Chapter 14
C-calm down… I need to stay calm!
Lisbeth stared at Angelina trembling before her. She forced herself to stay composed and assess the situation. Though Angelina had left deep scars in her past, this harmless, shivering blonde girl posed no threat now. Lisbeth kept repeating in her mind: don’t be afraid.
But as Lisbeth steadied her nerves, Angelina—still trembling—noticed the silence. Timidly, she whispered, “U-um… Lady Angelina, are you still there?”
“Oh no. If I don’t speak now, I’ll be exposed.”
Lisbeth knew that once Angelina calmed down, her ghost disguise would unravel fast. She quickly lowered her voice, speaking slowly: “What? You still haven’t left? Do you truly wish to die here?”
“Eek! N-no! That’s not it! It’s just… you called yourself the Demon Grand Marshal, right?”
“Huh? Has she already spotted the fake?”
Cold sweat drenched Lisbeth’s back. Though many had held the title of Demon Grand Marshal in the Demon Clan’s history, Angelina might recall them all. Taking a sharp breath, Lisbeth snapped, “What? You dare doubt my identity!?”
“Huh? N-no! Not at all! I just… I’ve always admired the Demon Grand Marshal, so…”
“Admired?”
Angelina’s reply stunned Lisbeth. Confused, she pressed, “You greatly admire the Demon Grand Marshal?”
“Yes! My father is the current Demon Grand Marshal! B-but as his daughter, I’ve trained hard to grow stronger. Yet I can never catch up to him. So he sent me to this Demon King’s Fortress. Now, every night, all I do is practice punches in this little garden…”
Her voice faded. Lisbeth, knowing Angelina’s future, smiled softly. “Don’t worry. You’ll become a force that shakes the battlefield between our races.”
“Huh? Lady Angelina, your tone changed!”
“Oh no.”
Moved by Angelina’s words, Lisbeth had slipped into her normal voice. She quickly deepened it, adding anger: “Enough. You need not feel insecure. Your father sent you here for a reason.”
“Really? Is that true? Waaah… I thought he just thought I was too weak and abandoned me…”
“Hey, in two hundred years, you’ll wield a Spear and send war giants flying with one strike—you’ll be an absolute powerhouse! Too weak? Only if your father’s blind!”
Though Angelina’s tearful eyes tugged at her heart, Lisbeth—the future victim of Angelina’s battlefield rampages—spoke firmly: “Angelina, you will grow incredibly strong. Believe in yourself now. I swear on my honor. Stop crying.”
“Okay! I understand! Thank you, Lady Angelina! But sorry… I thought you were a scary ghost who’d curse me…”
“Oh no, what am I doing? At this rate, she won’t fear me at all!”
Seeing Angelina stand, Lisbeth knew she’d soon demand to see her face. Lowering her voice sharply, she growled, “I don’t need thanks from a brat. Leave now, or I curse you instantly.”
“Eh? But you were so gentle! And… I wanted to ask about the Demon Grand Marshal!”
“Enough! Leave, or I curse you now!”
Lisbeth raised a finger. Green light flickered, drifting toward Angelina—a mere variant of the flash spell from the future. But in this era of combat magic, Angelina saw only cursed energy.
“Waaah! Lady Angelina, I’m sorry!!! I’m leaving!!!”
Too shocked to dodge, Angelina felt the light touch her clothes. She screamed, ripped off her nightgown, and fled.
Watching her vanish, Lisbeth sighed in relief. “Seriously, I almost got exposed. A she-bear is a she-bear—terrifying in any era.”
Shaking off Angelina, Lisbeth headed for the next Secret Passage to the Treasure Vault. Unbeknownst to her, that night birthed a legend in the Demon King’s Fortress: a woman screaming, naked, through its midnight halls…
