The Author's POV



There was something about her voice that made it hard for those who were listening to it to keep their heads straight. 

It was as if a fog suddenly appeared within their minds, making it hard for them to think or even move properly.

Thankfully, Ava and Hein had signed a contract with Angelica beforehand and were thus only slightly affected.

The same couldn't be said for Smallsnake, who found himself sinking in this cloudy state, unable to move at all.

"Would you stop it with your stupid tricks?"

It was only after Angelica intervened that he was able to snap out of whatever state he was in, and the moment he snapped out of it, cold sweat ran down his back.

'That… That was dangerous… I guess I can now understand why everyone reacted like that...'

This wasn't the first time that he had come into contact with the Patriarch of the Lust Clan, but before, he had always been with Jezebeth and thus never experienced such a sensation from her.

He had always been confused as to why, whenever she appeared, those around her would glare at her while some demons by her side would cock their heads from side to side like buffoons. 

Only now did he understand. 

"Oh, my… Is that how you speak to your mother?"

There was a look of sadness on the Princess's face as she looked at Angelica.

If not for the fact that he had seen a couple of her antics back when he was with Jezebeth, Smallsnake would've fallen for her acting.

Still, he was utterly shocked by the sudden revelation regarding Angelica's mother.

'She's the daughter of a Princess ranked entity… one of the seven heads at that?'

Smallsnake wasn't too sure how to react at the moment. The sudden piece of news left him utterly dumbfounded, and he couldn't help but cast a few glances at the mother-daughter pair.

'And just when I thought I saw everything…'

Well, they did both look beautiful. So there was a bit of resemblance... 

"I exerted a lot of my force to have you come to me, and the moment that you see me, you start shouting at me…? I feel rather sad, Angelica."

Lowering her head, she looked pitiful, and many of the demons around her started to show signs of concern.

Even Smallsnake felt a slight impulse, but he pinched his arms and forced himself out of such a state.

'Keep focus… Keep fucus…'

They were at a disadvantage at the moment. Be it in power or numbers. Even if they wanted to, they'd be unable to escape, and it made Smallsnake wonder just what Angelica was planning.

He had a few means of his own to get out of the situation if it went for the worst, but he chose to keep them under wraps and let everything play out in front of him.

"Are you still in the mood to play around?"

Once again, Angelica's words were merciless and cut right at her mother's words. The Princess didn't seem offended by her actions and smiled even more seductively.

"Rebellious, aren't we?"

"Quite…"

"At least you acknowledge it."

"A lot better than a certain someone."

"My, my… when did you start learning to speak this way to your mother?"

"From the moment that you kicked me out."

"Mhhh… That was because of your mistake. It had nothing to do with us."

"Hee.."

Angelica laughed while covering her forehead with her hand.

"I knew you'd say that…"

It was clear to everyone present that the relationship between Angelica and her mother was anything but good.

Angelica didn't even bother hiding her disgust for her mother, as her words were laced with venom.

"In the end, it's always my fault, and never your fault, right?"

"Wasn't that obvious enough?"

Princess Lillith spoke, her gaze lingering over everyone present.

There was something about her gaze that unsettled Smallsnake, but as weak as he was, he could only take it.

Soon her gaze fell on him, and Smallsnake felt his skin crawl.

"Mhm, I'm rather surprised that you're here. I didn't know that you were acquainted with my daughter… in fact, from the looks of things, you guys are a lot closer than I anticipated."

"We've worked together in the past. We've known each other for a few years."

Angelica replied before Smallsnake could.

Seeing that Angelica had spoken for him, Smallsnake closed his mouth and remained quiet. It was good that she spoke for him.

He didn't really want to talk at the moment.

"Oh? You two have known each other for a few years? I take it that he was also working for the same human you're working for, right?"

Angelica didn't respond to the question, but her silence was enough confirmation for her mother, who nodded her head slightly.

She looked back at Smallsnake.

"For His Majesty to also covet his subordinates… I assume that this human is rather talented."

Brushing her hair behind her ear, she sat up properly on the throne and crossed her legs. Her gaze fell on Ava and Hein.

"I suppose they are also his subordinates…"

With a squint of her eyes, Ava and Hein's bodies froze on the spot, and their eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

They only recovered after Angelica spoke and broke off whatever was clawing at them. That… didn't seem to please her mother, who suddenly frowned.

The air in the hall changed drastically at that point.

"You've been acting rather impudent for a while, my good daughter."

Her words were soft, but the moment they came out, the entire room froze. A formless pressure spread throughout every inch of the room, and Smallsnake found himself unable to move at all. 

How many times has it been now? 

The same went for the others that went stiff on the spot.

The only one that was fine was Angelica, but even she seemed to be struggling at the moment as her face paled and sweat trickled down her forehead.

She continued to glare at her mother.

"I've been acting impudent?"

She managed to utter a few words through her gnashed teeth.

"Haa… what's funnier is the fact that you still have the gall to call yourself my mo—"

Smack—!

It all happened so fast, and Smallsnake wasn't able to see what had happened, but halfway through her sentence, Smallsnake heard a low smacking sound, and Angelica's body appeared on one of the pillars of the hall.

Bang—!

Appearing on the spot where Angelica had been, Smallsnake caught sight of Princess Lillith, and his pupils dilated.

Especially when his gaze fell on Angelica. 

"Cough… Cough…"

Coughing several times, she looked up and smirked at her mother.

"You didn't hold back, did you, mother?"

Angelica's speech became more drawn out as she approached the final word, as if she wanted to emphasize its significance even more.

It was obvious that she was trying to taunt her mother, and she was successful in doing so.

Swoosh! 

Appearing right in front of her, the Princess looked down on her from above with her cold eyes.

"You've been quite rebellious since you've returned. I let you be since I figured you'd come around, but it seems like some harsh disciplining may be required."

Grabbing Angelica by her hair, the Princess flung her toward the next pillar.

Bang—!

Angelica's body slammed into the pillar as she struggled to resist the strength of her mother, and she let out a painful groan as she did so. 

"Ukh." 

Swoosh! 

She didn't even have time to recover before her mother appeared before her once again and smacked her head against the pillar.

Bang—!

"Don't resent me too much."

She said, smacking her face with her palm.

"I'm only doing what's best for you, my good d—"

Pu—!

"F,fuck you, bitch."

A sudden spit that was mixed with black blood flew to the Princess's face, and her entire expression froze at that moment. It wasn't just her that froze; practically everyone in the room felt something dreadful slowly rise from the Princess' body.

Moving her fingers to her cheek, and sliding them off. The Princess looked at her finger, and her expression, which seemed unusually calm, started to distort heavily.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

The entire room started to tremble, and before long, the Princess' gaze fell on Angelica. The way she looked at her was no longer the same as it was before.

"I see how it is."

She nodded her head repeatedly, seemingly coming to a sudden understanding.

"I get it now."

She nodded once more.

"I don't know what went through my mind. Since when did I ever have a daughter?"

Spurt—!