Beryl understood repairing the barrier—after all, that was part of her duty.
But keeping watch over the two human prisoners?
That she didn’t quite get.
If she had seen correctly, those two were just the “shield bearer” and “swordsman” of a four-person party.
Their strength was barely passable, but compared to that ice magic caster, they weren’t even in the same league.
They could have just locked them up and left them without needing her as a dedicated guard.
There must be something special about them, or else Her Royal Highness wouldn’t have made that decision.
After all, the boss had never done anything pointless.
So Beryl didn’t overthink it.
She accepted the princess’s task cleanly and straightforwardly.
“Understood.”
“Your Highness.”
“I’ll get it done.”
But this time, she was overestimating Cassia.
As for why such a high level of security was required, the other party actually didn’t know either.
It was just that her mother had instructed her to keep the prisoners secure, so she outsourced the task to her childhood friend.
And honestly, her childhood friend, though a bit silly and dense, was reliable when it came to getting things done.
At the very least, guarding two humans wouldn’t be a problem.
So seeing her accept so readily, Cassia didn’t say anything more.
She just nodded in acknowledgment, then took off again and began her return journey toward her mother’s location.
As mentioned before, Cassia’s primary duty was to serve as Fiona’s personal bodyguard.
Even though, based on the current situation, her mother’s power far surpassed her own, she still couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
She had to remain on standby at all times.
Just like today, when she was caught off guard by that ice magic caster—it was because she was too overconfident that the bird in hand flew away, and she ended up looking like a clown.
But after returning, she soon found herself with nothing to do.
Cassia noticed that her mother, aside from occasionally strolling in the garden, mostly just locked herself in the study.
Sometimes she’d read books, sometimes she’d jot down obscure writing on scratch paper, and finally, she’d take time to practice magic.
As for Cassia, she only had one thing to do: turn away anyone who wanted to see the Demon Lord.
She had no idea how news of the Demon Lord’s whereabouts had spread so quickly, but Cassia’s mother had already exercised her power as queen and made a preemptive decision: no nobles from the royal court were allowed into the palace.
Of course, Cassia didn’t explain to her kin who had issued the order.
She simply said it was the Demon Lord’s command, gave a curt dismissal, and kicked out everyone who wanted to get a peek.
Fortunately, her title as princess carried some weight.
Since the future heir had spoken, even the most curious and skeptical had to shut up and obey.
Though she strictly followed her mother’s instructions, Cassia still couldn’t understand why her two blood relatives deliberately shrouded the old demon city in a cloud of anxiety.
There had already been a major prison break recently.
Even if they managed to cover it up in time, news always leaks—there’s no such thing as a secret.
Besides, it seemed humans were fanning the flames, so many factions within the city were speculating about what secrets the Black Prison cells held.
Then the Demon Lord came to the palace and refused to see anyone for several days.
The ordinary demons working in the city might not notice at first, since they had no channels to reach the higher-ups.
But the members of the royal court in the old demon city were beings of absolute status and power.
They controlled the entire city’s operations and naturally had access to firsthand information.
Now that the Demon Lord was holed up in the palace, anyone who heard about it would start thinking.
And as for Iris not doing this on purpose?
Having experienced it herself, Cassia no longer believed that.
So what benefit was there in making everyone (and every demon) anxious?
Oh, and there’s the war—a war was about to break out!
Damn Demon Lord, what was so important that she had to act so recklessly?
Was she heading toward becoming a tyrant?
Though the thought was bold and far-fetched, there had been cases of a wise ruler turning into a tyrant later on.
Cassia’s worries weren’t baseless.
But compared to her daughter’s daily worries, Fiona was much calmer.
It wasn’t just her trust in the Demon Lord; as her mindset shifted, after reading through the pile of documents Iris had left for her, Fiona grew more confident.
Analyzing the core of the problem: the war and the infiltration were all a smokescreen.
The humans’ real target, from beginning to end, had been the Shield Hero, who had once been abandoned as a pawn.
Come on—she wanted to see for herself what made her such a pivotal character.
Scene Break ….
Time flew by in the blink of an eye.
Seven days passed like a snap of the fingers, and it was finally time for Fiona to make her official appearance.
There was no more room for delay.
A leaderless group was never a good sign.
Even though Iris hadn’t completely washed her hands of the matter, there still needed to be a figurehead with a leader’s image to maintain the foundation of rule.
Otherwise, the entire demon realm would fall into severe internal strife due to a passive atmosphere.
So it was time for Fiona to step up.
By the way, the night before her inauguration, she had done one more thing.
‘Meeting her beloved disciple again.’
Ever since being imprisoned, while Linka’s body visibly recovered at an astonishing rate, her mood grew darker by the day.
In her room, a mirror was deliberately left behind.
Through it, Linka could clearly see the demonic features appearing on her face.
First, her eye color deepened, mutating into eerie patterns.
Then, the corners of her eyes began to look strange, as if smeared with dark brown paint.
And what shattered her most was that her body started sprouting leaves and flowers, like a plant.
Even though Linka removed every one of them every time, they would quickly grow back if she wasn’t careful, like stubborn weeds that refused to die.
She had thought about ending it all.
But it was impossible—a demon dragon was constantly watching her.
She had tried several times and failed every time.
And Linka had seen this demon dragon before—it was the big oaf she encountered when infiltrating the dungeon that day.
Back then, they had even had a contest of strength.
Only, she had cheated and didn’t fight fair.
Thinking about it still made her a little ashamed.