Ever since gaining the Demon Lord's help, Princess Lana's smile seemed a little more sincere.
But toward her beloved knight, "Woof," she gradually began taking a hands-off approach.
This Golden Princess was like a traveler from the future, issuing policy proposal after policy proposal and restoring the Kingdom's vigorous vitality.
Of course, the nobles obstructed her at every turn, but under the principle of equivalent exchange in demon contracts, the great nobles' opposition clearly had little effect.
More and more commoners died within the Kingdom. In the past, the deaths of dozens or even hundreds of commoners would not have drawn any notice, but as the Kingdom became increasingly prosperous, the number of deaths kept rising... until someone finally realized something was wrong.
The royal family and the other great nobles assumed an epidemic had broken out, so they commissioned regional investigations through the Adventurer's Guild.
Among them, Azure Rose and the adamantite-ranked adventurer team known as Momon and Nabe jointly explored the areas with the highest death tolls.
Inside the royal capital.
Some maids whispered among themselves. Most of the maids who had come to serve the Princess were daughters of noble families, and much of the information obtained by the nobles spread through these maids.
The Golden Princess's methods had become increasingly sophisticated, to the point that even the maids who relayed information were terrified.
But had the Golden Princess become so intelligent that something had gone wrong with her mind?
More than once, they had seen the Princess speaking to empty air. That smile rising from the depths of her heart also filled the young maids with fear.
Had the Princess... become possessed?
Compared with Princess Lana of the Kingdom, Kurumi, the projected incarnation of Hates, the Old One and Demon Lord, was clearly far more troubled.