Chapter 4: The Demon Princess of the Vampire Court.

Five years later, in the Blood Clan Royal Court.

In the magnificent palace, a delicate young girl wearing only a thin outer robe woven from purple gauze—with nothing but a flimsy inner garment beneath to cover her figure—lay sprawled across a redwood table, sleeping soundly.

She was very beautiful. Although she did not look particularly old, the petite and adorable girl already possessed the aura of a peerless beauty.

Chloe von Manchester, the princess whom the Demon King had brought back from some unknown corner, relied on the Demon King’s doting favor to act wildly every day.

Sleeping in the demon race’s council hall was merely one of her many shameless antics, hardly worth mentioning.

Therefore, she slept quite sweetly.

However, this time, the dream she had was very strange. It contained no content at all—just a song that kept singing:

The sun sets in the west but rises again tomorrow,
The flowers wither but bloom the same next year,
The beautiful little bird flies away without a trace,
My youth, like a little bird, never returns…

Unable to understand what song this was, as the singing ended, Chloe felt someone poke her forehead.

“Little bird, my little bird, don’t go…”

She kept murmuring. The palace was instantly filled with a burst of laughter. The noisy commotion quickly woke her up. Her red pupils, identical to those of her Demon King mother, were full of confusion.

When she saw a group of familiar faces appearing before her, all of them smiling, the confusion in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced only by embarrassment and flustered anger.

“Don’t laugh at me!”

She cried out, only to receive a punch on the head.

Wincing in pain, she turned back and saw Yalith staring at her with an expressionless face.

Only then did the young blood princess realize she was sitting on her mother’s lap. Her little face instantly turned red.

“I laugh at you—so what? My dear daughter, where did you go fooling around last night? You ran here to sleep for the whole night, and even the blood servants I arranged for you couldn’t find you. Truly impressive.”

This classic sarcastic tone made Chloe shrink her neck and give an awkward smile.

“Mom… Mother, can your good daughter still sit properly to eat tonight?”

Yalith smiled.

“You have so many demands. I can only fulfill one.”

Chloe instantly stopped giggling. She turned her back to her mother, continued lying on the table, hugged her head, and resigned herself to whatever punishment came.

Yalith was not polite either. She raised her hand and gave her bottom a firm slap.

“Have you forgotten what I instructed you a few days ago? Have you forgotten what day it is today!”

Such interaction was definitely not what should exist between a Demon King and her daughter. Yet the demon lords below the throne found it completely normal. They all suppressed their laughter and took their respective seats.

They were not Yalith’s ministers in the strict sense, but rather the leaders of the other demon clans.

However, in human eyes, they were basically no different from the Demon King. Only Yalith, as the one who unified all demon factions, was seen by the demon race as the sole true King. The others at most received the title of Great Lord.

And today, they had gathered here because His Majesty the Demon King had suddenly announced that her daughter had grown up, using this reason to summon them.

They were all sensible people and understood the deeper meaning behind it.

It was either that Chloe was ready to find a partner, and the Demon King wanted them to select outstanding candidates from their clans for marriage.

Or it was time for the Demon King’s future successor to undergo a test to see if she was qualified to take over her great mother’s position.

Either way, it was worth them giving it their full attention.

“When people speak of the Flame Demon Clan’s princess, they say she is as majestic as her mother. When they speak of the Ice Demon Clan’s princess, they say she is as coldly elegant as her mother. But when they speak of my Demon King’s daughter…”

Yalith gritted her teeth, looking as if she hated that iron could not turn into steel.

There was no need to say the rest. Everyone understood.

Because they had already laughed about it earlier.

Laughing at Chloe was fine—the Demon King would laugh along.

But if they laughed at the Demon King, the Demon King would step on them and continue laughing. All the great demon lords understood this point clearly.

“Your excellent bloodline isn’t something you can blame me for. My old mother built such a massive family business—I have to sit back and enjoy it.”

“I’ll beat you to death right now!”

“Don’t! Wouldn’t it be solved if you just gave birth to another one?”

This time, Chloe no longer obediently took the beating. She rolled and crawled without any princessly grace off the table, then bolted away.

Yalith laughed in extreme anger. She snapped her fingers. Maids immediately appeared on both sides of the hall and chased after the fleeing Chloe.

Only after she was caught and brought back, pressed down in the center of the hall and forced to kneel like a prisoner awaiting execution, did Yalith look toward the other demon lords.

“Everyone, you have all seen it. This is the kind of successor I have under me. I have failed in educating my daughter. As the Demon King, I truly have no face left.”

As she spoke, she pinched her brows with a headache.

The great lords who were loyal to her naturally would not follow her words to mock Chloe—this princess who had been raised by the Demon King in an unknown place and only brought back to her side a few years ago.

If Yalith did not deeply dote on her in her heart, she would not allow her to act so willfully.

Saying such words was nothing more than hoping they would offer some ideas.

However, no one had a clear plan. The great lords exchanged glances, hoping someone would speak first.

Yalith had anticipated this situation. She turned her gaze to the Flame Demon Great Lord. This great lord, known as the strongest modern warrior of the demon race, Rivet, helplessly looked left and right, then pointed at himself.

“Me… me?”

A few more laughs came from among the great lords. Yalith twitched the corner of her mouth.

Rivet looked at Chloe, who was kneeling unwillingly and looking at him with a wronged, pleading expression. He scratched his chin.

“I think it’s pretty good. At least it’s lively.”

“Our demon race is doomed.”

Yalith instantly seemed to lose all strength and slumped back onto her throne. The other great lords also burst into loud laughter because of Rivet’s answer.

Chloe greatly enjoyed this chaotic, demonic atmosphere. She gave a respectful smile to this elder who had always taken good care of her, then provocatively blinked at her mother.

“Forget it.”

Yalith knew deeply that if these great lords could really give decent suggestions, her ability to sit firmly on the Demon King’s throne would be a joke. Suppressing the sense of powerlessness in her heart, she waved her hand to dismiss the attendants and beckoned to Chloe.

The little girl obediently walked to her side.

“Since none of you can give any ideas, then we’ll use the simplest method. You all don’t like beating around the bush anyway. The reason I gathered everyone today is precisely because of my worthless daughter.

The future successor of the demon race must either possess absolute power or absolute sense of responsibility. My Chloe does not have enough sense of responsibility, so she needs to prove her strength to all of you. Otherwise, I will choose another successor for the Demon King position…”

The great lords showed various expressions, while Chloe’s face lit up with joy.

Living as a carefree princess was the life she wanted most. Therefore, after being brought home by her cheap mother, she slacked off whenever she could and indulged whenever possible, even ruining her own reputation.

The results had been remarkably effective.

Now it had reached the point where the demons all said the Demon King had given birth to a “demon pill.” She was just one step away from being disqualified. Chloe eagerly awaited her mother’s words.

However, she failed to notice that her “mother,” who had always shown indulgence and doting over the years, had the corners of her mouth slightly lift when she saw the triumphant smile in her daughter’s eyes.

“Tomorrow, the demon race trial will be held. If my daughter passes, she will retain her status as heir. If she performs unsatisfactorily…

The weak have no value in living. But no matter what, she is my only daughter. In the future, she can be responsible for continuing the bloodline. Everyone, introduce suitable young clansmen to me. I will lock her in her palace to give birth until she dies.”

The composure on Chloe’s face vanished instantly.

If she didn’t obediently become the heir, she would become a breeding slave?

Wasn’t she a princess?

This… this wasn’t right!