"Yiluodiya!"

Before I even saw the person, I heard her voice.

Fortunately, Linsi Daisy, who opened the door for me, blocked the bear hug from Shiva.

Shiva wrapped her arms around Linsi's neck, quickly lowered her head to rub against Linsi's chest, and took the opportunity to eat some tofu. Then she let go of Linsi, stuck her tongue out at me, and left.

I walked through the door and caught a glimpse of Linsi's helpless face. Daisy, on the other hand, looked as if she was about to explode with anger.

Is Shiva jealous?

The two quickly returned to their normal expressions and closed the door for me.

I sat across from Shiva, looking very serious, with Linsi Daisy standing like security guard behind me.

"Shiva, give up on me."

How embarrassing.

I never thought this kind of situation would happen to me one day.

"No."

"Do you think you can compete with our Dark Lord?"

As expected, Shiva stared at me dumbfounded after I finished speaking, and it took her a long time to come back to her senses.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I am already the Dark Lord's. She is my mistress, and if you provoke her, you can imagine the consequences."

Shiva looked up, scanning her gaze between Linsi and Daisy. Through her eyes, I could see that Linsi Daisy's expression was very serious, as if she was saying, Lord Yiluodiya did not deceive you.

"And our Dark Lord and I have mutual feelings for each other."

"Um..."

Shiva, who always smiled and joked with me, suddenly turned pale. Tears welled up in her eyes, and tears as big as beans rolled down her cheeks endlessly.

Shiva cried uncontrollably in front of me, unabashedly. She wiped her tears and collapsed on the table.

Even sadder than I imagined.

I turned to Linsi Daisy for help.

"Lord Yiluodiya, you should go first."

"We'll take care of things here."

Nodding, I stood up and left.

I didn't feel sorry for Shiva at all. In fact, I was a little happy to finally be rid of Shiva's incessant pestering.

The sky was gloomy, with dark clouds covering the sky above Odys City.

Walking through the corridors of the Lord's mansion, the desolate autumn wind blew the fallen leaves in the courtyard, stirring up small whirlwinds.

Winter was coming again, the air was filled with coldness. When will this long journey come to an end?

Is it really possible for the war to end by next year?

----------------------------------------

I wandered outside until evening before deciding to go back to my room.

To be precise, it was my mistress's room. My room was only for storing my clothes.

I pushed open the door without knocking and saw the familiar figure. My mistress was still sitting at the desk, reading.

After closing the door, I ran over and threw myself onto her back, embracing her neck and rubbing my cheek against her red hair.

"Mistress... Mistress... I'm back."

She closed the book.

My mistress paused for a moment before answering me.

"Welcome back."

Such a blissful moment.

My mistress wasn't actually emotionless. When she wanted to seduce someone, she could be quite flirtatious.

My hands were enveloped by my mistress's warm palms. From her shoulder, I could see a faint smile on her face, a slight lift of her mouth.

"Mistress... why did you suddenly change your mind?"

I had never asked her this before.

Before our first night together, I always thought my mistress was still indifferent to love. I even almost forgot about the joke of going back to my hometown to get married.

After that night, my mistress's attitude and expressions remained the same, but occasionally she would say something that made my heart flutter. And after crossing boundaries, she was no longer passive like before. Now, as long as I took the initiative, she would reciprocate.

If my mistress weren't the Queen, I think there would be a better word to describe her—repressed.

"Since... that day we went out and had an accident.""Hmm? So early...?"

"Mm."

"What about your emotional journey?"

"It's been three months, I've almost forgotten. I wasn't really conflicted about you to begin with, just indifferent. It was only natural for the idea of giving it a try to develop."

So it was just that simple?

But perhaps this kind of slow-burning, gradually developing relationship is more profound than those that develop from experiences of separation or major events.

It wasn't love at first sight.

Maybe it's the masochistic tendency hidden within me that made me fall for my tormentor, and maybe my owner developed romantic feelings for me because she was moved by me.

My feelings may be twisted, and my owner may only have me as a choice.

At least now, we are mutually fond of each other, and the outcome is good. Our relationship has been built up over time, making it all the more precious. Although we still interact as master and servant, it's by mutual consent. She, as a queen, enjoys looking down on others, and I enjoy being dominated by her.

If you really think about it, we are truly a perfect match.

But since we're together now, we should think about the future.

"Master... What about the next Demon Lord?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Did you forget how you were created?"

Using Yiluodiya's omnipotent cells.

They nurtured and developed my soulless body and then invited my soul into it. That's probably how I was created.

"So our demon race is capable of cloning as well?"

"Of course, but most of our energy was focused on studying you, so there will be plenty of time in the future to learn from you."

So there is hope for children between me and my master?

"I'm so happy, Master." I rubbed against her ear and then looked up at her brown horns. Instantly, my excitement died down. "But we are different races."

"It doesn't matter. Trust me, we'll find a way."

Clearly, this is impossible.

There are too many contradictions.

How will the children we have together age? Will they have horns on their heads? Pointed ears? What will their faces look like?

There are just too many conflicting factors.

On top of that, if the children aren't truly part of the demon race, wouldn't the Demon Lord become a laughing stock?

My master is probably just trying to comfort me, but there is one method for cloning: to clone a little master, using my master's cells.

That way, the bloodline of the Demon Lord can continue.

After a long silence, my master broke the ice and spoke again.

"It's still some time before dinner. Would you like to hear my story?"

"Mm."

"Come face me and let me hold you."

I released my grip on my master's neck and moved forward to sit on her lap.

She wrapped her hands around my little belly, rested her chin on my shoulder, and her mouth was almost touching my earlobe, sending warm breath into my ear.

"Do you think I was born this cruel?"

"No, Master. It was... after that war when you became like this."

Heath Relia had said that my master was kind and adorable when she was little, and a room with pink tones shouldn't have belonged to someone so cold-hearted.

"Mm, when Heath Relia's father was still around, he helped me a lot. If it weren't for him assisting me, those high-ranking officials would've likely seized power when I was just a child. Four years after I ascended the Demon Lord's throne, Heath Relia's father fell seriously ill. At that time, both Heath Relia and I were still young, and she couldn't help me much. Unlike the kings of the human kingdoms, who have a royal family to assist them, I had to be on guard against them poisoning me while I was still young."

I nodded. At that time, my master was probably around seventeen or eighteen, which, for a demon, was like a one-meter-three loli.

"He suggested that I make everyone fear me. So, every day, I went to the prisons to witness the execution process carried out by the jailers until gradually I took over. It was only when I became ruthless that all the ministers completely changed their views towards me, and Heath Relia's father could finally leave in peace.""Master... Did it take a long time for you to accept it as well?"

"Well. Before our demon race suffered a major defeat in the war, I was like my father, caring for the people. After the defeat, I had very few people I could trust, so I had to become that way, had to make myself cruel."

"It must have been very difficult."

I caressed the back of my master's hand, showing my sympathy. The pain she experienced must have been much greater than the physical pain I have endured. The transformation from a kind and lovely little girl to a cold and cruel queen is unimaginable.

My master chuckled softly in my ear.

"Later, I found that torturing others can also bring pleasure."

"Ah?"

"Hmm?"

My master's hand became restless, grabbing mine and placing it on the table before pressing me down, unable to move with my chest against the desk. Her right hand slid onto my thigh and began caressing it through the fabric of my skirt.

"M-Master, what if Linsi Daisy and the others... mmm..."

"It's okay."

Her left hand covered my mouth.

I hadn't expected that before having dinner, she would first have me for dinner.