Until just moments ago, smiling nobles had been holding wineglasses and enjoying the scenery of the garden.
Men in formal suits and women adorned in dazzling dresses and jewels mingled in one place, chatting pleasantly.
“Rejoice, everyone! Will our world not soon be upon us? Haha.”
A gathering of nobles belonging to the noble faction.
Count Derrick, who led this gathering, spoke loudly with a laugh.
This was the garden behind the royal palace.
Naturally, it was managed by the royal family, but Count Derrick spoke without hesitation, making his presence known.
“Your words are absolutely right, Count! If only they had listened to us, none of this would have happened. How wonderful it would have been if they had opened up development of the mountain range sooner!”
“Well, I suppose it’s his own karma. Hahaha.”
Someone even made a remark disparaging the king of the nation without the slightest restraint.
“When the Order overturns the kingdom, we need only step forward! Then it will finally be our world.”
The garden’s splendid sculptures and jewels glittering in the sunlight added to the atmosphere, while conversation and laughter flowed from all around.
Just as that moment of peace and social grace was in full bloom.
Count Derrick’s smiling, chattering expression hardened.
“Count…?”
Someone noticed the subtle change in him.
“……”
But Count Derrick moved toward the cake placed on the table. A single knife was stuck into it.
The count grasped that knife and pulled it out.
And then he began to swing it wildly, like a madman.
The garden, where the mood had been so pleasant, turned into a scene of terror in an instant.
Red blood splattered everywhere, and people began screaming and scattering in panic.
As red blood spattered over elegant, splendid dresses, the women’s faces twisted with fear and shock, and the men, too, could not hide their horror.
Why on earth would Count Derrick do something like this?
The garden’s magnificent sculptures and lights transformed into something sinister.
The sounds of conversation and laughter were replaced by screams and cries of terror.
And amid this moment of chaos, there was one being watching it all.
It was Princess Irena of the Seil Kingdom.
“…Haha.”
A natural smile rose to her lips.
It felt as though astonishing wonder and uneasy romance were floating together on the same orbit.
‘What should I call this?’
Yes. This was exhilaration.
It felt as though all the oppression and contempt she had endured until now had been repaid in a single moment.
Then she glanced at the demon she had summoned.
A demon with an appearance so beautiful that even another woman could not help but acknowledge it.
Looking again at the horns on her head, they did not seem frightening so much as they made her appear even more alluring.
That demon had introduced herself as Celia.
At the same time, Celia had clearly said this just moments ago.
That it was a gift before they entered into a formal contract.
If…
If, truly if.
If the result unfolding before her eyes was merely a simple gift before a formal contract.
What would happen if she officially contracted with her?
Irena saw a sliver of possibility.
And she envisioned a hopeful future ahead.
“Um, Lady Celia…?”
Irena hesitated before speaking to Celia.
Just as she had thought, this woman was no ordinary demon.
She was likely a high-ranking demon.
No matter how ignorant Irena was about monsters, she felt that she must not compare Celia to mere monsters.
“I would like to enter into a formal contract.”
At Irena’s words, Celia smiled faintly.
“There are matters of utmost importance required for a formal contract.”
Celia raised one finger and pointed upward.
Irena naturally lifted her head and looked at the ceiling.
“First, Princess Irena. Serve the Great One. All you need do is keep Him in your heart and work for Him. I will not permit you to doubt the Supreme One, either.”
‘The Great One?’
For a moment, Irena thought it was a truly peculiar demand.
To be honest, from the perspective of a demon, she had expected Celia to demand her soul.
Yet instead of her soul, she was merely told to serve the Great One.
Irena did not even know who that person was.
No, could there be an existence even more powerful than the demon before her?
On the other hand, she also felt relieved.
Because what Celia demanded was not her soul.
“You thought I would demand your soul, didn’t you?”
At her words, Irena flinched.
Celia smiled at the sight and raised another finger.
“Next, second. Yes, that’s right. It is a soul, but not your soul. You are someone who will one day become the faithful servant of the Great One.”
And the other demand was this.
“Show your sincerity for the Great One. To put it rather directly, I suppose it would be proper to call it an offering.”
“An offering?”
When Irena asked back, Celia smiled warmly.
“Yes, an offering. Send offerings to the mountain range near the kingdom. I will leave entirely to you, Princess Irena, whom you choose to offer.”
For a moment, Irena was flustered.
Send offerings to the mountain range?
The mountain range was a dangerous place.
Because it served as a barrier between the kingdom and the Demon Realm, no one knew what monsters or dangerous beings might be there.
And she had to offer sacrifices to such a perilous place?
But Celia kindly explained it to her.
As though she were dealing with a child.
“Ah, Princess Irena, you need not offer the sacrifices yourself.”
With a benevolent smile, Celia pointed out the window.
“Well, judging from the atmosphere earlier, wouldn’t the nobles come on their own if you coaxed them just a little?”
At Celia’s words, Irena gasped in admiration.
“Ah!”
Just as she said, Irena would not need to personally offer the sacrifices.
Not when there were so many people who would become sacrifices of their own accord.
However, in order to put that thought into action, there was another problem.
The great obstacle of whether her father would approve.
Did Celia know of Irena’s concern?
She left Irena with a single remark.
“Do not worry about that part. Everything will go exactly as Princess Irena says.”
It was a statement whose meaning she could not understand.
“But please be sure to remember this. Always follow the Great One…”
Irena looked into Celia’s eyes.
“The Great One…”
She did not know who He was.
But she must never defy Him.
“The Great One…”
To contract with the demon before her, she had to obey the words of the Great One.
“The Great One…”
What had been the reason she wanted to become queen and make the kingdom strong?
“……”
For a moment, she could not remember.
But she knew one thing.
“The Great One…”
Yes. The demon had told her to remember just that one thing.
“To serve the Great One…”
As Irena murmured it again and again, Celia smiled in satisfaction.
After muttering several more times, Irena soon came to her senses.
“Ah! Lady Celia.”
Irena wanted to ask a few more questions, but the other party did not wait.
“We will have many meetings from now on, Irena.”
It meant this would not be the only time they could speak.
“I will send you a gift soon.”
Leaving only those final words behind, Celia stepped out of Irena’s room.
“Ah, if you go that way…”
If she left that way, there was a risk other people would see her.
Flustered, Irena followed Celia out of the room.
“Huh?”
There was no one in the corridor.
As if she had never existed in the first place.
“…Surely it wasn’t a dream?”
Had she perhaps seen an illusion?
Irena had been that desperate, and she had wanted power that badly.
What she had just experienced had been so utterly unrealistic.
But it was not a dream.
She looked around her room.
The parchment she had used as the medium to summon the demon had all burned away and turned to ash.
Outside the window, the commotion still continued, and red blood was scattered everywhere.
She saw several knights rushing at Count Derrick and arresting him.
As she watched the green garden dyed red, one thought came to Irena.
“It isn’t a dream…”
Yes. This was not a dream.
“This is an opportunity.”
A perfect opportunity to change the kingdom as it was now.
From now on, the kingdom would change by her own hands.
“An opportunity to serve the Great One.”
There was a trace of madness somewhere in Irena’s eyes.
* * *
Armed knights were traveling along a bumpy road.
All of them wore the armor of the Seil Kingdom.
It was knightly armor that covered their bodies from head to toe.
However, one thing was strange: no vitality could be felt from them.
Lennon wondered about that, but soon shook his head.
Because this task had been personally ordered by the princess he served, Irena.
The princess had always worn a dark expression.
But since a few days ago, she had brightened, and had become positive about everything.
As the princess’s escort knight, Lennon was glad for that change.
‘The princess is working hard, too. I can’t just stand still.’
Following the princess’s orders, Lennon greeted the knights before him.
“I have been waiting for you. I am Lennon, assigned by Her Highness’s command to lead you knights.”
However, the other party said nothing.
Lennon was briefly flustered by that sight, but soon regained his composure.
It was a common occurrence.
He was the princess’s escort knight, but he came from common birth.
And had the princess not said as much?
That someone of high standing would be sending support to help her.
Lennon interpreted Irena’s words differently.
‘At last, a noble has appeared who shares the princess’s will.’
The knights before him were likely men dispatched by that noble.
If so, their pride might be high enough to pierce the heavens.
Such knights were often of noble birth themselves, and frequently disliked speaking with knights of commoner origin.
This was probably the same sort of case.
Lennon maintained his smile as best he could.
In any case, these were benefactors who would help the princess he served.
The kingdom as it stood was crawling with the noble faction.
In such circumstances, the fact that they were offering this support meant they must be someone who cared for the princess.
Lennon led those knights back toward the royal palace.
The armed knights simply followed behind Lennon.
With every step they took, their armor creaked.
If one listened closely, there was also the sound of bones moving, but it was so faint that no one noticed.
* * *
“Now then, Father is feeling unwell today, so I have attended in his stead.”
Princess Irena burst into the conference room.
Every noble was startled by her appearance, but Irena quickly opened her mouth.
“I have been granted full authority, so please do not worry.”
The princess’s atmosphere had changed in a subtle way.
Like a child with an amusing toy placed before her eyes.
But the people in the conference room did not notice.
They were all interested only in their own rights and profits, not in some princess.
However, Irena’s next words were more than enough to draw their attention.
“From this moment on, I will permit all development of the mountain range bordering the kingdom.”
““…!””
Had they heard correctly?
Royalists and nobles of the noble faction alike all doubted their own ears.
The nobles of the royalist faction were puzzled because she was suddenly saying she would relinquish the royal family’s interests, which they had protected all this time.
The nobles of the noble faction had been gloomy over the recent incident with Count Derrick, and now could not regain their senses after being so abruptly presented with a carrot.
The mountain range was dangerous because it bordered the Demon Realm.
At the same time, however, it was sparsely populated and rich in buried resources, making it a place full of boundless potential for development.
Until now, the royal family had not permitted development of the mountain range.
It was dangerous, and above all, they had not wanted the nobles’ power to grow.
But Irena’s words did not end there.
“Not only will I permit development, I will also grant autonomy over the developed areas.”
Irena smiled brightly.
“However, our royal family cannot take responsibility for any damages that arise in the process.”