That would be the appearance of a 'noble and sacrificial' Saintess that they wanted so much from her.
"I can't refuse."
Belled, who had been looking at her for a moment, burst into laughter at those words.
"I've taken a wise person as my wife."
His kiss gently landed on Beryl's head. Beryl smiled without realizing it.
It was a warm smile, a smile as warm as the heat he was conveying.
***
"I never thought you'd come looking for the real Demon Lord."
"The flow of magical power flowing in the mansion is different."
"Wounds heal much faster too."
The demons in the mansion were amazed. Didn't the air in the mansion feel different than before?
If before, it felt like the air of the human world was weighing them down, now, as they got closer to the Archduchess and the Demon Lord, they felt as if their bodies were flying.
"Ahem."
"Ah."
Thanks to that, they would intentionally go through the 5th floor, which they didn’t need to go to, to feel a little stronger magic power.
Those people would usually just cough and pass by when they made eye contact.
“As expected, it was His Highness Belled’s choice.”
They all praised it as an excellent strategic choice, worthy of a demon archduke who had conquered the battlefield.
However.
“...Is it really a strategic choice?”
Some people began to feel something was off.
“Beryl, if you’re tired, you should rest.”
“There’s still a lot of work to do.”
“Didn’t you tell me to leave the small stuff to someone else?”
Was that really the demon archduke speaking in that voice? As more people went back and forth to the 5th floor, more people were bound to notice the ‘change in Belled’.
“They’re just strategic allies, so why are you doing that?”
“Is there something more you want to gain?”
“Then why don’t you just take it away with force?”
While confusion spread among the demons, Naberus made an official declaration to the knights.
“In the bet, His Highness Belled won.”
As expected of someone who cleanly admits defeat, he declared cleanly.
“Not only that, I am truly impressed by his powerful abilities. Can you feel the powerful magic flowing through the mansion right now?”
He exclaimed, beating his chest.
“This is the result of the visionary King resonating with the demon God.”
“Oh...!”
Exclamations spread among the demons.
“Therefore, from now on, I, General Naberus, pledge my utmost loyalty to the visionary King and will personally crush the heads of those who have insolent thoughts!”
That declaration further fanned the rumors about the visionary King and Beryl. That the visionary King had the ability to impress even the power-mad Naberus.
“Ever since I heard that humans were coming to Vine, I thought she was no ordinary person.”
The demons’ gazes gradually changed to gazes of respect and began to turn to Beryl.
If before, it was because of orders and status, now it was because of the recognition that he was a great being who created the powerful flow of magic.
***
Beryl was a person who became more and more calm as happiness approached.
It was understandable because in the past two lives she had returned to, there had been little happiness for her.
That was why she had a habit of worrying that when one happiness came, another misfortune would come.
There is a saying that misfortunes come all at once.
But lately, only good things seemed to have happened to her. Oddly enough, she had found the spirit of the god without a hitch, the remodeling of the mansion was going smoothly, and most of all, the night with him.
She was living a life of such abundance that she could not believe it herself.
“The large frame decorations are finished,”
Beryl said as she looked around the mansion. Decarabia alone was enough to remove the decorations and put new ones on.
She had lifted the huge installations that required four or five demons to run around and groan with one hand.
“Now, I think I should focus on the detailed decorations...”
In a normal family, there would have been small sculptures in each room.
It would have been a job to rearrange them in the right places, but Vine was different.
For one thing, there were no such sculptures. Beryl had never seen it before while decorating the interior of the mansion for the past few days.
But.
“Huh?”
While she was thinking about which family to get the decorations from and whether there was a famous crafts family at the time, she suddenly saw some decorations in a place where the sunlight was shining brightly.
To be exact, it was a long, bird-shaped shadow.
“Bird...?”
Perhaps because they sensed the magic of the demons, ordinary birds rarely stayed here.
It wasn’t long ago that she learned that Helbas was handling all the carrier pigeons here.
Helbas had never transformed into such a large bird.
Beryl looked at the shadow of a bird with its wings spread, then turned her gaze in the direction the shadow was coming from.
Then her eyes widened.
It was because of the majestic bird statue standing right next to the bright lights that were on during the day.
Was there something like that in the mansion?
“Wow....”
The light that exquisitely passed through the shadow became the bird’s eyes. Beryl looked back and forth between the elaborate statue the size of her hand and the shadow, then looked back at Decarabia.
“Where did you get this decoration?”
Decarabia said as she looked at the decoration.
“It’s Marves’s.”
“Marves?”
Decarabia greeted her, wondering if there was such a family.
“Because ‘Marves of the Plague’s hobby is making things like that.”
Beryl’s eyes widened at those words.
Is this a hobby? She looked at the sculpture again and said to Decarabia.
“Can you bring him here?”
If he really made this, there was no need to buy it separately from outside.
It didn’t ruin the somewhat static atmosphere of the castle, and it seemed like the right amount of flashiness to be in charge of the props.
Beryl’s eyes sparkled.
***
“...Did you, call me?”
Although I had seen many proud demons like Decarabia and Naberus, it was the first time I had seen a demon so timid that he stuttered.
I lowered my head and looked at Marves of the Plague, who couldn’t even lift his head properly.
The new decoration he had made was neatly placed next to me.
“I called you after seeing this.”
Marves’s face turned serious at those words.
“...I understand.”
Then he lowered his head deeply. I blinked.
What do you mean?
“I will remove it right away. I apologize for disturbing your mind.”
“Wait a minute.”
What do you mean by disturbing your mind?
I stopped him, who seemed about to destroy the new decoration at any moment.
The wooden decoration looked too fragile and delicate to be touched carelessly.
“I didn’t call you to clean it up.”
I pointed at the bird.
“Are there any more?”
Marves’s face turned pale at those words.
“Please, even the ones I’ve kept separately. I’ll make sure to keep them safe so that I never see them again.”
“Yes?”
Marves repeatedly lowered his head, whether or not he knew that I was flustered.
“I know it looks hideous. However, my unique ability utilizes these monsters...”
“...A monster?”
Who would call a bird sculpture that looked like it could come alive and fly away at any moment a monster?
“Marves. Her Highness thinks differently from Naberus.”
Finally, Decarabia spoke. Marves blinked at those words. Confusion appeared on his face.
“Why Naberus?”
Decarabia said in response to my question.
“Naberus has been cursing Marves for a long time, telling him to get rid of that useless monster.”
“...A monster?”
I had no choice but to ask back. If that was true, then Marves and Naberus must have had seriously different standards of beauty.
“Yes. Naberus considers anything useless in battle to be ugly.”
“...Ah.”
It seemed that their standards for judging value, not beauty, were different.
“Did you say Marves?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Marves answered in a voice that became even more gloomy when the topic of Naberus came up. I smiled awkwardly.
“I have no intention of destroying it. On the contrary.”
I pointed to the new decoration.
“I need more of this. I want to put it in the mansion.”
Marves blinked blankly at those words. For a moment, he seemed not to understand.
Then he opened his eyes wide and raised his head.
“Are you telling me to make more of these and put them in the mansion?”
“Yes, is that a problem?”
Oh, Naberus will see it.
I tilted my head slightly and said.
“I’ll talk to Naberus. Now that I’m the hostess of Vine, I don’t know when a human guest will visit the mansion.”
I spread out my hands.
“I could chase them away using demon methods, but since I’m in Vine, the eyes of humans will continue to be on Vine.”
To the outside world, the Vine family is a long-standing family that has existed since the early days of the empire’s founding.
No matter how long the hostess has been gone, it would be awkward to show that they didn’t care at all about decorating the mansion’s interior.
“But it really is a hindrance during battle...”
Marves, who seemed to be pleased for a moment, spoke in a dejected tone.
“Just by placing decorations?”
I tilted my head.
“Does it hinder the path?”
I didn’t know much about combat, but I had heard that paths were important in battle. But could a decoration like that really block the path?
“No, it’s actually more advantageous strategically.”
Then Decarabia blurted out.
“I think they’re a hindrance because they don’t have any lethal power even if you just throw them.”
I blinked at those words.
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