As the girls headed to the study one after another to bury themselves in their books, the entire manor gradually settled into a peaceful tranquility.
Night was originally the time for Devils to be active, but due to the recent string of events, the members of the Eligos Peerage were destined to remain quiet. This left an unknown number of humans, who were preparing to summon Devils to grant their wishes, feeling secretly frustrated.
Late at night, Leon emerged from his room after a bath. Drying his damp hair with a towel, he made his way toward the open-air balcony.
Upon reaching the balcony, he immediately spotted a girl standing there, gazing out at the distant night sky.
She wore simple loungewear that left her slender arms and shapely legs exposed to the air. Her graceful figure was outlined by her clothes as they pressed against her in the night breeze, a sight of pure, picturesque beauty. Her fiery red hair swayed like flickering flames in the wind.
Yet, despite her beauty, the look in her eyes as she stared at the horizon was profoundly melancholic, as if she had been abandoned by the entire world. There was an indescribable sense of fragility about her that inspired a deep sense of pity.
Leon's hand paused briefly in his hair-drying. He then continued forward into the balcony, coming to a stop beside the girl.
"What are you thinking about?"
Leon hung the towel around his neck and produced a chilled beverage from seemingly nowhere, opening it with a crisp psst.
He took a sip and asked casually, not even looking at her, as if he didn't care whether she responded or not.
In fact, the girl truly did not acknowledge his question. She didn't even seem to notice his presence. She simply stared blankly into the distance as if looking at something that had long since ceased to exist, completely immersed in her memories.
"No matter how long you look, a country called the Vermillion Kingdom isn't going to suddenly sprout up here," Leon said tonelessly, continuing to drink. "You won't find any familiar scenery here either. After all, you aren't a person of this era to begin with."
These words, uttered without the slightest regard for her feelings, finally elicited a reaction.
"—If that's the case, why did you bring me back?"
Stella's voice was exceptionally cold as she spoke.
"What else? Leave you in those ruins?" Leon curled his lip. "You've been released from the seal. If it weren't for my Evil Pieces reincarnating you, you wouldn't have even come back to life. You'd still be a living corpse."
"If I had left you there, it wouldn't have been long before you starved to death."
"Even if you are a Devil, a Princess of the Dragon Bloodline, you still need to eat, don't you?"
Leon himself hadn't transcended the need for sustenance yet; he still required regular meals to survive.
During those days he was exiled in the Dimensional Gap, if Leon hadn't been a Perfect Devil—possessing vitality far more tenacious than ordinary Devils, allowing him to survive for a long time without food—and if there hadn't been some snacks stored in the space where he kept the Evil Pieces, his first worry might have been starving to death in that void.
Only a pureblood dragon like Kanna could pass hundreds of years simply by sleeping without worrying about hunger. For anyone else, staying in that castle for centuries was simply unrealistic.
Naturally, the same applied to Stella.
Previously, she had been under a seal and didn't need to consider food. But now that she was alive and free, survival was a practical concern. If she had insisted on staying in the Dimensional Gap, her final end would have been quite miserable.
However, Stella clearly didn't care.
"Wouldn't that have been fine?" Stella said with self-deprecating mockery. "Just as you said, I am not a person of this era. Perhaps my destiny was to wither away in the Dimensional Gap alongside that castle."
"Unfortunately, death wouldn't be a release for you," Leon said expressionlessly. "Perhaps I forgot to tell you, but for those who become my peerage, even if they die, their souls return to me rather than going to Heaven or Hell."
"If you don't mind that, I won't stop you."
That single sentence plunged Stella into absolute silence.
"—You shouldn't have woken me up."
After a long silence, Stella forced those words out.
"Sigh—"
Leon let out a sigh, tossed the empty can aside, and turned to look at Stella.
"So, you'd rather sleep forever, or waste away in this depression, than accept reality? Is that it?" Leon spoke bluntly. "You're more fragile than I thought. I don't see the slightest hint of a noble princess in you."
Stella's hands tightened into fists.
"Does being rejected by Great Red drive you to such despair?" Leon glanced at her clenched hands. "Are you incapable of doing anything without Great Red's support?"
"Then the Vermillion Royal Family truly chose the wrong person back then. They shouldn't have sacrificed everything just to protect you, the last of the Dragon Blood and the royal line."
This statement stung Stella far more than anything Leon had said previously.
"Then tell me, what am I supposed to do?!" Stella's chest heaved as her emotions boiled over. "Lord Dragon God has no intention of helping me. How am I supposed to restore my country? How am I supposed to bring back the glory of the Vermillion Kingdom!?"
The realization that her sole wish had no hope of being fulfilled caused Stella immense pain and despair.
At this moment, she truly felt lost, her heart turned to ash. She wanted nothing more than to leave this world and apologize to those people who had sealed her away with that final sliver of hope.
The faces of her father, mother, brothers, and sisters appeared one by one in her mind, making her want to break down in tears and reunite with them.
Then—she heard Leon's voice.
"Isn't the method already right in front of you?"
Leon's incredibly calm words caused Stella to snap her head up to look at him.
"In... in front of me?"
Stella froze.
"Didn't you hear our conversation earlier?" Leon looked at her as if looking at a spoiled, dimwitted daughter of a landlord. "We already discussed how many members of the peerage are about to be promoted to Middle-class Devils, and I am about to become an Ultimate-class Devil. Can't you connect the dots?"
"The memories I gave you should include knowledge about the Devil world, right? Do you know what promotion represents for a Devil?"
"As long as you can become a High-class Devil, you can become a noble. You can even be granted a fiefdom and become the lord of a vast territory."
"In other words, as long as your status in the Underworld is high enough and you have your own territory, wouldn't building a so-called Vermillion Kingdom there be a simple task?"
These words were like a bolt of lightning striking Stella's mind, leaving her stunned.
"Re... rebuild the Vermillion Kingdom in the Underworld...?"
Stella was dazed. It seemed she had never even considered such a possibility.
"What else? Did you plan on building a nation in the Human World?" Leon shrugged. "I'd advise you to save your breath. While it's not absolutely impossible, the Human World's territory was carved up by the various mythological factions long ago. A Devil trying to build a nation here would trip over a lot of sensitive nerves."
"But the Underworld is different."
"The Underworld is vast and sparsely populated. Its land is much larger than the Human World and far cheaper. Establishing a nation in the Underworld is perfectly feasible."
"In fact, you don't even need to become a High-class Devil first. As my peerage, I could give you a portion of the Eligos territory right now. You can do whatever you want with it."
Stella stared blankly at Leon for a long time before stammering.
"Is... is it really okay? I can rebuild the Vermillion Kingdom in the Underworld?"
The girl seemed almost afraid to believe it.
"If you wish." Leon spoke with an air of indifference. "I don't mind you establishing a nation within the Eligos territory. Of course, the prerequisite is that you manage it well."
"I... I don't have the confidence to manage a country—" Stella became nervous, not knowing whether to be excited or ashamed. Finally, she said, "My father never intended for me to inherit the throne, so I never studied statecraft in the past."
"Then start by learning." Leon smiled as expected. "This era might not be the one you knew, but the advantage is that the spread of knowledge is quite good. As long as you are willing to learn, you can find out about almost anything except for certain forbidden knowledge."
"If you don't know what to do, then start by surviving as a Devil."
"Just like the rest of my peerage, work hard to hone yourself, grow stronger, and learn more. Accumulate merits and achievements, and slowly work your way toward the status of a Middle-class, High-class, or even Ultimate-class Devil."
"By the time you become a High-class or Ultimate-class Devil, you'll likely be mature enough to independently do what you want—even if that means building a nation."
Leon patted Stella's shoulder.
"Think it over carefully. Do you want to continue living in this daze, or do you want to work hard and use your own strength to realize your wish?"
"Your ancestor might have relied on the Dragon God's blessing to keep the Vermillion Kingdom going, but that doesn't mean it can't be done without the Dragon God."
"Besides, once your ancestor obtained the Dragon Bloodline and the Dragon Treasure, the Vermillion Kingdom was no longer weak and was able to endure. You have already inherited everything your ancestor had. Are you saying you can't do what your ancestor did?"
Leaving her with those words, Leon turned around.
"As for what to do, think it over for yourself."
Leon didn't look back at Stella's expression as he walked away from the balcony.
Only Stella remained, staring blankly at Leon's departing back for a long, long time.
In the days that followed, Stella underwent a total transformation. Her previous silence and lifelessness vanished, and she seemed to truly come back to life, radiating a vitality she hadn't possessed before.
She began to actively interact with the others in the manor. Like Yukino and the others, she spent her time in the study, working hard to learn and increase her knowledge with more passion and drive than anyone else.
When she saw Leon, her attitude was also completely different. While she didn't call him Master like Ram and Rem, nor was she as reverently polite as Ravel, she followed every instruction he gave to the letter. When she accompanied Leon, she acted like a proper member of a peerage, following half a step behind him with unwavering dedication.
She was much better than Kanna, who spent her days at the manor eating and sleeping.
Kanna had completely let herself go. After being brought back by Leon, she didn't act like she had found a master; it was more like she had found a butler to take care of her while she lived like a pet.
Sometimes she would run into the garden to catch butterflies, swallowing them whole in one gulp. Other times she would sneak into the kitchen to steal food from the fridge, even gnawing on raw meat without a care, which frequently terrified Asuna and Mahiru.
Yukino and Ravel both seriously suggested that this young dragon needed human guidance and education. She needed to learn human knowledge and understand modern lifestyles and social norms.
As a result, under the arrangements of Yukino and Ravel, the young dragon was enrolled in Chiba's most famous elementary school, becoming a proud nine-year-old student—
Unexpectedly, the dragon actually became curious and interested in the life of an elementary student. In the end, she happily stayed at the school and even made friends.
One could only say that reality is often full of surprises.
Whether it was Stella or Kanna, they both gradually integrated into the life of the Eligos Peerage, truly becoming comrades and even new family members.
Meanwhile, after a month of hard work, Yukino, Asuna, Utaha, Mahiru, Ram, and Rem all participated in the Middle-class Devil promotion exams organized by the Underworld. Every one of them passed the written and practical tests without issue, officially promoting to Middle-class Devils.
During this period, Leon also accepted a summons from the Underworld. In a promotion ceremony arranged by the Underworld, he was officially conferred the title of Ultimate-class Devil.
The Underworld had already granted him permission to return to the Eligos territory to manage it and begin the great task of restoring his family's glory.
With this, Leon had officially made his debut in the Underworld.
He also realized that his "debut battle" was no longer necessary. Furthermore, with the Hero Faction and other previous threats repelled, the Three Factions had officially signed a peace treaty and were no longer hostile. What awaited him was no longer a life of constant upheaval, but the mission of rebuilding his territory and family.
However—
"Before that, I have one more thing to do."
Leon took out his "Queen" piece.
It was time to give his answer to that matter.
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi