Chapter 6: Young mother.

“Cut ties!”

Chloe’s face flushed white then green with rage. She shoved Elda away hard, her little finger pointing at the head maid who showed almost no expression—looking almost innocently puzzled. Her mouth opened and closed several times before any sound finally came out.

“You and my mom are both bad guys!”

“Bad guys… but aren’t we demons?”

Elda tilted her head in confusion, and Chloe completely lost it.

“Waaah!”

Covering her face, she burst into tears and flew toward her bedroom like the wind.

It seemed the blow had been truly heavy.

Elda, who had never once been scolded by the little master she served, reached this conclusion after receiving the label “bad guy.”

But she wasn’t worried at all that Chloe would ignore her, nor did she fear that the princess would do anything foolish out of despair.

Everyone knew that the daughter beloved by the Demon King was a spineless coward who feared the strong and loved the soft, with no great ambitions. And the more useless someone was, the more they cherished their own life. The more they cherished their life, the less likely they were to do anything reckless.

After reaching this judgment, Elda began to hesitate.

Should she go comfort Chloe now, or continue preparing food for the little master she would serve in the future?

With Princess Chloe’s meager figure, it was truly hard to imagine what kind of powerful offspring she could nurture.

“In the end, I should still go comfort Her Highness.”

After struggling for a while, Elda made up her mind.

His Majesty the Demon King would surely want her to do this. In her understanding, Yalith’s sudden cruel pressure on the still-young Chloe was not because she loathed her daughter’s decadence, but out of a sense of urgency.

It was very possible that Her Majesty was weakening.

Only then would Her Majesty turn her anxious gaze toward her successor.

If the human race learned that the Demon King had grown frail, the Hero would definitely launch the so-called Holy War to subjugate them…

But Elda also knew that if she could think of this, others certainly could as well.

So after thinking it over, Elda grew even more puzzled.

Just what did His Majesty the Demon King’s actions truly mean?

In the end, the maid decided not to dwell on what she couldn’t understand.

She simply focused her thoughts on the part that concerned her most.

“The little master… pregnant…”

As she walked toward Chloe’s bedroom, Elda began imagining what the still-tender little princess would look like when she became a mother.

She was already so youthful, innocent, clumsy, and adorable… yes, any words that described a girl’s pure innocence could describe this unique Highness. If she suddenly became a mother, those qualities definitely wouldn’t disappear—they would probably become even stronger.

At that time, would Her Highness worry over her still-meager figure even after becoming a mother? Would she worry that the future little masters might not have enough to eat and wish for certain parts to grow quickly?

The more Elda thought about it, the heavier the burden on her shoulders felt. She needed to pull herself together quickly.

As for the sight of Her Highness nursing the future heirs… Elda couldn’t let herself think about that.

Just thinking about it made her face burn unbearably hot.

The setting of a young mother applied to the Highness she had cared for over five years—even if she wasn’t a succubus full of strange thoughts—made it hard to stay calm.

Lost in her conflicted thoughts, Elda entered Chloe’s bedroom.

Before she even saw the princess, a pillow flew out from the bedroom accompanied by an angry “Get out!” Elda didn’t dodge. She raised her hand to catch the pillow, closed the door behind her, and walked straight to the bedside.

On the bed covered with a blanket sewn from snow sheep wool, the silver-haired girl had changed into pure white pajamas and was lying face-down in the snow-white bedding. Her petite body nearly blended into the matching-colored linens. Elda had to blink several times before spotting her princess.

Seeing Chloe like this, all of Elda’s earlier concerns were instantly thrown aside.

The future little masters were a matter for future Elda to worry about. Right now, the one she needed to serve was this little cutie before her. No matter what, she shouldn’t think about uncertain future matters.

“Your Highness…”

“Hah!”

Toward the head maid who had served her for many years, Chloe’s huffing came naturally. She rolled over, wrapping herself completely in the blanket and leaving no chance for Elda to touch her.

Since they weren’t treating her like a child anymore but as an adult about to become a mother, she wouldn’t hold back from acting spoiled.

But the moment she did this, Chloe regretted it.

After rolling once, she had sealed herself inside the blanket and could no longer move at all.

Damn blanket demon!

How could she be so useless!

Exhausted from being angry at her own incompetence, Chloe chose to continue expressing her bitterness with even more pathetic crying.

“Aren’t you supposed to go prepare preconception supplies for me? Now you’re coming here pretending to care—what’s the meaning of this? Do you think I’m some stupid loli? Get out, get out!”

Twisting on the bed like a maggot, Chloe vented her frustration at Elda. The maid let her thrash about without reacting, until Chloe showed signs of fatigue. Only then did she reach out and gently stroke the princess’s head.

This was their most common interaction as master and servant on ordinary days.

Too tired to stay angry and unable to dodge because of the blanket, Chloe could only bare her teeth and let Elda pet her while making dissatisfied hums.

“I know exactly what kind of existence Your Highness is.”

“Hmph.”

“Your Highness is wise, powerful, and fully qualified to become the future king of the demon race.”

“Heh.”

If you’re going to say nice things, at least say a few more.

At her age, she deserved to be coaxed.

She had no mom to dote on her—if even her maid wouldn’t coax her, did she have to go find a few new moms for herself?

Chloe’s anger had already faded by now, but she felt strange about the sudden thought that crossed her mind.

She was still young. Although her thinking had matured somewhat, she shouldn’t be this open-minded, right? Knowing that if her mother said she lost the trial she would have to live as a breeding machine, why was her first reaction that it might be better to go do “mother-son” gigs with those great lord elders instead?

How weird…

Forget it, never mind.

The truth was just that. Acknowledging someone else as mom would definitely be better than listening to her cheap old mom’s arrangements.

While inwardly complaining with a head full of strange thoughts, Chloe didn’t hear Elda continue praising her. She began humming discontentedly again.

Elda knew her princess’s temperament very well. A bit more gentleness appeared on her face as she continued softly:

“Everything is His Majesty the Demon King’s fault.”

“Exactly!”

“Clearly Your Highness has already worked very hard…”

“Yes!”

Every sentence hit exactly where it felt best. Chloe smiled as if drinking sweet nectar.

“Even if there was no effect and you really became a good-for-nothing who can only wriggle uglily like a maggot, you are still our princess…”

“Are you sure you’re not just insulting me in a roundabout way?”

The smile instantly froze on Chloe’s face. She felt she would never smile again.

Worse than being mocked by someone close was this kind of sincere, heartfelt statement.

Successfully critted, Chloe shrank deeper into the blanket, turning from a maggot into a pupa. After wriggling a couple times, she began waiting to die.

Mom was annoying, but she hadn’t been wrong.

The demon race was doomed.

“Your Highness…”

“Are you going to say that if I actually try hard, I can still handle tomorrow’s trial, so I shouldn’t be so depressed?”

Chloe had some self-awareness after all. She was still the Demon King’s daughter and had at least some confidence in her own strength. Although she wasn’t skilled in magic and her blood control talent was weak, she quite liked wielding swords and blades. She believed she could handle the trial with swordsmanship alone.

She was simply very sad.

The mother who had brought her back from the remote mountains and wilds did not love her as much as she had imagined.

Elda looked at her with heartache. After hesitating for a moment, she spoke softly:

“Yes, I came back specifically to tell you…”

“I’ll pull myself together and prepare.”

“The expenses for purchasing the preconception supplies need to be withdrawn from you. According to His Majesty’s wishes, your allowance has also been stopped. From now on, the palace’s expenses will need to be handled by you yourself, including the future costs of raising your children.”

“?”

This was the first time Chloe had heard such cold words.

This maid, and her cheap old mom—both could be discarded!