Dungeon Defense (WN)

for her to explain her reason, but she didn’t budge at all.
In the end, our father decided to kick her out first saying that they didn’t need that kind of daughter.
Jeez, I don’t know what she was thinking.”

It was because of you, Luke.

I snickered in my mind.
It seems that the task of mentally cornering Daisy had been slowly proceeding outside my field of vision as well.

Daisy was a girl who could become surprisingly wicked in order to protect something.

She stood in front of me at the age of 10 in order to protect her family and the other villagers.
She kept her pride and tried to assassinate me in order to get revenge.
These kinds of people usually can’t be controlled.

Lowering their self-respect straight to hell was the only viable method.
I am human trash, I have no right to protect something, and no right to be protected by something…….
They need to have this sense of shame.

All to make their minds rot.

I made her indirectly have incestuous sex with her brother and torture prisoners.
Out of all the heinous acts that could be done, I made her do only the worst ones.
It took a matter of moments to submerge the girl, who was going to be the hero in the future, in darkness.

I didn’t feel even slightly bad for her.

If I want to feel bad for someone, then I have to either be stronger than them, or we have to be on equal grounds.
Daisy is someone who I acknowledged as being vastly superior to me.
Especially if you consider how much of a clumsy child I was at 10 years old.

I’m a Demon Lord and Daisy is someone who’s supposed to be the hero in the future.

Only I would be at a disadvantage if either of our guards were lowered.

“I understand.
It might be too late, but I will try talking to her.”

“Thank you very much, Father.”

Luke spoke dolefully.

“Daisy is a precious member of our family.
She is an irreplaceable daughter to our parents.”

“Daisy is also my one and only adopted daughter.
Rest assured and leave this matter to me.”

I gently patted Luke’s head.
Luke chuckled.
It was adorable since it felt like I was watching a hamster that was being raised in a transparent cage.

“Lapis, come here.”

I sent Luke off and called for Lapis.
She appeared to be having an important discussion with the village chiefs, but she promptly bowed her head to them and came my way as soon as I called for her.
Lapis knows the schedule of all of our executives, so she should easily be able to answer my question.

How should I play with Daisy this time? I’d like to start making use of two slime onaholes if possible.
Double her feelings of immorality and shame.
That would make it four times stronger.
I’m such a genius.

Lapis bowed her head.

“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”

“Indeed.
Did I interrupt something important?”

“It was nothing but dull chatter.
I am actually grateful that you called me.”

Lapis casually talked ill of the village chiefs.
This was normal for her.

I spoke in a somewhat playful tone.

“It is nothing major, but I have not seen Daisy around lately.
I thought she was attending to the Saintess, but that did not seem to be the case and it turned out that she has not been returning to her parents either.
Where is this child goofing off?”

“…….”

Lapis suddenly went silent.

Her face was still expressionless, but I could see through it since I have been observing her for several years now.
Lapis was currently emotionlessly feeling perplexed.
As a Lapis expert, I was certain of this.

“Lapis?”

“……As the length of time Your Highness lay bedridden lasted longer than expected, unrest and panic occurred among your vassals.”

Lapis whispered quietly.

An ominous feeling fell over me.
Instead of answering my question directly, she chose to answer in a roundabout way.
As someone who always sought out immediate responses and answers, Lapis was straying far from her principles.

I immediately activated the magic that was on my right-hand ring.
It was a spell that surrounded a 3-meter area with a barrier that distorted sound when it traveled through it.
With this, we didn’t have to worry about eavesdroppers.

I looked at Lapis seriously.

“Continue.
Do not leave anything out.”

“A fair number of vassals believed that Your Highness would be fine, but there were also a number of them who were considering the worst-case scenario.”

“Cowards.”

I sneered.

“Not trusting in me and worrying obsessively comes from their worry about their own well-being.
They are afraid of what will happen to them if they were to lose me.
They should be embarrassed as my vassals if they cannot even control their emotions.”

“……The Military Affairs Minister reacted especially bad.”

I paused.
What was that?

I furrowed my brows as I struggled to believe what I had just heard.

“Laura boasts great mental strength even among us.
She is above me.
Are you certain about this?”

“Sir Dantalian.”

Lapis stared straight at me as if she had resolved herself.

“There is something that I have been wanting to report to you for a while now.
I understand if you do not forgive me for reporting this to you now.
……The demeanors that your vassals show Your Highness are not their true demeanors.”

“What do you mean……?”

“I did not want to make Your Highness worry needlessly.
I believed that I could manage internal affairs and that it would only be appropriate for me to do so.
I apologize.
It seems that I had miscalculated.”

I opened my mouth.

Lapis was feeling despair, sadness, and guilt.
Despite being intertwined like a ball of twine, I could feel these emotions clearly.
I was filled with both shock and anger.
What was making Lapis feel despair?

“……What about Daisy?”

I quietly asked with a shaking voice.

“You still did not answer my question.
What happened to Daisy?”

Instead of giving an answer, Lapis lowered her head.
As if she did not have the right to face me.
Lapis had never shown this kind of behavior to me.
My insides were quickly filled with a surge of rage.

What has been happening in my army!?