If you want to investigate something clearly, you have to understand why it happened in the first place.
You have to start from the beginning.
Astrid’s Autopsy Report hadn’t come out yet, so Sephine didn’t know exactly how he had died.
“Who would kill him?”
The answer was laid out plainly on the surface; you knew it, but there was nothing you could do.
“Inheritance.”
“What was the fate of the Old Nobles back then?”
Those who cooperated had a portion of their property confiscated, while those who didn’t had their homes raided.
But in the end, those were only their visible assets.
As a noble, the deepest foundation was the web of interests woven behind their backs.
You couldn’t be sure if they had unreported assets outside the Royal Capital.
Of course, this was all the fault of the previous Demon King.
He did nothing every day, nesting in the Inner Palace and indulging in nightly revelry.
When the Old Demon King was killed, Vi dealt with all the people he favored in one fell swoop.
Consequently, Denif Weer Sephalu even sought an Exorcist to purify the Inner Palace before moving in.
Although our Demon King was a member of the Demon Race and wasn’t afraid of vengeful spirits, she had long ago prepared for Sephine to move in.
She had to be a bit more considerate for Sephine’s sake.
Anyway, back to the present. Sephine was still flipping through Astrid’s work records.
Astrid was a man of action whose favorite thing to do was conduct field visits—a trait he had learned from Sephine.
Therefore, when investigating, Astrid would definitely visit the Academy in person rather than letting his subordinates do it.
*Click—*
Someone pushed open the door.
Who could it be at this time?
“Um, Big Sister Sephine.”
It turned out to be the little sister.
Sephine looked up and saw that Ai’er’s face was actually normal today.
She probably hadn’t caused any trouble yet.
“What’s wrong? Your sister isn’t here.”
Ai’er looked around and whispered into Sephine’s ear, “There are so many soldiers outside. Did you and Sister have a fight?”
“It’s not exactly a fight. Your sister is protecting me.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is.”
A look of disappointment actually flashed across Ai’er’s face.
She had originally thought that if they really fought, she could take advantage of the opening… oh, no, she meant she could properly comfort her.
“There are some snacks over there. If you want to eat, Ai’er, help yourself. I have urgent business.”
“Okay~”
*Munch, munch…*
The younger sister liked these sweets even more than the older one.
Ai’er liked eating desserts in general, while Vi liked eating the desserts Sephine made.
“Sister has been very unhappy lately.”
“What? Did she say something to Ai’er?”
“No, she just went to find Father this morning, but Father kicked her out.”
Sephine’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Was there such a thing? Was it because I mentioned wanting to meet Vi’s father earlier?’
“Why? Shouldn’t your sister be the pride of the family? She is the Demon King, after all.”
“Well… I don’t know. Ever since Mother passed away, Father’s temper has become very strange. But Father still loves us; it’s just that his relationship with Sister isn’t very good.”
“I see… Does he know that your sister and I are married?”
“Well… he doesn’t. I never told him. When Sister and Father meet, they don’t say a word. They just sit there and glare at each other.”
*Hiss…*
Sephine took a sharp breath.
She hadn’t expected the Demon King’s way of interacting with her family to be so twisted.
Normally, how should a child get along with their parents?
‘Oh no, this seems to have truly hit my blind spot.’
Her memory wasn’t great, and she couldn’t remember things from ten years ago very clearly.
“Then… go back and quietly tell your father that your sister is married and that I want to meet him, okay?”
“This…” Ai’er hesitated.
If she let Father know that Big Sister Sephine was her sister’s wife, how could she still make a move?
Father would hit her even harder than Sister did!
Although Ai’er’s father had taught them since they were young to be devoted and not to eye other people’s wives, Ai’er still felt that when passion ran deep, who cared whose wife you were.
Because of this, she had been beaten black and blue at home many times.
Those were the rare occasions when Sister and Father were in agreement.
“Alright.”
She truly found it hard to refuse Sephine’s request.
Her aesthetic tastes and her sister’s rarely overlapped so perfectly.
It was truly frustrating that her sister got to her first.
“I’ll go back and talk to Father. Maybe he’ll want to see you.”
“Thank you, Ai’er, mua~”
Sephine kissed Ai’er on the forehead.
“Hehehe…”
Ai’er dashed out of the Inner Palace, not forgetting to take the desserts Sephine had made.
“What kind of madness is she up to today?”
The Demon King was bumped into by Ai’er, and the organized documents in her hands almost fell out.
“These are the work records regarding the Academy Reform that I asked others to hand over to me. I looked through them carefully, and they record that the reform is very difficult to push forward. Especially the renovation of those former Activity Rooms. I suspect there might be something fishy going on in those Activity Rooms.”
“Did you send anyone?”
“Astrid might have gone there. So, I don’t plan on letting others make pointless sacrifices.”
“You’re going yourself? It’s dangerous!”
“What? You don’t trust your Demon King? There aren’t many people in this world who can beat me.”
“Then be careful.”
“Hehe, since I’m working so hard, won’t my wife give me a reward?”
“mua~”
“I don’t want a reward used to coax a child.”
“Then what do you want?”
“Ahem, Head Maid!”
“Demon King.”
“Bring that outfit I had you make earlier.”
“Yes.”
Sephine tilted her head, confused.
What kind of outfit could the Head Maid make that Vi wanted her to wear?
‘Had Vi knitted me another sweater?’
Vi was so kind.
“Ta-da! This is a custom maid outfit for my wife. How is it? Does it look good?”
When the Head Maid and the little maids brought out the outfit and its accessories, Sephine finally realized what Vi’s intentions were.
“This is completely different from their style! Why are there cat ears?”
“Hehe, just put it on.”
“I’m not wearing it! At a time like this, you’re still in the mood for these little tricks. You’re too wicked!”
“Eh, is that so? I didn’t expect that after working so hard to help my dear wife solve the case, my dear wife wouldn’t even be willing to wear a tiny outfit… I understand now. Is this truly the only status I have in my wife’s heart?”
“I’ll wear it! I’ll wear it, okay?”
“Go on! The Empress said she wants to wear it. Go help her, and be quick!”
“Understood!”
The maids were very efficient, and in no time at all, they had the outfit on her.
“Dear wife, can you say ‘meow’?”
“Meow… meow~”
Sephine’s face turned completely red.
In the end, she gave a meow to Vi, imitating the cat girls from her past life’s memories.
The Demon King felt that no matter how dangerous, bitter, or tiring the work was, it was all worth it!