“Erika, you’re later than I thought.”
As she stepped out of the Council meeting room, Evelyn was sitting on a chair outside, waiting for her.
‘Strange, why does that sentence sound so familiar?’
“To make the Queen wait for her subordinate — such a treasonous act might deserve some punishment.”
“I am sorry, Mistress Evelyn. Because of some special circumstances, I almost failed to enroll.”
“Erika… are you saying they rejected you? Then there’s nothing reasonable about this place. If there is nothing to learn here, I will refuse to enroll as well. Returning to Noelle would be a better choice.”
‘Is this lady really going back to Noelle?’
That was truly a horror story that would keep little Erika awake at night.
“Ah, haha, you don’t need to go back. After all, it was only ‘almost.’ I still enrolled. Regardless, I am already closely connected to Mistress Evelyn.”
“Of course. I, Evelyn, never doubted that you would fail the exam.” Evelyn encouraged the girl with a nonchalant attitude.
Evelyn truly never had a shred of doubt about her. In her mind, Erika must be an incredibly great and loyal subject.
‘Probably because I’ve been pretending too well… Sometimes I’m afraid that if people find out I’m just an ordinary person, I’ll disappoint those around me or make others look down on me.’
‘You’ve been lying to me? I’m going to gut you and turn you into a human skin doll, pull out your bones to make a staff, and fill the missing flesh with cotton!’
…
It was a terrifying thought.
‘Wait, even Evelyn wouldn’t go that far, right?’
Suddenly, the door to the meeting room burst open, and the old Mages wearing pointed hats filed out in a line.
“To the mountains! Let’s go mountaineering!”
“Fine, fine. Let’s get some stream water while we’re at it. By the way, will the Witches from the Great Forest come to the social gathering?”
“They will! It’s been a long time since we played with the Witches.”
“Kunreheim, look over there.”
As they spoke, several old men stopped in their tracks. They saw Evelyn sitting on the hallway bench. Soon, the representative of the Mountaineering Association, the white-haired Mage Kunreheim, took off his pointed hat and bowed slightly.
“Is this not Her Majesty the Demon Queen of Noelle? This old man is Kunreheim. Our last meeting was at the Antiech Council roughly three years ago.”
“Ah, I remember. You’re those flashy old men. You asked me a lot of questions back then.”
“Yes. So, Her Majesty the Demon Queen, do you have any progress or clues regarding the promotion to the 8th Rank?”
These Gandalfs, who had dedicated their entire lives to magic, seemed very curious about what realm Evelyn had reached as an outstanding Mage.
But Evelyn only let out a long nasal sound. “Hmph — I have no obligation to answer frauds.”
“Haha, as expected.”
Looking at these 100-year-old men who were purely obsessed with magic being helpless against the just-matured Evelyn, Erika couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
“I have things to discuss with Erika. You may leave.”
“Very well. As you wish, My Lady.”
The Council members of the Ark didn’t mind Evelyn’s dismissal at all. They only smiled and whispered among themselves as they left the corridor.
“The Demon Queen is getting more and more beautiful. She and Lady Erika truly complement each other. Their appearances don’t seem to belong to this world…”
“Her Majesty Evelyn probably takes after her mother, but Lady Erika…”
“Her personality is more like her father, Callista VII, haha.”
“I still prefer Witches.”
Now only Erika and Evelyn were left in the deserted corridor. The solitary Queen seemed to automatically ignore those people. She stood up from her seat and said, “Erika, go pack your luggage.”
“Luggage?”
“Of course. I have to arrange for you to stay in my private room. Is it not natural to pack your luggage?”
‘Oh, she’s talking about a private room. I thought she was going back to Noelle to run amok.’
In fact, Erika didn’t mind going to the girls’ dormitory to make more friends, but since Evelyn had spoken, that was that.
It was only then that the girl noticed a brooch engraved with the Roman Numeral II Brooch pinned to Evelyn’s shoulder. This brooch-style badge meant that Evelyn’s rank at the time of enrollment was already second.
It was both expected and astonishing.
“Are you already the second in the entire Academy? As expected of you.”
“If I had gone all out, first place would have been easy.”
Well, that wasn’t a lie.
But if Evelyn was currently only second, who was the first?
“But Your Majesty, a private room means personal space. How can Mistress Evelyn and a servant share a room? Your Majesty, you aren’t used to sharing a room with someone when you sleep, right?”
Hearing the girl’s question, Evelyn chuckled softly. As an Ice Beauty with nearly maxed-out stats, this smile was like the first melting of winter snow and the blooming of spring flowers. Even Erika, who was so familiar with her, couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat.
“Erika, it’s rare for there to be something you don’t know.”
“Is there something I missed?”
“Yes. I investigated personally and found that living in a single suite comes with many benefits. Look, it’s written clearly here.”
Evelyn then handed her something—a small scroll titled ‘Dormitory Luxury Suite Service Guide.’
It detailed the instructions for using the facilities of a single suite. The content reminded one of those top five-star hotels—no, it was more like the level of a presidential suite.
Private swimming pool provided? Access to the royal training room?
However, between those lines of text, Evelyn’s finger with bright red nail polish was pointing to another spot.
“Pets can stay and be raised indoors after confirmation and registration…? Are you… talking about this…?”
“Exactly. As long as we go to the management office and register Erika as my pet, the two of us can live in the same dormitory.”
‘No, no, no, no matter how I think about it, that’s impossible!’
What would be filled in the pet registry? Species or name?
“What you mean is… Your Majesty Evelyn, you’re saying you want to register a person as a pet?” The female staff member at the Dormitory Management Office had a face of disbelief. She could only barely maintain a professional smile, but her flushed cheeks seemed to say, “Are you kidding me?”
Evelyn showed no intention of backing down. “I have deigned to enroll, yet even a lowly staff member dares to disobey my orders? You should be well aware that the Kingdom of Noelle is the largest sponsor of The Church, right?”
“But rules are rules… Pets are limited to four-legged crawlers. Those with two legs are only allowed if they have wings.”
“That’s no problem. Erika can do anything. She’s quite good at walking on four legs, too.”
Immediately, the surrounding area became noisy with whispers.
“Did you hear that? That girl usually walks on four legs in front of the Queen.”
“How terrifying, how terrifying! What has such a beautiful girl been trained into?”
“I bet she’s the one who taught the Queen. As expected of the rumored Demoness.”
“Those girls sure play wild.”
Erika’s vision went dark. She had thought that as long as Evelyn enrolled, things would get better.
But now she truly realized that everything was just beginning.
Yes, Erika’s Suffering was truly beginning right now.