As the night grew deeper, the party became livelier.

As time passed, the faces of the guests, which had been stiff, loosened up, and those who had kept the main topic hidden began to emerge.

Kalia was no exception.

She stepped outside, reminding herself of the purpose of this party.

After entrusting Sasha to Simon, she called Gaia to a secluded place.

“Wow! A party of humans, how fascinating!”

Gaia’s eyes sparkled as she raised her head to peek inside the distant party venue.

“You’ll see plenty if you go inside. Gaia, can you find out if there’s anyone addicted to demonic magic in that party?”

“Well, let me try once! Oh, before that…”

Gaia, who had been glancing at the party venue, suddenly spun around with a determined expression.

And then, the light, airy dress she was wearing transformed into a gorgeous dress with abundant orange lace, fitting for the noble ladies.

Gaia spread her arms, seemingly asking Kalia to take a look.

“Ta-da!”

“Wow.”

Kalia’s surprised expression pleased Gaia, who placed her hand on her waist and smiled proudly.

“I always wanted to wear it at least once! How do I look, pretty?”

“Yeah. You’re prettier than anyone inside.”

Kalia’s nonchalant but sincere compliment made Gaia’s cheeks blush with delight.

She giggled and smiled like an innocent girl.

Her mother, who died giving birth to Kalia at such a beautiful age.

Her mother, who squeezed out her last bit of life force to protect her until the end and returned to her father.

Her young mother who fought hard to protect Kalia even amidst excruciating pain and suffering.

Kalia stared intently at Gaia and reached out her hand with a smiling face.

“May I have this dance, my lady?”

Kalia, dressed in conquering knight attire, elegantly requested a dance, more beautiful and graceful than any man.

Gaia, her eyes sparkling, chuckled and took Kalia’s hand.

“What should I do? I’m not good at dancing.”

“I’ll lead. Even if you accidentally step on my foot, I’ll pretend not to notice, so don’t worry.”

“Then, okay.”

They could faintly hear the music from the distant banquet hall.

They held hands and started stepping slowly to the faint music.

“To dance with the Empire’s greatest knight! I feel like a truly happy fairy!”

“And this is actually my first dance.”

“Oh, my. If someone finds out about this, I wonder if certain wizards will get jealous.”

“Well, although that wizard can get a little jealous, he’s not narrow-minded, so don’t worry.”

Playful banter exchanged between them, and their steps gently echoed in the quiet space.

Gaia stepped on Kalia’s feet several times, but Kalia didn’t show any sign of pain, as if it were a promise.

No, in fact, it didn’t hurt at all.

Like any ordinary person, they let themselves be carried away by the music, putting aside thoughts of war, resentment, and grudges, simply enjoying this playful moment.

Fortunately, the song was long enough for both of them to enjoy, and the faint sound of music was gradually getting louder.

It was thanks to a certain high-level wizard who happened to witness this spectacle from afar and transferred the music from the party venue to the garden.

As Kalia said, he wasn’t a narrow-minded person, he could wholeheartedly support Kalia, who was dancing with her birth mother.

And there was also the beautiful illumination of the garden to create a time for the two of them to be happy.

* * *

“I can sense demonic magic, but it doesn’t seem to be overwhelmingly strong. Perhaps they have been exposed to magic over a long period of time. Especially those two men, their magic feels a bit denser.”

Gaia, who entered the banquet hall, wandered around the vicinity for about an hour, picking out a few people.

It was a pity that she had cast a spell to make herself inconspicuous to people despite wearing a beautiful dress, but it couldn’t be helped.

The first ones she detected were Marquis Aonti and his friends.

Since she had heard stories from Simon, Marquis Aonti didn’t surprise her, as she had some expectations.“What about the others?”

“I can sense it from that group over there too. It seems like they haven’t been exposed to magic for long. It’s like they slowly assimilated with the humans, rather than directly infusing themselves with magic like Cream.”

“I see. So that’s why the demonic magic didn’t feel strong.”

“Yeah, that’s how it seems. It looks like the Akan side has been researching various methods of infusing demonic magic. Well, it has been over ten years, hasn’t it?”

“…Those sinister guys. They hid their intentions for ten years and waited for the right moment.”

Kalia and Gaia stood on the second-floor railing, overlooking the view of the hall below.

Although it was invisible to Kalia’s naked eyes, according to Gaia’s detection of demonic magic, there were nearly dozens of people who were influenced by it.

Among them were the nobles of their own country and the personnel of the envoys.

When did these people start being influenced by demonic magic?

According to the princess of Nathan, even the nobles of Nathan had almost all been influenced by demonic magic.

It was said that it spread like an epidemic, with just one infected person, rapidly infecting others.

And it would slowly seep into the surroundings while remaining dormant, until suddenly revealing its true form.

And by the time it fully manifested, it would already be too late…

What could be the motive behind Akan’s sinister and wicked actions?

‘…It must be the work of that doctor.’

The first victim would probably be that prince…

The prince with red hair and red eyes.

Even so, Kalia didn’t feel sorry for him.

He had madness in his eyes, but he was never insane.

He had willingly chosen to align himself with evil.

“You know, Kalia, should I go down and investigate further?”

“No, it’s enough here.”

“Really? I’m still a bit disappointed…”

“Is it because you didn’t fully enjoy the party?”

“Well, that’s also a valid point.”

As Kalia spoke, Gaia’s expression, which had been cheerful, suddenly hardened.

Gaia’s complexion turned pale in an instant, and she grasped her chest, starting to breathe heavily.

“Gaia, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. My chest, my heart hurts. It hurts…!”

“Take a breath, try to breathe.”

“Hu, uh, ugh! Huaah!”

Gaia’s pale complexion turned bright red.

And then, it changed to a purplish color, like that of a dead person.

Her condition was alarming.

“It hurts, Kalia. It hurts… Ahh, ugh! It hurts so much…”

Thump. Gaia collapsed to the floor.

Kalia, who was holding onto Gaia, also turned pale like Gaia.

“What the hell! Why is this happening suddenly?”

“My chest… feels like it’s tearing apart. Ka…lia. I… it hurts… here… It hurts so much…”

Finally, Gaia’s eyes rolled back.

Her eyes, as red as if blood had rushed into them, were filled with tears.

Unable to hold back any longer, she let out a cry of anguish, and the bracelet of reconciliation returned to light.

It happened in an instant.

Startled, Kalia froze in the same posture as she had been observing Gaia.

Even her own heart began to beat restlessly.

‘What on earth is happening? Simon… I should ask Simon!’

With a pale complexion, she suddenly stood up from her position.“Oh, here you are, General Kalia.”

The sound of footsteps and a ominous voice reached her from behind.

With widened eyes, Kalia quickly turned around.

And there, standing before her was…

“I was just looking for you. Do you remember me?”

The prince of Akan was approaching her.

With a gentle smile on his lips…

* * *

The prince of Akan!

As soon as she saw him approaching, Kalia felt her vision reddening.

The anger that she had managed to control until now kept boiling up.

She glared at him with malice.

When she greeted him with a cold gaze, Buford stood tall and shrugged his shoulders.

“You still have that cold face. Haven’t we only met twice? I don’t remember doing anything to deserve such hatred…”

“How shameless.”

“If I wasn’t shameless, I couldn’t be a villain, you know.”

Buford chuckled as he spoke.

Then he swiftly approached her.

“Do you believe in fate?”

“…”

“I do.”

He approached her as if possessed.

“If there’s no fate, my life wouldn’t be in such a mess. This dark, corrupted, chaotic life… It became comforting to think that it’s my destiny. Since then, I’ve accepted my life more easily. I even enjoy it now.”

As Buford confronted Kalia face to face, he felt his heart becoming even more irregular.

It felt as if his heart was swelling, as if he had met the princess he had long admired. His whole body trembled with excitement.

Thoughts vanished, leaving only one instinct that screamed at him.

I want that woman. I want her.

To him, who had desired nothing before, a longing had awakened for the first time, and he had to faithfully follow it.

Kalia furrowed her brows at his absurdity.

“A weakling’s excuse, it seems.”

“Oh, well. There are more weak people in the world than strong ones. Even if you’re not one… Well, anyway, it’s not because of that that I brought up the topic of destiny.”

Buford looked at Kalia with excited red eyes he couldn’t hide.

He approached her, clutching his vigorously beating heart.

“When I see you, my heart swells. It beats as if it hurts, as if it’s in agony. It beats so much that I wonder if this could be love…”

It was nonsense.

Kalia’s face contorted in disgust, but Buford chuckled as if he didn’t care.

“Nonsense. Yes, it is. It’s all nonsense. But because I’ve gone crazy my whole life, I’m curious about it. Meeting someone with heart beats like this, how joyful and overwhelming it must be. You wouldn’t understand.”

A faint excitement flowed through Kalia as well, sensing the faint excitement on Buford’s finely chiseled face.

She silently watched as his joy-filled pupils drew closer.

And just as his hand was about to touch her cheek, Kalia unleashed the power of purification that she had contained within her.

Just before the pure white power engulfed Buford…

“Oh, our prince, where are you going without me…?”

A black rift appeared in the air, and from within it, a demon leaped out and wrapped its arms around Buford.

Crack!

Kalia’s power collided with her dark veil and bounced off.

“You…!”

“I am this clueless prince’s lover, and…”

The woman who had concealed her skin color with magic smiled and revealed her true appearance.

“His beloved warlock.”

Her black skin was exposed, and snake-like slitted pupils appeared.

The demon sneered at Kalia.