Ch.2477. Release (1)

# -7. Lilith (1)

Lilith, the current Demon Lord and a lifelong single.

After finishing the wedding ceremony of the two people, she sat on the bed in her lodging and let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… Have I been living my life wrong?”

“Yes.”

“Shouldn’t you say ‘no’ at times like this? Even just out of courtesy?”

“I sympathize, truly sympathize.”

What a useless kind of empathy.

Lilith gazed at the night view of the city visible through the window.

The city, having regained peace after months since the end of the war, was overflowing with happiness.

Everyone was enjoying the holiday, chattering with laughter.

“Why does it feel like I’m the only one like this…?”

“Not having a partner doesn’t mean you’re living or will live an absolutely bad life, so it’s fine. You’re just lonely, that’s all.”

“That’s exactly what I don’t like.”

“Then just find a partner. Simple, isn’t it?”

Easy to say, but in reality, she had never even had a lover, let alone a partner.

Still, recently, a glimmer of hope had emerged—though it was so small and threadlike that she wasn’t sure if it could even be called hope.

“But Albert said he’d introduce someone, right? I saw that person today. The one he said he’d introduce.”

“I saw him too. I knew about him from the beginning.”

“How was he? From what I remember, he wasn’t bad, right?”

“That’s not the important part…”

“Why not?! Then what is important…?”

Judging from Lilith’s lukewarm reaction, it seemed she wasn’t particularly impressed.

Of course, it was inevitable. That’s why she had remained single all this time.

If Lilith were the type to easily develop feelings for someone without much personal interaction, she would have been married long ago.

“He’s young… too young.”

“Is now the time to be picky about that? More importantly, what was your first impression?”

“Well… he looks too cold…”

“You’re the one who said Albert was handsome before, but now you’re saying this guy just looks cold?”

“No… Albert is indeed handsome, but this one is just… too childlike, I guess.”

That wasn’t incomprehensible.

In reality, Raycle was like a newborn baby to Lilith, who was barely in her early twenties, while Albert, though physically similar in age, was actually quite old.

And above all, the atmosphere… or perhaps the weight one feels from a person—there was an extreme difference.

“Then why don’t you date Albert? Oh! That’s right! You could just date him!”

“That’s… not proper, it wouldn’t be right…”

“It’s not exactly illegal, is it? Neither in our country nor here is it particularly illegal. Rather, it’s normal for those with superior genes to have multiple wives.”

That wasn’t wrong.

In reality, quite a few people in the Kainis Empire lived with multiple husbands or multiple wives.

And the citizens didn’t particularly object to it.

“Let’s just seduce him.”

“I told you, he just got married.”

“Our kind doesn’t care about such things. Just trust me. It’s my specialty.”

“Seducing married men?”

“Something like that.”

Lilith looked at Lu with contemptuous eyes.

However, Lu didn’t seem to care at all. Rather, she seemed to be enjoying it.

Ignoring Lilith’s gaze, Lu shamelessly rummaged through her belongings.

“First, we should change your clothes, make them a bit more… enticing.”

“Are you serious…?”

“You like him anyway, don’t you?”

“It’s not that I like him… I just find him appealing.”

“That’s the same thing. Besides, you don’t even find anyone else appealing. You won’t be satisfied with others, and they’re not on your level, right?”

While love shouldn’t be about levels, there’s a saying that “birds of a feather flock together,” and in reality, most people date within their own circles.

Just like those two.

Lu brought out a rather powerful outfit for the rigid Lilith.

It was almost like underwear… a ridiculous garment that barely covered what needed to be covered.

Lilith couldn’t close her mouth upon seeing the outfit.

“How about this? You need to wear something like this to seduce him.”

“Do I… really have to?”

“Otherwise, just stay single forever. It’s not like you have to date or get married, right?”

“Ah…! Really…!!”

“You should have found a partner and gotten married earlier. What have you been doing all these years?”

A merciless lecture.

Yet, even as she listened to the lecture, Lilith couldn’t retort and just stared blankly at the outfit with her lips tightly sealed.

“Maybe I should just live alone…?”

“You don’t have to, probably…”

Lu’s expression suggested she knew something.

However, her expression lacked certainty. Instead of certainty, it was filled with ambiguous expectation and concern.

***

About a month after the wedding of the two, a grand event was held as scheduled at the Colosseum of the Babylon Kingdom.

The content of the event was relatively simple.

If one could defeat the king and his servants in battle, they could inherit the throne. And any damage incurred during this duel would be at one’s own risk.

These were the two conditions.

Naturally, this event became a huge issue among the citizens, and most of the renowned warriors in the kingdom gathered here.

Albert, today’s hidden guest and another purpose of the day, smiled brightly as he looked at the numerous people gathered here.

“There are quite a lot of people, aren’t there? It’s going to be tough.”

His face and the weapon he was holding were quite different from usual.

He was disguised as Lilith’s servant. It was a necessary choice, as without it, such an event would have little meaning.

“Still, you need to be more energetic than me. It’s meaningless if I do everything.”

“I know…”

“And don’t kill them just because you’re not held responsible. It’s not a good thing.”

“I said I know…”

“Why are you so sulky today?”

As Albert stared blankly, Lilith turned her head away as if she was upset.

Seeing this, he tilted his head and asked Lu.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I think she’s jealous because you’re the only one who got married and is living well.”

“But she’s the one who rejected my introduction first.”

“I guess she didn’t like him.”

“What a strange person.”

“But weren’t you the same?”

It took him a moment to understand what she meant.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he tactlessly asked her directly.

“Do you have someone you like?”

“M-me…?! No, I don’t…?”

“Then how are we the same?”

“Sigh…”

For some reason, Lu let out a deep sigh and brought up a new topic.

“It’s about to start, so get ready. And you’re up first.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t overdo it, and I’ll give you a signal when it’s time to come in. You can decide based on the situation whether to drop out or not. You can just pretend to be someone else with a different disguise anyway.”

“That’s too… underhanded…”

“Be quiet.”

“Yes…”

As the appointed time approached, the three left the waiting room. Albert drank a mysterious potion from a bottle and headed to the arena, while Lu and Lilith went to the spectator seats.

Lilith sat on a dazzling chair that anyone would recognize as fit for a king, observing the situation.

He stood in the arena, watching her.

‘Why is she acting like that?’

Her deliberate avoidance of his gaze was quite unnatural.

She had always been somewhat like that, but now it seemed more blatant.

Not knowing what had happened, he could only feel puzzled and act simply.

Lilith took the microphone as soon as she sat down and began to speak.

“Since quite a few have gathered, let’s begin. If you can defeat my servants and even myself, I shall hand over my position. However, if you fail, you must absolutely obey me.”

A voice that tried hard to appear strong.

It was hard to hold back laughter.

Still, if he, as a servant, were to laugh, it might diminish her authority, so he tried to suppress his laughter.

Besides, her tone and voice seemed genuine enough that everyone was intimidated.

Even those who had been boasting about inheriting the throne today.

‘They’re all scared.’

Albert pointed his sword at the first group of about 50 demons who had come up to the arena.

They looked both proud and nervous as he addressed them.

“You won’t even reach the feet of Her Majesty.”

His voice, thickened by the potion, made them even more rigid.

Certainly, being the first to come out, their level was pathetic.

He hadn’t come all this way to face such small fry, so he approached the fight somewhat seriously.

There was no need to appear too strong, but he couldn’t appear too weak either.

His swift sword, like lightning scattered on the ground, wounded them.

-Slash!! Slash!! Clang!!-

It was simple, but impossible to block.

Albert’s sword cut through their arms, legs, and will.

Though they were a considerable number of 50, it took less than 5 minutes for them to be completely defeated.

He spoke in a boastful voice reminiscent of someone.

“To reach Her Majesty, you must first defeat me, you primitive beings.”