Lying on the pile of dry grass that Amir had somehow found, which was barely soft enough to be comfortable, despite being mentally and physically exhausted, Histori tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Her mind kept replaying everything that had happened today, thinking about how to salvage the precarious trust Amir had in her.
…Tch, when you got down to it, wasn’t this starting difficulty a bit too hellish?
The first time meeting the Hero was actually having tea at the Demon King’s Castle, and on the rooftop of the highest floor at that!
And on top of that, with a pair of black horns on her head and a heart-shaped tail dragging behind her, when faced with the Hero’s greatsword, she had a brain freeze and came up with that idiotic excuse about being a pitiful human cursed by the Demon King…
Damn it! If she had known this would happen, she should have just plopped down on her knees right then, hugged the Hero’s leg, cried her eyes out, and said that even though she was a demon, she had been kind-hearted since birth, had never done a single bad thing in her life, and begged her not to strike her down.
If her attitude had been sincere enough, if she had properly reasoned with Amir, maybe she would have just let her go.
But now, one wrong step led to another, lies piled up like a snowball, making her feel like she was being roasted over a fire, stuck in an impossible situation…
Sigh, she didn’t know if Amir was just thick-skinned and didn’t care about such trivial matters, or if she had already seen through everything and was planning to take her back to the United Kingdom for trial…
As she kept thinking, drowsiness washed over Histori’s mind like a tide.
Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and her thoughts began to fragment.
Whatever, anyway, Amir hadn’t made a move yet. Live one day at a time.
They say you don’t hit a smiling face.
With her peerless beauty and the innocent smile she’d been maintaining, she probably wouldn’t get hit many times in this life!
And besides, unless that long-lost Demon King took control of her body again, Amir wouldn’t have a chance to act even if she wanted to, right?
And so, Histori gradually relaxed her body and fell asleep alongside the black-haired girl beside her…
…
…………
“…Hey, Lady Histori?”
“…”
“Hey, hey… wake up!”
A gentle, yet clearly somewhat urgent voice sounded in Histori’s ear, accompanied by a sweet, cloying scent of irises.
“Lady Histori! Wake up!”
“…Stop, stop making noise…”
Histori frowned irritably, instinctively wanting to roll over and continue sleeping.
But her subconscious analyzed the meaning of that form of address, and a chill suddenly ran down her spine.
“No! Who are you calling ‘Lady Histori’?! I’m no lady! Your whole family are ladies!”
As soon as she shouted this, Histori realized something was wrong and quickly covered her mouth.
By the moonlight from the sky, she could see the appearance of the woman crouching in front of her.
Deep purple long hair, a figure so enchanting it was against the rules, and that pair of signature curved horns on her head.
Ah!
I know this face!
This is the only female among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Race!
Called…
Called something like Bicuisi?
She couldn’t quite remember the exact name, but Histori always remembered that she would bring many things to relieve boredom when she was feeling dull.
She was like a kind, understanding older sister.
At the same time, she also recalled her current situation.
“Huh, Bicuisi, why are you here right now?”
Histori instinctively turned her head to look not far from where she was lying.
Amir was lying on the tree stump she had cut, her eyes closed, seemingly still sleeping soundly.
“…Don’t worry, dear Lady Histori.”
Seeing Histori’s panicked appearance, Bicuisi wasn’t afraid at all; instead, she showed a hint of infatuation.
She extended her slender fingers, clad in black gloves, casually wiped the corner of her mouth, then turned her head as if nothing had happened, casting a disdainful glance at Amir—
“I know, that black-haired woman is the Hero who killed the Demon King, right?”
Bicuisi flicked her hair, her tone carrying the arrogance and confidence unique to Nightmares.
“Rest assured, of course I wouldn’t be so foolish as to attack her head-on. However, using a little trick to make her fall into a deep sleep, temporarily weakening her hearing and perception, that’s still quite easy.”
“You see, even though you shouted so loudly just now, she didn’t react at all, did she?”
…So that’s how it is.
No wonder when she was so startled just now, Amir didn’t even twitch an eyelash, her breathing still steady and long.
Confirming that she was temporarily not in mortal danger, Histori’s heartbeat calmed down a bit.
She patted her chest, then glared at Bicuisi with annoyance—
“So, what are you doing coming to this godforsaken place in the middle of the night? If you’re here to collect a corpse, you should turn left and head to the Demon King’s Castle.”
“My, what do you mean by that? What other purpose could I have for coming here?”
Bicuisi let out a light laugh at Histori, then gently took hold of one of Histori’s hands—
“Of course I’ve come to take you home, esteemed Lady Histori!”
“…Home?”
“That’s right. You don’t need to worry. Even if the Demon King’s Castle is gone, you can still return with me to the Nightmare Territory! There, you’ll find the softest beds, the sweetest blood, and the most loyal servants in the entire Eternal Night Territory.”
Bicuisi’s gaze grew increasingly dreamy, her tone becoming more and more enticing—
“I promise you, your life in the Nightmare Territory will be many times more comfortable than it was in the Demon King’s Castle! Not only will I prepare a full set of skincare products for you, all kinds of delicious food and desserts, but I’ll also collect novels and comics from across the entire continent for you!”
“…”
However, for some reason, the reality was completely opposite to what Bicuisi had imagined.
Upon hearing these conditions that would have been very tempting to Histori in the past, the silver-haired girl’s eyes didn’t light up; instead, they grew even dimmer.
“Sorry, Bicuisi.”
Histori slowly withdrew her hand, a helpless, bitter, and desolate smile appearing on her exquisite face.
Her voice was soft, like a sigh—
“Thank you for your kindness, it’s just… if you had appeared a little earlier, even just one day earlier, I would have followed you to the Nightmare Territory without hesitation.”
“…A little earlier?”
Bicuisi was slightly taken aback.
She blinked dazedly, looking Histori up and down.
“That, Lady Histori, you mean…”
“Yes.”
Histori lowered her head, lightly pursing her lips—
“…I can’t go back now.”