Nicholas stood like a shadow behind Lara. He could not close his mouth when he saw Paimon escorting her.
Paimon had always paid a lot of attention to his grooming to make his beautiful face stand out. There were even separate ladies-in-waiting dedicated to him in Lafort. But now, someone like him was serving Lara. He had his long hair cut very short and wore plain outdoor clothes.
"Sit down."
Though it was Nicholas' room, Lara acted like the owner. Paimon reflexively pulled up a chair for Lara to sit on. Then, a wide foot cushion was laid out so that she could put her feet up comfortably.
Nicholas hesitated and sat opposite Lara. His gaze did not fall away from Paimon.
The great demon who called Nicholas a vermin was now a slave to the saintess. When Lara slightly frowned at the warm tea and soft bread on the table, Paimon rose at the speed of light and brought cool drinks and hard cookies for her. After that, he moved to the corner and stood still like a doll to avoid revealing his presence.
"What in the world… I mean, what has happened?"
"Paimon is no longer an ally of the Eastern Union. He will take care of all the black sorcerers in Lafort."
"What?"
"So, Prince Nicholas, declare on behalf of the Eastern Union; all of this was a scheme devised by demon worshippers to make this land hell, and in the future, the three Eastern countries will join hands with the Empire of Tarragon in order to subdue them."
"But there's going to be a lot of opposition. The enemies of the East aren't demon worshippers, it's the Empire."
"Your Highness, Prince Nicholas."
Lara gulped down the cool drink. Cold water droplets formed on her fingers and soon disappeared.
"I did what you asked me to do. I captured the demon, and His Imperial Majesty promised to give a hand in unifying the East."
"I know that I have received great grace from you."
"Then, you should repay me with something worthy of my grace."
Lara confidently demanded.
She could have killed Nicholas. It was actually nothing to hold him accountable for everything Paimon did and execute him. In fact, the Emperor also recommended that method. After killing Nicholas, they would sweep away the East and make the land into a subordinate state.
But Lara decided to give him a chance.
Nicholas made up his mind and bowed his head toward her.
"Please enlighten me."
"The Barbarians will stop the demon worshippers who have built up their own forces on the border. With Paimon's help, you will go back to Lafort and get rid of all the black sorcerers hiding in the East. Then, take power with what you did as justification."
Lara said as if it was not a big deal. But despite her relaxed way of talking, she predicted Nicholas to be the core of the typhoon that hit the East.
"It will be difficult with Paimon alone."
She spoke one last time to Nicholas, who was still unsure.
"Then I will send the best warrior on the continent with you."
That was Demian.
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"You're telling me to stay apart from you again? Thanks to the magic circle, I thought we could finally be a little closer. But now you're telling me to go to the East with Paimon…"
"The Prince is a coward and Paimon is not familiar with humanity's power struggles. You're strong and smart. I know that the three Eastern countries are nothing to you."
"Let's go together."
"I can't."
"Why?"
"I'm going to the border."
Demian looked totally speechless. He was told to go to the East with the two people he could not stand. Whatsmore, Lara planned to use the magic circle to join the Barbarians on the border.
"Why?"
"Why are you acting like a child today? Should we change if you don't want to go? I can go to the East and you remain on the border…"
"My question is why do we have to be apart? Let's just leave the border to my comrades and go to the East together?"
"Demian."
"Why?"
"War is not a date."
Lara's voice was mixed with a hint of a smile. Demian laughed with a face that said it could not be helped. Then, he lay down on the bed.
"Paimon won't like it."
"There's no choice for a slave. Would he have cared about that when he sacrificed humans or used them as slaves?"
"No."
"Then I'm going to do that too."
Lara laughed like a villain.
"I'm going to order him around until he begs for my help and then send him back to hell."
A few days later, the Emperor released Nicholas out of detainment. This was because Nicholas revealed that he was also a victim and was only used by the demon. The Emperor pretended to believe what he said and set up an investigation team in the name of digging up the shadow of the demon in the East. The mighty warrior of the saintess, Demian Drake, had decided to take the lead in the investigation team.
30. Yearning
Lara was in a deep sleep. She had not been able to sleep properly on time for a while. When she woke up, she breathed a satisfied sigh at the drowsy freshness she felt after a long time.
It had been a long time since she didn't want to go out of her blanket. It was even more so after entering this abode that was used by the high priest. It was too big, too spacious, and too luxurious. It was fancy and beautiful, but to Lara, showing power with material objects seemed cheap.
Isadora was very supportive of Lara's decision, she could not just see her beloved daughter suffer at a home that did not suit her preference so she redecorated the high priest's abode from scratch. Now, the place was no longer the abode of the high priest but the house of the saintess.
With a thick and light blanket wrapped around her body, Lara rolled halfway on the huge bed. Demian's shoulder was in front of her. They talked until dawn and ate a lot of late-night snacks that Konny gave them. And they were tossing and turning to digest the food. Then, they eventually opened their eyes only when it was almost afternoon.
As Lara opened her eyes, Demian woke up together with her. He wrapped his fingers around her hair.
"Get some more sleep."
His subdued voice was mixed with a little whining. Asking Lara to sleep more was no different than asking for more sleep for himself.
"Demian, you have to wake up."
There were many things to do. Before Demian left for the East, Lara had to instruct Paimon on what he had to do, she also had to meet the Emperor to discuss what was going to happen.
"You'd better get up before Konny gets angry."
"Konny doesn't get angry at me. She likes me."
"How do you know that?"
"Konny's criteria for distinguishing people are very simple."
"What is that?"
"Whether that person is beneficial to Lara or not."
As they had a silly talk, she felt awake. Her stiff eyes relaxed smoothly and her voice became as normal as usual. Seeking the intense sunlight leaking through the curtains, Demian spoke slowly.
"After saving the world… Should we run away somewhere?"
"We can't. Mother will be sad, and I have to bring Konny with me, I'll also have to take responsibility for Valentine, and… I don't think Eunice and Ximena will just let me do that."
"Why do you have so many dependants? I only have myself."
"I will tell Domino, Lampion, and Oscar what you just said. To Crown Prince Acerus too."
Lara removed Demian's fingers from her hair and pushed his body away with her two feet. Demian said with a sigh and a laugh at the same time.
"Well, I thought that was quite a romantic confession."
"What? Running away from here and living far away, only the two of us?"
"Is it not?"
"Save the world first before saying that."
Lara lightly grabbed Demian's hand and put it down. She got up with a blanket wrapped around her body like a cocoon.
There was not much time left until her appointment with the Emperor. Lara hurriedly washed up and changed her clothes. A carriage sent by the Emperor was waiting for her in front of the abode. The Emperor's knights approached and reached out. It was an impeccably polite attitude.
"It's an honor to serve the saintess."
"Thank you."
The carriage belonged to the Imperial household and the escort was a close aide to the Emperor. While Lara was on her way to the Imperial Palace, she recalled some stories about the Emperor of Tarragon in the carriage.
Isadora called him a sly guy, Nicholas seemed afraid of the Emperor, and Acerus condemned him for being a hopeless crook.
The Empire was the best on the continent even before the current Emperor came to power. Therefore, it was not particularly wrong to say that he was called a great Emperor because he was born with so many things.
Still, Lara never considered the Emperor to be an easy man. His achievements on the battlefield as a young man were so great that it was hard to find any predecessors to his accomplishments even if one searched through the history of the continent. The Emperor in his youth had to subdue demonic beasts while defeating fierce power struggles, territorial disputes, and challenges of each country at the same time.
Old and sick as he may be, The Emperor did not do what he did in order to merely step down and transfer his power to the Crown Prince. Rather, he was cleaning the Eastern and Northern regions simply for the sake of the empire. Perhaps the Emperor was still fighting fiercely. But rather than on the battlefield, he was fighting in that high position of power.