Chapter 38: A Game of Fortune

My greetings, Your Majesty the Demon Lord. I presume your visit to my humble abode signifies a matter of considerable importance.

Ramola’s figure slowly descended from the end of the staircase. While her lips exchanged amicable greetings with Yunajin, her gaze swept past directly, finally settling on Meredith, who stood behind her.

With a flick of her wrist, she tightened the long whip, and a human with silver-grey hair tumbled clumsily down the stairs.

It was—

Yunajin gasped, biting her lip in astonishment.

“Yu… Yunajin?”

Qiaolun instinctively called out her name.

Immediately after, both their eyes widened simultaneously as they exclaimed, “What are you doing here?!”

“Oh, you two know each other?” Ramola loosened the whip tied around Qiaolun’s neck and spoke with amused interest.

“Meredith, isn’t he one of yours?”

“Why would you think that?”

Observing Meredith’s frown, Ramola chuckled. Then she produced a white overcoat, which emanated Meredith’s magical aura.

“Had I not sensed the magic on this, he would have nearly perished in a rat’s nest. I’ve taken such good care of him, you see.”

‘Did “taking good care” mean binding his throat with a whip meant for enslavement and torture?’

Yunajin clenched her fists. Although she had entertained such dark whims herself, when it came to Qiaolun, her intentions were purely to treat him well.

Yet, the man she had so courteously hosted in the Demon Lord’s City was now being treated like a dog here.

“Your Majesty, it would be prudent to clarify matters before drawing hasty conclusions.” Meredith’s gentle reminder somewhat reined in the Demon Lord, who was on the verge of an outburst.

Yunajin had indeed been thinking quite a lot, even conjuring fantasies of the various abuses Qiaolun might have suffered at Ramola’s hands.

Aside from Qiaolun’s somewhat tattered clothes, his body bore no obvious injuries.

“Oh, Meredith, I forgot to mention. He is currently my s*ave. If you wish to take him, it will cost you a price.”

“What did you say?” Yunajin stared coldly at Ramola and declared, “He belongs to this King! What business is it of Lord Meredith’s? You would do well not to forget who you are speaking to, Your Grace, Duke Madal!”

“Oh, oh, my apologies. Before addressing a subordinate, one certainly shouldn’t bypass their master. What was it you just said?” Ramola cupped an ear, as if she truly hadn’t heard, a gesture that, in Yunajin’s eyes, was utterly brazen.

‘Wait, they’re not actually going to fight, are they?’

Qiaolun was caught between the two, stiff and immobile amidst the rising tension.

Judging by the Demon Lord’s expression at their initial meeting, Qiaolun could surmise that she hadn’t come to Madal City specifically to find him; this was merely a coincidence.

Madal City was, after all, a metropolis on par with a capital city, and Duke Madal was its sole ruler.

Her strength remained unknown, but if she was Demonkind, she might well be considerably older than this Demon Lord.

To establish a city-state of this magnitude, she was certainly no ordinary being.

Qiaolun did not wish for conflict to erupt between them because of him.

Even though neither of them were human, Qiaolun felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.

“Hand him over to me, the King.” Yunajin was no longer in the mood for superfluous talk.

The idea of using the identity provided by Duke Madal to enter Aldelit… with Qiaolun right before her eyes, she saw no need to proceed with that plan.

Even if Qiaolun ultimately insisted on leaving, she would deal with that when the time came!

“Of course, Your Majesty the Demon Lord. I recall when my elder sister was also the Demon Lord; she had a similar expression to yours, yes, precisely this one: a chilling indifference tinged with fierce anger. Though she was perhaps even more coldly captivating.”

Ramola raised her hand, making a grasping motion in the air.

*Whoosh—*

A biting cold wind suddenly erupted from behind her. Thin blue ice rapidly spread beneath Ramola’s feet, transforming everything it touched into exquisite ice sculptures.

Yunajin swiftly stepped in front of Qiaolun, a layer of frost gradually appearing on her outstretched arm.

Meredith’s expression darkened. She was not surprised by Ramola’s sudden attack, but Ramola had chosen the wrong target today.

As an old friend, Meredith might tolerate Ramola’s actions. However, her current role was that of the Demonkind’s High Priestess, the Demon Lord’s personal aide, and her mentor.

Should the Demon Lord issue a command, she would not hesitate to sever Ramola’s head.

A wave of purple magical energy directly collided with the domain Ramola was attempting to unleash.

The clash between the two appeared evenly matched.

“Haha, Meredith, even if you Demonkin don’t train, your power grows with the passage of time. But I imagine you haven’t neglected your cultivation these past years, have you?”

“Meredith, do not interfere. I, the King, will make her regret this.”

Meredith’s magical power continued to surge. This was one of the rare instances when she hesitated to obey the Demon Lord’s command.

For Meredith knew that, with the Demon Lord’s current strength, challenging this Demon Lord’s blood relative, whose power was comparable to one of the Eight Demon Generals, was still premature.

“This is my command, Meredith!”

“Oh?” The magical power that had been repeatedly suppressing Ramola suddenly vanished, and an ice-bound world enveloped everyone.

She felt a surge of curiosity towards this young Demon Lord who dared to challenge her.

*Whoosh—whoosh—*

White mist escaped Yunajin’s lips. This ice-sealed space, conjured by magic, did not make her feel particularly cold.

Yet, when a warm hand pressed against her frost-covered arm, her body, which had not stiffened even against the biting wind, now trembled slightly.

Qiaolun’s fire element magic was helping Yunajin remove the frost from her body. This was all he could do for now.

“Lord Hero…” Yunajin’s small face flushed.

She had never imagined a day when Qiaolun would stand by her side like this.

If she could defeat this arrogant individual before them, surely her image in his heart would grow a few magnitudes taller.

At this thought, Yunajin couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

“You don’t need to stick up for me like this. This woman hasn’t done anything to me.” Qiaolun advised, “A proper explanation should suffice.”

“I don’t really want to fight either. But she’s so arrogant, isn’t she? I am the King of Demonkind, after all, yet she completely disregards me.” Yunajin pouted indignantly as she spoke.

This entire scene was observed by Ramola.

“So, this generation’s Demon Lord also holds affection for humans. I don’t see anything particularly special about that man, though.” Ramola murmured, a wicked smile curving her lips.

For this interesting “couple,” she had conceived a delightful idea.

“Your Majesty the Demon Lord, before you take away my s*ave, I hope you would grace me with your presence for a little game.”

“What do you mean?” Yunajin vaguely sensed a sinister undertone.

“A game involving a fortune cookie…”

Ramola retrieved a round cookie from her bodice. One side was blank, while the other bore an imprinted pattern.

‘Do you Demonkind always keep food in such strange places? The Demon Lord does it, and this woman does too, despite looking rather undeveloped…’

Witnessing this familiar sight, Qiaolun couldn’t help but offer a heartfelt wry comment.

“I dislike resolving issues through conflict, so I devised this fair and civilized little game,” Ramola explained. “I shall toss this cookie without any manipulation. If it lands with the patterned side up, Your Majesty may take this…”

“My name is Qiaolun.” Qiaolun considerately introduced himself.

“Ah, yes, the s*ave. Conversely, if the blank side lands face up…” Her tone shifting abruptly, Ramola’s voice turned instantly cold. “Then all of you shall remain here today.”