Chapter 34: Great Minds Think Alike

After the negotiations concluded, Duke Yuwen appeared to be in exceptionally good spirits and specially invited Via to dine with him at his mansion.

According to the final agreement, Duke Yuwen would guarantee an annual supply of at least ten tons of refined magic crystals for use by the demon race.

However, at Via’s insistence, these goods would only be delivered to Saint Anso City and received personally by Via—no sales to other demons were allowed.

Via was well aware of the character of these demons.

The Demon King indeed valued her greatly, but that did not mean she was truly considered one of their own.

Even as Demon Lord, she was nothing more than a plaything in the Demon King’s hands.

Once she lost her usefulness, he would discard her without hesitation.

She needed to prepare enough resources in advance.

The actual production of magic crystals within the demon race was not insignificant, but due to the enormous demand and inter-tribal entanglements, resource allocation was inevitably biased.

Given her position, it was destined that she would find it difficult to secure enough supplies to meet her own needs.

She had to prepare for the worst.

“Your servant here really surprises me. Among demons, it is rare to find one with such deep knowledge of the Church. Demon Lord, to be frank, I am a little envious that you have someone like this to assist you.”

During the luncheon, the duke looked at Cecilia with an admiring gaze.

In his eyes, Cecilia had become the perfect servant he had long dreamed of—intelligent, knowledgeable about the Church, never overstepping, and pleasing to the eye…

A servant like this was sure to be beloved by anyone.

“Hahaha, I feel very fortunate to be served by Lysa, but Your Grace mustn’t steal her away—I went through quite an ordeal to get her,” Via said half-jokingly.

“It’s clear that your relationship with your servant is much closer than I initially imagined.”

“By the way, to be honest, I wasn’t very confident you would give me a positive response, given we are on opposing sides. May I ask why you chose to cooperate with a demon like me?”

Via took the initiative to voice the question weighing on her mind—not really a question, since she already had a rough idea of the answer, but she wanted confirmation.

“To be frank, it’s because we need money right now,” Duke Yuwen said with a smile.

“Or, to put it in a way you might not like—we need money to fight against your kind.”

“You don’t really think the demon race is so aggressive as to force the Visey Empire, a country as large as mine, to sell minerals to our enemies to fight them, do you?”

Via naturally knew this wasn’t the true reason, though it was true that the other side needed sufficient funds.

“Then you should already know the second possibility.”

At this, the duke looked toward Cecilia: “Demon Lord, your servant’s familiarity with the Church means she understands well the Church’s current attitude toward my homeland. Indeed, the war between humans and demons is important, but I am a duke of the empire, a privilege granted by His Majesty the Emperor. As long as humans are not completely defeated, it is reasonable for me to think more about my country’s interests, right?”

“You seem to have too much confidence in human power,” Via said, deliberately adopting a haughty expression.

“Demon Lord, your willingness to initiate business with me also suggests distrust within your own ranks. The demon race has been locked in a stalemate with humans for so long, yet among the thirteen demon lords, only you remain active on the front lines. That alone shows your internal situation is probably no better than ours.”

As he spoke, Duke Yuwen lightly tapped the map marking the frontline between humans and demons.

Here, the two sides had been deadlocked for years.

Though the demons maintained steady progress, their advance had slowed significantly in recent years.

“Demon Lord, times have changed. Since the death of Lord Via Koren, the era of ruthless racial survival—where species fought to the death—is long gone. Or rather, that generation made all races, demons included, realize that whether human or otherwise, completely annihilating an intelligent race is near impossible. The more a race’s living space is squeezed, the fiercer its resistance.”

“Therefore, the era is no longer about wiping out other races, but about developing oneself. Yet, the Church’s current measures aim to prevent this—seeking to maintain deadly hostility so they can secure their authority.”

“So, Your Grace, you hope to establish communication with us to end this hostility? Forgive me, but the true era of peace and development has not yet arrived.”

Hearing his words about her past stirred a strange feeling within Via.

“I am the empire’s external window—aren’t you the same? At least for now, let us maintain some communication. It’s better to have dialogue than none.”

“I look forward to further cooperation between us. In any case, I hope this fragile partnership can continue.”

***

After leaving the duke’s mansion and boarding the carriage, Via gazed out the window.

“Cecilia, you really live up to your talents. If you’d used your skills to accumulate wealth and build your own team, the one getting kicked out now would probably be that old Church Patriarch.”

Via spoke sincerely, realizing that only a saint could truly understand the Church.

“You were a saint yourself, senior. You must have been exposed to many internal matters, but it seems you didn’t have a better fate either.”

Cecilia decisively responded to Via’s remark.

To be honest, it stung a little.

“We really are alike,” Via finally admitted after holding it in.

“Both of us are the self-deluded kind.”

Firm in our beautiful ideals, no trickery, only to be stabbed in the back by our own people in the end.

It’s no wonder we attract each other—strangely similar in how we stumble.

As the carriage rolled steadily along the duke’s main road, Via suddenly tapped the armrest beside her.

“Qin.”

“Here.”

Qin’s silhouette appeared next to Via.

Cecilia startled slightly but relaxed quickly after sensing no hostility.

“Any tails?”

“Since we left the mansion, someone has been following. Confirmed—they’re the duke’s personal guards.”

Upon hearing Qin’s report, Cecilia glanced behind the carriage but saw no one.

“Even among those loyal to the duke, some disagree with his aggressive stance,” Via said, raising her hand as a staff materialized.

“How’s their willingness to attack?”

“They seem to plan to act only after leaving the duke’s territory—probably don’t want to cause trouble for their lord.”

“Great minds think alike. I share their view,” Via sneered, slipping off the elegant high heels she had worn for show and replacing them with boots better suited for action.

“Then I’ll be patient and wait until we’re out of the territory before making a move.”