Chapter 70
Sending Helene as an envoy wasn’t part of the original plan. She had volunteered, and Delac changed his decision because of her.
Kiren had opposed it back then. She insisted their original delegation of trusted people was enough.
But Helene had been firm.
“She finally showed interest in helping manage the territory. As her father, I couldn’t ignore her wish to accomplish something.”
Kiren’s eyes were icy as she listened from his arms, but Delac couldn’t see her expression from his angle.
In a slightly sulky tone, Kiren said,
“But don’t forget—it was my idea in the first place.”
“Ha ha! Of course.”
Delac stroked Kiren’s long, rich purple hair.
“If not for you, I would have missed out on that juicy piece of land.”
Everything had been Kiren’s clever scheme.
A neighboring Demon King’s domain, growing at an incredible pace.
If that land became his, the very thought was enough to fuel Delac’s greed.
“Thanks to the sudden collapse of the Fedwick Trading Company, I’ve suffered heavy losses. I need a new way to fill my coffers.”
Delac and Fedwick had been close partners for years.
They had conducted countless dirty deals that could never be revealed publicly.
One of their latest plans was to give Fedwick a monopoly over trade in Delac’s domain, in exchange for massive profit.
It didn’t matter if the independent merchants went bankrupt. They could just be enslaved.
Now, however, all of that had crumbled to dust.
“And you say Demon King Ludwig is actually quite capable?”
“Yes. He wields fire freely. Power like that is one of a kind in the Demon Realm.”
Even after failing to enslave Ludwig once, Delac hadn’t given up his desire for him.
But when he heard Ludwig had become a Demon King, he let go of the thought.
After all, Ludwig’s land was a barren, failing territory that looked like it would collapse any day.
Sooner or later, its sun would die, and Ludwig would perish.
If Delac couldn’t have him, no one else would. That was fine by him.
But now, things had changed dramatically.
“I never thought his domain would grow this much.”
It was thanks to trading herbs, fertile farmland… and now, a Gold Dragon.
The legendary creature said to bring wealth and prosperity.
Once all these conditions were revealed, Kiren was the first to grow restless.
“Delac, I want that territory. Won’t you conquer it for me?”
Their relationship always worked like this.
Kiren would set her sights on something, whisper her desires, and Delac would act.
“You’re right. Killing Ludwig and just taking his land is a poor strategy.”
“Exactly. Why slaughter the goose that lays golden eggs when you can make it your pet instead?”
The plan was simple.
They would lure Ludwig and his contractor to this castle—no matter the cost. Then, they would fasten a cursed artifact around his neck and enslave him.
“If we killed Ludwig and the Gold Dragon left because of it, that would be troublesome.”
Rumor had it that the Gold Dragon was the reason the land had become so fertile. The truth remained a mystery.
Even the details of Ludwig’s trade with the Fairy Forest were unknown.
That was why Kiren had advised him:
Instead of taking Ludwig’s land, take control of Ludwig himself.
The Demon Sun was tied to Ludwig, so any future changes in his population wouldn’t endanger Delac. Ludwig alone would suffer if anything went wrong.
On the other hand, if the land prospered and Ludwig grew stronger, that strength would belong to Delac.
“And that Red Dragon that visited before… That’s another reason to be careful.”
This was a rare opportunity—Delac could seize Ludwig’s domain, secure exclusive trade with the Southern Merchant Guild, and claim the hatchling’s blessing, all while avoiding unnecessary danger.
‘I even sent bait that’s too tempting to refuse.’
Delac had never truly planned to invest money into tunnel construction.
That was just bait to lure Ludwig.
‘In the end, you’ll be mine.’
A thick, greedy smile crept across Delac’s face.
* * *
At that moment, in Ludwig’s territory—
“Slavery?”
Ariella shook her head in disbelief at Helene’s confession.
Delac had clearly lost his mind.
“Wait, how does he control that many slaves?”
She remembered something from an old history book.
In the human world, slave uprisings had been common headaches for rulers.
But demons?
Many of them could use magic. Restraining and forcing them to work must have been even harder.
“There’s a special artifact that suppresses their magic,” Helene explained.
Ariella’s unease grew.
“When they wear it, they can’t use magic. Only their physical strength remains.”
That sounded disturbingly familiar…
“Before Fedwick Trading Company went bankrupt, they were the ones who supplied those artifacts in bulk.”
Fedwick.
That name again.
Of course.
Ariella clicked her tongue, reminded of a personal principle.
‘If someone’s rotten, they’re rotten all the way through.’
She wondered if these were the same type of devices they’d once used on dragons. But based on the timeline, it seemed the opposite.
They’d likely invented them for slaves first, then improved them after discovering hatchlings.
‘Thank goodness that dragon was captured by us instead.’
Otherwise, Fedwick might have done something even worse.
Ludwig, who had been listening quietly, muttered,
“Wait… That time he said he’d make me a slave… he meant he’d put one of those collars on me?”
“Yes. If you’d failed to escape, you would have ended up just like them.”
“…!”
“He wouldn’t have suppressed your magic completely, though. He wanted your power. He’d have simply strengthened the curse to make disobedience impossible.”
Ludwig’s face turned bright red with rage.
He looked ready to storm Delac’s castle and carve him into pieces.
Ariella quickly stopped him.
“Now I understand why you came to me instead of other Demon Kings. Because you knew Ludwig and Delac are enemies, right?”
“Exactly,” Helene whispered, impressed.
If she had tried to seek asylum from another Demon King, they might have sent her back to Delac.
But Ludwig would never do that.
Old grudges made him the safest choice.
Helene had turned the bad blood between the two Demon Kings into her chance at survival.
“The tunnel project is just bait. You must not accept his invitation. If you do, you’ll both become slaves.”
Helene lowered her head.
“I opposed my father’s rule but couldn’t change anything. Worse, I drew the hatred of my stepmother, Kiren, and barely escaped with my life.”
There was no place left for her in Delac’s land.
“Ludwig’s territory is the only safe haven I have left. Please, I beg you!”
She raised her head and looked at Ludwig and Ariella with desperate eyes.
Ludwig naturally turned to Ariella, silently waiting for her judgment.
Both pairs of eyes rested on her as she finally spoke.
“I understand your situation. But running away like this isn’t the answer. That’s not the right path.”
Helene’s face fell.
“So… it’s impossible?”
Ariella couldn’t blame her for feeling that way.
Accepting Helene’s asylum would throw their relations with Delac into chaos.
And all for one person… It’s not a reasonable risk.
But Ariella’s refusal wasn’t just about diplomacy.
“If you run now, the system you wanted to change will remain the same. And do you really think Delac would give up on you so easily? You, his blood relative who knows all his secrets?”
Helene’s eyes widened.
“No. He’d stop at nothing to take you back.”
Ariella’s voice was calm, but her words were sharp.
