Bedroom.
The demon examined the walls while holding a portrait of Pastel. Occasionally, it would try hanging it on one wall, then grimace and move it to another spot.
“So I held Elshire’s hand tightly and comforted her. If it’s tough, you don’t have to go. Let’s drink cocoa here together.”
In her pajamas, Pastel trailed after the demon. The pom-pom of the sleep hat they had bought while out shopping with the Demon Lord dangled playfully.
“Then Melissa appeared and firmly said, ‘No! You have to go! It’s, um, the noble’s duty! Oh my, shocking!'”
Pastel covered her mouth, feigning surprise.
The demon, indifferent to her, pushed aside the desk clock and leaned the portrait against the wall.
“I was so shocked, you know? Like this much!”
Pastel spread her arms wide.
“It was like being struck by lightning from the sky, hitting a mouse!”
Nodding in agreement.
“So this is what it means to be noble. Nobles who feed on the blood of citizens have the obligation to demonstrate their worth.”
Shivering.
Pastel hugged herself tightly.
“Governor Pastel wasn’t even thinking about revenge for her retainers. Oh my, Melissa is so scary!”
Objectively speaking, this was like pushing a friend into a pit.
The Bellamont family may have a regular succession process, allowing for more peaceful family affairs compared to the Craft family, which had the obligation to slay their blood relatives, but Melissa’s tone was not reassuring, insisting it was an obligation even if it meant death.
“Being tied to a noble mindset isn’t always good. Family education should be relaxed at times, but this is a bit ambiguous.”
The demon spoke casually as she removed the portrait from the wall.
“Exactly! Exactly!”
Pastel’s eyes sparkled.
“I hope Melissa can also find joy in decadence like I did!”
“The young Craft, you need to tone it down.”
The demon turned the desk clock around. A weary smile appeared on the demon’s lips.
“Increasing the scale of bribery is not a pleasant phenomenon.”
The demon pointed a finger at one corner of the room. Piles of treasure chests stacked high.
The great Governor Pastel’s inauguration was celebrated with gifts sent purely as a congratulatory gesture from the Sky Island upper union, without any ulterior motives whatsoever. To emphasize how free of ulterior motives it was, they even had the audacity to write a note stating this was not a bribe but a purely celebratory gift.
“Such kind people…!”
Pastel once again covered her mouth in awe.
Then, placing her hands on her hips, she turned firmly towards the demon.
“Demon Lord, don’t misinterpret the merchants! They just believed in the fairness and kindness of Governor Pastel and gave a commemorative gift! They trust that the Governor will handle her duties fairly, even after receiving such gifts!”
Just as they believe!
Yes, yes!
“Oh, well spoken.”
Pastel scampered over to the glowing pile of bribes.
She pulled off her sleep hat and placed it onto the golden bird sculpture given by Count McKenna of the Demon Realm Stock Company. The pom-pom swayed dizzily.
Golden bird sleep hat…!
Oh my.
“My golden bird friend! I thought you were going to come to my house!”
You fit in much better at Governor Pastel’s flower garden than in the golden treasure room filled with books made of human skin!
“Oh, how obvious must it have been for them to give it all at once. If you keep this up, your social reputation will be ruined. Although it already is… Hmm? If I move this furniture, it should be fine.”
The demon checked the glass tea display cabinet.
“Yeah, my reputation is already bad. I really felt it in the capital! Ugh!”
Pastel clutched her head.
“How did my social reputation end up like this?! I haven’t done anything wrong!”
From what Melissa told her, it was traditional to enter high society through a debutante ball, but it felt like she had only gained infamy before having the chance to do any of that!
The demon listened while checking the tea display cabinet. As she looked at the fixed furniture, she inspected the floor and back before turning around.
“I don’t care if I move this furniture, right? And stop messing with your hair. It’s a bad habit that’s going to waste time fixing your hairstyle.”
“Spending time isn’t my fault!”
Pastel, her hair a mess, pointed in all directions.
“This world! This world is at fault! There’s magic! Convenient magic!”
Her hands waved about.
“Magic, poof! Hairstyle, yay! Twirl and spin~! Poof! In one second, change into a cherry blossom pastel form! Isn’t that what magic should do?!”
“Just because a fairy in a fairy tale waves a wand to change clothes doesn’t mean reality works like that. Magic is about borrowing the forces of nature, which isn’t easy to apply for human convenience. By the way, can I move this furniture?”
“Ugh, no way.”
Pastel looked shocked.
“Then, did Melissa get shocked and say the fairy was fake when learning magic?”
Now that she thought about it, it didn’t seem likely.
If Melissa, who listened to her mother and loved fairy tales, believed that the fairy was a great magician, she would have thought, ‘I too must become a great magician like the fairy.’
“By the way, can I move this furniture?”
The demon poked the tea display cabinet lightly.
“I can relate to Melissa’s feelings. If I believed in the fairy, I would have studied hard to become a great magician like her.”
Exactly, exactly.
“Of course, even so, the mindset that says it’s an obligation to walk into danger is still scary. I wonder how Elshire feels.”
Now that the bad older brother who ordered an assassination was dead, it would be good if the Bellamont family could resolve things peacefully.
Pastel sighed heavily.
She picked up the golden bird sleep hat and placed it back on her head.
Considering the troubling experiences in the capital and the unnecessary conflicts caused by her bad reputation, it seemed like a good choice not to go together.
Melissa had explained that intervening in the succession issues of the formerly royal Bellamont family might cause backlash from her retainers as it could be seen as foreign interference.
“Whoa, my head is spinning.”
Pastel, who just wanted to be friends, didn’t know anything about that.
She twirled her head around, the pom-pom of her sleep hat spinning along.
The demon leaned against the tea display cabinet, arms crossed, staring vacantly.
“Demon Lord.”
“Yeah.”
The demon finally unfolded her arms, as if just now coming to speak.
“Just a glass of juice, please. Spinning my head makes me dizzy. Somehow I also want to eat a piece of cake. Even though I brushed my teeth, it’s that kind of craving… or not.”
The demon touched her forehead.
Letting out a deep sigh, she thumped the display cabinet.
With a bewildered gaze from Pastel, the demon silently struck the display cabinet again, spending time before reluctantly detaching from it.
“Alright, I’ll get a drink. But no cake unless you’re not gonna brush your teeth again.”
“Ugh.”
Bad Demon Lord.
The demon approached the door. As she opened it, a maid who was about to knock froze.
“What is it?”
It was a signal that a guest had arrived.
A mysterious guest that had come in the middle of the night.
Could it be that a demon assassin had come to kill Governor Pastel, tasked with eliminating her to unmask the Demon King?
Surprisingly, yes.
Ahhh!
Help me!
The demon assassin spoke.
“Sorry for coming late.”
The counterpart was the demon spy Elly, with a name equal in character count to the assassin.
Oh dear, nailed it.
But besides the character count, wasn’t it objectively the same meaning? Whether it was a demon assassin or a demon spy, it held the same implication.
“It was meant for me to finish the pending paperwork and discuss the current situation, but I ended up coming now due to the chaos regarding Elshire.”
Elly seemed shocked, having just heard the secret news that the oldest son of the Bellamont family was killed by the radical demons. She hurried to confirm the truth.
“It’s okay! Serious matters are done in serious timing!”
Pastel welcomed her in pajamas.
“So what happened?”
Was the investigation from the Empire correct?
Elly brushed her face.
“They admitted they did it.”
Her voice was filled with a mix of devastation and anger.
“So it wasn’t a mere misunderstanding.”
Just as Governor Pastel seemed to be unjustly misinterpreted somewhere, there had to be some bad individual being justly suspected as they matched the scales of truth.
“Anyway, we were supposed to have a meeting with the higher-ups regarding whether cooperating with Craft was justified, but now we’ve ended up with a more urgent matter. I hear a representative will come from the messenger side to explain.”
I see.
“Will I be included in that meeting?”
“Originally, according to the agenda, since the fake Demon King couldn’t show himself, you were meant to persuade them directly. But since a bigger matter has erupted, you’ll likely only receive secondary attention.”
Elly drank from her water and placed her empty cup down roughly on the table.
“Regardless of the situation, this is good for us. Your agenda will pass with weaker resistance than before.”
Oh yay!
Pastel was happy but then recalled something.
“But if it’s a meeting of the upper-ups, will all the executives be present?”
“Almost.”
Heh.
“If I push, they’ll all be taken down at once?”
She could feel a thrill of anticipation.
Oh no, she had spoken it out loud.
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