But before Kate could finish speaking, a servant rushed back into the hall.
“Your Grace, Lady Cassandra has returned.”
“Cassandra is back?”
Both the Duke and Kate looked bewildered.
The distance from the capital to the Demon King’s castle would take at least half a month. By all logic, the delegation led by Cassandra should have only just arrived at the Demon King’s castle today or tomorrow.
No matter how short the negotiations were, there was no way she could have returned this quickly.
“She has returned. She’s waiting outside right now.”
The Duke was still confused, but since his daughter had already come back, he couldn’t very well leave her standing outside the gates.
“Let her in.”
The servant nodded and withdrew. Shortly after, Cassandra walked into the hall.
“Welcome back, Lady Cassandra.”
Kate performed the usual greeting.
Cassandra gave a light snort and raised the document in her hand. “There’s no need to put on an act in front of me. Didn’t I tell you to bring back the document I left at your place when you returned to the capital? I had to make a special trip to your house because of you.”
“You went to my house?”
Kate immediately became vigilant. After all, back at the church, Eileen had specifically told her not to let Cassandra know she had returned. If Cassandra had gone to her house, wouldn’t she have run straight into Eileen?
Cassandra nodded.
“Who told you to keep forgetting things? But looking at how flustered you are… You didn’t actually hide something shady at home, did you?”
“This, this is impossible. You’ve been to my house plenty of times before. What could I possibly be hiding?”
Originally, Cassandra had only been making a light joke. But seeing how strongly Kate reacted, she immediately grew suspicious.
Was this woman really hiding something from her?
Was it an invitation letter from Duke Carlyle, or a letter trying to sow discord from the Kingdom of Kaitel?
But the Navora family had treated Kate so well. She had no reason to betray them…
“Kate, be honest. What exactly are you hiding at home?”
Cassandra began applying direct pressure.
She had known Kate for over five years and understood her personality well. Once the pressure became too much, Kate would spill everything she knew.
In the past, she had used this method to extract quite a few of Kate’s dark secrets.
“Cough, cough… Cassandra, let’s put Kate’s matters aside for now. Why did you return so quickly?”
Duke Navora, on the other hand, didn’t believe Kate would betray the Principality. Everything she had achieved today was not only due to her own efforts, but also because the Navora family had fully supported her.
Knights valued loyalty above all, and warriors cherished righteousness. Based on his understanding of Kate, if any other nation tried to recruit her, she would probably expose that country the very next day. Similar incidents had happened before.
Compared to Kate’s little secrets, he was far more concerned about why the delegation had returned half a month early and how the negotiations with the Demon King had gone.
“Reporting to Father, the Demon King has not yet been able to determine the cause of the magic power leakage. However, she promised to inform us immediately once there is any progress. During this time, an unexpected situation occurred, so the Demon King made an exception and opened the Demon Realm Gate to send us back to the capital.”
Cassandra answered honestly.
Clearly, her answer was within the Duke’s expectations.
He let out a heavy sigh. Just thinking about the losses and casualties caused by the high-rank magical beasts within the country gave him a headache.
If the problem of magic power leaking from the Demon Realm wasn’t resolved, the Navora Principality might not be destroyed by the beasts themselves, but as its national strength declined, the surrounding nations would definitely start getting ideas.
“I hope Lady Amelia can resolve this soon… Wait, what did you just say? How did she send you back?”
After a moment of anxiety, the Duke suddenly caught on to something.
Cassandra had just said something rather extraordinary.
“The Demon King made an exception and opened the Demon Realm Gate to send us back.”
Cassandra repeated what she had said earlier, nearly causing both the Duke and Kate’s jaws to drop.
Everyone knew what the Demon Realm Gate meant to the entire Demon Realm. Opening it carried extremely high risks. If the wrong people took notice, it could easily reignite a full-scale war between the human and demon realms, rendering all of Amelia’s efforts meaningless.
“Cassandra, what exactly happened that made Amelia open the Demon Realm Gate to send you back? Don’t tell me war is about to break out in the Demon Realm again?”
the Duke asked.
Humans claimed to love peace, yet wars between the nations of the human world were never in short supply. Not to mention the demons, who were naturally warlike and revered strength above all else.
In the Demon Realm, whenever someone appeared whose power could rival the current Demon King, it would trigger a bloody storm that swept across the entire realm.
Only under such circumstances would Amelia possibly open the Demon Realm Gate and send the human delegation back, in order to prevent another war between the two realms.
Cassandra shook her head. “The Demon King found the ring she had given to her lover. She lost the will to continue negotiations and sent us back.”
“That’s good then…”
The Duke let out a sigh of relief.
If Amelia were truly overthrown, the Navora Principality — being the closest to the Demon Realm — would very likely become the first battlefield in a new human-demon war, repeating the tragedies of the past.
After all, not every demon accepted Amelia’s ideal of peaceful coexistence between the Demon Realm and the human world. Many still viewed humans as thorns in their side.
“The Demon King has a lover too?”
Kate’s focus was completely different from the Duke’s.
On one hand, political matters weren’t something an adventurer like her should be worrying about. On the other hand, the topic had triggered her sensitive radar.
How did you know that my lover, who disappeared five years ago, has returned? And that we reconciled last night?
“I’m not sure, but judging from the Demon King’s reaction at the time, their relationship seemed to be very deep…”
Just like that person who had shown her the splendor of the world, only to resolutely set off on her journey again when she needed to return to the Principality to inherit her mother’s legacy.
She had clearly promised that as long as she returned to the country with her, she would enjoy endless wealth and glory for the rest of her life.
She had clearly held her and cried her heart out.
They had clearly loved each other so deeply.
Clearly…
She was like an untethered bird. Her life belonged only to the vast sky, not to a gilded cage.
Five years apart… Is she doing well?
She should still be continuing her journey even now…
“I never expected the Demon King to be such a loyal person. I used to think all demons were just a bunch of crazy fighters.”
Kate’s impression of demons was full of stereotypes, but it wasn’t entirely her fault.
In the past, whenever she and Eileen went to the Demon Realm to farm dungeons, the demons would look at them like prey and charge at them without a single word. There had been no room for communication whatsoever.
“I don’t know about other demons, but I don’t think the current Demon King is the kind of person you’re imagining. I could see in her eyes that her love for her lover was practically overflowing.”
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