Chapter 162: Commotion

‘I managed to hold it together even when I heard about Cruel’s body, but it’s finally exploding now.’

At least it happened when I was alone in my room. I guess that’s something to be thankful for.

Emotions beyond a certain point were unbecoming. Anger was no exception. Losing control, raising my voice, shouting like a commoner—pathetic. If someone had seen me, it could have shattered the image I’d carefully built.

[Junior, there are plenty of ways to express anger without raising your voice. Don’t degrade yourself by shouting and straining your throat.]

Stay calm. Only refined emotions should be displayed. Even if I’m boiling inside, my mind must remain cold. Reason must always prevail.

Deon waved away Ben, who’d rushed in announcing a signal, calmly wiped his lips, folded the handkerchief, tucked it away, and then turned his gaze to Develania standing before him.

“It seems there’s some information missing about Cruel.”

“…I apologize.”

“So you were aware.”

“…”

A flicker of anger sparked within me. If I’d been told beforehand, I wouldn’t have been caught off guard in front of everyone.

“…Why?”

“I’m sorry…”

“That’s not what I meant.”

He slowly rose from his seat.

Step. Step. His slow steps moved slightly, then halted in front of Develania. Deon leaned in close, his face inches away, and locked eyes with her.

Despite the upturned corners of his mouth, his crimson eyes gleamed with a chilling madness.

“Why? Did you think I’d be deeply shocked? Or that I’d lose control and fly into a rage?”

“…!”

“The latter, then.”

Yeah, if it were the former, that would be laughable. After watching my hyung die before my eyes, then trying to recover his body only to learn someone had decapitated him—what more could shock me now?

“Just how emotionally stunted do you think I am?”

“N-no, that’s not it…!”

“To withhold information for such a flimsy reason… you must have thought I was a pushover.”

“N-no…!”

Grasp.

Words of mere denial. Not wanting to hear any more excuses, he grasped Develania’s neck, careful not to apply any pressure. Any force would be futile and only expose his pathetic grip.

Instead,

“My patience has limits.”

He overwhelmed her with his presence.

His smile vanished as he stared at the demon before him. Locking eyes with her slightly stiff pupils, he spoke, his lips barely moving.

“Behave yourself.”

“…”

Silence descended.

…That’s enough anger for now. Deon slowly released Develania’s neck and let out a soft sigh.

She’d apologized meekly from start to finish. Pressing further in anger now would only backfire.

“…Just make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

Deon swallowed down his lingering emotions.

***

During the meeting, Deon Hart had clearly stated:

[Once I conclude the ‘warning to the Human Realm,’ in a week, the 5th Corps will move into Taehon Kingdom and raise some hell, so to speak.]

A terrifying order from the commander-in-chief. 5th Corps Commander Oel followed it faithfully.

Taking her adjutant Derniban, who was practically her babysitter, she rampaged through Taehon Kingdom. Today, she was ransacking a village, turning over homes in search of interesting trinkets.

“Derniban, look at this. What’s this bundle of dried-up weeds? Why do they keep this stuff inside?”

“They appear to be herbs used by humans.”

“Herbs? Like the fairy herbs?”

“Given it’s from a peasant’s home, their potency will be negligible compared to fairy herbs.”

“Do peasants not have access to effective herbs?”

Seeming to lose interest, Oel tossed the bundle of herbs aside and turned to rummage through another house, when she paused, hearing a sound from somewhere.

“Ooh-ah.”

“…?”

Definitely the sound of something alive.

Derniban seemed to hear it too, his indifferent gaze turning murderous. Not a mistake then. Oel slowly began to move, seeking the source of the sound.

“Hwee-ing-.”

“…”

The sound was coming from inside the wardrobe.

Now that I think about it, there was a human woman’s corpse right here. I’d assumed it was a coincidence, but maybe not.

She shoved the woman’s corpse aside with her foot, glanced at Derniban, gave a subtle nod, and then flung open the wardrobe. Instantly, Derniban reached out to silence whatever was inside—

“…Hold on.”

The command, laced with restraint, forced him to halt.

Derniban, his sharp claws still extended, glanced at Oel, eyes narrowed. Her eyes, however, were sparkling like she’d discovered something wondrous.

“…No way.”

“I read about these! This is a ‘baby,’ right? That ‘baby’ everyone calls a ‘blessing’! Oh wow, a real, live baby!”

“…Lady Oel.”

Ah. Figures.

His claws, momentarily forgotten, retracted back into his fist. Derniban knew what his superior was about to say.

“Derniban! We’re keeping it!”

“It’s human.”

“But it’s a ‘baby’?”

“We should kill it.”

“No! I want a ‘blessing’ too!”

“I will endeavor to…”

Demons were a race born from the ‘Demon King’s power.’ No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t conceive a child…

Still, he needed to placate his rampaging lover and superior. Without a flicker of emotion, Derniban calmly uttered a lie.

“So that you may have what you desire, Lady Oel…”

“I want this baby now.”

“…”

“No matter how I think about it, I can’t wait to have a baby of my own. I looked it up, and apparently some humans can’t make babies in their bellies. Those humans ‘adopt’ babies instead.”

“Lord Demon King won’t permit it.”

“We’ll raise it in secret!”

“But…”

“You’ll help me, won’t you, Derniban?”

“…”

Huh?

Derniban, gazing into her sparkling eyes, slowly lowered his gaze. His claws, which had been menacingly extended as if to snatch the ‘baby’s life, were now completely retracted.

“…If it’s an order, then.”

***

“Your Majesty, we have some news…”

“I’m busy now. Later.”

An urgent request for aid arrived from Rweche. The Emperor, having ordered an emergency meeting, brushed past a visibly anxious knight and strode towards the meeting room.

If it were a war-related emergency, it would have been reported immediately as per his standing orders. So, it probably wasn’t anything too critical.

Having been rebuffed for the eleventh time, the dejected knight watched as the Emperor, who’d already dismissed him from his mind, stopped before the meeting room doors.

“Your Majesty…”

“No need for that.”

He didn’t have time for formalities. As he’d always done, he opened the door himself and entered.

Nobles scrambled to their feet at the Emperor’s unannounced entrance. Waving a dismissive hand, the Emperor skipped the greetings and strode directly to his throne.

“Enough with the formalities. Be seated.”

As if he couldn’t spare even the briefest moment it took for the nobles to settle back into their chairs, the Emperor continued without pause.

“An aid request has come from Rweche, our ally. Apparently, demons have begun assaulting the kingdom’s city gates. Considering they’re one of Paras Territory’s staunchest allies, we can’t just abandon them, even if only out of obligation.”

A brief silence fell, then the nobles erupted in reaction.

“Since when did ‘duty’ outweigh ‘profit’ in state affairs? The Empire is already stretched thin fighting demons. We must refuse.”

“The alliance will crumble. Not just Rweche, but Sanguo will also view the Empire with suspicion. Shouldn’t we avoid making more enemies when public opinion is already sour? Therefore, Your Majesty, we should assist, even if it strains our resources.”

“Before we get ahead of ourselves,”

Just as the debate threatened to escalate, a hand rose.

“May I humbly request a more detailed explanation of the situation? It’s such a major event that everyone should be aware, but events unfolded so rapidly, some may still be in the dark.”

Violet pupils narrowed into crescents beneath lowered eyelids. The Emperor regarded him silently, then nodded.

“My apologies, I overlooked that in my haste. You’re likely already aware that the 5th Corps of the Demon King’s army has ravaged Taehon Kingdom. Taehon Kingdom is a vassal state under Rweche’s protection. Rweche dispatched aid to uphold their pledge, and…”

The rest is history.

They’re facing the 5th Corps, no less. Sending inadequate troops would be a pointless waste, so they must have deployed a significant force, severely depleting Rweche’s military strength.

And in that weakened state, demons began hammering at Rweche’s city gates.

“Isn’t this Rweche’s own doing? We must refuse.”

“Rweche strained themselves to uphold their alliance vows. Had Rweche ignored Taehon Kingdom, we would have reevaluated our alliance. Ultimately, Rweche’s predicament is partly our responsibility. Therefore, we must assist them to the best of our ability.”

“With the war against demons showing no signs of ending, we must conserve our forces. Yet, we can’t be the ones to shatter the alliance… How about sending token support? Expendable troops, so to speak.”

“Such troops exist?”

“Aren’t there forces comprised of commoners and peasants? If insufficient, we can conscript more.”

The nobles had already contributed to the Empire’s war effort by sending some of their private soldiers and at least one male family member. So, even if they suggested conscripting Imperial citizens to address any troop shortages, the Emperor wouldn’t likely be angered.

Hence, he voiced his suggestion confidently, but…

“Even if unavoidable, I still find your casual talk of ‘conscription’ distasteful.”

Displeasure twisted the Emperor’s face.

“Imperial citizen conscription was a measure born of necessity due to troop shortages. If we dispatch them abroad as disposable pawns, how will we fill their ranks?”

“By conscripting more commoners and peasants, naturally…”

“You seem to think Imperial citizens are some inexhaustible magical spring, but you’re mistaken. Aren’t there superior troops at your disposal?”

A sticky, blood-like sensation clung to his fingertips gripping the throne’s armrest.

In this horrific state where nightmare and hallucination had escalated to tactile sensation, the Emperor, betraying no emotion, calmly raised a hand and pointed at the nobles.

“Your private armies still exist, don’t they?”

“Those are the bare minimum to defend our territories!”

“It seems your territories are more important to you than the Empire itself? If the Empire falls, your precious territories will become unclaimed land. Truly foolish.”

“That’s not the case…!”

As the nobleman who’d bravely spoken found himself helplessly ensnared by the Emperor’s rhetoric, another noble interjected.

“Your Majesty, we have already demonstrated our loyalty to the Empire by sending our family men to the front lines. Why do you treat us this way?”

The Emperor, who had listened in silence, quirked a corner of his lip.

“If that truly embodies loyalty, you shouldn’t be so self-righteous.”

“What do you mean?”

“Adopted orphans, bastards, distant relations.”

“…!”

Ever since—specifically, after the Emperor declared that nobles would be the first drafted if troop numbers dwindled—the number of people registered into noble families had skyrocketed.

The reason was obvious.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you’ve been taking in other families’ children to minimize your losses? Because you didn’t want to fight yourselves, didn’t want to send your precious sons, and even your expensively trained private soldiers were too valuable, did you?”

“Bastards are… other families’ children…”

“Yes, you likely treated them worse than even other families’ children. But that’s beside the point.”

“…”

“It’s absurd you dare to speak of loyalty after such actions. If I’d known, I should have ordered you to send every last man to the front, leaving only one behind. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…I dare to implore you to consider the root cause, Your Majesty.”

Perhaps he’d pushed too far. A cornered rat finally bit the cat.