Outside the window, dark clouds blanketed the sky, and rain pattered steadily down.
For a moment, the headmaster's office in the Redmond Building seemed to plunge into white noise; save for the sound of the rain, only Antanas's panicked shouts could be heard.
Pranay covered his eyes, feeling his scalp tingle with dread.
He had never imagined that within a minute of meeting the New King, such an embarrassing blunder would occur.
Watching his sister lying unconscious, Pranay couldn't help but feel relieved that the New King's voice hadn't possessed that soul-tugging quality from back in the prison.
Fortunately, Antanas had once been a physician in the Demon Realm and excelled at emergency care. From her expression, it was quickly evident that Sinora's vital signs had barely managed to stabilize.
As an eighth-rank great demon who had augmented her close-combat capabilities, Sinora's body was vastly tougher than that of a human, and her injuries would recover naturally.
"Let Sinora lie on the sofa and rest for a bit."
Seeing Antanas heave a sigh of relief, Lanqi pointed toward the black leather sofa in the reception area to the side of the office and said.
"Oh, right, right away."
Antanas deftly moved Sinora over to the sofa.
After settling Sinora in, she sat down beside the sofa as well, resting a palm glowing with faint blue light on Sinora's forehead in an effort to wake her quickly.
"Is Sinora all right?"
Standing behind the desk, Lanqi looked at Antanas and asked.
"It's nothing serious, but you must never use your magic voice to amplify her emotions while she's looking at you in the future. Otherwise, she really might die."
Antanas gazed at Lanqi, speaking with mixed emotions.
Sinora's fangirl devotion to the female New King was already off the charts, and the true New King turned out to be an exceptionally handsome man with a singular aura. Antanas couldn't begin to imagine how high Sinora's veneration for him would climb.
"My apologies. I understand."
Lanqi said no more and sat back down in his office chair.
He patiently waited for Antanas to treat Sinora in peace, gesturing for Pranay to take a seat first as well.
In any case, there was no rush; his meeting with the duke was scheduled for five in the afternoon.
More than ten minutes passed like this.
On the sofa, Sinora, who had fallen into a deep slumber, fluttered her eyelashes. She didn't open her eyes, only sat up slowly.
She sensed Antanas sitting right beside her.
"Did I... fall into the Gentle Land of the Fallen?"
Sinora felt rather confused, asking Antanas like someone waking from a dream.
"Sinora, don't open your eyes. This is reality,"
Antanas raised a hand preemptively to cover Sinora's eyes, speaking to her slowly.
She was terrified that Sinora would go down for a second round.
To Sinora, the New King was practically a humanoid Great Demon Trial.
"..."
Recalling the New King's image in her mind, Sinora's still-muddled brain immediately began buzzing again, and her delicate frame swayed, nearly fainting once more.
Yet she seemed to realize something and gathered her focus, sensing the solitary figure waiting quietly at the far end of the office.
She had lain on the office sofa asleep for who knew how long, while their King had waited patiently behind the desk for Antanas to bring her back around.
Sinora's face instantly flushed crimson, a wave of shame and mortification crashing over her heart.
"I... I must atone with my life!"
Her eyes tightly shut, she wished the floor would open up and swallow her whole.
Having shown the King such a disgraceful state, Sinora wished for nothing more than to just die!
"Sinora, it was my lack of consideration. I'm truly sorry."
Hearing this, surprise flashed across Lanqi's eyes. He quickly gestured for Antanas to shield Sinora, came around the desk, and walked over to the lounge area.
"P-P-P-Please don't come any closer! N-No, I mean, it's not your fault! You shouldn't apologize to me—I was the one who was far too impolite!"
Like a startled rabbit, Sinora frantically scuttled backward, every inch of her skin burning red with embarrassment and mortification.
Her eyes quickly welled with moisture, and tears began trickling down even with her eyelids clamped shut.
"The ancients said: look not at what is improper, listen not to what is improper, speak not of what is improper. Whatever seems unbefitting of proper etiquette to me, I will not look at, nor listen to, nor bring up of my own accord. So please rest assured, Sinora: in my eyes, you have not been impolite in the least. In fact, if we are overly formal, it will only make it harder for us to get along."
Even though the New King's voice had changed and no longer carried the magic to sway one's heartstrings, it remained full of the same unchanging warmth and understanding.
"Thank you, New King."
Though Sinora's cheeks were still flushed crimson, the shame and self-blame in her heart began to melt away.
She raised her head, eyes still shut, a hint of resolve and gratitude now showing in her expression.
Unlike his female voice, the New King's male voice actually soothed the heart, instilling a sense of transcendence.
Beside them, Pranay nodded as well, pondering every word the New King had spoken.
Antanas, however, had barely listened to a word.
"My King, what is your relationship with Talia?"
Sensing that the atmosphere had turned harmonious again, Antanas immediately asked the New King.
She had been itching to ask this question ever since seeing the New King's true form!
Was the New King Talia's husband, son, or...?
Antanas had never cared for personal boundaries and always appeared chummy with everyone; "restraint" simply wasn't in her vocabulary.
Hearing this question, Sinora pricked up her ears. If they had misunderstood before, was it possible that Talia was actually still single?
"She is my teacher,"
Lanqi replied, having no idea what kind of wild thoughts were running through Antanas's head.
"Then you aren't related by blood?"
Antanas's tone grew even livelier, her words tumbling out much faster.
"No."
Lanqi shook his head.
He felt that something like this could be discerned merely by looking: as flawed as the Wilfort family might be, they were at worst wealthy merchants like his old man—hardly the sort to produce a NEET.
"..."
In an instant, an ultimate brainstorm erupted in Antanas's mind.
If the New King was a man, then he and the Second Princess could actually be a couple!
Yet the New King seemed even closer with the Bishop...
And now, if the New King might also have something going on with Talia... Holy crap!
No matter which two of the three women were around the New King at the same time, the result would be utterly explosive!
With the Second Princess's desire for control over the New King, she would never tolerate the Bishop bossing him around at will.
Meanwhile, Talia's temper didn't give an inch. If she clashed with the Bishop, her aggression and vengefulness would skyrocket.
And if Hyperion and Talia ever bickered over the New King one day, imagine Efatia standing by, watching with her own eyes as her elder sister and daughter fought over the same man—Antanas couldn't begin to imagine what kind of expression and feelings Efatia would have!
This...
This was precisely the unpredictable stage of fate she longed to see!
"The three of you, I have arranged your offices in this Redmond Building. From now on, you will be my right-hand aides. Whether we remain on the Northern Continent or return to the Southern Continent, I will take you with me."
Lanqi took a seat on the sofa in the lounge area and spoke to the three great demons.
"Yes."
"Understood."
"Thank you, my Lord."
All three great demons responded immediately.
Pranay glanced at Antanas. For some reason, he felt that Antanas's loyalty to the New King had inexplicably spiked just now; her eyes were practically shining with resolve to follow the New King unto death. Yet something felt off—it almost seemed as though she couldn't wait for him to die an early death.
Chapter 460