Chapter 41: A Failed Plan.

Morgana slowly stood up.

She walked step by step toward Lilith, stopping with only a single step between them.

She did not look at Lilith.

Instead, her gaze drifted toward the spires of the Demon King’s castle outside the window.

Her tone was light and airy.

Yet every word carried crushing weight.

“Ah, Lilith, am I really as great as you say?”

“After all, I can’t even control the people under my command anymore.”

She finally turned her head.

Her gaze poured over Lilith’s face like icy water.

“Now, even the maid most loyal to me has begun to sabotage my plans.”

She paused deliberately.

Each word struck the silent air with clarity.

“Don’t you think so, Lilith?”

Lilith finally raised her head and met the Demon King’s gaze.

She no longer used any flowery rhetoric to defend herself.

She spoke calmly instead.

Her voice was still gentle, but now carried an unmistakable firmness.

“Morgana, you shouldn’t have used such extreme methods on Merorin.”

“The earlier dungeon conditioning was enough.”

“But last night’s actions… truly went too far.”

“Oh?” Morgana reacted as if she had heard something immensely amusing.

Her fingers began tapping on the desk once more.

Clear tap tap sounds echoed through the room.

The Demon King spoke with undisguised mockery.

“It seems you care about her quite a lot.”

“You personally comforted her.”

“You even deliberately summoned her former companions.”

“You surrounded her and used that cheap warmth to soothe her heart on the brink of collapse.”

She took another step forward.

She stared straight at Lilith.

“But Lilith, don’t you think…”

“That you were being unnecessary?”

Lilith did not retreat.

She met Morgana’s gaze directly.

Her voice remained calm.

“I believe that sometimes, there’s no need to commit such excessive acts just to achieve a goal.”

“The human heart is not a machine.”

“It cannot be completely reshaped through pain and pleasure alone.”

Morgana finally could not hold back.

A low laugh echoed through the room, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

“Hahaha… Lilith, you really are merciful.”

She shook her head with a cold sneer.

“Last night’s dance had already pushed her to the edge of total corruption.”

“Her will was shattered.”

“Her senses were reshaped.”

“Her dependence on pleasure has already taken root deep in her bones.”

“With just a few more times, she would completely submit.”

“She would become the most perfect bride in my plan.”

She suddenly raised her hand and pointed at Lilith.

A sharp light flashed in her eyes.

“And you, Lilith?”

“Everything you did.”

“You let Sylvia and Cassie wrap her in warmth from the past.”

“You pulled her back from the edge of corruption.”

“You directly rendered everything I did last night utterly meaningless!”

Her voice suddenly rose.

Sharp with biting sarcasm.

“You really are my closest confidant.”

“You’re so very kind to me.”

Lilith heard the anger and disappointment buried deep within those words.

Yet she did not panic.

She replied calmly.

“I think now is not the right time.”

“We cannot rush this.”

“If she completely collapses, she will only become an empty shell.”

“A mere plaything.”

“Not the person I want her to be.”

“I suggest extending the timeline of the plan.”

“Let the result reach a more perfect state.”

“Perfect?” Morgana reacted as though she had heard an enormous joke.

She laughed uncontrollably.

The sound echoed harshly through the vast room.

“Lilith, I think following my plan is already perfect enough.”

“Tell me.”

“What exactly are you worried about?”

She slowly circled behind Lilith.

Her voice sounded beside Lilith’s ear.

Cold.

Demanding.

“Are you worried about those clownish fools inside the demon race stirring up trouble?”

“Or about those overconfident grasshoppers outside?”

“Or are you worried they’ll band together for warmth and start a rebellion doomed to fail?”

She paused.

Her gaze burned like fire.

It fixed on Lilith’s back.

“I think none of those are the reason.”

Her voice dropped suddenly.

Sharp with insight.

“You simply don’t want to see her tortured by me.”

“Or perhaps…”

“You simply don’t want to see me torture anyone.”

“Isn’t that right?”

Seeing that the Demon King had laid everything bare, Lilith no longer wished to continue the hollow exchange.

“Morgana, you’re right.”

Her voice was exceptionally clear.

“That is exactly how I feel.”

“You truly disappoint me.”

She paused.

She looked directly into the Demon King’s eyes.

She repeated each word slowly and clearly.

“I am very disappointed in you.”

“Hahaha… hahahaha—!”

The Demon King froze for a moment.

Then she burst into deafening laughter.

The sound reverberated through the empty office.

Twisted with pleasure.

Laced with icy fury.

She suddenly stood up.

Her figure blurred amid the laughter.

In the next instant, she appeared before Lilith like a specter.

A cold, powerful hand clamped down on Lilith’s throat like iron tongs.

She lifted her straight off the ground!

“Lilith,” Morgana pressed close to her face.

That terrifying smile still hung on her lips.

But her voice sounded like it came from hell.

“Have I disappointed you?”

She increased the pressure slightly.

Lilith’s face began to turn blue.

Her eyes reddened from lack of air.

Her hands clawed uselessly at Morgana’s arm.

“But what about you?” the Demon King laughed softly.

Her tone was casual.

“Do you have a better solution?”

“Come on.”

“Tell me.”

“Say it.”

Her fingers tightened slowly.

Lilith’s feet kicked weakly in the air.

A choking gurgle escaped her throat.

Her consciousness began to fade.

“An ant trying to shake the heavens?” Morgana sneered.

Cruel light flickered in her eyes.

“My words are absolute law.”

“My actions are unquestionable truth.”

She watched Lilith’s face twist from suffocation.

Watched her mouth open wide as if screaming silently.

Suddenly, she found it immensely amusing.

She laughed again.

Then she released her grip.

Lilith crashed to the ground like a discarded rag doll.

She curled up.

She coughed violently.

She gasped for air.

Every breath tore through her chest with pain.

The Demon King, as if she had never moved at all, flickered back to her seat behind the desk.

She sat there leisurely.

As though the violence just now had been nothing but an illusion.

“Lilith,” she leaned lazily against the chair back.

Her fingers tapped lightly at the corner of her lips.

She smiled as she asked.

“Do you still think so now?”

“Do you still think I’m wrong?”

Lilith lay prone on the floor.

Her hands pressed against the cold stone.

She struggled to steady her breathing.

She slowly raised her head.

Her hair clung to her sweat-soaked temples.

A ring of dark purple finger marks was clearly visible around her neck.

“I never said you were wrong,” she panted.

Her voice was hoarse.

Yet it carried stubborn calm.

“I just think…”

“You’re still not perfect enough.”

She paused.

She met the Demon King’s darkening gaze.

She continued.

“You shouldn’t be in such a hurry.”

“Too much haste leads to failure.”

“True submission isn’t an empty shell born from fear and collapse.”

“It is a willing return.”

“The faster you destroy her, the stronger the backlash may be.”

“—Enough!”

The Demon King slammed her palm onto the desk!

“Boom—!”

The entire desk instantly turned to dust.

As if smashed by an invisible giant hammer.

Fragments scattered in all directions.

A terrifying wave of magic surged out like a tsunami.

Lilith’s battered body was violently flung away.

She slammed heavily into the distant stone wall!

A dull impact echoed as her back struck the wall.

Then an invisible force pinned her firmly in place.

She could not move at all.