As we discussed deployment details, the crystal image showed Feyn Senior whispering something to her attendant, Senior Loyning. Then she stood up and walked toward a hidden section of broken wall in the labyrinth.

"Princess, the humans have split up. We only have one Spy Eye here—which one should we watch now?" Seth asked.

"Watch the senior." I said.

"Huh? Princess?"

"Oh! I mean—obviously we monitor that genius high school Temple Knight!"

The Spy Eye followed Feyn as she navigated the ruined maze walls. She stopped in a secluded corner enclosed by three high walls. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her back and placed both hands behind her armor.

*Snap!* The rear buckles came undone.

"Huh!?!?" My gaze—and those of the other Overlords—sharpened instantly. Our heated discussion died down without notice. What could Senior be doing, unfastening her armor alone in a corner?

Just then, Feyn suddenly looked up. A sharp glint flashed in her beautiful eyes as she stared directly at the Spy Eye’s position. We flinched as if caught peeping!

She raised a slender finger toward the lens. A flicker of light danced at its tip.

*Pop!* The screen went pitch black.

"As expected... She knew we were watching." The massive minotaur sighed in disappointment.

*That lecherous bull...* I shot him a glare.

"*Hmph.*" Sulia let out a cold chuckle.

"What’s so funny, Sulia?" The Skeleton King sounded equally frustrated. *Unbelievable—this old bone pile’s still a pervert?!* A chill ran down my spine. Were all my subordinates lustful fiends?

"No need for disappointment," Sulia said smoothly. "A Spy Eye would indeed be detected by a Temple Knight of her caliber. But my Bloodshadow Bats? Different story. I’d already sent them there earlier."

Sulia savored our expressions, pausing deliberately before—*Snap!*—snapping her fingers.

The crystal image returned! Sharper. Clearer. Even the sounds came through perfectly.

"Queen Sulia—truly the strongest in our Undercity!" puffed the fat orc carrying me.

I hadn’t expected Sulia’s trick. On screen, Feyn, believing she’d destroyed the magical eye, let her guard down completely. With practiced ease, she began removing her armor...

Guilt twisted in my chest. *Is it right to spy on Senior like this?*

Before I could decide, she calmly unbuttoned her undershirt. Porcelain skin emerged, revealing a deep, straight cleavage and a tightly wrapped black bra.

Shedding the shirt exposed rounded shoulders and delicate arms. Then she lifted her head, letting waterfall-black hair cascade down. Her hands moved with uncanny grace behind her back, searching for the bra clasp.

"*Stop!*" I leaped off the orc’s shoulder, snatched a scroll from Seth’s pocket in one fluid motion, and threw it over the crystal ball.

Every male Fiendish Monster—except the Cave Lord—had been holding their breath, eyes burning with anticipation. Now they glared at me resentfully.

I turned, shielding the crystal ball behind my back. "That woman’s body would bewitch our minds! Make us hesitate to strike her in battle! Today’s meeting is adjourned. Seth will relay the deployment details."

Activating my teleportation ring, I vanished with the crystal ball in my arms.

The furious grumbling faded into the distance behind me.

I reappeared in my study—the deepest chamber of the underground palace.

My face burned. From within the scroll-wrapped crystal ball came the soft sound of flowing water. A beautiful, full-figured silhouette bathed gracefully in the rippling light.

"A magic shower? Tch. Even here she strips naked to bathe? Doesn’t she fear being seen?" I muttered, lifting a corner of the scroll. Hesitated. Then let it drop.

*Fine. Bathe all you want. You won’t have many days left to relax like this.* Tianlin Senior... you’ve stepped deeper into my plan. I don’t wish to harm you—or any human. After all, I’m not truly the Dark Princess. But I won’t tolerate your arrogance on my territory!

Just as I turned to leave, a faint sob drifted from the crystal ball.

A heart-wrenching sound I’d never heard before. The goddess-like, invincible Senior... was crying?

I turned back. The figure in the water seemed utterly vulnerable—a side never shown to others.

A draft from the Undercity’s tunnels blew through the window, lifting the scroll.

Tianlin Senior’s wet, glistening body was suddenly exposed before me.

Unaware of being watched, her hands trembled slightly as she clutched a pendant around her neck. Tears streaked her dewy face.

"Xueno... Xueno..." Her voice broke. "Sister... I *will* save you! No matter how deep, how dangerous the demon realm you’re trapped in! Xueno... wait for me..."

*Xueno? Senior’s sister?* Wait—I’d heard that name before! Could it be... Yuhara Xueno? The girl at the center of that major incident months ago at my academy? But she wasn’t Senior’s sister. We were classmates in middle school—barely even a junior!

My eyes drifted back to Senior’s chest. *Not because I wanted to look,* I told myself fiercely. *Though impossible not to see... but I truly had no heart for it.*

Because Senior was grieving.

She opened the pendant, gazing at it with tender sorrow. From my angle, I couldn’t see its contents—but I knew.

Her water-beaded lips parted:

"Xueno... I love you."

She bent her head, kissing the pendant deeply. Sparkling tears scattered through her damp hair...

"Senior..." I whispered, dazed by the sorrowful figure in the mist. *She... she just confessed love to a girl’s name. Kissed her portrait? What... what is this?*

Tianlin Feiyan—you, the purest avatar of the gods, a devout ascetic?

Unless I’d misheard—or the Bloodshadow Bat magic failed—then... Tianlin Feiyan, you not only harbor desire... but such deep, forbidden love between girls? A passion defying the will of the gods itself?!

*Senior! Tell me this isn’t true!*

"*Nngh—AAAHHH!!!*" A splitting pain tore through my skull. Darkness swallowed my vision. I collapsed.