"......"
In [Night Garden], where a quiet silence still lingered, Luminous lay at its center with her usual languid expression and beckoned an old man over with a light wave of her hand.
"You called for me, my lady."
His name was Gunther.
He was the foremost of the [Three Dukes], Luminous's head butler who had served her since she was still young, and one of the very few highest-ranking Vampires personally created by the divine progenitor Twilight Valentine.
"......"
"...My lady. Are you all right?"
Gunther lowered his head, looking at Luminous with concern when she still said nothing even after summoning him.
Normally, she would have issued an order the moment she called for him. Seeing her instead wearing such an absent, languid expression, so unlike herself, he could not help but worry.
"If something troubles you, then please allow this old servant to hear it—"
"...No. It is nothing."
But after casting Gunther a brief glance, Luminous turned her eyes back to the empty air. Then she closed them and recalled one of the two pieces of information Adelio had given her before leaving this place.
"...[The Seven Luminaries] will run wild, and Granbell will betray me..."
Aside from the [Three Dukes] and the [Ten Saints], [The Seven Luminaries] were one of her greatest military assets, and Granbell possessed strength that could, without exaggeration, be said to rival Luminous herself.
Hearing that both of those cards would turn into worthless scraps before she could even properly play them, Luminous did not doubt Adelio's words for a second. She was already half convinced they were true, and had sunk deep into thought.
"...Adelio would never lie to me about something like this. So that subtle shift in [The Seven Luminaries]' recent movements was because of this after all."
Luminous frowned.
Centuries ago, she had judged that they had finally grown into their dignity as elders and had deliberately left them alone. But now that she thought back on it, every suspicious incident seemed to connect to [The Seven Luminaries], if only indirectly.
"...[The Seven Luminaries] are one thing, but Granbell is the real problem. If the others betray me, that is one matter. But if that man turns on me without warning, then even Hinata and the [Three Dukes] would find it nearly impossible to defeat him..."
On top of that, among the forces of Granbell, the man who had first conceived the [Council of the West], were the Rosso family, the true rulers of the [Western Nations], and the Kingdom of Siltrosso they governed. He also still held hidden trump cards that even he had never revealed to Luminous.
"......I will have to prepare for war."
Now that she knew the signs of madness and betrayal, avoidance and forgiveness were not options that existed for Luminous.
If anyone dared defy her, she would simply crush them beneath even greater power.
That was the way of the queen famed as the proudest among the [Demon Lord]s.
"Gunther."
And so she moved at once to put that into action.
"Set the [Transcendents] to watch [The Seven Luminaries], and order [Luke Genius] to investigate the movements of [Siltrosso]."
"Yes. I will send messengers at once."
Without showing the slightest doubt toward Luminous's command, spoken in a voice cold as ice, Gunther bowed and immediately transferred to the surface amid a crimson magic circle.
"......Granbell."
Once she was alone again, Luminous softly spoke the true name of her old rival, the one with whom she had once crossed swords, and her heterochromatic eyes flashed sharply.
"Go on believing your ambition will be fulfilled, and look forward to it. The countless duels that never reached their end in the past will find their conclusion in the war to come."
The tenacious and inevitable fate of a [Demon Lord] and a [Hero].
Sensing that destined moment was finally drawing near, Luminous quietly turned over the past in her mind and began to picture the future that would extend from the present.
A future befitting a [Demon Lord], one that would soon be completed by the death of a [Hero].
*
At that same time—
"So then, Adelio. Just what kind of [Thought Communication] did you send to Luminous?"
After coming up from [Night Garden] to the papal palace of [Ruberios], Ria called Adelio over while Shizue had stepped away to speak with Hinata alone for a while. She now stood facing him with a beautiful smile.
Of course, the words and voice coming from her lips were not something he could describe as merely beautiful.
"...I-it wasn't anything dangerous, or anything you'd hate hearing. Really."
There was not the slightest trace of actual killing intent in her, and yet every time she spoke, Adelio felt as if some indescribably dark bloodlust was brushing against his cheek. Shaking his head hard as though begging for mercy, he hurried to explain.
"It was just something simple that you already know too. [The Seven Luminaries]... especially Granbell. He's a pretty troublesome opponent, so I thought it would be better to warn her in advance."
"Hmm. Then what about the second [Thought Communication] you sent?"
As expected of the fastest-thinking demon among the [Primordial Demons], Ria had already seen through the fact that Adelio had sent Luminous two consecutive [Thought Communication]s. Tilting her head slightly, she smiled at him with quiet intensity.
"Th-that was also something you already know. It was about [Walpurgis]."
For a moment, Adelio stumbled over his words under the silent pressure of Ria's smile. Then he pulled himself together and continued, his voice carrying firm persuasion mixed with a touch of seriousness.
"You already know, since I mentioned it in the great forest, but this time I'm planning to open [Walpurgis] with my own hands. I only told Luminous beforehand. No matter how many backup measures you prepare for unforeseen situations, it's never enough."
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