What followed went quickly.

With the border captain guiding them, Clay’s party penetrated deep into Hanumayer’s territory.

They encountered plenty of soldiers along the way, but after obtaining large cloaks to wrap even their faces, most failed to recognize them. The captain’s presence also helped; as their official escort, he eased the guards’ suspicion enough to let them pass without serious incident.

“This time, you didn’t kill them either, right?”

Avoiding every soldier’s suspicion was impossible. Several times, the same situation as at the border repeated itself—each time, Selimia handled it the same way.

The captain glanced at the frozen soldiers trapped in ice and asked, to which Selimia responded with a faint, ironic smile and a nod.

Watching her warily, the captain continued to lead the way. Soon they had secured horses and were riding straight for the Hanumayer capital.

『Demon King.』

To converse more easily, Syltanaro had taken the form of a sword hanging at Clay’s waist.

『I think Selvaro really did leave the way open for us.』

“I’ve been getting that impression too,” Clay replied.

Even with the captain’s efforts, there was no sign of increased checkpoints or heightened security on the road to the capital. Selvaro wasn’t the kind of man to act without caution—yet the guard force was kept at a level they could easily deal with.

“It seems he stationed only enough troops to put up token resistance, keeping his elite soldiers elsewhere so the fighting wouldn’t escalate too much.”

『Could it be a trap?』

“He didn’t open the way because he wanted me to come,” Clay said.

Selvaro was a man who cared for little beyond hunting the North’s monsters and his younger sister.

“There’s no need to worry too much.”

At Clay’s words, Syltanaro offered no further opinion. The group soon reached the capital.

“All done,” the captain said with a weary expression as they stopped.

“That’s the end of my part—”

“No,” Clay cut in firmly, “You’re not done yet.”

“…What? But I did exactly what you told me.”

“If you go back now, you’ll just be seen as a traitor who helped us. I can’t leave you like that.”

He gripped the captain’s arm.

“You worked for me, so I can’t simply look the other way. This will hurt a bit, but endure it.”

“Wait, what—? Argh!”

The captain screamed as Clay’s magic wrapped around him.

“Mmph!”

Selimia froze his mouth shut, cutting off the sound. The captain struggled violently before going limp.

“This should be enough for Selvaro to let it go,” Clay said.

Even if Selvaro had made entry easy, the captain’s actions still needed a justification to avoid punishment.

Clay seized the drooling, reeling man by the back of the neck.

“Let’s go.”

And so, they made their way toward Hanumayer’s royal palace.

“Things have been tense since that day.”

“Nothing we can do.”

“His Majesty still hasn’t recovered his spirits.”

In front of the royal palace, the guards discussed the heavy atmosphere that had fallen over the court.

“Who would have thought Selimia was a witch who deceived His Majesty?”

“Hey, don’t say things like that out loud. What if His Majesty hears you?”

“It’s fine,” the soldier said with a shrug.

“His Majesty clearly no longer thinks of that witch as his sister. He even took measures to keep her out of Hanumayer. That proves he’s made up his mind.”

“…You think so?”

“Of course. Which means we need to keep our wits about us too.”

He tapped his own head.

“If she shows up here, don’t hesitate—attack immediately. That’s how we help His Majesty.”

“Attack her? You’re serious?”

His comrades each reacted differently.

“I don’t even want to see her. She’s terrifying.”

“Don’t worry. You think she could even make it this far? Not with His Majesty’s orders in place.”

“Well… true.”

“All we can do is hope His Majesty recovers quickly. He’s barely been tending to state affairs lately.”

They sighed together, picturing Selvaro’s current state.

Then—

“Kh… urk…”

Someone was being dragged toward the palace gates, half-conscious.

“What the—?”

The guards stared in shock. The man was wearing Hanumayer armor—clearly one of their own. But that wasn’t what held their attention.

“No way…”

The one dragging him forward, clad in black, had a face every soldier knew.

“Demon King…!”

The former Hero who had once stood for all humanity—Clay. Unless you’d lived in some remote village, it was almost impossible not to know his face.

The guards recognized him instantly.

“Enemy!”

And that was enough to make every man raise his weapon.

“It’s the Demon King! The Demon King has appeared!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

An alarm bell rang, its sound echoing as royal troops poured in. Knights and the royal guard elite arrived, while archers took positions atop the palace walls, arrows nocked and ready.

From behind, more soldiers rushed up from outside the palace, and in moments, Clay’s group was completely surrounded.

“This… this can’t be happening…”

The captain of Hanumayer’s royal knights confirmed Clay’s face and could only utter a stunned sigh.

“Has he really shown up here?”

“Are you the commander?” Clay asked, looking directly at the man in charge.

“If so, I’d appreciate it if you called Selvaro here.”

“Silence!” the knight commander barked, “How dare you speak His Majesty’s name so lightly!”

“I’d rather not waste time.” Clay’s eyes locked on him.

“This one made things unnecessarily difficult by refusing to guide me properly.”

“You—”

“I did a little tampering to pull the memories I needed, but he’s still alive. If you want him to live, keep him alive. Think of it as my way of showing I don’t intend to fight you here.”

With that, Clay tossed the border captain toward the soldiers.

“Uh—”

Flustered, the soldiers glanced at each other, unsure what to do. The knight commander’s face tightened in frustration before he barked,

“Take him! Make sure he doesn’t die—treat him!”

“Yes, sir!”

A few men hurriedly carried the limp captain away. The knight commander glared at Clay.

“You think you’ll walk away after this?”

“I’ve already shown more restraint than most would.”

His voice dropped, “I don’t want to make this bigger than it has to be. Bring me Selvaro.”

“You—!”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

His eyes flashed with a fierce light, “I told you, I don’t want unnecessary casualties. Can you take responsibility for them if they fall here?”

The commander swallowed hard. Even though they had Clay surrounded, the pressure crushing down on his shoulders made it hard to breathe.

“C-Commander…”

A voice from behind made him turn his head—and freeze.

“Your… Your Majesty!”

Selvaro himself was walking toward them, armored and carrying a massive sword. The commander started to salute, but Selvaro raised a hand.

“Hold. Our enemy is already standing before us.”

Snapping back to his senses, the commander gripped his sword. Soldiers trailed behind Selvaro as he stepped forward.

The King of Hanumayer stopped directly before Clay.

“I didn’t expect to see you again.”

“I’m glad to see you too,” Clay said lightly, “I didn’t think it would be this soon, though.”

“….”

Selvaro didn’t respond, instead turning his gaze past Clay—to the woman standing behind him.

“…Selimia.”

His lips twisted faintly at the name.

“Demon King,” he said, meeting Clay’s eyes again, “What’s your game?”

“My game?”

“Why have you brought Selimia back to me?”

Clay chuckled, “Wasn’t that what you wanted?”

“What?”

“Even though I forced one of your men to guide me, the road here was… surprisingly smooth.”

Almost as if it had been left open on purpose.

“You wanted to minimize the damage if Selimia returned to Hanumayer, didn’t you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure. Let’s call it my imagination. But there’s one thing I’m certain of.”

Clay pulled Selimia forward, placing her in front of them both, “You haven’t truly cut your blood ties.”

That word—blood ties—made the soldiers murmur.

“What’s he saying?”

“She’s a witch, isn’t she?”

“She’s the monster who deceived His Majesty.”

It was common knowledge Selvaro and Selimia couldn’t be real siblings—Selimia had only pretended to be his sister.

“….”

But Selvaro said nothing. Clay continued, “Selimia isn’t just a creature pretending to be your sister.”

The reason Clay had never killed her was that she wasn’t only a monster.

“You’ve never checked because you kept treating her as family, but Selimia actually carries a fragment of your sister’s will.”

Back when he was still a Hero, Clay had used a rare relic capable of discerning souls to verify it. It wasn’t something he could easily replace, but he couldn’t destroy someone Selvaro cherished without knowing the truth.

“If you don’t believe me, you can confirm it yourself right now.”

Selimia was indeed a being modeled after Selvaro’s sister.

“That’s absurd…” Selvaro’s face twisted in disbelief, but a faint ripple of emotion betrayed him.

“As I said,” Clay pressed, “if you don’t believe it, check for yourself.”

Selvaro didn’t move.

“She has his sister’s will?”

“Is he lying?”

“But he said to check… if it’s true, what then?”

The soldiers’ whispers swelled. Clay shrugged.

“It’s not that complicated. Has Selimia ever harmed Hanumayer?”

She had only lived here as Selvaro’s sister—never once trying to overturn the kingdom.

“Even on the way here, she didn’t harm a single one of your people. If the two of you restore your original bond, who would seriously oppose it?”

Selimia glanced at Clay, as if to ask whether this was why he’d ordered her not to hurt the soldiers.

“Now then, Selvaro.” Clay ignored her look and asked, “What will you do?”

For a long moment, Selvaro said nothing. The murmurs faded into silence.

“I…” Selvaro finally began.

(End of Chapter)

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