Ch.77The Demon King and Lilith (3)

# The Demon King and Lilith (3)

Eirene’s offensive showed no signs of stopping.

She had attempted to reveal Lilith as a demon by unleashing her holy power, but failed.

If that was the case, it would be right to assume that her opponent had prepared means to conceal her demonic nature.

Yes, if so, that wasn’t the part she should be attacking.

“If you truly loved Lug, you would have searched for him with all your might… Ah, perhaps you already knew? That Lug is a member of our party.”

The current situation.

The excuse Lilith had taken.

But it wasn’t perfect. Due to Lug’s impulsive action, the stance she had intended to take had changed.

And Eirene could tell from Lilith’s subtle facial expressions that her plans had changed.

“Thinking about it that way, it seems like you’re trying to take advantage after coincidentally meeting your fiancé. But that can’t be right? I’m so glad we could meet by chance like this. Surely this is thanks to divine guidance.”

Innocent and naive.

Eirene smiled innocently as if unaware that her words were offensive.

What she said was clearly sarcastic to anyone listening, but her expression alone would make people think Eirene harbored not a trace of malice.

Of course, if she went any further, even she wouldn’t be able to excuse herself.

But there was no need for that in the first place.

“No, that’s absurd. How could such a coincidence exist?”

Incitement was her specialty, after all.

Moreover, the person most susceptible to her incitement was right beside her.

Despite being a scholar, Tina, the one with the whitest head in the hero’s party, immediately fell for Eirene’s provocation.

“…You were trying to deceive Lug? I knew it. You’re definitely trying to steal Lug from me.”

And Millia seemed less like she fell for the incitement and more like she was riding along with it. Rather, it felt like she too had been looking for an excuse to slaughter Lilith.

As Millia’s aura suggested she might pounce on Lilith at any moment, Esmeralda restrained her.

But even she had gone through all sorts of trouble to keep Lug in this party. Just look at how the party members were going crazy now that there was a crisis of Lug leaving.

“It is certainly a bit strange, Lady Lilith. Would you understand? Our hero’s party has encountered too many lies like this before.”

“…”

“Is there something you want from us?”

There had to be.

She wouldn’t have called them over just to welcome them and entertain them.

Of course, there must be some purpose, whatever it might be.

In the current situation, Lug’s withdrawal.

Esmeralda subtly pressured Lilith while knowing full well.

Lilith also knew. In a situation where she was being suspected like this, it would be impossible to make him leave the party with just the justification of being Lug’s fiancée.

Lilith coolly assessed the current situation in response to Esmeralda’s words and actions that precisely targeted that point.

‘Moreover, even if it wasn’t “our” side, there have been many movements trying to exclude Lug from the hero’s party.’

What made it more difficult was that there were already precedents.

Lug had infiltrated the hero’s party disguised as someone from an ordinary village.

With no special talents, he took on the role of a porter.

It would have been good for avoiding suspicion. In fact, Lug didn’t use magic at all, so from the outside, he really seemed no different from an ordinary villager who knew nothing.

But there are people who don’t like that.

In the past, numerous organizations had moved to recruit Esmeralda, and the ones who gained priority were the Celestial God’s Order, the Magic Tower, and the Eye of Truth.

In such a fiercely competitive place, an ordinary villager with no background had entered.

It was natural to find it disagreeable.

‘If I say I’m going to take Lug away in this situation, I’ll be suspected even if I really am his fiancée.’

There’s a high probability it would look like she was acting on someone’s instructions to make Lug leave the party.

If so, there was only one choice she could make here.

“I love Lug.”

“I love you too.”

“…”

Lilith spoke with a resolute expression, and Lug agreed with her.

Momentarily speechless at the sudden agreement, Lilith soon managed her expression and began to express her opinion again.

“So I’d prefer if Lug didn’t go on dangerous adventures. But I understand your position… that is, the hero party’s position.”

She didn’t hide her purpose itself.

It didn’t matter if she was suspected. No, she had been suspected from the beginning.

If that was the case, it was better to break through forcefully than to make unnecessary excuses and beat around the bush.

“You don’t trust me, do you?”

Lilith slowly scanned the faces of the hero party members who were looking at her with suspicious eyes.

It was frightening. Weren’t they the ones who had dealt with even the 12 Legion Commanders?

But Lilith steeled her heart as she looked at Lug, who was still firmly holding her hand.

“So keep me close and watch me.”

“…What?”

“I too will carry luggage with Lug in the hero’s party. So when your suspicions about me are cleared, please release Lug.”

“…”

Lilith’s words sounded as if the hero’s party was detaining Lug. That was her intention.

She would spread this conversation. Since she hadn’t lied, even the hero’s party wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

And then she just had to wait.

Once such rumors spread, they wouldn’t be able to carelessly harm Lilith either. If anything happened to her, the hero party’s prestige would be buried in the ground.

And as they endured, the hero’s party would also realize they couldn’t keep holding onto Lug.

Wasn’t it obvious?

A village youth who had lost everything.

And a fiancée who wanted to be with such a village youth.

‘Even if things stay as they are, they’ll lose their justification for keeping Lug.’

This was her gambit.

Would Lilith’s identity be discovered first?

Or would the hero party’s justification for holding onto Lug disappear first?

“…Alright, Lady Lilith. Then I look forward to working with you.”

“Yes, Hero. I’ll do my best to earn your trust and that of your companions!”

And so began the uncomfortable journey of the hero’s party and the Demon King’s aide.

***

Esmeralda clicked her tongue.

‘I can’t let my guard down. She’s certainly someone who knows how to use her head.’

Honestly, she wouldn’t have been able to see through Lilith’s plan on her own.

Of course, her wise companions hadn’t given her any hints either.

‘Really… how is it that Eirene doesn’t say a single word?’

She had read Lilith’s surface thoughts and grasped the outline of her plan.

Of course, while she was like this, Lilith would certainly be different.

Eirene probably knew why Lilith had offered to join them.

Wasn’t she the one who cared about public perception more than anyone else?

For her, who carefully maintained her packaging as an innocent and naive saintess in front of people, Lilith’s joining was bound to be the worst possible scenario.

‘She must have a plan. And that plan would be to escape with Lug.’

The fact that Eirene hadn’t said anything meant she had her own intentions too.

It was all the more troublesome because she couldn’t see through the psychology of someone who could fabricate surface thoughts through self-hypnosis.

In that sense, there was no one as straightforward as Millia.

[Note: I intend to kill her.]

How honest.

Esmeralda just needed to stop Millia, who had given a warning of her impending rampage.

Then what about Tina?

[Note: If I secretly steal him and run away… no, I can’t do that. I can’t betray Esmeralda anymore. But is taking Lug away a betrayal? Rather, I could think of it as lightening their load… I shouldn’t think like this!]

Anguish.

Esmeralda was exhausted just from reading Tina’s surface thoughts.

If Millia was a bomb set to explode, Tina was a dud that might or might not go off.

If she would just betray them outright, it would be one thing, but when she was struggling through internal conflict, there was nothing to be done.

Especially considering that her greed wasn’t her fault but the result of an unfortunate accident.

Esmeralda still wanted to remain Tina’s friend. More than that, she couldn’t help it because if she suspected her again and got caught, she would truly be cut off.

‘Tina, my friend. My only…’

True friend.

Esmeralda, being a tender-hearted and sensitive country girl, couldn’t bear losing a true friend.

‘Well, the biggest problem is…’

Esmeralda glanced back repeatedly to check on Lug and Lilith’s condition.

“Ah, be careful not to trip. There’s a tree root.”

“Thank you, Lug.”

Lug holding Lilith’s hand and guiding her as if escorting her.

And Lilith thanking him with a blushed face.

‘What a load of crap.’

Esmeralda clicked her tongue at the scene that looked like a real engaged couple.

Still, coming from her, this was mild.

‘The others won’t end with just irritation…’

Not only Millia, who was openly showing killing intent, but also Eirene, whose inner thoughts were unknown, would be similar.

The same went for Tina, who was currently being swayed by her greed. The very fact that she was being swayed meant that she didn’t like the current situation.

So she had to prevent their rampages. While preventing their rampages, Esmeralda had to solve the problem.

But Lilith, whom Esmeralda was so wary of…

‘Ah, he’s so handsome.’

She wasn’t in her right mind at the moment.