TFPOTRN | CHAPTER 50

~CHAPTER 50~

“Jerena, I didn’t even hear that you had entered the mansion, and yet you came to me first?”

Despite arriving without warning, Illay welcomed me without a hint of displeasure.

He did have a slightly surprised look on his face, though.

Looking at that expression made my mind slowly start to return.

“…Ah.”

Right. Why did I come to see Illay?

Whether it was Sian or Illay, explaining Seria was impossible. There was nothing they could do for me.

If they had recognized each other, the situation would have been a mess anyway.

The fact that no mess had occurred itself proved that they had never faced each other.

Was I so flustered that I couldn’t think of something so simple? Just from meeting Seria again?

I didn’t know. I stopped thinking and rubbed my now-cold fingertips.

Illay’s gaze flicked toward my helplessly fidgeting hands.

“Please, come in first. I’ll bring some warm tea.”

“…Alright, thank you.”

I sat on the sofa in Illay’s room.

Sitting in the soft sofa, I kept feeling chills, so I rubbed my arms with my hands.

“Here, drink this.”

Illay served tea from a small set in the room for me.

“Did you come to report something? If that’s the case, I could have come to see you first…”

“Report? Have you already finished what I ordered?”

It had been less than a day since I instructed him to handle the former lord who had been exiled.

“Ah, did the castle knight say so? I thought it might get troublesome if someone found out, so I told him I’d be in the room and just went briefly.”

I see.

I took a sip of the tea he had served. The warm liquid eased some of the anxious tension that had made me restless.

“Are you feeling a bit better? What happened suddenly? I thought you were out today.”

“Right. …I thought I’d hear a report, as you said.”

“I see.”

It was nonsensical for me, unaware that the work had just finished, to come asking for a report.

Illay noticed the contradiction but did not point it out.

Not asking questions about something someone didn’t want to say—that was Illay’s way of being considerate.

Illay sat on the sofa opposite me. Soon, he began speaking.

“The task has been completed. He was thrown out with nothing, but he went to a nearby tavern to drink in the meantime.”

“I heard he was exiled. He didn’t leave immediately?”

“He must have thought that even if he stayed, the new lord, his younger brother, couldn’t do anything.”

Some people really won’t do just one thing.

“You handled it without leaving a trace?”

“I left him in a remote mountain, so no one will find him. At most, they might see bloodstains and assume a wild animal carried him off.”

Listening to his calm voice as he reported, my floating mind gradually returned to reality.

“I had just returned and heard that Jerena wasn’t in the mansion, so I thought I’d report when you came back.”

At that, I finally noticed something.

A coat hung on the chair behind his shoulder, and it had red stains on the collar.

Noticing my gaze, he seemed a little embarrassed as he explained.

Of course… what would a high-ranking demon do in the human world, especially in such a small village, that would make him bleed?

I could tell even without a closer look that it was the ex-lord’s blood.

He had just returned, and I came before he had time to clean up.

Illay’s calm explanation made it seem ordinary, but it was a bloody story.

Surprisingly, I no longer flinched. At the beginning of possession, I would have hated even something like this.

“By the way, I have something to tell you. It’s convenient timing.”

“Something to say?”

He nodded.

“I’m planning to visit the demon world briefly.”

“Didn’t you go recently?”

“Yes, but… even though I left tasks to my subordinates, there are things I need to see and decide personally.”

Hearing that, I felt a little guilty.

As the Demon Lord, I had left almost all work to him for a long time.

Though the Demon Lord’s administrative duties were not many, it was still embarrassing.

As I rubbed the back of my neck from embarrassment, Illay smiled faintly.

“Do not worry. The Demon Lord is a ruler who still works hard. Many past Demon Lords did nothing but eat and rest all their lives.”

“…Thanks.”

I nodded reluctantly.

“Will you be gone all day this time as well?”

“There seems to be quite a lot of work, so it might take a few days.”

“I see.”

I actually felt relieved.

If he stayed in the mansion, he could encounter the saint candidate who came as a guest.

I didn’t know how Seria, who had no sacred power in the previous round, ended up becoming a saint candidate.

…It doesn’t matter. Whatever she does in this round has nothing to do with me.

Whether her sacred power awakened late or she continues to deceive others, it is none of my concern.

Her past attempt to kill me no longer existed, and knowing her true self, I would never trust her again.

Now I feel calmer. Yes, I’ll treat her as a stranger.

Perhaps it was the first betrayal I faced since possession. The trauma left by Seria’s existence seemed to momentarily cloud my judgment.

And the saint candidate sent by the High Temple…

Just the thought sounded serious.

Since the High Temple was no trivial place, she must have proven her abilities to become a saint candidate. I had to be cautious regardless of personal feelings.

Perhaps because I lost most of my power, she didn’t recognize my true identity.

If she had met Illay, they would surely recognize each other immediately. It was better for Illay to be away in the demon world.

Demon world, demon world.

It occurred to me that I had been away from the demon world for quite some time.

Since the start of the cycle, I had rarely been absent for so long.

For now, Illay could manage the situation, but leaving it too long would be dangerous.

Others might rise to take the Demon Lord’s position while I was absent.

I secretly wanted to give Illay the position of Demon Lord entirely.

The problem was that he was too satisfied being second-in-command.

Even if I were stronger than Illay, it was only in terms of raw power.

He had lived through multiple Demon Lords, and the experience gap could not be ignored.

The demon world with Illay as the Demon Lord.

I imagined it: demons who broke the rules would be punished, and the demon world would become orderly.

Perhaps even hybrids like Theo would be taken care of before suffering.

Theo…

…Hmm? Wait.

My thoughts drifted to Theo, and I lifted my head suddenly.

“Illay.”

“Yes?”

“When will you depart for the demon world?”

“I planned to leave before sunrise tomorrow…”

“I see. Do you have business there?”

“No, not really.”

“Then leave now.”

“Yes…?”

Illay’s eyes looked at me in surprise.

I just returned to the mansion, and I’m telling him to go immediately to the demon world?

I’m the Demon Lord; what else can I do?

“Also… while you’re there, I want you to find someone.”

“Find…?”

It was sudden, so it was natural he was puzzled.

I nodded at his question full of doubt.

Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?

The damned demon who abandoned the woman carrying my child. Illay could find him.

“It seems there’s a worthless demon who can’t even recognize his own child. Find him and bring him here.”