In the black mist, Xing Yue watched Flanya rise from the ground and suddenly thought of another question.
Would her presence in the royal palace bring trouble to Flanya? After all, Flanya was now a powerless crippled princess whose situation was already miserable enough.
If someone discovered that an unidentified stranger had appeared out of nowhere by her side, who knew what chaos would ensue.
Forget helping her become stronger; it would be good if she didn’t push Flanya into a worse situation.
Xing Yue was pondering this when the black mist around her began to shrink, as if drawn by something invisible, the swirling mist gathering toward her.
Xing Yue herself was completely unaware of this change.
But in Flanya’s eyes, this scene was akin to a divine miracle.
She was waiting for the demon’s next instruction, but suddenly felt the change in the aura before her, and everything that happened left her utterly stunned.
That soul-quaking black mist gradually receded and disappeared.
In its place stood a young girl. Her silver-white hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her mismatched eyes—one red, one blue—shone with a faint light in the dim room.
Her face was so exquisite that it didn’t seem human; she looked like an elf stepped out of a painting.
She wore a black-and-red gothic long dress, standing there with no fluctuations of aura.
But Flanya’s heart raced even faster. “So this is the true Abyss Demon?” she thought.
“The ability to change form at will, suppress all presence, and blend into the human world unnoticed… A being like this is the real Great Terror!”
Xing Yue had no idea what she was thinking. After a moment of thought, she spoke.
“What a pity~”
As soon as the voice came out, it carried a distorted echo, like a whisper from the depths of the abyss.
“Appearing in the human world in this form is still too eye-catching…”
Flanya’s body trembled slightly. That voice, though mostly restrained, still carried a soul-shaking pressure.
But soon, the distorted echo faded. Xing Yue’s voice returned to normal, clear and pleasant, like an ordinary girl’s.
“So, I think my existence should have a reasonable way to appear by your side, at least in the eyes of outsiders.”
As she spoke, her mismatched eyes looked at Flanya again, as if asking for her opinion.
Flanya watched this, her inner shock deepening. At this moment, all the weirdness about the girl had vanished.
If she hadn’t seen her original form, Flanya would have definitely believed she was just a very beautiful ordinary girl. Such control over power was simply divine!
Flanya took a deep breath, lowered her head, and said with undisguised awe, “Your wisdom is truly unfathomable, my lord. What plan do you have? Whatever you need me to do, I will cooperate fully.”
Xing Yue blinked. ‘A plan?’ She thought for a moment and then stated her current idea.
“First, you tell me the route from the palace to the outside. I’ll sneak out tonight. Then tomorrow, you find an excuse to leave the palace as well. We’ll create a chance ‘encounter.’ After that, you can find a reason to bring me back into the palace legitimately. That way, I can stay by your side and help you become stronger.”
She finished and looked at Flanya, waiting for her reaction.
Flanya was stunned for a few seconds. Then her eyes grew brighter and brighter.
“I see…” she murmured, her reverence deepening.
No wonder she was the demon lord from the abyss.
So thoughtful. Not only did she agree to help her become stronger, but she also considered her situation. Encountering such a being was the greatest fortune in her life!
As for whether Xing Yue could sneak out of the heavily guarded palace at night—Flanya never even thought about it.
The woman before her was the strongest existence from the abyss. Palace guards? Human soldiers? Hah! They weren’t even fit to tie her shoes; there was no way they could cause any trouble.
“I understand your plan, my lord,” Flanya said respectfully.
“However…” She paused and asked cautiously, “How should we ‘encounter’ each other outside? Where would be a good meeting point?”
Xing Yue had already considered the meeting point. She asked Flanya instead, “What entertainment is popular here? We can meet at a place where everyone participates.”
Flanya answered instantly, “The arena, cricket fighting. Watching challengers fight hungry beasts or monsters to the death.”
Xing Yue’s mouth twitched. ‘Cricket fighting?’ Of course, a battle-loving race would have such hardcore entertainment.
This empire was truly ‘simple and honest.’ She silently complained in her heart.
But the arena definitely wouldn’t work.
Her idea was to become Flanya’s personal maid or something, so she could be with her legitimately. But who hires a maid at an arena? No way! No way!
“…Anything else?” Xing Yue asked again.
Flanya thought for a while and then said, “A tavern. Besides the arena and cricket fighting, Imperials go to taverns to drink a little and then gamble a few rounds. Even the nobles occasionally go to the tavern to join the fun and watch the Gambling God show off.”
Xing Yue nodded. This sounded more reliable.
A disempowered princess goes to a tavern to drown her sorrows, encounters a girl, and brings her back as a maid.
A bit cliché, but at least plausible.
“Alright, this place is fine. It’s settled,” Xing Yue decided. “Then let’s have our meeting point tomorrow at the largest tavern in the empire.”
Flanya’s eyes lit up, and she bowed again. “As you command, my lord.”
Xing Yue looked at her respectful attitude and almost laughed, but held it in.
“Alright, stop calling me ‘my lord.’ From now on, just call me Xing Yue. To avoid exposure in front of others, get used to it now, and try not to use any honorifics. I’ll call you Princess Flanya directly. Our relationship will be friends met through a special ‘encounter.’”
Flanya looked up at the silver-haired girl. Now, the adult disguised as a girl had no lofty authority or frightening pressure in her mismatched eyes—only an indescribable kind of warmth.
She suddenly felt that this demon lord from the abyss wasn’t so scary after all. Instead, she seemed kind of easy to get along with?
But this thought appeared only for a moment before she suppressed it. ‘No. A lord is a lord. I must never overstep.’
“Yes… Miss Xing Yue,” she carefully changed the address.
Xing Yue nodded and turned to look at the curtains through which morning light seeped.
It was still early.
Now it was time to show a little skill to establish her authority as a teacher—although for some reason, this step seemed to have been skipped with Flanya, she still had to give this client a bit of a ‘sweet taste’ first.
“Alright, put this aside for now. Since there’s time, let me check your physical condition. If I can restore you, I’ll teach you how to use high-level, powerful magic later…”
Flanya shook her head.
“No, my lord, I no longer wish to learn magic. I want…”
“To learn the sword!”