Case 134: To a calm before the storm.

A few weeks had passed in an instant.

At least, that was how it felt to Cecilia. Caged in her own room, she had little to do besides reading books and playing on her phone. That in itself wasn't intolerable. Cecilia herself was a patient person, a notorious homebody, so she wouldn't go crazy from the prolonged confinement.

Still, should someone ask her if she wanted to go outside... well, she wouldn't say 'no.'

Thanks to the campaign she had personally initiated, the girls could only visit her once in a while. Cecilia would be thrilled to have them each time, but it was fleeting since they couldn't stay for long. Perhaps they, too, could sense that, plus the looming deadline pushing down on them, but the reunions all had a tint of melancholy.

Thankfully, they were able to celebrate Lyra's eighteenth birthday—a small, intimate party. It also started the countdown for Cecilia's 'ascension' to be the legitimate demon queen and her inevitable departure to this glamorous city.

''...''

Cecilia sat blankly in her dark room, her weary eyes drifting to the distant clouds. Even though the sky was blue and vibrant, she could only see a ghostly version of it. The girl dropped her phone carelessly, letting it fall onto the bed. Feeling her eyelids heavy despite it being afternoon, she couldn't help but sigh.

Another reason she could endure this loneliness was, ironically, thanks to her weakening body. Now that the elixirs had rapidly begun to lose their effects, Cecilia once again felt that sense of helplessness tying her being, perhaps a bind tighter than the chains she had been wearing.

Without the life force from humans, succubi couldn't survive.

Realizing this foolish way of living, their higher evolutions had chosen to abandon this crude way of gaining nourishment, to transcend and instead consume the 'beauty' all around the world. Cecilia, being the most noble of them all, shouldn't have been subjected to such a mindless desire.

Yet, here she was, starving. She was starving for years.

All because of Astaroth's cruel greed that was forced onto her. The more she thought about it, the more resentment swelled up. How did she end up in this situation? What did she do wrong to deserve this?

That night, Cecilia hugged herself to sleep.

Her mood didn't get better the next day, but she still had something to do—learning a self-detonation magic and arranging some preparations for the final act.

For the magic itself, it wasn't too complicated, though in her case, finding the right trigger to deal maximum damage to Astaroth, her so-called 'backer,' required some creativity. Cecilia wasn't a magical genius, nor did she receive formal training, but she could figure it out slowly. After all, it was only one spell.

More annoying than that was the matter with Valerie, the little detective. Since the seed of doubt was planted in her mind, or rather, the seed had already grown into an old tree when it was delivered, she would certainly move according to Cecilia's wish. However, some coordination issues needed to be resolved.

Cecilia would admit that she was somewhat reckless in this aspect. Even if Valerie never chose to alert others about her identity, someone could always discover it if they wanted to. Namely... the emperor's swords. Those assassins had incredibly keen noses, and they would not hesitate to directly put a knife to her throat should her identity be exposed.

Lyra had prepared some measures to protect this mansion, but there were still some risks.

For now, Cecilia couldn't die. She had to live.

'I caused everyone too much trouble... so if I have to die, at least I have to make it a meaningful death. Not... this stupidly.'

Cecilia grabbed her phone. First, she needed to respond to the girls' messages. They were sending texts, pictures, and voicemails regularly, hoping to brighten her day just a little.

''...Idiots.''

Cecilia smiled bitterly. If they were still this clingy, how would they ever accept her death when the inevitable came? Could they ever get past it?

'Maybe I should start writing farewell letters to them...'

It felt surreal. She had seen many terminally ill characters preparing for their demise in the past, and now, it was her turn. Just when she was giggling self-deprecatingly, switching to her anonymous phone, a rather unfamiliar avatar climbed to the top, on which a red notification sat. It was a message from Yuria.

[How are you doing lately?]

''...''

Cecilia sometimes reminisced about her journey to the demon territory with the feline princess. As friends, she conversed with Yuria casually through the app, though not as frequently as with her lovers.

Was it her sharp instincts? Yuria seemed to be able to sense Cecilia's bad mood every time and reach out so timely.

''Hah...''

After telling Yuria that she was fine, Cecilia hovered her finger on another unfamiliar avatar...

This was the contact of that 'expert' Quasar had hired for the auction operation. If Cecilia's guess was correct, this person would be none other than Lilith, the ex-demon queen.

The original Cecilia's relationship with this 'mother' was already strained, but it became even worse when Cecilia took over. After all, they were complete stranger, and Lilith was someone to be cautious around.

In a way, Lilith had dumped this whole thing onto Cecilia by resigning the throne to her, causing the curse to be transferred. So, the mother didn't need to be worried about starving, while the daughter had to.

Should Cecilia resign her throne to something else, too? She clearly didn't need it.

Such playful remarks flashed through her mind, but Astaroth wouldn't allow such tricks in the first place. While she was daydreaming, a message suddenly came from the other side first.

Cecilia trembled. Then, she carefully opened the message.

[I'm sorry, child.]

''...''

For a long time, Cecilia didn't know how to respond, but the messages kept coming.

[I know that I am a terrible mother. I won't make excuses or try to get your forgiveness.]

[I know that it is too late for this now. Still, I wish to help you until the end.]

[You've been hurt by my selfish decisions, yet you stayed strong—much stronger than me, who ran away from all of it.]

[Looking at you, I finally found my strength again. Thank you. And... I'm sorry.]

Cecilia stared thoughtfully at the flurry of texts, unable to imagine the face of the person on the other side. Her feelings were mixed, but ultimately... if she could have Lilith act for her for a while, it was a tremendously beneficial deal.

So, she replied with a simple [Okay.], acknowledging Lilith's intentions and began to task her.

The former demon queen readily agreed, which meant that... Cecilia was truly free for some time. It was unexpectedly calm, even though the world was heading toward the end.