Fourth Prince's Debauchery

7/7

...

"I think someone is manipulating the higher-ups of the daemon empire." The daemon princess said with a frown.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise. Inwardly, though, I was smiling widely.

Finally, I found a clue.

It looks like lady luck is on my side today.

"Why do you think so?" I asked.

"… It's hard to explain. I just feel that many of the higher-ups of the empire are not behaving rationally. It's as though they turned into war-crazed maniacs."

I frowned and put on a pensive expression. "Be more specific."

"... Nobody questioned the daemon god's decision to go to war."

Mm, but just that is not enough to be suspicious.

After all…

"The daemon empire is a theocracy, right? The Daemon God's orders should be absolute."

The princess sneered in disdain.

"That should be true. However, no emperor will accept someone else over him, even if it's a god. I know my father. I know that although he seems completely loyal to the church on the surface, he makes use of every opportunity to weaken it. In normal circumstances, he would have found a way to delay complying with the Daemon God's orders. At most, he would have sent soldiers to the border in a perfunctory manner, without intending to fight a war at all.

"However, he did not hesitate to follow the daemon god's orders this time. Not just him, none of the generals or higher-ups of the empire opposed to it, not even the most conservative ones!

"Even although our relationship with humans has never been good, most of the population doesn't want war. And now? Now the entire daemon empire is singing the song of war! Something is obviously wrong!"

I furrowed my brows.

If the princess's words are true, then it means my conjecture is right.

As expected, this is related to the Immortal.

"Do you have any idea who is the culprit?"

"… At the start, I thought it was the daemon god who cast a powerful spell on the higher-ups of the empire. However, I'm not so sure now."

"Huh?"

"… I have a sister that is a priestess of the Daemon God. She told me that recently the daemon god is behaving strangely. He has stopped answering her prayers, and his connection with her was cut off. It's as though he does not exist anymore. Moreover, when I used some of my connections to investigate, I discovered that there are elves fanning the flames of war behind scenes… I fear it's a plot bigger than I thought at the start. Perhaps, even the Daemon God is nothing more than a pawn."

When the princess reached this point, her face was filled with terror!

After all, if her words were true it meant that even an existence as powerful as the daemon god was being manipulated.

Something like that is unimaginable!

Unfortunately, she is right.

I must say, this princess is very sharp.

To think she managed to reach this conclusion with so little clues.

"As expected," I said with a sigh.

When Princess E'Athar heard my words, her expression changed.

"Prince Claus, could it be you know something?"

"I do." I nodded to myself and stared into the princess.

Now, what should I do now?

This princess is much sharper than I expected. Perhaps, she can be useful.

But in the end, she is a daemon. She is an enemy.

Mm… Should I put a slave seal on her to guarantee she doesn't betray me?

It would be bad if she reveals something and that Immortal learns about my movements due to that.

After thinking for a moment, I finally sighed and raised my hand.

In the next second, a magic circle appeared over my palm, hovering silently.

"You…!" The princess's face changed. She hurriedly tried to mobilize her mana to defend against whatever I was planning.

But it was useless.

Before she could put any kind of resistance, the magic circle left my hand and flew towards her head.

In an instant, it reached her soul, putting a slave contract on her.

"You… What have you done!?" The princess cried out in rage.

"A safety measure. Just in case you try to reveal this conversation to anyone else." I stated calmly, not explaining the true nature of the seal.

After all, that is the truth. I don't plan to use this slave seal to make her follow my orders. It's just a method to make sure she doesn't reveal anything.

The princess's expression turned ugly. Although she did not know what I did, she could imagine that whatever it was it was not good for her.

What if it was some kind of remotely activated spell that would blow up her head if she said anything wrong?

However, I was not going to explain the function of the magic circle.

"Now that I'm sure you will not reveal anything, let's talk. You are right, there is something wrong with this war. In fact, I fear there is an existence more powerful than gods behind it."

"!!!"

"Just like you guessed, the empire's higher-ups have most likely been influenced by it. As for its goal… It's to destroy the planet."

"D-Destroy? T-That is…"

"The truth. It's your choice if you want to believe me or not."

The princess turned pale. For an instant, she did not know how to react.

Only after several seconds, she managed to recover a bit of her composure.

"… How do you know about it?"

I smiled softly.

"Because I'm trying to kill it. Now, Princess, I want to ask for your help."

"My help?"

"Yes. In truth, I still don't know what this existence wants to achieve with this war. Even though I know it's one of his plans, I don't know why he is doing it.

"However, it's obvious we can't allow it to continue. Otherwise, the consequences will be very grave."

The princess was silent and her expression turned grave. Hearing my words, she realized the gravity of the situation.

Actually, in normal circumstances, she would have not believed me so easily. After all, I have not shown her any proof of anything.

Fortunately, the technique I used before has made her trust my words.

"… What should we do then?"

"If it's possible, we should find a way to stop this war. Princess, how confident are you about taking control of this army?"

The princess fell deep in thought. After several seconds, she put on a determined expression.

"I think I can do it... No, I'll do it. However, I will need your help."

I curved my lips in a confident smile.

"Leave it to me."

...

So sleepy~