The Little Demon King is Too Bothered by Her Brave Dads - Chapter 85

“And…”

In the cold, emotionless room that felt as if it were observing a bug, flames ignited for the first time.

It was a fierce, raging fire, as if it intended to consume everything.

“The crime of threatening my daughter’s life.”

Th-threatened the life of a princess?!

All he had done was distribute some items given to him by a gentleman.

At most, they were just a few luxury goods.

Such trivial things couldn’t possibly threaten someone’s life.

Besides.

‘H-How on earth did he find out about those items!?’

That gentleman had been so confident that no one would ever discover those items!

“It’s a good thing Tatiana isn’t here.”

“Du…… Duke…….”

“It’s because I don’t want her to witness anything terrible.”

Siegfried had always tried to do the right thing, like a hero who had saved humanity.

But this time, he couldn’t afford to.

If he didn’t rip this man to shreds right in front of him, his sanity would be on the verge of breaking.

“Tatiana was in so much…… pain.”

As he reminded himself of that fact, Siegfried’s grip on his hand tightened.

“Ugh!!”

Thomas’s eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.

Seeing Thomas in this state, Siegfried couldn’t help but crack a wicked smile.

His smile was sharp as shards of broken glass.

“It seems like you have a lot to tell me. Don’t you agree?”

* * *

Afterwards.

Once all the items from the Lintz Merchant Group in the Duke’s house had been disposed of, my body recovered in an instant.

“…..If only I had known about the Lintz Merchant Group a little earlier.”

Siegfried said as he looked at me with a wistful gaze.

“You didn’t have to get hurt.”

“Oh, I’m fine.”

I smiled broadly at Siegfried.

“I mean, you still caught the demons by the tail, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Still…….”

“Let’s stop talking about this now, okay?”

Siegfried still had a look of guilt, but I meant it.

Right?

This incident revealed Bartoloa’s weakness.

Of course, the three heroes might not know of Bartoloa’s existence, but the fact that they now have a reason to be vigilant against the demons is satisfying enough.

To keep my life safe from now on, I must stay close to the three warriors!

……Anyway.

The investigation revealed several shocking facts.

According to Kirios, fortunately, the magical items sprinkled on the estate were not intended to kill, thankfully.

It seems to have been developed as a magical device for eavesdropping, used for collecting information.

And there’s a special spell to hide the magic.

The spell is that when a person with more than a certain amount of magic or divine power is nearby, the inherent magic is hidden.

The standard is roughly the level of an ordinary mage of the Mage Tower or an ordinary priest.

It was said that the stronger the person, the stronger the spell.

‘Then…… it makes sense that my dad and grandfather couldn’t feel it.’

My first dad is almost close to a transcendental being, and my grandfather is a considerable powerhouse among both demons and humans.

Besides, my grandfather once told me that the moment he detected demonic energy, it faded away.

‘That might also be due to that enchantment.’

Since my grandfather is not a transcendental-level powerhouse, the enchantment was likely triggered the moment he faintly detected the flowing energy.

The only reason I was able to sense it was because…….

‘I’m a half-human, half-demon, so I’m too weak.’

I’m so weak, I don’t even have the conditions to trigger the spell.

Still, since I was a demon, I was affected by the weak demonic energy inherent in objects.

Of course, at first, I didn’t realize that the reason I was sick was because I was detecting energy, I just mistook it for a demonic energy outburst.

‘My incompetence can be helpful at times, it seems…….’

I shook my head inwardly.

In any case, the spying gadget was found in almost all the territories where the Lintz Merchant Group made deliveries.

However, it hasn’t been fully discovered how they obtained this magical device.

To be precise, they tried to trace it, but it abruptly ended in the middle.

Even the Lintz Merchant Group did not know of it whatsoever.

Well, for the Bartoloa I know, it would be even weirder to get its tail stepped on here.

“How should we handle this matter?”

At Siegfried’s question, Grandfather fell into deep thought, stroking his chin.

“This is indeed a difficult problem.”

“……It is.”

Siegfried frowned.

It’s not as if actual demons were found; it’s just that spying tools were discovered.

“Of course, the spying tools are still a significant issue.”

Nevertheless, it’s not comparable to actual demons appearing.

“Anyway, we need to make this issue known to the outside world.”

“Still, we must approach it cautiously. It’s only been a few years since the war with the demons ended.”

Siegfried clenched his teeth.

“If we dare to point our swords at the demons again, if war ignites again…….”

“I know. It would be too hard on the people.”

After nodding, Grandfather proposed to Siegfried.

“How about doing it this way?”

* * *

The imperial family was having its first family reunion in a long time.

Marquis Philomel, the Empress’s brother, had been invited to celebrate the New Year.

Marquis Philomel turned to Rudolph with a beaming face.

“How is it that our Second Prince always looks so radiant when I see him?”

“Ah really. My uncle always says something obvious.”

Rudolph replied with a proud tone, puffing up his shoulders.

The Empress patted him affectionately on the shoulder.

“Isn’t that right, brother? Hasn’t our Rudolph grown up a lot?”

“Yes, indeed! His Highness the Second Prince’s majestic stature reminds me of the emperor himself.”

At that overt flattery, the emperor chuckled and took a sip of wine.

Meanwhile, Lakius struggled to keep his expression neutral, attempting to hide his annoyance.

‘Marquis Philomel must have dipped his tongue in oil before entering the palace.’

As he observed this unpleasant scene, he thought it would be better to spend about five hours rolling under his masters’ harsh training rather than wasting time here.

“How can the Empress become even more beautiful? She must be turning back the hands of time all by herself.”

“Brother, what a joke…….”

“No, have you ever seen me making jokes about you like this?”

He burst into laughter.

Meanwhile, Lakius was almost invisible.

The entire time they were in the dining room, Lakius didn’t even get a chance to speak.

Not that he wanted to make small talk with them.

‘Hey, why the invitation to join the meal.’

Lakius thought sarcastically as he skillfully sliced his steak, following the manners he had learned from the etiquette textbook.

The reason why he’d been invited to a table, if not outright excluded from the imperial family’s meals.

It was because the three warriors had their eyes wide open.

Even if they didn’t want to acknowledge Lakius, they couldn’t outright ignore him since he was their only direct disciple.

Besides.

‘…… Tati’s help was great too.’

A girl who resembled a freshly bloomed spring flower.

Lakius smiled faintly for the first time since entering the dining room.

Tatiana’s comic book exhibition that she had organized continued to sell like hotcakes.

Thanks to that, the recognition of the Carolingian royal family was now almost on par with the current imperial family.

Perhaps due to being watched closely, these days, they treated the prince quite hospitably compared to before.

‘I miss Tati. She hasn’t written to me since she went down to the Duchy…….’

And then.

Knock, knock.

A hurried knocking sound echoed.

The empress raised her voice in annoyance.

“This is a meal in honor of His Majesty! How dare anyone try to disturb us!”

A hesitant response came from behind the closed door.

“I apologize, empress. But it’s an extremely urgent message…”

“That’s enough. Open the door.”

The emperor clicked his tongue, and so the door to the dining room opened.

Standing outside the door, the messenger bowed his waist and spoke.

“There is a messenger from the Duchy of Orleans.”

“From the Duchy? For what matter?”

“That is…….”

The servant continued, his voice trembling.

“It is said that traces of demons have appeared in the Duchy of Orleans.”

The members of the imperial family widened their eyes.