Chapter 63: I poisoned the Demon King! But she said it was nutritious and told me to try it too?

The hallway was deathly quiet.

It was so quiet that only Lilia’s heartbeat remained.

Holding a silver tray, she took one step after another toward the central study.

The glob of substance on the plate was still bubbling—

“Gurgle, gurgle.”

With every sound, the air grew more pungent with a strange odor.

Lilith walked ahead, leading the way.

However, she walked very slowly.

Moreover, every few steps, she would glance back at the tray.

In her purple eyes, something flashed that Lilia had never seen before.

Was that… pity?

“Sister Lilith?” Lilia asked in a small voice.

“Are you really going to… present this to Her Majesty?”

Lilith stopped and turned around.

She stared at Lilia, then at the thing that was currently corroding the edges of the silver tray.

“Miss, I will ask you one last time.”

She lowered her voice.

“Are you certain… there is no problem with this dish?”

Lilia lifted her head high.

“Of course there’s no problem, meow!”

“This is a Love Dinner I prepared with all my heart, meow!”

Lilith remained silent for three seconds.

Then, she turned and continued walking forward.

However, the frequency with which her fingers brushed against the edge of the tray was twice as fast as usual.

—

The study door was pushed open.

Lilia walked in, carrying the tray.

And then—

She felt it.

The air in the entire room had frozen solid.

This wasn’t a metaphor.

It had truly solidified.

With every step she took, she had to forcefully push through something.

The resistance grew stronger and stronger.

By the time she reached the throne, even breathing had become difficult.

Lucia was sitting in her chair.

She held a parchment scroll in her hand.

Her blood-red eyes moved from the scroll and landed on the tray.

She didn’t speak.

She just watched.

Lilia bit her lip and knelt down.

Following “protocol,” she lifted the silver tray with both hands above her head.

“Master, please have dinner, meow!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

It was so loud that even she felt it sounded fake.

“This is a Love Dinner I meticulously prepared for you, meow!”

She made sure to emphasize the words “Love Dinner.”

In her heart, however, she was screaming: Eat it! Hurry up and eat! Once you eat this thing, even if you’re a god, you’re going down!

Lucia still didn’t speak.

She set down the scroll.

She stood up.

Step by step, she walked over to Lilia.

And then—

She leaned over.

She reached out.

Her fingertip landed on the edge of the tray.

“Sizzle—”

A soft sound.

Her fingertip touched the bubbling glob of whatever it was.

Lilia held her breath.

Here it comes!

It’s going to explode!

But—

Nothing happened.

The dark-purple gelatinous mass stopped its squirming.

Its frantically roiling surface suddenly froze.

Then, it began to shrink back.

It shrank into a ball.

It stopped bubbling.

The smell vanished.

Even the color grew pale.

Lilia’s smile froze.

What happened?

Lucia straightened her back.

She picked up the silver spoon beside the tray.

She scooped a small piece out of the glob.

The moment the spoon touched the gelatinous mass—

With a “sizzle,” the tip of the spoon was corroded away.

Lilia’s heart leaped into her throat.

Yes! That’s it!

The corrosiveness is still there!

As long as she eats it—

Lucia raised the spoon.

She brought the thing emitting an ominous aura to her lips.

Lilia’s eyes widened.

She could even hear her own heartbeat.

“Thump-thump, thump-thump—”

It beat faster and faster.

So fast it felt like it would burst out of her chest.

Lucia opened her mouth.

She ate it.

And then—

She closed her eyes.

She swallowed.

The study was deathly silent.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Five seconds.

Ten seconds.

…

Nothing happened.

Lucia didn’t explode.

She didn’t melt.

She didn’t collapse.

She didn’t even knit her brows.

She opened her eyes.

Picking up a napkin, she wiped the corner of her mouth.

Then, she looked at Lilia.

“The taste…” She paused.

“Is quite unique.”

Lilia’s mind went blank.

How…

How is that possible?

That was slime mucus!

Abyss ink!

Screaming radishes!

And over thirty different kinds of poison!

The ultimate weapon mixed together!

How could there be no reaction at all?!

“My little pet.”

Lucia walked up to her.

She pinched Lilia’s chin, forcing her to look up.

“How many things did you put into this dish?”

Lilia opened her mouth.

“I… I…”

“Thirty-seven kinds,” Lucia said for her.

“Twelve deadly poisons, seven highly corrosive substances, five unstable explosive sources.”

“And thirteen more…” She leaned close to Lilia’s ear.

“…that act on a spiritual level.”

Lilia’s body began to tremble.

How…

How did she know?!

She couldn’t even remember exactly how many things she had put in herself!

“A decent idea.”

Lucia let go of her chin.

She turned and walked back to the throne.

“Forcefully merging different energies to try and trigger a chain explosion inside my body.”

She sat down again.

She crossed her legs.

“A pity…” Her voice suddenly turned cold.

“Your control is too poor.”

Lilia knelt on the floor, her body shaking uncontrollably.

“The inert nature of the slime mucus neutralized ninety percent of the screaming radishes’ sonic energy.”

“The chaotic attributes of the abyss ink detonated the field mouse’s Lightning Core ahead of time.”

“As for the other toxins…” Lucia laughed.

That laugh made Lilia feel cold all over.

“The moment they entered my body, they were assimilated by my Laws. They became the purest energy supplements.”

Lilia’s fingernails dug into the floor.

Energy…

Supplements?

The biochemical weapon she had worked so hard to create—

In the eyes of this freak, it was just a bowl of tonic soup?!

“In any case…”

Lucia stood up.

Step by step, she walked over to Lilia.

“Aside from the taste being a bit sharp…” She leaned down.

Her fingertip hooked under Lilia’s chin.

“The nutritional value isn’t bad.”

A sob escaped Lilia’s throat.

It was over.

It was completely over.

“As a reward for your hard work in preparing dinner for me…” Lucia’s smile became increasingly dangerous.

“I’ve decided…”

She turned, picked up the silver tray, and walked back.

She squatted down.

She placed the tray in front of Lilia.

“The leftovers…” Her fingertip tapped on the edge of the plate.

“Shall be finished by you.”

Lilia’s face turned white in an instant.

“Mas… Master… I…”

“Now.” Lucia interrupted her.

“Open your mouth.”

Lilia’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.

She looked at the wriggling glob in the dish.

She had made it with her own hands.

She knew what was inside.

The slime mucus would glue her throat shut.

The screaming radishes would tear her spirit apart.

The abyss ink would corrode her internal organs.

And the thirty-plus other poisons—

If she ate it…

“I said…” Lucia’s voice grew even colder.

“Open your mouth.”

Lilia’s teeth began to chatter.

She looked up at Lucia.

In those blood-red eyes, there was no anger.

There was no disappointment either.

Only a deep, inscrutable interest.

“I…” Her voice was almost inaudible.

“I don’t dare to… meow…”

“You don’t dare?”

Lucia arched an eyebrow.

“Then you dared to feed it to me?”

Lilia’s lips moved, but no words came out.

“Or perhaps…” Lucia leaned in close.

Their noses almost touched.

“You didn’t know just how dangerous this dish… really was?”

Lilia’s tears began to fall.

“I… I knew… meow…”

“I knew… it was dangerous… meow…”

“That’s why… that’s why I…”

“That’s why you wanted to use it to kill me?”

Lucia finished for her.

Lilia’s body froze.

“Very good.”

Lucia straightened up.

She picked up the spoon and scooped a large portion of the substance.

Then—

She gripped Lilia’s chin.

She forced her mouth open.

“Since you have so much confidence…” She brought the spoon to Lilia’s lips.

“Then let me see…”

The spoon touched Lilia’s lips.

“If you can…”

The slimy texture crawled into her mouth.

“…eat the very dish you created.”