Until the kingdom was established and the village was incorporated into the territory.
She was still waiting. Then she heard that Primrose had gone off to become a goddess alone, leaving her behind.
That abandonment lasted a full thousand years.
During that time, the village was destroyed in the war between the kingdom and the empire. Dorothy’s parents died, and she became a refugee.
Over that millennium, Dorothy grew stronger, stronger, and stronger still.
From a weak, bookish girl with a bit of magical and combat talent, she became a young warrior—then a formidable female powerhouse—who had killed countless bandits, villains, and soldiers.
Finally, the war between the kingdom and the empire ended.
The era of blazing conflict came to a close.
And Dorothy’s mindset changed over that long wait.
What began as a desire for recognition turned into a need to surpass Primrose.
She wanted to prove to Primrose that she was now stronger than Primrose had ever been!
She was no longer the little tagalong who needed protection. She was the supreme existence who could trample the strongest human Sage underfoot!
So Dorothy went alone to the End of the World, made a contract with an unnamable phantom, and transformed from a human into a member of the Demon Race.
And at that moment, she had one chance to choose.
She could decide her appearance as a demon.
Dorothy chose the little-girl image she had worn when she first met Primrose.
Where it began, there it would end.
She wanted to wait for the perfect opportunity to formally challenge Primrose.
And then, in front of everyone, crush Primrose!
Now Primrose was actually asking her to attack?
It wasn’t the perfect timing—she certainly wouldn’t go all out right away; that wouldn’t be fun at all.
But Dorothy couldn’t help sneering inwardly.
Primrose didn’t know that she was now the Demon King.
Nor did she know that Dorothy had a hidden passive skill—”True Damage.”
This skill was incredibly overbearing. It could ignore all rules, resistances, and defensive measures, inflicting True Damage directly on the target.
Even a lofty goddess absolutely couldn’t block this skill.
Dorothy decided: when she struck tomorrow, she would pretend to use the lowest-level Evil Attribute magic on the surface, but in secret, she would go all out and add the passive “True Damage.”
She wanted to make Primrose look extremely foolish in public, get hurt, and taste this sliver of anger that had condensed from a thousand years of being stood up!
—
Tattle Town, Lord’s Mansion, Study.
The afternoon breeze slipped through the half-open window, stirring the pure white gauze curtains.
Consta sat on the sofa, head bowed, adjusting the silk lace trim on her collar.
On the table before her sat a set of bone china teacups inlaid with gold. Steam rose from the spout, carrying the rich, distinctive fragrance of snow-line black tea supplied exclusively by the Royal Capital.
Beside the tea tray were several plates of exquisite pastries just prepared by the lord’s mansion chef. Each piece’s shape and color had been perfected to the utmost.
Steady footsteps sounded from outside the door.
Consta took a deep breath and adjusted her expression into that trademark elegant, dignified smile.
The housekeeper, Masha, pushed open the heavy carved wooden door.
Captain of the personal guard Aiwei stepped aside to clear the path and made an extremely respectful gesture of invitation.
Yuna entered the study. She wore a black-and-white maid dress, her violet eyes devoid of any personal emotion. Her gaze swept swiftly across the entire room before landing on Consta’s face.
Consta watched Yuna approach. Though it wasn’t the first time she had seen her, it was the first time they had met alone.
She quickly assessed the woman before her.
A member of the Royal Knight Order, the personal bodyguard and maid of Saint Cecilia, the current highest authority of the Sanctuary Council.
Now, two more heavy titles had to be added to her resume: personal maid of the original goddess, Lady Primrose, and bodyguard of the Hero.
These titles and halos—any one of them alone would let her walk sideways through the kingdom’s local government offices.
With several identities stacked together, their sheer weight had already ground her, a powerful borderland lord, into the dirt.
Even if she laid all her hidden cards on the table—such as her position as leader of the Night Demon Society, or being the close friend of Her Highness Princess Saint Freya—before this woman, she was still utterly outmatched.
The will of the goddess Primrose was above all else.
Five years ago, when Her Highness the Princess formed a pact with the Withered Power, the ultimate goal of her schemes was to present a pure kingdom to the goddess.
“Lady Yuna, thank you for coming in person. Please, have a seat and enjoy the freshly brewed tea and pastries.”
Consta rose from the sofa, bowed, and gestured toward the opposite seat, keeping her posture low.
Yuna walked to the sofa and sat down directly.
Her back was straight as a rod. She did not look at the priceless tea set on the table, nor did she pay any attention to the fragrant pastries.
“Lady Ruler, no need to be polite.” Yuna’s voice was cool, with no pleasantries or transition, cutting straight to the point. “I have come at the goddess’s request to convey an important message.”
Consta’s heart tightened. She immediately withdrew her polite smile, folded her hands in front of her, and adopted a devout posture ready to receive divine instructions.
“Please speak. I will carry out any will of the goddess without reservation.”
Yuna spoke. “To defend against the demon threat at the border and ensure the safety of the surrounding populace, the goddess has decided that tomorrow during the day, she will perform a Mass Blessing on the five thousand or so Guard Army soldiers currently stationed in Tattle Town, as well as on the Warrior Chief, Buck.”
The air in the study froze.
Consta maintained her folded-hand pose, her elegant expression stiffening for a moment.
Five thousand Guard Army soldiers?
Mass Blessing?
She knew exactly what state Buck and those soldiers were in.
Those border Guard Army soldiers—originally squeezed by the kingdom, eating low-quality rations, wielding rusty iron swords, averaging levels twenty to thirty—had displayed explosively uncharacteristic endurance and strength after bathing once in the goddess’s radiance.
According to the battle damage report Buck had submitted that afternoon, the soldiers’ levels hadn’t changed, but their strength and speed had at least doubled or tripled. Some had even twisted the necks of intermediate-level monsters with their bare hands while patrolling nearby villages.
And that was just the casual Divine Light Blessing the goddess had released on the battlefield that day.
If the goddess was going to perform a full, formal blessing tomorrow on a full five thousand people…
A roar went off in Consta’s mind.
This was definitely not a simple defensive measure!
This was a heavy-armored praetorian guard, built entirely by the goddess Primrose’s own hand, possessing superhuman qualities!
In the entire Kingdom of Aizela, even the Royal Knight Order directly under the royal family could not have five thousand soldiers whose combat power had been doubled across the board.
Her Highness the Princess had been lying low in the Royal Capital for years, secretly plotting to purge the corrupt royal family and those blood-sucking nobles. Her only shortcoming was a lack of an absolute military force capable of crushing the Royal Capital’s defense forces head-on.
Now, that very force was about to be born, openly, in a border town!
The gears of fate were turning. The goddess stood on the princess’s side.