Chapter 104: A Genius Plan? The Demon King smiled: My head maid, you have a great idea!

Click.

The last stack of documents was closed.

Lilia slumped into her Black Crystal chair.

She felt as if her entire skeletal frame were about to fall apart.

Acting as the “General Overseer” for an entire day was more exhausting than fighting a void beast head-on.

She rubbed her aching neck and glanced out the window.

It was already pitch black outside.

“Good work, Miss.”

Lilith brought over a glass of juice, and a sweet fragrance wafted through the air.

“Thank you, Sister Lilith, mew…”

Lilia took the glass listlessly and gulped down a large mouthful.

The cold liquid slid down her throat, clearing her foggy brain a little.

“Are we… successful? Mew?”

She asked in a low voice.

“Yes, Miss.”

Lilith nodded.

“All the unrest has been quelled. Furthermore, thanks to your ‘wise’ decisions, the empire will gain a significant amount of additional revenue.”

She placed a deliberate emphasis on the word “wise.”

Lilia’s cheeks flushed.

‘Wise decisions? It was all the Head Maid slipping me notes behind the scenes.’

“Then… what will that perverted Demon King think? Mew?”

This was Lilia’s biggest concern.

They had cleaned up the mess so “perfectly.”

Would Lucia really let them off the hook so easily?

“I don’t know.”

Lilith shook her head, her expression grim.

“But there is no turning back, Miss. We can only gamble. Gamble that our ‘victory’ will make Her Majesty feel ‘satisfied.'”

Lilia’s heart tightened.

It was true—their lives were now tied together.

Whether they lived or died depended entirely on a single thought from that perverted Demon King.

Just then, the heavy Obsidian doors of the Administrative Hall swung open silently on their own.

Someone stepped out from the darkness outside, their footsteps noiseless.

It was Lucia.

She had changed out of her daytime imperial gown and into a black silk nightgown.

Her long black hair was draped casually over her shoulders.

The moment she appeared, the air in the Administrative Hall suddenly froze, becoming so heavy it was hard to breathe.

Lilia and Lilith’s bodies stiffened simultaneously.

“It seems my ‘Special Assistant’ has done a rather excellent job.”

Lucia glanced at the processed documents on the desk, her tone flat.

“It… it’s all thanks to Master, mew!”

Lilia sprang up from her chair, forcing a flattering smile.

“And Sister Lilith’s… ‘assistance,’ mew.”

She placed extra emphasis on the word “assistance,” trying to share the credit with Lilith.

But Lucia didn’t even look at her.

Her gaze landed directly on Lilith.

Lilith felt a chill rise from the soles of her feet.

“Lilith,” Lucia said casually.

“You were very diligent in your ‘assistance’ today.”

Lilith’s body trembled almost imperceptibly.

She lowered her head and bowed deeply.

“Relieving Her Majesty’s burdens and serving the Young Miss is my duty.”

“Is that so?”

Lucia laughed.

She paced toward Lilith, reached out, and tilted the Head Maid’s chin up with her fingertips.

“Then why don’t you tell me? How did you come up with so many… ‘genius’ solutions in a single day — solutions that even my Finance Minister would applaud?”

Lilith’s lips moved, but she couldn’t utter a single syllable.

A drop of cold sweat rolled down her temple.

‘It’s over.’

Lilia’s mind went cold.

‘We’ve been caught. Our “little actions,” which we thought were seamless, were under that pervert’s eyes from the very beginning.’

“You can’t say it?”

Lucia’s fingers gently stroked Lilith’s smooth chin, her movements both intimate and dangerous.

“Or… you don’t dare?”

Her voice was soft, yet every word struck the two of them like a physical blow.

“It seems my Head Maid has been having many ‘thoughts’ of her own lately.”

Lucia let go and turned her back to them, walking toward the massive floor-to-ceiling window.

“I gave you the highest authority and the deepest trust. And yet, you used them to play this… game of betrayal with my little pet.”

“Your Majesty!”

Lilith could no longer hold herself together and fell heavily to her knees with a thud, her body trembling violently.

“I didn’t betray you! Everything I did was for —”

“For what?”

Lucia interrupted her, her voice showing no emotion.

“To make my game more interesting? Or was it to… protect her?”

Across the distance, her gaze shifted to Lilia, who was already frozen with fear.

Lilia shuddered, instinctively wanting to shrink back.

“There is no need to be afraid.”

Lucia looked at her and laughed again.

“I won’t do anything to you. After all, you are just a spoiled, ignorant little pet. It’s in your nature to make mistakes. However…”

Her voice grew cold.

“Instigating my pet to err, challenging my authority, and shaking my order…”

She turned back to Lilith, who was still kneeling on the ground.

“This is crossing the line.”

As soon as she finished speaking, an invisible pressure enveloped the entire Administrative Hall.

“Ugh…”

Lilith let out a muffled groan.

A trace of fresh blood leaked from the corner of her mouth.

The mana circuits inside her body were forcibly twisted by a powerful force, and her Level 5 Monarch domain shattered inch by inch.

The agonizing pain of her body collapsing from the inside made it impossible for her to even scream; she could only lie on the floor, convulsing.

“No! Stop! Mew!”

Lilia screamed.

Her mind went blank, but her body had already surged forward.

She spread her small arms, heedlessly blocking the way in front of Lilith to face that woman with her own body.

“It has nothing to do with her, mew! It was all me! I forced her to do it! If you want to punish someone, punish me! I won’t let you touch her, mew!”

She looked up, her heterochromatic gold and blue eyes brimming with tears, but her face held an expression of reckless desperation.

She stared fixedly at Lucia, the woman she both feared and hated.

Gathering every ounce of strength in her body, she roared the words she had always wanted to say but had never dared to.

“Lucia! You bastard! If you have the guts, come at me! Don’t bully someone who only wanted to protect me!”