Daisy now pressed the half-smoked cigarillo against my body.
My chest. Right where my heart sat in my thorax, Daisy rubbed the tip of the tobacco against me. Right, left, right again—she slowly rotated the cigar five times. As the ember died out, I felt warmth spreading through my chest.
"I'll thrust the blade right in here."
Daisy spoke.
"I'd prefer the most painful method of killing, but you are the Demon Lord, Father. A half-hearted stab would only be healed by your regenerative ability. There's no choice. I'll finish you in one strike."
"Indeed. A feeble Demon Lord like me has no way to recover if his heart is destroyed."
Recovery magic and potions were far from omnipotent, either. A blow powerful enough to destroy the heart was, after all, something that couldn't simply be undone. Well, it would be a different story if we were talking about a monster like Barbatos. Barbatos had his heart burst by Bael and still recovered perfectly fine. It was a feat that underlings couldn't hope to replicate.
"But no matter how I look at it, your confidence is excessive, my daughter. You're nothing more than an assassin with a Slave Brand carved into you. You've grown arrogant just because you killed Bael and captured Agares, haven't you?"
I smiled.
"Barbatos commands the most powerful force among the Demon Lord's army. Elisabeth is the sovereign of a nation. The gap between them and trash like you is as wide as heaven and earth. So tell me—by what right do you think you can surpass them and take my head?"
"The seventy-first-ranked Demon Lord capturing Bael was equally absurd. Yet you already accomplished it, Father. I see no reason why I can't do the same."
"Impertinent thing."
Laughter escaped my lips.
Daisy was staring at me with a face full of conviction. I wanted to twist that insolent expression of hers. I wanted to pin her beneath me and crush her into a mangled mess. But I wasn't foolish enough to be swept up by desire and rush to uncork what would be the sweetest wine in the world.
"Since you've laid out your plans one by one, I'll tell you mine as well. What? Don't decline. My little girl is confidently announcing her aspirations for the first time in a long while. As a father, I couldn't be more proud."
Both Elisabeth and Daisy shared one particular misconception.
I certainly wanted the best death. But the cause and effect were reversed. It wasn't that I craved the best death because I wanted to die. It was quite the opposite. Because I couldn't just die for any reason, if I had to die, I would only accept and settle for nothing less than "the best."
It's a simple problem. If someone is told to die for no reason, no one would readily accept it. But if, by sacrificing yourself, you could protect a hundred thousand humans—your own family—a great many people would willingly choose death.
Because that would be a good death.
What form of death can I accept and be satisfied with? Naturally, I have no intention whatsoever of dying meekly unless the most spectacular death is offered to me. And what I consider the most spectacular death is quite magnificent.
"The very moment you fail to kill me, I will crush you beneath my foot and violate you. Then I'll make sure you watch Luke and his biological parents burn to death right before your eyes."
"......"
"No, personally violating you isn't a great method either. How about this. I kill Luke, then ask Barbatos to turn his corpse into a puppet. Then I order the corpse puppet to violate you."
I stroked Daisy's cheek. I caressed her gently, lacing my touch with plenty of affection.
"Luke won't work either. The fact that the one lifelong lover he desperately yearned for turned out to be his sister is tragic enough, but to only be reunited with his sister after death... Hmm. Can corpse puppets even produce sperm? I'll have to ask Barbatos about that."
He is the child born of a Hero and a Hero. He will undoubtedly show the finest qualities. I'm looking forward to it immensely.
"Heh. Just imagining my foster son and foster daughter bearing me grandchildren already has me excited."
"......That's the sort of filth even Father would dream up."
"My, my. If you're going to insult me with something that tame, I'm rather disappointed."
This is still just the preview. The truly entertaining part begins now.
"Next, I'll enter as Marbas's adopted son. Marbas is nominally a member of the imperial family. I would likewise be included among the imperial family. And once I receive the right of succession to the throne, Daisy, you too will suddenly become a princess of the Habsburg Empire!"
"......"
"In all the world, there's no father like me. To grant the most noble rank to a daughter born into a class lower than a butcher in a frontier farming village — wouldn't that make me a model for fathers everywhere to aspire to?"
My hand traced along the line of Daisy's jaw and slid down to her neck. Her skin, white as freshly fallen snow, was pleasantly cool to the touch.
"First Princess of the Habsburg Empire, Daisy von Custos. May you become a beautiful glory unto the eternal, imperishable empire."
I chuckled softly.
"If the current Emperor dies, the throne passes to me. But I have no intention of accepting it. Obviously. If a Demon Lord were to ascend to the throne, the other nations would recoil in violent opposition. So, as much as it pains me, I'll have to cede the throne to someone else. Are you getting a sense of who I might hand it over to?"
I took hold of Daisy's chin and tilted it up slightly.
"It's you, Daisy."
I rose from my chair and looked down into her eyes.
"I shall make you a Vampire so that you can live on indefinitely. Become Emperor, and rule this Empire alone for two hundred, three hundred years. The Empire your father built. Of course, of all people, you'd be the one who wants to tear it apart the most. Which is precisely why this will be the cruelest punishment……."
I slowly bowed my head.
I felt the faintest touch on my lips.
"……."
"……."
A kiss so light it was like someone quietly knocking on a door. Daisy's lips were dry, yet impossibly soft. While I kissed her, Daisy didn't so much as blink. She simply stared at me with piercing, unwavering intensity.
I drew my lips away and whispered.
"So, my dear daughter—do be careful not to fail. Your father is cruel and merciless, not the sort of man who shows leniency to those who fall short."
I seized Daisy's right wrist and guided her palm to my heart.
"At the right moment. In the right situation. With a single decisive strike—leave not the slightest opening, and pierce through in one blow."
"I shall bear that in mind…… Father."
There was not a shred of confusion in Daisy's gaze. Good. I laughed heartily and shoved her. Daisy lost her balance and toppled onto the bed.
I left her where she lay and walked straight out of the bedroom.
The gloomy feelings had vanished without a trace. Elizabeth, Daisy—apparently both of them had recently taken it upon themselves to keep me entertained. My footsteps naturally turned into a dance as I lightly traversed the empty corridors of the Demon Lord's Castle.
Before I knew it, a hum had slipped from my lips.
Before long, the seventh underground floor of my Demon Lord's Castle had been completed as well. The eighth was nearly finished, and the tenth had already been furnished as a private living space reserved for myself and my senior subordinates—so once the ninth floor was done, the Demon Lord's Castle would finally achieve the grandeur I had envisioned from the start.
A colossal Demon Lord's Castle stretching ten stories underground. Even bringing a sizable army, it would be difficult to seize. No—to occupy my Demon Lord's Castle, one would first have to sweep through the territories beyond. Conquering my city, with its rows of magic towers lining the streets, was virtually impossible.
Someday, once I had handed the Empire over to Daisy, it wouldn't be so bad to hole up in here and live forever. Endlessly remembering all those I had killed. That would be fine.
After all, for someone like me, even death would be a luxury.
"Godfather. If I may... could you spare just a little time?"
The next day, Luke came to my office.
I was catching up on a rather large backlog of paperwork with Lapis. While I had been busy handling affairs of the Empire, my territory had been set aside. Fortunately, Parsi had taken care of things on my behalf and handled everything neatly, but there were still matters that only the lord himself could deal with.
I gave a warm smile.
"Of course. Go ahead and tell me."
I had already anticipated Luke would come looking for me, so I was in no rush at all. It was only natural. Right now, Luke was facing the greatest crisis of his sixteen years of life. A crisis far too heavy for him to bear alone.
When a child found themselves in that kind of situation, they would naturally seek someone to lean on. But who could he possibly confide in? His biological parents? They were probably the last people Luke wanted to see or be around right now.
There was only me. His most respected figure, his godfather — me alone.
"Well... um..."
Luke cautiously glanced at Lapis. His expression was extremely dark. Lapis picked up on the mood and spoke to Luke.
"Would it be better if I stepped out for a moment?"
"Ah, yes... Thank you, Lapis."
"Don't mention it."
Lapis rose from her chair. She gave me a polite nod and left the office.
"Now then, come over here and sit down."
I kept a gentle smile on my face and gestured for Luke to take a seat. Luke hesitated, then approached and sat down.
"Our Luke has never really come to me for something like this before. Honestly, it makes me glad that you're finally willing to lean on your godfather a little."
"Godfather..."
Luke looked moved, but his face was also filled with an irrepressible sadness and pain. However, I maintained my calm and said nothing, waiting for him to bring it up first. For the dramatic effect.
Luke's lips parted and closed several times. He clearly couldn't bring himself to say the words. I waited patiently, generously giving him time. After about five minutes, Luke finally spoke.
"I... I committed such a terrible sin..."
"...It really does sound like a serious matter."
I wiped the smile from my face in an instant. I gazed at Luke with the utmost seriousness. I struck a pose as if his tone and voice had awakened a profound sense of urgency in me. That was why I had been maintaining that gentle smile until just a moment ago.
"You don't have to tell me the specifics. Even abstract terms will do. Just make sure you tell me the truth. If you speak the truth, I may just be able to give you the answer you need, Luke."
"Yes, Godfather... thank you..."
Luke spoke in a voice thick with tears.
"It really is too great a sin. One I could never erase no matter what I do... The other person said they would never forgive me... but they also won't allow me to kill myself to atone."
Luke's eye sockets were already sunken and hollow, and fine red veins had spread across his pupils. He had probably been crying all through the night since yesterday. I could roughly imagine what kind of agonizing hell this pure-hearted boy had endured the night before.
"I-I don't know what I should do. I can't receive forgiveness, and I can't die to make amends either... What am I supposed to do? Godfather, what is a person supposed to do in a situation like this...?"
"..."
I studied Luke's face carefully. I couldn't give an answer right away. I had to pretend as though I were deliberating, as though I were thinking about it as deeply as possible. And so I held both of Luke's hands and remained silent for about five minutes.
"In times like these, there is only one way."
"One way...?"
Last night, Daisy had asked me to "erase Luke from the list of candidates."
This was the reason why.
"You must give up everything — your life, your rights, your convictions — and offer it all to the other person."
Luke would become my slave from this moment on.