The morning sun rose.
But the border was not nearly as peaceful as the Demon King's Castle.
“Nadia, I gave you a fucking day! A whole day! Have you come up with a solution yet?!”
Keith's eyes were nearly bloodshot as he tightly choked Nadia, lifting her off the ground.
“Cough, cough... P-Prince, please, just give me a little more time, cough, cough.”
Nadia struggled, repeatedly clawing at Keith's hands.
Yet the grip around her neck only grew tighter.
In her struggle, Nadia's hand knocked over a towering stack of documents nearby.
Looking at the scattered documents, Keith threw Nadia to the ground like a worthless pebble by the roadside.
“Cough! Cough, cough! Ha... whew...”
Collapsing onto the floor, Nadia didn't even have the luxury to nurse her aching body, greedily gasping for air after surviving the brush with death.
An opened document happened to be pinned beneath her hand.
Spotting the document under Nadia, Keith kicked her aside without hesitation.
He then bent down and picked up the letter.
Judging by the design of the envelope, it was a letter from Duke Cary.
Seeing that the madman's attention was occupied by the letter, Nadia hurriedly scrambled toward the exit of the tent.
Just as she reached the entrance, a bloodthirsty red gleam flashed in Keith's eyes as he stared at her.
Their eyes met. Terrified by the First Prince's tyrannical gaze, Nadia scrambled to her feet and fled the tent.
“Useless trash. Who does she think she is?”
Keith watched Nadia flee in panic, his eyes filled with mockery.
Ignoring the fleeing Nadia, Keith stared at the letter in his hand, excitement glinting in his eyes.
“If that's the case... if that's the case...”
Keith casually burned the letter and strode out of the tent.
Outside the tent, his adjutant was surprised to see a rare smile gracing the prince's face.
Meanwhile, a massive army was marching toward their camp from the distance.
“Your Highness, what is this?”
The adjutant was deeply confused. Weren't all of the First Prince's forces already stationed here? Where did this large army, fully clad in refined steel armor, come from?
“Hmph, this prince naturally has his own ways.”
Watching the approaching army, Keith opened his arms to welcome them.
“I must thank Duke Cary for his assistance. With your help, I am certain we can take down those wretched demons.”
Keith smiled at the well-equipped army.
However, the soldiers merely stood at attention in front of him, silent.
Only after Keith's fake smile faded did a soldier clad in refined steel armor slowly step forward from the ranks.
“Your Highness, I am the commander of the Silver Legion. You may call me Bode.”
A muffled, middle-aged male voice echoed from beneath the helmet.
Bode then walked up to Keith and extended his hand, though the sheer contempt he held for the First Prince was practically overflowing through the visor of his helmet.
“Commander Bode, I hope we can work well together.”
Keith forced another smile and reached out to shake Bode's hand.
“Save it, Your Highness. I just hope you can actually deliver on what you promised Duke Cary.”
Just as Keith reached out, Bode dropped his hand, bypassed him, and led his troops straight into the camp.
Keith's hand remained suspended in mid-air. Once all the soldiers had marched past him, the veins on his forehead bulged with rage.
He clenched his outstretched hand into a tight fist, staring toward the demon territory in the distance.
“What a fine Silver Legion, what a fine Bode! I hope you bastards can survive that damned lion.”
“Dammit, that old man is just biased! Fucking biased! He gave all the damn money to that weakling! Otherwise! Otherwise, why the fuck would I have to seek out these wretched nobles and take shit from these damn soldiers?!”
Keith blamed everything on his father. He glared at the departing Silver Legion, then thought of Nadia. Did she really think he didn't know what she was plotting?
Keith stared at the demon territory in the distance, which was still shrouded in thick miasma.
This reminded him of Leticia once again.
“If it weren't for that woman disappearing, if only she hadn't! I would have been the Emperor long ago!”
Just the thought of Leticia sent his temper soaring again.
Meanwhile, out in the fields, Leticia felt as if someone was cursing her. She raised her head and looked toward the border.
“What's wrong, Miss Sia?”
Seeing Sia suddenly stop, Danasuo looked in the same direction, but there was nothing there.
“It's nothing. Just now... I thought I heard someone calling me?”
Leticia was a little puzzled. She felt like she had heard the First Prince's voice.
Was he calling out to her?
“Heehee, maybe it's because Miss Sia is also a Saintess? Saintesses always perform miracles.”
Over the past month, Danasuo had become both a mentor and a friend to Leticia. Since most of their sharing didn't involve sensitive secrets, they were completely open with each other.
“A Saintess? I am not one yet.”
Leticia shook her head. Her current demeanor was a far cry from the rage she had felt when she first heard Lin Ling being called the Saintess.
“Eh? But you clearly are, Miss Sia. You were recognized by the Goddess herself.”
Danasuo didn't understand why Leticia denied her identity.
“Because the current me has not truly brought happiness to anyone, and I have even committed many mistakes.”
Leticia thought of her past actions, her grip on her farming tool tightening slightly.
“Until I have made amends for my sins, I will not call myself a Saintess.”
Having said her piece, Leticia resumed her tilling.
Sensing that Leticia didn't want to dwell on the matter, Danasuo quickly changed the subject.
“In that case, let Teacher Danasuo help you achieve that!”
“After all, Miss Sia played a part in allowing me to be here today!”
Perched on Leticia's shoulder, Danasuo whispered softly into her ear.
“Miss Sia, in my eyes, you will always be a Saintess.”
Leticia didn't reply.
But upon closer inspection, one would notice that the tips of her ears were slightly flushed.
It seemed she was not very good at receiving compliments.
Meanwhile, the other Saintess was finally crawling out from under her blanket.
“Damn it. The great Saintess actually fainted from sheer embarrassment over something like that.”
Lin Ling had actually woken up a while ago. However, when she first opened her eyes, she realized that her guardian, Miss Blanket, had somehow been neatly folded and placed far away.
“Shouldn't a blanket be draped over the Saintess to protect her at a time like this?!”
Then what was this warm source of heat embracing her from behind...?
Lin Ling sniffed gently.
Oh no, could it be...
The person behind her was the Demon King!!!
Thus, the clever Saintess chose a grand, strategic plan: 《Pretending to Sleep》.
It wasn't until the heat source beside her departed and Miss Blanket was finally placed back over her that the "sleeping" Lin Ling finally "woke up" once more.
Rate on N.U.
