You promised it would be a dinner invitation… Filia had somewhat grown accustomed to Xia Li’s teasing. “I never heard of a candlelight dinner for four.”
“If you want, I can invite you alone another day,” Xia Li said with a squint and a smile.
“Spare me. Before the Divine Blood is returned to the Holy City, I’ll be staying in the church.”
“Then tonight…”
“I can free up some time tonight. I already told Enis this morning, and besides, you’re the one footing the bill anyway.” Filia’s lips curled slightly.
The last time Xia Li saw that smile was when Filia tried to shirk blame over the arranged marriage.
What mischief was this saintly young lady up to now?
Might as well play along~
“Should we go get Enis and Luya now?”
“Wait a moment. The replacement is about to arrive.”
“Oh? From which family?”
Before Filia could answer, voices nearby gave Xia Li the answer.
“Sister Xia Li!”
“Isn’t this my little Luya? I really missed you.” Seeing Luya approach with a cane, Xia Li walked over and picked her up.
Completely ignoring the other person behind Luya.
The lord of Steinburg, Alma Stein.
Alma’s face darkened when she saw her daughter suddenly being hugged without permission. Just as anger flared, seeing Xia Li’s face, her expression abruptly changed.
She still remembered the chaos Xia Li caused at the banquet, but from the moment she decided to intervene, her memories after that were a blur—only a vague, faint blood-colored light remained.
Though the memories faded, the fear persisted.
Alma’s pupils shrank, and her hands trembled involuntarily until the urge to reprimand Xia Li subsided, her heartbeat gradually calming.
This was a forbidden curse magic released by the Demon Lord. Even with a blessing from the Saint granting her a fragment of the Black Night Goddess’s grace, she couldn’t completely dispel its effects.
Still, she showed no kindness toward Xia Li.
The arranged marriage agreement already struck, the exchange of interests between two great families, and the painstakingly obtained Divine Blood brought to Steinburg with utmost determination—
All destroyed by the brat standing before her!
And her daughter Luya—
A noble of the Stein family, potentially the next lord of Steinburg, had been taken away by a nobody country girl!
The incident was even published in the newspapers and would soon spread throughout the Englia Empire. The whole empire would be laughing at them.
Their noble dignity utterly defiled!
Suppressing her anger only made her feel more wronged.
As hateful thoughts surfaced, her heart felt as if being squeezed; fear spread to every cell, even stalling her breath.
Suddenly, a realization struck her.
Could it be that she was cursed?
As a transcendent mage, Alma’s understanding of magic led her to this conclusion swiftly, but as soon as the thought arose, a force wiped it clean from her mind.
Her brain blanked out as if crashing.
Under the influence of the curse, she couldn’t take any direct or indirect action to harm Xia Li—not even a thought.
This was the effect a forbidden curse should have.
“Xia… Xia Li sister, there are people watching around…”
Luya blushed slightly as Xia Li held her up in public, feeling the gazes of passersby.
“Hehe… So, Luya, is your mother the one taking over the watch of the Divine Blood next?” Xia Li set Luya down and smiled at Alma behind her.
That smile tightened Alma’s chest, as if she’d seen some terrifying monster. Her face went pale, and she nodded stiffly, “Y-Yes, that’s correct.”
Her fearful, almost reverent tone confused Filia and Luya… Even after using curse magic at the banquet and being countered, was it really this bad?
“You’re the one guarding it, don’t tell me you’ll steal from the watch,” Xia Li said, hitting the mark on Alma’s previous arranged marriage intentions.
“Of course not, Lady Xia…” Alma almost said “Lady” but bit her tongue and held it back. “Lady Verenika already warned me that offending the Black Night Goddess is a grave disrespect.”
Warned by a saint? No wonder her attitude changed so drastically.
Filia didn’t dwell on it.
Since the arranged marriage incident, she’d grown increasingly resentful of those old family rulers.
Now she was forcibly assigned the thankless task of guarding the Divine Blood by the Kafs family head.
Just thinking about it irritated her!
No matter how miserable Alma’s situation was, Filia could only think “serves you right.”
“The replacement has arrived. Let’s go.” Filia grabbed Xia Li’s hand, ready to leave.
“Mother, I’ve already promised Sister Xia Li to go out together, so I’ll be leaving now.” Luya bowed to Alma before tugging Xia Li’s other arm.
Xia Li was sandwiched between them, but instead of feeling the happiness of being hugged on both sides, she was struggling for breath.
Setting aside Filia as an adult, how was Luya’s build almost the same as hers? Her arms were sinking in!
In contrast, a certain Demon Lord who had lived over three hundred years…
Her other body was pitifully frail; only Liliviel among the demon generals could rival her.
…Liliviel?
Damn it! How did she forget about that one!
Could she still be trapped in the “room you can’t leave unless you do ○○,” covered in succubus saliva mist?
It had already been over ten hours…
Liliviel’s mind would be fried by now, turning into a lust-driven fool!
Eh, maybe that’s not so bad.
One less thing for the Demon Lord to worry about.
She’d deal with that side of things once she slept tonight.
After all, it had been this long already; a few more hours wouldn’t matter.
In a few seconds of thought, Xia Li shoved Liliviel out of her mind.
Little did she know how much she would regret that decision tonight.
“Ah… Demon Lord… mm ah…”
Leaning against the cave wall of the Magic Crystal mine, Liliviel’s cheeks were flushed crimson, her breath ragged. Saliva dripped from her tongue as she trembled uncontrollably, her dress soaked with moisture. Handcuffed and shackled, she took step after step forward.
Alone in the trap, enduring and waiting for the Demon Lord’s return.
The first hour passed—no sign of the Demon Lord.
The second hour—still no sign.
The eighth hour, the ninth hour, the tenth hour…
The Demon Lord would not be coming back.
“Too much… mm ah… Demon Lord…”
Liliviel’s blindfold slipped off. Her handcuffs and shackles shattered under the strain of continuous magic release, and her form transformed into countless bats.
She flew toward the palace of the Demon Lord’s castle.
There, on the throne, Sisilia remained in slumber.