Valo didn’t let go of the hand covering Emma’s small mouth until the carriage began to roll, the sound of hooves and wheels echoing.
She glanced at the girl, who seemed to have finally processed the situation and was now nodding excitedly at her.
‘Why does this scene feel so familiar?’
‘She really is a stupid dog who never learns her lesson.’
Sitting back in her seat, Valo sighed helplessly. For now, there really wasn’t anything she could do to the pink puppy in front of her.
The Blood Tribe girl, Emma, was one of the optional daughters at the start of the game.
In this timeline, where Valo’s primary daughter was the slave Elf, Kaika, Emma had become the First-embrace kin of the Blood Ancestor—which, for all intents and purposes, was no different from a mother-daughter relationship.
Currently, Emma was following the Blood Ancestor’s orders, lurking in the Clock Tower to study as an Apprentice Nun of the Hidden Sea Church while searching for the Holy Relics.
Even though the pink puppy looked at her with pure adoration right now, Valo knew she was different from daughters like Finney and Anqi, who knew her identity as the Villainous Demon King and willingly helped hide it…
Emma, who strictly speaking didn’t even belong to “her camp,” was a ticking time bomb with no countdown. At any moment, she might think deeply for 0.01 seconds and then…
Blow her cover completely!
Valo already felt a dull ache in her stomach. She hadn’t expected that the Clock Tower student the Great Sage sent for this Holy Relic recovery mission would be Emma!
This stupid pink dog seemed even more brain-dead than a pink milk dragon, yet her undercover work was surprisingly flawless.
The sound of the carriage wheels continued as Emma lowered her voice, interrupting Valo’s brooding.
“Hey, hey, Lord Demon King, I saw the Victory Day First Day Celebration! I can’t believe you actually got the title of Demon Race Peace Ambassador. That’s amazing!”
“Hehe, it’s like a total slap in the face to those foolish humans~”
The Blood Tribe girl wore a white outdoor uniform with a beret. Her short white hair was accented with pink highlights, and she excitedly swung her legs—clad in over-the-knee black stockings—beneath her black lattice skirt.
She even had a garter on one thigh!
‘She’s doing it on purpose! Who is she trying to seduce? This slutty little dog?’
The girl clenched her fists in front of her chest as if holding glow sticks. Her rear wiggled along with her words; if she had a tail, it would be wagging faster than a puppy’s on a walk.
“As expected of the Demon King! You easily achieved what other members of the Demon Clan couldn’t! It’s only a matter of time before you infiltrate the heart of the Empire’s royal family!”
Valo couldn’t tell Emma the truth. She had to act cold and superior, waving her hand dismissively.
“It’s a trivial matter. Humans are such foolish creatures. As long as you perform slightly better than others, they’ll foolishly push you into a high position.”
Then, Valo directed a “predatory gaze” at the pink puppy. Using her identity and intimidation as the Demon King was the best way to suppress this Blood Tribe girl for now.
As long as she maintained the image of a Demon King “undercover in the Empire to stage a comeback,” Emma wouldn’t dare blow her cover.
Favor and authority were both tools of heaven; appropriate majesty was necessary to command subordinates.
“More importantly, Emma, you’ve grown bold, haven’t you? I clearly ordered you to report any information regarding the Holy Relics to me immediately. Yet, you tried to sneak away on this recovery mission?”
Valo leaned back against the seat, crossing her legs in what she considered her “most Demon Kingly” posture.
“Hmph, did you really think you could hide it from me? Instead of giving me these boring compliments, you’d better start thinking of how to explain your actions to this King, hmm?”
The effect was excellent.
“Eek!”
The pink puppy looked like she was about to drop to her knees and worship in terror.
“Lord Demon King, that… that’s because the recovery mission was sudden and confidential. Plus, I haven’t had a chance to see you alone over the past two days…”
The girl lowered her head, nervously twirling her thumbs around each other. “S—So, I thought I’d complete the recovery, bring the Holy Relic back, and then tell you…”
“It’s… it’s true, Lord Demon King! I can swear on the Blood Ancestor’s name, I never intended to hide it from you!”
‘Swearing on the name of the Blood Ancestor, who is essentially her mother?’ That was quite persuasive.
Valo waved her hand, signaling for Emma to sit back down before she actually knelt. Her intention was only to scare the pink puppy; pushing her too hard would be counterproductive.
“Forget it. Since I’m participating in this mission as a Clock Tower Professor anyway, I won’t pursue your failure to report. Don’t let it happen again, Blood Tribe Emma.”
“Hehe~ Yes, Lord Demon King!”
The girl’s “invisible tail” started wagging again.
However… it wasn’t enough. One lie had to be covered by another, and they were starting to pile up.
In Emma’s eyes, Valo was a “fallen Lelouch awaiting a comeback.” The longer she stayed in the Clock Tower, the more “villainous schemes” she would need to invent to keep Emma in line.
Sure enough, having just been forgiven, the pink puppy happily leaned in.
The girl’s crimson eyes glowed with a scarlet light, filled with expectation and worship for the Villainous Demon King!
“So, Lord Demon King, is this mission with the Saintess also part of your plan?”
“Does that mean you already have a brilliant plan prepared?”
Then, the Blood Tribe girl, acting like the most obedient dog, swayed her slender waist and uttered a statement worthy of a three-headed dog from hell.
“Like… stealing the Holy Relic and then killing the Saintess?”
“Or kidnapping the Saintess as a hostage to take back to the Demon Clan?”
“Hehe, the Hidden Sea Church will definitely fall into chaos without their Saintess! Then you’ll have time to reorganize your former subordinates…”
‘Ahaha… you’re overthinking it.’
Valo only intended to sneak away from Finney and Kaika to check on her Saintess daughter, Anqi. She wanted to stabilize her daughter’s Justice Value and earn some favor as a good mother.
At this point, there was no way she could tell Emma the truth. No matter how she looked at it, it wouldn’t work!
Valo could only force a “scornful sneer” and grit her teeth to continue the lie.
“Naive! Short-sighted! No wonder you’re that old spinster’s First-embrace kin. You’re both carved from the same mold of stupidity!”
“Two idiots who belong in a museum. Look at how pathetic your ambitions are!”
“Hiss! I’m sorry, Lord Demon King! I’m too stupid to understand what you’re thinking!”
The girl immediately went silent, straightening her back to await her lecture.
Vastroro had already fired the arrow; there was no turning back. She had to keep weaving this “exquisite evil plan.”
“The Hidden Sea Church is like a foul-smelling sheep pen. Even if one lead sheep dies, a new one will pop up the next day. Killing or kidnapping her is utterly meaningless.”
Valo snorted. “Therefore, this King’s plan is to seize the opportunity to control the current Saintess, thereby gaining indirect control over the Hidden Sea Church. At that time, whether it’s the Holy Relics or the restoration of the kingdom, won’t everything be as I wish?”
The first half wasn’t technically a lie. Her ultimate goal was to reach one of the perfect game endings—the Magneto Ending—rather than rebuilding a kingdom.
‘What does catching Lu Xun have to do with me, Zhou Shuren? What does the survival of the Demon Clan have to do with this Villainous Demon King?’
‘We aren’t close; don’t try to latch onto me.’
The pink puppy, unaware of Valo’s true thoughts, wagged her non-existent tail with pure excitement!
“As expected of the Demon King! So, your pretense of becoming the Saintess’s mother is also part of the plan to control her!?”
‘You’re overthinking it again. Actually, I did that to aim for the Virtuous Corruption Ending.’
Valo smiled dismissively, as if mocking Emma. ‘Stupid dog, you only just realized?’
This made Emma even more fanatical. Her cheeks flushed as her breathing grew heavy!
“Lord Demon King, is… is there anything I can do to help you?”
“Go play somewhere else.” Valo frowned, pinching the pink puppy’s mouth—which looked ready to stick out a tongue and pant—and pushed her back.
“It will be help enough if you don’t cause trouble for this King.”
Now, that was the absolute truth.
Valo didn’t want this pink dog jumping out and ruining the mood while she was trying to stabilize Anqi’s Justice Value.
However… though Emma seemed to settle down after being pushed back, the excitement in her scarlet eyes didn’t fade for a long time.
“Hehe, please rest assured, Lord Demon King.”
“I will follow your orders faithfully.”
While acting like a good little puppy, she whispered a low monologue to herself. “And I’ll work hard to show off so you’ll praise me. Hehe…”
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