"~ Oh, Lady Ria is just too adorable!"

"Please, don't eat so fast now."

"~ Still hungry, are we?"

The maids hovered around Ria, doting on her with amused smiles. This little girl with a bottomless appetite had thoroughly captured their attention. No, she wasn't eating—she was devouring.

It was almost painful to watch.

Lucian observed them from a distance, visibly unamused.

If only you knew who you're feeding…

"Mmm… Loo… cian… hiii~!" Ria mumbled, cheeks puffed and mouth full.

At once, the maids turned to look at Lucian. They tried to act casual, but awkwardness painted all their faces.

"Tsk." Lucian walked calmly to the seat reserved for him in the grand dining hall.

"Don't speak with your mouth full," he said, voice even.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

Lucian sat without replying. Around him, the maids began whispering to each other, believing they were discreet—though every word was perfectly audible to his ears.

"You know it's true, right? He really used holy light?" one murmured.

"More than true. I was there. Ask the others if you want."

"Then he's a saint? Are we serving an actual saint?"

"No, apparently he did it without magic. That's what Butler Chris said."

"Without magic? That's impossible! This… Lucian… I mean, the Emperor—"

"Shh! He'll hear you!"

I hear you perfectly, fools... Tsk.

Lucian cut the chatter short with a single question.

"Malv—... Ria, are you alright? You slept for two full days."

Translation: Why only two?

"Gulp gulp gulp," was Ria's eloquent reply... or rather, she continued stuffing her face while making strange noises.

"I wazz... I wazz... gulp... tryna help a bit…," she mumbled through a mouthful.

"I told you not to talk with your mouth full!"

And how exactly does sleeping for two days help me, huh? Oh right… of course it helps.

Lucian set down his knife and fork gently, then turned to the maids.

"Leave us."

"As you wish, Your Majesty."

The five maids promptly obeyed.

But what is that girl to the Emperor, really...? one of them wondered, closing the door softly behind her.

Lucian let out a sigh, then turned toward Ria, still sprawled in her chair, her belly round and full, a wide smile plastered on her face. She was picking her teeth with a toothpick, completely relaxed.

"Well then, Ria… what did you mean by 'it would help me'?"

She replied in an offhand tone, as if commenting on the weather:

"I think my little toys… the ones I made… they react to my energy. And right now, they're trying to find me."

Then, almost singing, she added with a delighted look:

"Human food... there's nothing better, hehe~"

Lucian narrowed his eyes. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Something felt off.

"When you say your little ones, you mean…"

Ria twirled the toothpick between her fingers, utterly nonchalant.

"Yup yup, my little darlings might just… overrun this entire continent ~"

Lucian froze.

"If I hadn't shut down my consciousness for two weeks, humanity would've been reduced to ash by now."

…Tell me that's a joke. Please.

The Demonic Night wasn't supposed to happen until next year. He had everything ready. Everything planned. And yet, he was only now realizing how close the catastrophe had come—right under his nose. A chill ran down his spine.

"Since I've lost most of my powers… that's all I could do," she added with a shrug.

Lucian continued, choosing his words carefully:

"How much time did you buy us?"

A grin slowly spread across Malveria's face—mocking, yet strangely charming.

"Exactly two months, in human terms… So, darling… What's your plan? Or rather… can you even make one?"

She giggled, savoring the tension like a fine dessert.

You're way too relaxed for someone whose life is at stake…

Lucian replied with a calm smile:

"That's… terribly inconvenient."

But inconvenient things were my breakfast back on Earth.

He raised a thumb, his smirk devilishly confident:

"I'll turn this Demonic Night into a National Holiday. With flair and fireworks."

Ria's eyes widened, her grin stretching like something out of a nightmare. She stared hard at Lucian.

He's not even flinching…? Is this guy really just a normal human?

She wondered for a moment—but the memory of a certain Adrian Voldreck surfaced.

No. No way he's ordinary. Interesting…

"I want to see how far you can go, Lucian... I want to see your limits."

"Ahem—I won't let you dow—"

Wait...

A bad feeling suddenly crawled up his spine.

"What do you mean by—"

But Ria was no longer listening. She was already heading for the door, probably off to wander in the gardens—her favorite place, filled with echoes of a long-lost past.

---

Lucian stepped out of the grand dining hall. Two guards stood on either side, straight as statues.

Lucian addressed the two guards calmly, standing watch outside the grand dining hall.

"Summon Harry, captain of my army."

The two men straightened up, tension creeping into their shoulders.

The Lucian they used to mock… was gone. No, this one was someone else entirely — sharper, colder, unreadable. Each day, the guards who once humiliated him feared a reckoning.

"Uh… y-yes, I'll go right away!"

Lucian stared silently.

Gulp.

The guard swallowed hard. The air suddenly felt colder.

"That's not how a soldier should respond."

Instantly, the man bowed low — almost groveling.

"My deepest apologies, Your Majesty!"

"Tch. Spare me the apology. Just go. Fast."

The guard bolted.

The palace's defense system is a joke, Lucian thought. I've been watching — the army is weak, disorganized. In a real war… we'd crumble.

But that would change soon. A calm, strategic smile crept onto his face as he rubbed his hands together.

Time to build an army… Russian steel fused with North Korean discipline.

The second guard shivered — unsure why, but feeling an instinctive chill.

---

A few minutes later…

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Harry had arrived, a hint of suspicion darkening his expression. They were still just outside the imperial dining hall.

Why summon me so suddenly? he wondered, alert.

"You'll accompany me to visit Duke Angelos," Lucian said, straight to the point. "That's why you're here."

I've barely stepped foot outside the palace before, Lucian thought. I don't even know what the Empire looks like anymore. I've heard it's hostile. Very hostile…

I might not come back alive.

Yeah... I've seen too many politicians get taken out on 'official visits.'

"V-very well, Your Majesty," Harry answered, visibly thrown.

It was rare — almost unthinkable — for the army's captain to leave the capital. His presence ensured stability in times of crisis. Normally, if the Emperor felt unsafe, it was the vice-captain who escorted him. Not the captain himself.

Lucian raised an eyebrow.

"I'm surprised you agreed so easily."

And he was. He had braced for resistance — maybe even defiance.

But Harry stood tall, as if forged from steel.

"I am the Empire's blade. That makes me your sword, sire."

A faint smile tugged at Lucian's lips.

"Good answer. Inform the stewards. I want everything ready in under an hour."

"At once, Your Majesty!"

---

Meanwhile, in the imperial prison…

"You're a little too eager, you bastard Duke."

One of the guards standing in front of the cell, holding his helmet under his arm, spoke with barely contained contempt.

"He's been here for two days… and all he does is tap his damn finger on the table."

His colleague, helmet firmly on, chuckled and crossed his arms.

Behind the bars, an elegant man sat upright, motionless... except for that finger tapping the wooden table at regular intervals.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A sign of impatience. A sign of a mind simmering with thoughts.

It was Darius Voldreck.

"Haha! To think that bastard Lucian even threw his own brother in prison!" the guard without a helmet laughed.

"Shh! Don't speak so loud in front of him…" the other muttered nervously.

"So what? Chris said, in the best-case scenario, this piece of trash will be exiled. After all, that son of a bitch Emperor already exiled Clerc, didn't he?"

"Yeah, you're right. Honestly, the Voldrecks are finished. They're all trash."

"Except for Duchess Iris... She's different. My future wife."

"Tsk. You're gonna have your balls cut off before you even get the chance to speak to her, idiot."

They both laughed like fools.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Darius kept tapping, his gaze lost in the void. Calm. Detached. Cold.

Suddenly...

"YOU'RE LUCKY YOU'VE BEEN QUIET."

A mouth, floating in a dark mist, materialized behind him.

Darius straightened up with a start, his eyes burning with a fanatical light. He immediately dropped to his knees.

"You… You've come?"

"Get up, you foolish little brother."

The voice was husky, deep… familiar. Terribly familiar.

Darius hesitated, then whispered:

"Selphia… Is that you?"

"Yes, my darling. It's a long story, but I'm the one announcing your mission. So shut up and listen carefully."

The guards kept mocking him.

"Shit, now he's talking to himself... This idiot's gone crazy! Hahaha!"

They couldn't see the dark mist.

They couldn't see the mouth.

They couldn't see anything.

Selphia Voldreck, in the shadows, continued:

"Chris is no longer at the palace. Your target is a girl: her name is Ria. You must find this girl… take her blood… and come join me. That's all."

What? Darius thought, caught off

guard.

He had expected something far more complicated.

But with Chris out of the picture...

It'll be a walk in the park.

For a rank 6 mage, at the peak of his power...

Darius closed his eyes, placed a hand over his heart, and murmured:

"Let the will of the Great Masters be fulfilled."

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