"Today's letters have come, my lady." A palace maid walked in holding a tray of letters. She bowed to the lady before setting the tray on the table.
"As usual, these humans are endless with their demands."
A tall slim lady glanced at the letters in disdain before going back to her book. Her long silky black hair draped across her shoulders as she lounged on her red couch as she slowly flipped the pages.
The palace maids looked at each other in dismay. This was not the first time the lady of the palace has acted like this. She who governs over the demon world for over centuries was once a human and like a human, she lived and died when her lifespan ended. Humans who died enter the gates of the afterworld to be judged for their sins and only after they are punished can they proceed on to the afterlife where they will wait for their reincarnation. However, one lady who entered the gates stayed after her punishments. In fact, her punishments were a lot more compared to others and that is because when she was alive, she was known as the evilest and the most scheming woman ever known to mankind.
Some could say that it was due to her circumstances that lead to her sins. She was the empress of a powerful kingdom and has used the dark arts to scheme her way to power. Her husband, the King of that land had many wives and mistresses. She disposed of those that threaten her position and bribed those who could be kept. In the end, she was assassinated by none other than her beloved husband who was tired of her methods.
After she died and finished her punishments, she stayed in the demon world. She lingered as she did not want to be reincarnated. It happens sometimes when a person is tired of being a person. Whenever she remembers her life, she remembered how much she suffered from her husband's betrayal and she was very much tired. No matter how much smarter she was, she was outsmarted. No matter how beautiful she was, her husband's love faded and he chose someone else. This resentment resided deeply in her soul and she refuses to experience it again when she reincarnates.
Hence, she was approached by one of the then-current Lord of the demon world and was offered the position of the demon lord. To her surprise, demon lords are humans who had the experiences, the attributes and the guts the previous demon lord deemed fit to be their predecessors.
And here she is now, as the current demon lord, in the demon lord's palace.
"My lady, no matter how much you detest your duties, you still need to perform them." The palace maid bowed as she tried her best to reason with her master.
It was not unknown to anyone in the demon world the demon lord's temper which is why some of the palace maids standing nearby are trembling while they await the storm to arrive.
"I was forced into this position, why should I be responsible?" Her cold eyes shot a piercing glare at the palace maid.
"Only the demon lord is able to perform these duties. My lady, please understand this servant's plea." Although the lady's temper is explosive, it was not the first time this palace maid had dealt with her. She was the highest-ranking of all the palace maids and she has tended to previous demon lords who had worse temper and personalities before the current lady in front of her.
"I refuse, go away." The lady shooed the maid away without sparing a glance at her.
"The king and queen are coming for an inspection soon. We need to get these done before they arrive, my lady." The palace maid sneaked a peak from her bowing position and say her master's fingers stiffen.
The Lady's eyes narrow into a dangerous glint before it slowly receded.
"Then I don't have a choice do I?" She finally put away her book and sat up before picking gesturing for the maid to come closer.
The maid picked up the tray and moved to stand beside the lady. She slowly picks up the letters and read them slowly.
These letters are wishes from humans. When humans are in a despairing situation where no one can help them, they pray to god. Only wishes that are strong and desperate enough will reach the gods. Different wishes will reach different gods. For example, a love wish will go to the God of Love or maybe the God of Fate. Gods do not have to grant all wishes that reach them. They can choose and pick but it is normal for them to at least grant one or two wishes every now and then.
It has been a few years since the Lady became a God and appointed Lord of the demon world and she has been pushing this responsibility away for quite some time. The reason was simple. She does not wish to go back to the human world so much that she does not want to be reincarnated. Why would she enter the human realm again to help someone? It would be too contradicting.
But the palace maid believes that after she reads the letters, the lady would be interested in going back. As stated before, different wishes will reach different Gods. The types of wishes that would reach the Lord of the demon world are not nice wishes. Revenge, resentment, anger, humiliation. The letters sitting on the tray contained such wishes.
As the Lady continues to read each letter, her bright red lips curl to a smirk. Now she understands why the previous Lord appointed her to succeed him. She can be considered the best for such a job. Scheme? Has anyone ever managed to succeed when scheming against her? Humiliation? Since when did she ever got humiliated by such trash?
But no matter how excited she is about granting each and every one of these wishes, she does not have the time and the energy. After reading them, she slowly sorted out the top 3 that interested her the most.
"My Lady, have you made your decision?" The palace maid looked at their lady with a smile. Finally, their master will take on the duties of a Lord. Things are going to be exciting from now.
"Yes, I'll start with this then." She picked up one of the letters which started to burn the moment her fingers touched it.
"Very well. I wish you a safe journey, my Lady." The maids all bowed and by the time they looked up, their lady was gone and all that was left was the ashes of the burnt letter.