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Chapter 17 – Working towards an amiable conclusion (Opening)

Mum was trying to stab Orty. Her face was ghastly pale. Even the hand holding the knife was trembling. Everything pointed to something being really wrong.

“Mum, what on earth happened…?”
“I knew it. You were being tricked, Tilea. He might pretend to be kind but behind the mask is a terrifying villain!” she rambled.

Speaking of which… wasn’t she speaking just like this when she thought Timu was a demon?

Mum likes to overthink things, and has this terrible habit of fixating on an idea once it gets into her head.

I was pretty sure it was another case of chuunibyou putting weird ideas into her mind. That and the fact that Orty was a noble. A terrifying villain, though? I honestly didn’t think she could be any further from the mark.

“Calm down, Mum. You’re being ridiculous.”
“Tilea, you’re naive and earnest so you can’t understand, but I do.”
“Mum, it’s a misunderstanding. Orty’s like the complete opposite of the Fiend. You honestly can’t even compare them.”
“Gods, why must my daughter be so…!” Mum exclaimed, as she massaged her temples.

I was starting to worry she’d get wrinkles from being so angry.

“Mum, let’s just calm down first. Orty is just―”
“Enough! He’s hiding his power! Open your eyes! He’s completely calm even though I’m brandishing a knife!”

Calm…?

That couldn’t be. Orty was as frail as they came. It was unthinkable that he could remain calm. To begin with, how did things come to this? I always thought of Mum as mild and gentle. What could have led to her drawing a knife?

Orty! Just what the heck did you do to anger Mum so much! We spent so much damned time teaching you to be respectful and then you go and send her crazy instead!?

I cursed him in my mind. Repaying kindness with enmity! I covered for him all this time because I pitied him and this was how he repaid me!

My head shot in his direction and I sent him a death glare.

“Hiie! L-Lady Tilea!”
“Orrrrty… So you have betrayed me…”
“U-U-Unthinkable!”
“Then explain why my mother is so angry that she’s threatening you with a knife. It looks like you’ve already forgotten what Niel and I said to you downstairs.”
“O-, Of course not. I have taken great care around Madam Sera.”
“Then… explain this.”
“Hiee! M-My deepest apologies!” he said as he trembled with a cold sweat.

Geez, if you’re going to get this scared then be more careful to begin with. Who told you to turn my life into a damned soap opera.

Hahhh… To be honest I already knew what was going on. Since Mum has always been even-tempered, this idiot probably saw an inch and took a mile. And since Mum was already thinking about the Fiend, she came into the situation with a prejudice against nobles.

No wonder he enraged her so.

“Isn’t that enough, Mum? Just put the knife down.”
“Eh-!? B-, But…”
“Mum, what part of this looks like a fiend to you?”

I pointed at Orty who was now crying and trembling on the ground. Honestly he looked like nothing else except some kid who ran home crying after being picked on by the neighborhood bully. I hoped she would just forgive him already.

“T-, That can’t be. He-, just before he was… I-I know! You have to listen, Tilea. Just now when it was the two of us I felt this incredible bloodlust!”
“Bloodlust? From Orty?”
“Right. I thought I was going to be killed!”
“Orty! You’ve finally made me angry.”
“I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-, I-I would not dare! K-Killing!? I just glared at her a lit―”
“Orty! You dare glare at my Mum!?”
“H-Hiie! P-Please forgive me!”
“Hahh… Orty, who should you be apologizing to right now?”
“O-, Of course!”

He turned to Mum with a serious expression. It looked like he was going to apologize in earnest to her.

“Madam Sera. For the many trespasses against your honor that I have committed, I sincerely apologize. Please, please find it in your merciful heart to forgive me.”
“Wha-! So shameless! Quit with the acting, and show us the real you!”

Mum started making thrusting motions with the knife.

Oi, oi, stop that, Mum! You’re seriously on the verge of becoming a criminal here!

“Wait-! Mum! Let’s all calmly―”
“Hiiiiie―! P-Please stop this! Madam Sera, p-please stop stabbing. Please. Hiie, stop!” Orty began to beg in tears.

Mum was having none of it though.

“T-This should be nothing to you. What are you begging for!”

Please stop, Mum. This is the real him. Look, he’s completely frightened. Wow, you’ve totally made a grown man cry…

You’re so ruthless, Mum!

“Mum, just stop that already. I’m really feeling sorry for him now.”
“Wait, Tilea. You’re getting it wrong. There must be some kind of misunderstanding here. This can’t be his true nature. I definitely sensed something even more terrifying than the Fiend, you know.”
“You’re just tired, Mum. A lot has happened, right? It’s natural that you misunderstood. Let’s have a break, okay?”
“Ahh, geez! Are you still convinced that he’s a good person? Tilea, I’m not just tired. This man is definitely some kind of villain!”

It-, It’s impossible.

She wasn’t listening at all. Mum was refusing to accept that she was wrong here. But how could I convince her…?

Suddenly,

“Elder sister, have you finished speaking with Esteemed Mother? I was hoping to get on with Ortissio’s execution, actually…” Timu said in anticipation.

Magical Bullets were already floating by her hands.

Oh. Right. There was the issue of Timu as well. Honestly, I wished that things could just be simple for once.

Timu looked like a predator that had cornered her prey, which was just making things even worse for Orty.

“We’re not going to execute him, Timu. Be a good girl and settle down, okay?”
“However, Ortissio’s rebelliousness is plain as day. Of all things, he cursed at our Esteemed Mother. If that is not a clear sign of his lack of loyalty then I do not know what is.”
“No, no, please wait, Lady Camilla! There are very, very complex reasons behind all of this!”
“Making excuses, Ortissio? How unsightly. Accept your punishment with some dignity.”

Oh dear. The angrier she was getting, the larger the bullets were growing. The things had gone from the size of a tennis ball to easily fifty centimeters across.

I had no doubts that if Orty was hit by those… His death warrant was close to being signed. I had to stop this.

“G-, Girls! Stop aggravating him! You’ll be killed!”

And of course the thing with Mum was still going on in the sides as well.

Killed by Orty? Haha, no way…

If Orty was really that powerful I’m pretty sure the whole Evil God Army would be dead right now.

Back to Timu though, she was still verbally abusing him as she brandished her magic. And of course Mum was in a panic, trying to stop Timu from “being killed!” What on earth had my life turned into.

And on that note, Mum was still holding that bloody knife! Just put it down already!

I decided to just try and stop Mum first. I would get Timu to leave for now. With her here, things were uncontrollable.

“Timu, you head downstairs and wait for me.”
“B-, But elder sister. I must purge this mistake of a kin.”

I guess she was dead-set on terminating him. Geez. I supposed it was time to get forceful. I grabbed Timu by the scruff of the neck.

“W-, What is it, elder sister…? I was just about to execute damned Ortissi―”
“Yes, yes, come on now, stop making things even more complicated.”
“E-, elder sister, wa-, wait-”
“Mum, Orty, I’ll be right back.”

With Timu still hanging from my hand, I left the room when suddenly I bumped into Pervert (Nielsen). Who knows why he was even here. Actually a number of the Praetorian Guard were here as well.

W-, What on earth was this lot doing?

Well, whatever.

“Niel, good timing. Take Timu downstairs for me.”

Pervert (Nielsen) graciously complied. With that, Pervert (Nielsen) respectfully led Timu underground.

■　◇　■　◇

––Ortissio’s Perspective

Ortissio was deep in thought.

Why was this happening to me?

Lady Tilea had been discussing things with that human (Sera) for a while now. I don’t know if that human (Sera) had some grudge against me but she was doing everything in her power to tear Lady Tilea and I apart. Each time Lady Tilea looked at me with suspicion I could feel myself physically shrinking in on myself.

Why had things come to this!?

Not only was the venerable Lady Tilea suspicious of me but my beloved and respected Lady Camilla was glaring at me murderously. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she shot me. I could see myself dying at any moment. It was the definition of sitting on a powder keg.

My legs were trembling despite myself, and I could hear my teeth chatter. I had no doubts that I looked like an utter clown at this moment, terrified of his death.

But I implore you not to misunderstand. What I feared was not mere death. It was the thought of dying in dishonor that terrified me to the bone. The thought of death as a rebel because of some ridiculous misunderstanding was unbearable!

Unheeding of my wishes, however, reality continued to progress in ever more unfavorable directions. At this rate a traitor’s execution was just around the corner.

Things were looking extremely bad.

Why? Why did everybody doubt me so! To be perfectly frank, my loyalty to the Evil God Army was as deep as it came. For Lady Tilea and Lady Camilla, I could discard my life at the drop of a pin.

But why?

Why did things always backfire!

That human (Sera) was going too far so I just lost my temper a little. Why did they have to doubt my loyalty like this?

What should I have done instead, then?

As a loyal retainer, what should I have done? Should I have ignored the words of that petty human (Sera)?

Out of the question! Should I have stayed silent while she debased the mighty Lady Tilea!?

I felt an urge to shout exactly that. But I knew that it was unlikely they would listen to me. I understood. As tragic as it was, the reality was that the dependability scale in the Evil God Army looked something like this:

Lady Camilla
Evil God Army’s Officers
Edim and other vampires
That Human (Sera)
…
Insurmountable Wall
The Underground Empire’s Terranean Restaurant
Ortissio

I finally understood just what Lady Tilea meant when she used that term, “Insurmountable Wall”. There was no better phrase to describe my current situation. I was even less trusted than That Human (Sera).

So, so frustrating!

Still, there was no time to waste on bemoaning my misfortunes. If I didn’t do something soon I was going to meet my end as a rebel.

I was frantically running options through my head when suddenly…

“T-, That can’t be. He-, just before he was… I-I know! You have to listen, Tilea. Just now when it was the two of us I felt this incredible bloodlust!”

That Human (Sera) dropped a bombshell.

Holy f̲u̲c̲k̲! Can That Human (Sera) not go three minutes without making life harder for me!

By now I could tell that Lady Tilea was apparently very fond of That Human (Sera). And Lady Tilea just found out that I had threatened her favorite toy.

O-, Oh dear…

“Orty! You’ve finally made me angry.”

Ohhhhhh dear, oh s̲h̲i̲t̲, this was bad.

Just as I predicted, Lady Tilea’s looks of distrust had turned into a look of murder. Every cell in my body was now dedicated to looking for some excuse to survive this.

“I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-, I-I would not dare! K-Killing!? I just glared at her a lit―”
“Orty! You dare glare at my Mum!?”
“H-Hiie! P-Please forgive me!” I apologized as my whole body ran with a river of cold sweat. I was pretty sure that I didn’t have a drop of water left in me. I just prayed that I got through to her as I looked at Lady Tilea.

“Hahh… Orty, who should you be apologizing to right now?”

But Lady Tilea wanted me to apologize to That Human (Sera) instead.

Ugh, why did I have to apologize to the likes of a human. I couldn’t understand it. A member of the demon race, the strongest race, apologizing to an inferior species like a human…

Oh!? Of course!

General Commander Nielsen had warned me about exactly this. Human or not, this Sera was Lady Tilea’s temporary parent.

Just as General Commander Nielsen had said…

“A truly loyal servant would show respect to even the shoes worn by their master.”

What a fool I had been. Lady Tilea had been birthed from none other than the womb of That Human. No, That Lady. Come to think of it, she was the temple in which the Evil God had descended upon the land. That would make her the shrine maiden then.

It was foolish of me to see the shrine maiden as just some other human. Because of that my smiles were fake and I secretly looked down on her. With such preposterous thoughts in my heart how could anything have possibly gone smoothly!

What a fool!

The shrine maiden had little mana and her body was frail and weak. Thanks to that I made light of her but that was a huge mistake!

I immediately corrected my posture and turned to her.

“Madam Sera. For the many trespasses against your honor that I have committed, I sincerely apologize. Please, please find it in your merciful heart to forgive me,” I apologized, as I bowed deeply, body prostrated.

“Wha-! So shameless! Quit with the acting, and show us the real you!”

My apology was not accepted, however. Far from it, her stabbing motions renewed with more vigor.

This was serious. If she ever managed to hit me it was very likely that mistress shrine maiden would be injured. Try as I might to repress my mana, the body of a demon was incredibly tough. If she stabbed too hard the force would rebound onto her hand.

This was bad. This was incredibly bad. What was I to do?

Remove the knife…?

But the shrine maiden had too little mana. What if the impact broke her bones? I wasn’t even entirely sure how tough a normal human was so trying to adjust my strength would be hell.

Then was I to avoid the knife…?

But I had already lost the timing to do that.

Kuh! There was no other way. If the shrine maiden was to be injured then I was as good as gone. Lady Tilea would abandon me.

Everything would be over.

“Hiiiiie―! P-Please stop this! Madam Sera, p-please stop stabbing. Please. Hiie, stop!” I began to beg in tears.

So I abandoned my pride and self-respect, and started begging the shrine maiden to stop.