Chapter 42: The Path to Pursuing a Wife is Long and Hard

“Lady Sephine, that person is…”

“If you dare say a word, I’ll hack you to death!”

“You don’t seem like you could beat me, though?”

“Then I’ll hack myself to death!”

This was really problematic.

This news was just too explosive.

Aglis was a notorious blabbermouth; how could she possibly keep this to herself?

Besides, those children clearly belonged to the Demon King — the wings were identical.

“I promise not to tell!”

“Swear it!”

“I swear!”

Sephine only now barely trusted Aglis.

Aglis was a Knight who relied on her own faith to gain power.

If she broke an oath, her end would be much more miserable than a demon’s.

The two little ones, Karin and Fala, poked their heads out.

Karin was trembling with fear now; she felt like she had made Mother angry.

“Dummy Karin, you’ve caused trouble, haven’t you?”

“Oh no, that lady actually knows Mother. We’re both doomed!”

Karin and Fala hugged each other, waiting for Sephine’s judgment.

They didn’t know what kind of person their mother was, so it was probably better to behave and admit their mistake.

“So, they really are…”

“So what if they are? I can raise them myself!”

“Oh, please don’t be angry. The Demon King works all year round; it’s normal for her brain to have some issues.”

“I work harder than she does! Does that mean my brain has issues too?”

Sephine seemed to be in a sensitive period.

Aglis planned to use a conservative tactic for now; it was better to take things slowly.

Sephine was like a little hedgehog now; she would prick anyone who touched her, making her difficult to approach.

However, Aglis had already obtained enough explosive news today, so she could consider her task for the Demon King complete.

‘Swear? She didn’t specify who I was swearing to. Swearing to my monarch is still an oath.’

“I’ll be going then. I won’t disturb you and the children.”

“Wait, can I ask a favor?”

“At your service,” Aglis said, feeling a bit excited.

If Sephine didn’t want anything to do with her, she wouldn’t have asked for help.

“Can you lend me some money… I’ll pay you back next month! I only need ten silver coins to buy some clothes for the kids… If that’s too much, five silver coins is fine!”

“The Empress was actually worrying about money?”

‘How bizarre.”

‘Perhaps I can start from this angle, but she definitely won’t accept the Demon King’s money directly. I’ll have to take a detour.’

“Here are ten gold coins. Take them for now, Lady Sephine. Don’t worry about paying me back.”

“That’s too much! One is enough.”

One gold coin was fifty silver coins, and ten gold coins were 500 silver coins.

Sephine would have to work for years to pay back that much money.

Furthermore, she didn’t have a job yet, so owing too much would be too great a mental burden.

“Just take it. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“This… I’ll pay it back as soon as possible!”

“Alright, I’m off then.”

Aglis couldn’t wait to report her progress to the Demon King.

Originally, Aglis only wanted to lend Sephine the ten silver coins she requested.

However, she suddenly remembered hearing about how single mothers without money might earn a bit of “dirty money” for their children.

She suddenly decided to give Sephine a little more.

If anything happened to Sephine, Aglis, who had taken on this mission, would definitely be the one to suffer.

“Karin! Come down.”

Upon hearing her name, Karin’s little wings stopped fluttering entirely.

She froze in place.

Her mother’s tone didn’t sound very friendly; she felt like she was doomed.

Fala was snickering off to the side.

“Watch me tell Mother on you!”

Karin cautiously walked down the stairs, watching Sephine with every step.

She stood obediently in front of Sephine, not daring to lift her head, her small hands clasped behind her back.

“From now on, you’re not allowed to fly in the house. Not outside either.”

“But it’s uncomfortable when I can’t stretch my wings…”

“Tell Mother when you want to fly, okay? Mother will take you.”

Sephine patted Karin’s head and wiped the dust off her wings with a towel.

‘Damn it… Dummy Karin didn’t get punished. I want Mother to pat my head too.’

Fala watched the smug Karin from upstairs, then took a big leap, rushing into Sephine’s arms.

“Karin was just playing a prank earlier! She scared Mother!”

“Don’t do it again, okay?”

“Blehh! Fala is a snitch!”

Karin also ran over to hug Sephine.

These two children were a bit too lively, and Sephine was finding it hard to deal with them.

Raising children was still too difficult for Sephine; she had to find a way to wear out their energy.

“You two little ones, come help Mother cook.”

Sephine was starving.

After feeding the two little ones some Magic Power, she felt as if she had entered a state of extreme hunger.

She had to eat heartily to recover.

—

Meanwhile, Aglis, who had just left, hurried back to the Imperial Palace.

She was anxious to report her results to the Demon King.

The Demon King was currently discussing important matters with the new Finance Minister.

Aspha Koda had resigned, and the new Finance Minister was a young girl with horns on her head — clearly a member of the Demon Race.

Seeing that the visitor was Aglis, the Demon King dismissed the young girl.

“Demon King! I have important news to report!”

“Tell me! Did Sephine agree to come back?”

“Not exactly. I just wanted to say the mission is going quite smoothly. She barely refrained from kicking me out, but she’s a bit too sensitive about anything involving you. She gets angry at the slightest mention.”

“Sigh… what a tragedy.”

“But there’s good news! Lady Sephine seems to have already given birth. There are two girls.”

“What? How is that possible!”

“You have to believe it. They look exactly like Lady Sephine. One has wings but no horns, while the other has horns but no wings. They’re even twins.”

“Then why didn’t you bring them to see me?”

“Well… Lady Sephine said that if I told you about this, she would hack herself to death.”

The Demon King slumped onto her throne.

Nothing could make her feel more despair than this.

Her long-awaited children had been born in secret, and she wasn’t even allowed to know.

The Demon King wanted to cry but had no tears.

Thinking she might as well try anything at this point, she said to Aglis, “You’ve done well. Go to Catherine later and get some Image Stones. Get me some photos.”

“Mission accepted!”

Aglis trotted off happily.

She was still not used to wearing this kind of long skirt; it made walking quite difficult.

“Wait!”

Just as Aglis was about to leave, the Demon King called out to her again.

“Do they have names?”

“One is named Karin. I don’t know the other one’s name.”

“Go on then.”

Now the Demon King felt even more despair.

Even the names had been chosen.

It seemed Sephine truly intended to live her life alone.

‘No, I need to see how my predecessors handled this.’

The Demon King completely forgot about financial matters and headed toward the library.