patted Terestia’s shoulders, saying “Of course, of course.”