Chapter 9 – Ambiguous Position (1)
It’s been a week since I joined the Demon Lord’s army.
I was living a comfortable life.
When I wake up in the morning and ring the bell, Lady Alexia and her subordinate demons would come and get me ready, I have a leisurely breakfast in my room, spend the morning exploring the Demon Castle, have lunch with the Demon Lord, take part in the discussion of the executives in the afternoon, have dinner with the Demon Lord, and when I return to my room, I take a bath, relax, and then go to sleep.
…… Oh, is this what a leisurely and comfortable life is all about?
Even though I don’t do any real work, no one reproaches me or tells me what to do.
“Lady Alexia, what am I supposed to do……? Lord Ewaldt only told me to ‘do as I please’…”
Yes, no one really says anything.
Lady Alexia, who joined me for tea, smiled.
“Have you gotten used to living here?”
“Yes, thanks to the hospitality, from both Lord Ewaldt and you Lady Alexia, I am very comfortable here.”
“Glad to hear that. However, it seems that my Demon Queen abhors being idle.”
To which I nodded.
I had never spent so much time doing nothing, and I felt extremely uneasy.
…… When I was the Duke’s daughter, I was so busy.
After being falsely accused by the Saintess Yuuri, I was tortured every day and lost my sense of time.
There are no social tea parties or soirees to attend, no education for the Crown Princess, and no need to constantly worry about the eyes of others.
Here, I could do whatever I wanted.
There was no part of the Demon Castle that was off limits to me, I could enter anywhere, and the executives also treated me with a fair amount of courtesy.
Although I never became Queen, that was essentially what I was.
Every day, I always had time to meet with Lord Ewaldt, and when I did, it was just the two of us.
When I was a Duke’s daughter, it was unthinkable for me to be alone with a member of the opposite sex, but among the demons, there is no such common sense as that of a human noble.
Lord Ewaldt compliments me every day.
Although I had been reprimanded by my tutor and the Queen, I had never been praised, so every time I was praised, I felt a little embarrassed.
Whenever I humbled myself or denied it, Lord Ewaldt didn’t look very pleased.
“Rachel, please don’t deny my words. The words I speak are facts, and they are also my heart.”
After hearing that, I stopped being humble and denying things.
When I accepted with a “Thank you”, Lord Ewaldt nodded in satisfaction.
Every day, Lady Alexia put more effort into my hairstyle, dress, makeup, and ornaments.
“Hohoho, it’s fun to dress someone up like this. Demon Queen, you are gorgeous, so it’s worthwhile.”
So saying, she had her subordinate demons bring a large number of dresses and accessories, and spent two or three hours dressing me up.
I could refuse if I didn’t like it, but all the dresses Lady Alexia brought were cute, stylish, and made me want to try them.
Besides, Lady Alexia has good taste.
She has never assigned me anything that didn’t suit me, and even Lord Ewaldt complimented her on this.
“Assigning Alexia Moon to be your caretaker was the right decision. Beholding your beauty has become one of my greatest pleasures of late.”
Lord Ewaldt is honest, for better or worse.
He never tries to deceive or lie in conversation and seems to dislike such behavior, with clear likes and dislikes.
If you try to evade a question, he gets annoyed, but if you clearly express that you don’t want to talk about something or that it bothers you, he won’t push further.
I feel grateful for such consideration.
But that doesn’t mean he’s not interested in me.
“You don’t have to say what you don’t want to, but I hope that one day we can become close enough to talk about anything.”
Apparently, Lord Ewaldt just doesn’t force me to do anything, he genuinely wants to know everything about me.
He seems to enjoy our verbal interaction, and often asks me questions during our time together.
“What’s your favorite color?”
“I don’t have one in particular. Do you have a favorite color, Lord Ewaldt?”
“Yes, I do. Gold and pink-red.”
I’m not so clueless that I wouldn’t understand what he meant when he said that while staring at me.
“That’s …….”
“Yes, your colors. I love your soft blonde hair and those vibrant pink-red eyes. You are beautiful and adorable.”
He touches my hands and hair and kisses me as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It still makes me feel embarrassed, but Lord Ewaldt doesn’t stop, and although it’s strange to me as well, I couldn’t bring myself to ask him to stop.
After lunch with Lord Ewaldt, I strolled around the Demon Castle while thinking.
…… I wonder if I can stay like this…….
Even though I am not a Queen, I am treated like one and given special treatment, which can easily lead to confusion.
It made me feel as if I had been accepted for who I am, Rachel.
There’s no way that a former human like me could be accepted by the demons without question.
That’s why I felt relieved.
“Hey, you human!”
I turned around at the sound of a voice shouting at me.
It was a wolf-like creature with bluish-grey fur and golden eyes, standing on two legs. A werewolf.
Judging by the voice, it was probably a male.
“Are you talking about me?”
Zunzun The werewolf approached.
“There is no other human here but you!”
His appearance and tone of voice reminded me of someone else.
…… He is somewhat similar to Rodolphe.
When I looked at Lady Alexia, she replied with a sigh.
“He’s Rodolphe’s younger brother.”
I knew it, I thought.
“Hey, human, how could a skinny and weak thing like you become the Demon Lord’s queen? Ridiculous!”
“No, I’m not a queen yet. Also, I’m a Lich. I’m not human anymore.”
“Shut up! Anyway, face me! It’s bad enough that you’re even human, but I won’t let a weak one stand next to the Demon Lord!!”
I cover my ears to the barking yells.
“Um, I don’t mind sparring with you, but could you please lower your voice a little? I can hear you even if you don’t raise your voice so loudly from this distance. Also, I’m a Lich.”
“My voice has always been loud!”
I looked at Lady Alexia and she nodded again.
“It always has been.”
“So it has.”
Lord Rodolphe was also loud, but I made a mental note that his younger brother was even louder.
Lady Alexia led the way to the training grounds.
The training ground was outside the Demon Castle, and it took quite a while just to get down to the first floor.
I went out of the Demon Castle, thinking that it would be difficult to go up again.
The surroundings of the Demon Castle are just as varied as those of a human castle, but if there is a difference, it is that there are no villages or towns nearby.
The castle was located in the middle of a thickly overgrown forest.
The training ground was an area of trampled earth.
Other demons practiced their swordsmanship and martial arts there, but when we arrived all eyes were on us.
…… I shouldn’t be timid at times like these.
I should stand tall, graceful, and dignified.
“Hmph,” Rodolphe’s younger brother snorted.
“You lot, step aside! This human and I are about to fight! You’re in the way!!”
At the words of Rodolphe’s brother, the demons withdrew from the training ground, making room for us.
“Like I said, I’m a Lich…….”
“Hey, you go over there! Alexia, you’re a witness!!”
It seems he has no intention of listening to anything I have to say.
“I told you to call me ‘Mistress Alexia’. You are not an executive.…… Well, I guess that’s fine. I will see to it. May I, Demon Queen?”
“Yes, I’m sure Lady Alexia will be a fair judge.”
“Oh, of course, I wouldn’t take sides in such a situation.”
Lady Alexia shot Rodolphe’s younger brother a quick glance, then smiled.
Rodolphe’s younger brother and I stood in the middle of the training ground.
From what I can see, Rodolphe’s younger brother is also a werewolf, and from his sturdy build it seems he is also skilled in martial arts.
Confronting him head-on is not a good idea.
I chant softly under my breath.
“Well then, let’s begin!”
Lady Alexia gives the signal to start.
At almost the same time, Rodolphe’s younger brother came running towards me, leaping into the air.
“Woooooooh!!”
In an instant, he was right in front of me. So fast.
I saw the look of contempt in those golden eyes.
… I’ve had enough of that already.
The Crown Prince, the Duke Household, and the common people all looked at me with the same eyes and scorned me.
That’s why I can laugh now.
“『Flame, Pierce』”
A ball of flame appears in front of Rodolphe’s younger brother.
“Huh?!”
Surprised, Rodolphe’s brother pulled back his arm and took a defensive stance.
…… Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.
With a bang, the flames hit Rodolphe’s younger brother.
However, perhaps because of the quality of his fur, the flames quickly went out.
“Amazing, werewolf fur is tough!”
There was a faint smell of burning, but it didn’t really look like he was burning.
Ah, I let out a sigh.
I wish the person before me right now was someone from the Kingdom of Ingris, and not Rodolphe’s younger brother.
Then I could have done as much as I wanted.
Like Lord Ewaldt said.
The more demons there are, the stronger the Demon Lord is, and the fewer demons there are, the weaker he becomes.
In that case, I can’t kill Rodolphe’s younger brother.
…… even though so much magic power is rising up from within my body.
“Yes, that’s good. I also wanted to know how powerful I have become.”
Things like “don’t hurt others” or “don’t kill” no longer mattered to me.
Because I, Rachel, am a Demon.
I am no longer bound by human laws.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
“Oh, something interesting has commenced.”
Ewaldt suddenly looked up and laughed.
The dragon, Wilhelm, asked back.
“What is it?”
“It seems that my destiny has been challenged to a duel by Rodolphe’s younger brother, and she has accepted.”
“What?”
At Ewaldt’s words, Rodolphe hurriedly knelt in place and bowed to his master, the Demon Lord.
“I’m sorry, Demon Lord! My younger brother is not very smart, just like me…… but his loyalty to you, Demon Lord, is genuine! Please spare his life──…….”
The queen was chosen by the Demon Lord. That is absolute.
Even Rodolphe secretly dislikes her, but he will accept her if she is the one chosen by his master, the Demon Lord.
He had also told the same thing to his fellow clan members, including his younger brother.
The decision of the Demon Lord is the unanimous will of the demons.
No objection is allowed.
But Ewaldt just chuckled.
“Say that to my destiny.”
“I never, their bout has already begun…….”
“Oh, now that we’re here, why don’t we take a look.”
Ewaldt snapped his fingers and a translucent image appeared on the table where everyone was gathered.
It was a training ground.
Alexia is nearby.
Then, in the middle of the training ground, Rodolphe’s younger brother, Wilde, is confronted by the Demon Queen Rachel.
Rachel is a Lich.
Liches are skilled in necromancy, but many of them were originally priests or other people skilled in magic, and Rachel was no exception.
Fire, water, wind, earth, and various other types of magic are shot out from Rachel.
No matter how tough a werewolf’s fur is, it cannot repel all magic or be immune to damage.
Slowly, Rachel chips away at Wilde’s strength.
Picking a fight with Rachel was a mistake in the first place.
If a demon could sense that mana, they would know instinctively whether or not they were a match for the enemy.
Wilde should already know that.
He probably went ahead knowing what would happen.
Before the other demons could mess with Rachel, he would take her on first, and if Rodolphe’s younger brother, Wilde, were to lose, both the other demons and she herself would be satisfied.
Ewaldt found it amusing.
When Ewaldt was asleep, the demon race was a meritocracy, and the weak never dared to stand up to the strong.
However, it seems that the demons have undergone some changes over the past eight hundred years.
“My destiny is beautiful even in battle.”
Rachel was smiling as she faced Wilde.
Perhaps because she has an abundance of mana, she casts a variety of spells.
Her face looked extremely amused.
Due to the magic Rachel casts, Wilde can’t even get close to her.
“But it seems like Rachel is going easy on him. She’s not using any of her specialized elemental magic.”
“Was it the dark attribute?”
“Indeed, if she hit with a dark attribute attack, it would be over in an instant, but Rachel is merciful.”
Taken aback by the words of Ewaldt and Wilhelm, Rodolphe looked at the image with a huff.
Certainly, the Demon Queen isn’t using her specialty dark magic.
Does that mean that she can win without using it?
Little by little, the wounds on Wilde’s body grew.
“To begin with, there aren’t many demons who can match Rachel in her current state. This is even more true for humans.”
Rodolphe looked at the image and could only hope that his brother was safe.
However, even if the Demon Queen forgives Wilde, whether his master will forgive him or not is a different matter.
“Well, that’s fine. Rodolphe, I will leave your brother to his fate. Whether he lives or dies is up to Rachel.”
“……Yes, my lord.”
Rodolphe nodded softly at Ewaldt’s heartwarming laugh.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Sads Translates 