Chapter 157

"......"

Uh-oh.

She really dared to do it!

No wonder when I transformed into that dreamy little caterpillar just now, I kept feeling a sneaky little hand probing along my calf—it made it so hard to crawl properly!

Belith gave a wry smile as she quietly rustled her clothes back on.

She brought both hands behind her head, lifting all her silver hair out from the ink-colored dress. The strands cascaded down like morning dew.

Belith pressed her index finger in front of her lips and gave Sheffy a mischievous devilish smile.

"Just kidding... I just wanted to scare Royal Sister a bit. I wouldn’t really do that while you were unaware... probably? Hmm, besides, the Hero seems to be nearby. If we were interrupted halfway, that’d be a real loss.”

"You just said ‘probably,’ didn’t you..."

"No, I didn’t."

"You clearly did, didn’t you... Let me ask just one thing—will I ever sleep peacefully again? Will I ever have a tranquil morning again?"

"Probably?"

"See?! You said ‘probably’ again!"

This time the outburst was loud enough.

Even Sylatrella, caterpillar number two, stirred beneath the blankets, seemingly about to wake up.

Belith glanced at the covers beside Sheffy, and the smile on her cheeks turned gloomy.

A purple light shimmered between her fingers, forming a sharp magical blade.

"Oh, right... How could I forget about her... Royal Sister, wait a moment, I’ll give her a fatal blow first."

"If you give her a fatal blow, I’ll twist your head off."

"But she was actually hugging you while sleeping just now! Even I, your little sister, don’t get that kind of treatment?!"

"Is that something to be shocked about?! How old are you, and you still need to cuddle me to sleep?!"

"It’s not about cuddling you to sleep—it's about cuddling while sleeping you!"

"Hohoho, with how smoothly you reversed that sentence, now I really want to twist your head off."

At this moment, Sylatrella had fully woken up.

She poked her head out from the blanket, rubbing her sleepy eyes, looking around. And the moment her gaze settled...

—She saw someone trying to steal her mother!

Good grief...! Stealing people right in their own home, this can’t be tolerated!

"Lady Sheffy...! Are you going back to the Demon Domain with her? That mustn’t happen! If you're going, take me with you too!"

"And what’s with this holy sword spouting treasonous nonsense?!"

"Tch... You shameless thing, let go of Royal Sister! Isn’t it perfectly natural that I should be the one taking her back? You’re the ones clinging to someone else’s family with sinister motives!"

"What about my opinion?!"

A little girl on the right, a not-so-little girl on the left, each clinging to one of Sheffy’s arms, fighting over her. They were small, but they weren’t lacking in strength!

Sheffy was being yanked left and right, utterly bewildered.

She had never imagined that what should have been a lovely morning wake-up would turn into this chaotic disaster.

At that moment—

Rapid footsteps echoed across the living room.

Sheffy’s final moment of peace—and the once-intact bedroom door—was abruptly ended by Xiarette’s kick.

Xiarette entered with a frying spatula in hand, her expression stern and filled with tension.

“Sheffy?! That sound just now was...! Uh?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. And don’t let your eyes die on me either. Let’s get this straight—I’m a victim here too.”

.................................

Breakfast was definitely not happening.

An emergency family meeting was entirely incompatible with a leisurely morning meal.

In the mansion’s living room, heroes gathered.

Xiarette, Sylatrella, Timani, and Sheffy each sat on separate chairs. Some wore guarded expressions, others exasperated, all gazing at Belith, who sat with a hand propping her cheek and one leg crossed, completely nonchalant.

Timani recognized her—after all, just days ago at the arena, hadn’t this Second Demon Princess shown up to spectate?

Timani glanced at Sheffy, then turned to look at Belith again.

She let out a surreal sigh.

“Well, now the Demon Clan Princess and the Second Demon Princess are both here. Hero, are you sure this mansion is your residence and not the Demon King’s Castle? I’m starting to feel like I accidentally wandered into the Demon Domain.”

“Miss Timani, please don’t make sarcastic remarks. I’m not in the mood right now.”

“Oh, oh—alright, no sarcasm then. Not like it’s my business anyway...”

Timani guarded the breakfast bread in her hands. She could truly sense the Hero’s foul mood right now, and she had a strong feeling that if she said even one more word, she might lose her breakfast privileges.

As someone relying on others’ hospitality, she knew when to show restraint.

Belith, ignoring the unified hostility from Xiarette and Sylatrella, casually waved her left hand and dragged her stool closer to Sheffy.

She had, after all, snuck into the mansion quietly at dawn—it hadn’t been easy getting here.

“...The situation is basically just like I explained earlier. Didn’t I say it? I’d be back at Royal Sister’s side soon. The public unrest in the Demon Domain has been mostly settled now. Honestly, I must say—Father and Mother’s control is strong enough. They issued a strict decree ordering all residents of the Demon Domain not to make any excessive comments about Royal Sister, and now, no demon dares to utter a word.”

“So... what exactly did you go back to do...?”

“Hmm? I went back to urge Father and Mother to improve their efficiency, of course? I can’t tolerate anyone talking behind Royal Sister’s back—not even a single sentence. Ah, right, just yesterday, a border count who advocated punishing Royal Sister and supported war... got executed. He totally deserved it. I don’t care whether he supported war or not, but he dared call Royal Sister a cowardly deserter and badmouthed her everywhere, so I led the Fifth Corps overnight to cut off his head? It should still be hanging on the city gate right now.”

“......”

Alright then, dear little sister, your efficiency really is something else.

When I said I’d twist your head off, I was joking—but when you say it, you really do twist heads off!

Sheffy sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead... In this high-pressure atmosphere, she didn’t even know what to say anymore. Xiarette’s fighting spirit was clearly burning hot, while Belith, despite all her giggles, had been quietly gathering magic power.

They might seem like they were just fooling around, but in truth—it was a battle of nerves.

Forget it.

Time to count her blessings.

After all... it wasn’t like things could get worse than they already were, right?

Just as Sheffy was thinking that...

“!”

The ahoge on top of her head—and the one atop Belith’s head—suddenly stood upright at the same time.

Xiarette called out to Sylatrella, who transformed into her Holy Sword form, while Timani swallowed the last of her bread in one bite—her vertical pupils instantly turning gold, her combat mode activated.

Everyone could sense it—something was approaching at an absolutely absurd speed!

They hadn’t even seen the person yet, but the voice arrived first.

It was thunderous, rushing closer by the second.

“Sheffy!! Are you here?! Why aren’t you answering?! Hehehehe, you’re so hard to find! If you don’t answer, I’ll come find you myself, okay?!”

“You didn’t even give me time to answer...?!”

No sooner had she spoken...

The front door—which had just been repaired after Timani wrecked it days ago—

...was sent flying again.

67. Intelligence? (4K)

“So, what is this one now? Princess Sheffy, Princess Belith—do either of you know her?”

“Oho... this little girl from the Fire Dragon Clan has a strange sense of humor. Are all your lizards back home this talkative?”

“Of course not. The lizards back home don’t talk. Just like the ones around here. Uh... wait, who’re you calling a lizard?!”

“Alright, alright, so the Fire Dragon Clan isn’t just humorous—they’re also painfully slow to react. Noted, noted...!”

The sudden visitor, Ailellek, pulled out a book titled "Record of Species Personality Diversity", one of her world-traveling, book-writing side projects.

Jotting down her clearly biased impression of the Fire Dragon Clan, Ailellek closed the book, then suddenly noticed the dazed, blue-haired little girl sitting next to Sheffy.

“Leaving aside this Fire Dragon for now... what species is that thing?”

“I’m not a ‘thing’! I’m Sylatrella!”

“Ohh, Sylatrella, that I know. The Human Holy Sword—wait, Holy Sword...?!”

See, Sylatrella? You’re so bizarre as a species that even a world-traveling expert doesn’t know what you are.

No—wait...!

Can we please stop describing each other as "things" and just talk like normal people?!

The emergency family meeting had mysteriously gained one more seat.

Another seat? No big deal. The real problem was that the door had been sacrificed... again.

If she could, Sheffy really wanted to say, “I don’t know her.” But deep down, she knew that if she said that, things would absolutely get even worse.

And so, the current situation became intensely awkward.

With such a chaotic mix of peculiar people gathered together—surely someone had to take charge, right?

Xiarette stood up, her forehead shadowed with a heavy gloom. Her movement at such a crucial moment drew everyone’s attention.

She was the owner of this residence, and also the unfortunate soul whose front door had just been blasted off—again. That meant she had both the right and the obligation to speak. At the very least, she should be the one with the authority here.

With a not-so-friendly gaze, she looked toward the laid-back woman who had just put away her little notebook. Xiarette didn’t offer her even a shred of respect.

Not just because the woman had crashed through the front door, but more importantly, because she’d been so casually familiar—calling out “Sheffy” so intimately, so freely.

Damn it... Was this yet another woman with some messy, complicated history with Sheffy?!

But something was strange—this time, Belith didn’t show her usual dark, stormy reaction. On the contrary, she was acting surprisingly calm.

Still, that didn’t stop Xiarette from glaring and snapping with barely suppressed frustration.

“Excuse me—who exactly are you? Do you have business with Sheffy? What’s your relationship with her? And why did you smash the door?!”

“Huh... there’s a human here too? Sorry, sorry, just noticed... Well, it makes sense. This is the Kingdom of Aurus. Can’t expect no humans, right?”

Ailellek placed one hand on her hip, slowly stood up, and gave a proud smile while loosely pointing a thumb toward her own face.

“Who, me? Isn’t it totally natural for me to come play with my little niece? This one here was giving off such a powerful magical presence—I could sniff it all the way from the edge of your royal capital! Didn’t expect to find Belith here too, though?”

Xiarette blinked rapidly, staring at the woman in front of her—taller than herself, more mature in appearance, though with a slightly lesser figure. Her not-so-sharp brain gears slowly turned, parsing through what had just been said... and finally, she arrived at a conclusion.

“Little niece...? Then could you be...?”

“That’s right! I’m the Demon Clan’s First Princess—Ailellek Harl! Hahahaha! Human...! Scared yet?! Don’t worry, don’t worry, I don’t eat people! Hm...? But you... you don’t seem like an ordinary human, huh? You don’t seem weak either.”

“......”

Xiarette’s complexion really did pale at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But this paleness wasn’t out of fear.

It was because... she’d just realized how dangerous this woman’s identity was, and her mind rapidly constructed a terrifying domino effect:

She’s Sheffy’s biological aunt → She can speak directly to Sheffy’s parents → I just spoke to her in a very rude tone → She holds a grudge → She badmouths me in front of Sheffy’s parents → They disapprove of me being Sheffy’s lover → Our romance becomes a nightmare!

Damn it! Anything but that!

While everyone else watched in confusion, the black lines of rage on Xiarette’s face gradually disappeared.

She no longer looked at the poor door lying pathetically on the floor. Instead, she forced a strained smile, walked calmly to the living room, picked up an exquisite teapot, and poured a full cup of steaming, premium red tea. With elegant steps, she returned and gently placed the teacup on the armrest next to Ailellek.

And just like that—her entire demeanor underwent a dramatic transformation.