Chapter 101

She sat atop the ten-meter stone platform at the very center of the space, overlooking Livra, who was anxiously wandering about, aimlessly searching for her.

Hey, you...

Why don’t you try looking up!

Is your world only one flat plane?! Can you not even consider a three-dimensional possibility? How about glancing upward for once?!

She had originally hoped that Livra would explore and discover on her own, but the girl was just too daft—if she left her to find it herself, she might very well miss dinner.

Sheffy sighed as she pushed herself up, supporting her knees, and lightly waved her small hand downward.

—Livra felt a light breeze lift a few strands of her hair, brushing against her neck with a sudden chill.

Just now… was that wind?

She instinctively covered her neck, holding her breath as she stopped in her tracks.

Even Livra could understand—

In a space this sealed and dark, wind was impossible.

If there was wind, that could only mean...

"Rare to have a visitor, huh… This cute little girl down there—are you lost?"

"!"

A chill ran down her spine!

Even though she had mentally prepared herself, even though the sudden voice was pleasant and melodious, Livra still felt a shiver down her back!

Her whole body jolted, and she spun around, then looked up in the direction the voice came from.

—And finally saw the large stone above her!

Tsk... Silly Livra, if you had just taken a step back, you would've seen me. You're standing right beneath the platform!

Even Livra knew that much.

She gripped the hem of her dress and took a small step back, adjusting her angle to get a better view of the stone platform.

This time, she finally found a line of sight that let her see the Demon Clan Princess in person.

And in the instant she saw her face—

Livra froze...

Not out of fear.

But because she was utterly struck by the scene before her.

Like someone who had lived shut-in for years suddenly seeing the crashing waterfalls at the ends of the earth.

Like a person used to looking down in thought suddenly witnessing the splendor of sun, moon, and starry rivers swirling above.

Atop the high platform, a faint ghostly glow.

The fire cage desolate, six wings ominous.

The girl standing unmoving within the cage of flames, steady and composed, bore some resemblance to Princess Belith she had seen before. But Livra couldn’t deny it... In such a dim space, to suddenly glimpse that stunning face—it felt as if she had turned around and seen starlight raining from the heavens.

Like a golden canary caged in a prison—petite and delicate.

And yet, upon hearing her voice, a terrifying, bottomless dread stirred in her heart.

Yet the reason Livra suddenly froze… wasn’t just that.

Sheffy moved to the other side of the cage, slapping her forehead in the direction Livra couldn’t see.

This was giving her a headache!

You—seriously… whether you see me or not, you just won’t speak! That opening line I gave—do you know how much effort I put into coming up with it?! If you stay silent, do you expect me to improvise a whole new speech?!

As Sheffy walked back to the edge of the stone platform, her hand gesture subtly changed.

She pressed her index and ring fingers together, then gave a gentle upward flick.

Livra suddenly felt the ground beneath her quake like an earthquake—her footing unstable!

“Ah… what’s… huh?!”

Swaying left and right, struggling to stay balanced, she watched in shock as the ground beneath her rose like a living creature.

In just a moment, it formed a cylindrical pillar of earth that carried her upward into the air—bringing her quite close to the fiery cage above.

The space she could stand on was narrow.

When Livra looked down… the ground, nearly twenty meters below, appeared distant, blurred, and swaying—it made her dizzy!

“Stand steady, okay? Be sure not to fall~” Sheffy, wings closed around herself within the cage, wore a devilish smirk. “Otherwise… with your lacking strength, if you fall from there, you might just die, hehe. And if you die… well, it won’t be pretty, will it?”

A lie, of course.

Sheffy had already laid【Floating Wind】on both sides of the stone pillar Livra stood on.

Even if she did slip and fall, the gentle wind would cradle her back to the ground without harm.

She had expected Livra to panic at the sudden change in height—expected a scream, flailing, maybe tears.

But to Sheffy’s surprise…

Livra neither screamed nor begged.

—Instead, she stood stunned for a moment, then thought deeply, steadied herself with effort, and bravely looked up again, eyes locked straight on Sheffy’s face.

Tsk… what on earth did you eat today to be like this?

Sheffy slightly furrowed her brows, her tone tinged with impatience.

“Do your Human customs… involve staring at people upon first meeting? What a barbaric race.”

“You are… Princess Sheffy, Your Highness?”

“I am, yes.”

Livra not only didn’t avert her gaze at Sheffy’s earlier scolding—

On the contrary, the confusion and depth in her expression only intensified.

And the question she asked next—left Sheffy momentarily stunned.

“Your Highness… have we met somewhere before? Somehow… you look very familiar.”

“Ha? Familiar? You must be blind—! Ahem, you sure have an interesting way of talking. Is that how you Humans try to get close with small talk?”

“No… I really do feel like… maybe… maybe I’m mistaken? But… it’s strange...?”

By all logic, Livra shouldn’t have seen Princess Sheffy before.

She had never been to the battlefield and thus had never seen Sheffy’s true face.

Back during the council meeting, when Livra first saw Princess Belith, she had already felt an odd sense of familiarity about her appearance—but something hadn’t quite matched.

Now, looking at the slightly younger-looking Princess Sheffy—who resembled Belith—Livra felt an even stronger sense that she had seen her somewhere before.

But she couldn’t remember when or where… it was just an especially strange feeling.

As for Sheffy, she obviously didn’t recall anything.

How would she know if she had ever seen Livra before? She’d met countless people in her life!

It was like fishing—could she possibly remember the face of every big fish she’d ever caught?

This unexpected start to the meeting disrupted the rhythm of their conversation. When Livra saw Princess Sheffy suddenly sit down with a look of growing impatience, flames beginning to form into a sharp blade at her fingertips, she snapped out of it.

Whatever she couldn’t remember—she could think about that later.

But if she stayed dazed and silent now… she might not get a “later”!

To avoid the awkward fate of being killed before even speaking, Livra quickly lifted her dress hem and gave a slight curtsy in proper princess etiquette, formally introducing herself.

“G-Greetings! Princess Sheffy, Your Highness—my name is Livra Aurus, the Third Princess of the Kingdom of Aurus.”

“And then?”

“Eh?”

Sheffy rested her elbow on her knee and propped up her face.

In her deep violet eyes, there was none of the innocence that matched her youthful appearance.

In that instant, Livra felt that Princess Sheffy might actually be even more difficult to deal with than Princess Belith.

“Confused, are you? I’m not interested in your self-introduction. You Humans locked me in here for ages now... And only now does the royal family of Aurus bother to show up? Let me guess… is the Demon Domain getting impatient and planning a crusade against you? Or do you people have some ridiculous confidence, thinking you can just come and kill me? Hmm… Doesn’t look like anyone followed you in. What a daft little thing—you really do look slow.”

“!”

Insults right from the first meeting! This Demon Clan Princess really was terrifying!

Livra took several deep breaths to steady her emotions.

Her legs were already shaking, and her head buzzed with noise.

She had truly been terrified just now… the moment she saw those six black wings before her, facing them alone, Livra had felt an overwhelming despair.

But now that she was truly face-to-face with her, Livra’s state of mind was surprisingly calmer.

One’s eyes often changed with one’s heart.

Sheffy raised a brow, silently thinking—well now, this just got interesting.

Because Livra’s gaze... finally carried that same calm determination she’d had back in the council chamber. She had entered the proper mindset.

If her legs trembled at such heights, if staying balanced distracted her and risked her falling—

Then Livra simply mimicked Sheffy’s posture and sat down right where she was, letting her long gown flow down from the stone pillar like a cascade.

It resembled a snow lotus blooming at the edge of flaming magma—growing against the wind, swaying as it danced.

“Princess Sheffy, please don’t be angry. As you can see, I came here alone. I am weak and pose no threat to you. So… I hope you’ll listen to what I have to say. Perhaps treat it as entertainment to pass the time?”

"Oh-ho? Let’s hear it, then. You’re right—I am bored, staring at these giant rocks all day. But just a heads-up, little Human princess: if what you say turns out to be especially boring, I won’t mind killing you for a little amusement, okay?”

When acting, you had to commit fully.

Sheffy, after being pestered by Xiarette all night, hadn’t slept at all. So when she covered her mouth to yawn, that part wasn’t even acting.

Still, her words had opened a small window for Livra’s negotiations.

Clearing her mind, Livra closed her eyes and summoned every ounce of eloquence she had.

The phrases she had written by candlelight in the depths of night surged through her memory like a great river.

And when she opened her eyes again, she held within her the dream of a flourishing age yet to come.

“Princess Sheffy, may I ask you a question—do you truly love war and slaughter so much?”

“Hah, what do you think?” Sheffy propped herself up using the left three wings of her six, tilting her head against their tips. She smiled—but that smile sent a chill down the spine. “The world calls me the ‘Princess of Calamity’. Surely you know what that title implies?”

“Yes, I know the name. Any formation in the Kingdom's army that has faced you retreats from the battlefield never wishing to return. Those who’ve witnessed a ‘Calamity’ come away with an instinctive fear of death.”

“Hah, so even though you’ve never been to war, you’ve done your homework, huh? You’re right~ I have killed plenty on the battlefield. Everyone in your kingdom fears me. Just hearing my name probably gives them nightmares.”

These words were part of her act—but not entirely.

Her tone was lighthearted, but how much resignation and sorrow lay beneath it—only Sheffy herself truly knew.

Sheffy deliberately put on a fierce and playful facade to scare Livra. But clearly, it wasn’t working very well.

In fact, it didn’t work at all...

In Livra’s eyes, there wasn’t much fear.

On the contrary—there was a faint trace of pity and sympathy.

That strange look threw Sheffy off completely.

If she was confused, she asked outright.

“What’s with that look in your eyes?”

“I just felt… what you said just now, Princess Sheffy, it sounded… sad.”

“Hah? You really must be blind! Alright then, let’s test that!”

Whoosh!

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