Divine Right of Various Anime and Manga

At this moment, Liliana had also finished paying and quickly caught up with the two. Upon seeing the hint in Erica's gaze, she felt reassured. As members of a magic society based in Italy and Italians themselves, they naturally did not wish for the land and people of Italy to suffer disaster.

"Apologies, this is private property, not a palace open for tours. Please leave immediately."

As Roy and the others approached the gates of this palace-like building, security personnel stepped forward to block them. These security guards were all ordinary people, with no connection to magic whatsoever.

Before Roy could speak, Erica and Liliana exchanged a glance. The two young women stepped forward simultaneously and directly cast suggestion magic, compelling the security personnel to let them through. They feared that if these people offended the "King," they would end up turned into pillars of salt.

Under the influence of the suggestion magic, the security guards quickly moved aside, allowing Roy and the others to enter the estate. Roy was not angered by Erica and Liliana's actions; he understood that the two young women hoped to minimize casualties as much as possible.

Roy cared only about the result, not the process. Whether he fought his way in to see the White Princess or used suggestion magic to walk in and meet her, as long as the outcome remained the same, it didn't matter. As for the kindness deep in Erica and Liliana's hearts, Roy did not dislike it either. Whether they were kind-hearted or bloodthirsty killers, as long as they did not defy him, act arrogantly, knew their place, refrained from overstepping, and possessed ability, they would all earn Roy's favor.

Since they had this kindness within them, he would not twist their natures but instead let them bloom this flower of compassion as fully as possible.

The path was unobstructed. With the two Great Knights serving as vanguards, Roy easily passed through the garden and entered the building. Then, Erica and Liliana's suggestion magic finally wore off, and a middle-aged woman blocked their way.

Chapter 33: The Princess Renowned Across Europe

Standing before Erica and Liliana was a woman in her forties, dressed in expensive yet understated clothing. Though middle-aged, she had maintained herself well, appearing at first glance to be only in her early thirties. Her expression was very stern, and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses sat on her nose, easily reminding one of a dormitory supervisor or the like.

"This is the residence of Duke Godding's daughter, Her Highness Princess Alice! How dare you forcibly intrude upon this place!"

The middle-aged woman suppressed her anger and demanded sternly. Erica and Liliana exchanged a glance. Seeing that Roy, who was leisurely walking behind them, had not spoken, they took the lead in asking on his behalf: "...Who are you?"

"I am Her Highness Princess Alice's housekeeper and protector. Who are you? Why would you use such means to forcibly enter the princess's residence?"

The housekeeper quickly restrained her anger, refusing to lose her composure, but her eyes fixed on Erica and Liliana were filled with hostility and deep wariness. Since she could be called Princess Alice's bodyguard, this housekeeper was no weakling. However, when she sensed that Erica and Liliana, despite their youth, contained powerful magic within them, she was secretly alarmed. These two seemingly teenage girls were both Great Knights.

The title of Great Knight was bestowed only upon those who had reached a pinnacle in both swordsmanship and magic. Even Salvatore Doni, before becoming a Campione, could not become a Great Knight due to his lack of magical talent.

"I am Erica Blandelli of the 'Bronze Black Cross,' and this is Liliana Kranichar of the 'Bronze Black Cross.' I apologize for forcibly entering Princess Alice's residence, but an important figure has arrived, and Princess Alice should come to greet him!"

Erica stopped Liliana, who was about to speak, as she was more skilled at such external negotiations. Her gorgeous, delicate face wore a confident and elegant smile as she spoke courteously.

Unlike Roy, a Campione, Erica's strength did not allow her to act with impunity. Now, she represented not only Roy but also the "Bronze Black Cross," so she did not wish to lose decorum.

"'Bronze Black Cross'? That's an Italian magic society... Are you the next heir who recently earned the title 'Crimson Devil'? Then the important figure you speak of must be..."

At this moment, the housekeeper's expression finally changed. As the former head of the Council of Sages' steward, she was naturally well-informed about the magic world. Realizing that this young woman named Erica had recently served the New King, that meant...

Just as the housekeeper's heart was filled with shock, Roy leisurely walked up to the four-story, palace-like building. He looked nothing like someone here to "kidnap"; rather, he seemed to be sightseeing, even taking the time to admire the flowers and plants in the courtyard.

"King Roy!"

Seeing Roy himself, exactly as described in the intelligence records, the housekeeper's expression shifted. She quickly suppressed all her anger, bowed, and greeted the Demon King.

"For Princess Alice to have a housekeeper as strong and loyal as you speaks volumes about her excellence."

Roy wore that extremely bright and flamboyant Cardinal's robe, his right hand tucked into a specially made pocket. He walked past the path Erica and Liliana had cleared and stood before the housekeeper.

"Your praise fills me with trepidation. I am merely..."

The housekeeper was about to offer a few modest words when she heard Roy suddenly speak angrily: "...Since you knew I was coming, why hasn't Alice come out to greet me?"

This statement was utterly capricious. Princess Alice had no idea Roy was coming and had received no prior notice, so how could she have come to greet him? Yet the housekeeper dared not refute him. At this moment, she had already pressed a hand to her heart, where a pain that nearly tore her chest apart was taking root.

This was the power of Roy's authority, "Face of God." Although Roy had not actively activated this authority, the housekeeper was already affected the moment she saw his face. Roy's earlier gentleness, amplified by the authority, had made the housekeeper feel like she was bathed in a spring breeze, but his sudden fury was like the biting winter wind. This abrupt emotional shift, empowered by the authority, nearly caused the housekeeper, who possessed strength close to that of a Great Knight, to suffer ruptured blood vessels.

Taking a deep breath to ease her body, the housekeeper said hoarsely: "...Please calm your wrath, King. I will go inform the princess immediately!"

The capriciousness of Demon Kings was well-known. The housekeeper dared not defy him, nor could she even muster a shred of resentment.

"How dare you! Since I have come here to see her, do I need an announcement or notification?"

Roy personally demonstrated what it meant to be fickle and unpredictable. His terrifying demeanor even made Liliana tremble with fear. Only Erica, who had lived with Roy for some time, knew that his actions surely had deeper meaning, so she stood obediently by his side, fulfilling her duty as a knight.

His eerie double-pupiled eyes fixed on the housekeeper. Immediately, the housekeeper felt as though her soul, body, and even her magic were collapsing. Starting from her toes, her entire body began to turn to salt. In an instant, half of her body became a pillar of salt.

This was the highest-grade magic eye attached to Roy's "Divine Right"—"Sodom's Eye"!

Seeing this familiar authority, a barely perceptible flicker of fear crossed Liliana's face. Back at the She-wolf headquarters in Rome, Roy had nearly killed her teacher, the supreme commander of the "Bronze Black Cross," with just a single glance.

"Please stop, King Roy! The Alice you seek has come to greet you!"

From not far behind the housekeeper came a woman's crisp shout. Her voice was lively, like a lark in a secluded valley, its clear, melodious tone carrying both elegance and indignation.

A female figure materialized abruptly at the building's entrance. She had beautiful platinum-blonde hair, a stunning face that could captivate any man, and an exquisite, well-proportioned figure. Her movements exuded an air of nobility, and her elegance carried a captivating, perfume-like aura of a noblewoman.

However, at this moment, the princess, who appeared to be in her twenties, had her beauty marred by the anger on her face, her snow-white, delicate skin taut with tension.

"You've finally shown yourself, Princess Alice! Hiding there all along, spying without revealing your face, using your housekeeper to test me—what audacious behavior! To be so bold even knowing a Demon King has arrived, it seems our Mr. Alexander Gascoyne has given you a misguided judgment."

"...The White Princess, whose fame echoes across Europe—if your housekeeper dies here, all blame falls on you, for using her as a pawn in your test."

Roy's words, piercing straight to her heart, flushed Princess Alice's face red with regret and shame. But more terrifying still, Roy's Double Pupils had turned toward her...

Chapter 34: Beauty Meets Ill Fate

The daughter of Duke Godding's house, Princess Alice Louise Ophélie Nafar, now deeply regretted her actions.

As Roy had said, she was using her housekeeper to test the New King. She had thought this scheme well-hidden, observing from the side in her astral form to gauge the New King's character and behavior at close range, rather than relying on cold, written intelligence.

Yet she never expected Roy to see through her little trick at a glance, then turn the tables, leaving her in an awkward position from which she could not easily retreat.

'Perhaps I've spent too long with Alexander, and forgotten that Campiones are true demon kings.'

Princess Alice smiled bitterly at herself. She had not been without contact with Campiones—on the contrary, she had met nearly every Campione of this era. But with the others, she had only fleeting encounters, while she had known Alexander Gascoyne for several years. For this reason, she had grown accustomed to treating Alexander Gascoyne's personality as the template for Campiones, completely forgetting that demon kings could sometimes be utterly ruthless.

Now, Princess Alice had only one thought: how to rescue her housekeeper—a woman utterly loyal to her, yet now on the verge of death due to her own mistake.

But before Princess Alice could lower herself to beg forgiveness, Roy's "Sodom's Eye" had already fixed upon her.

"Your Majesty?!"

Even Erica and Liliana cried out in surprise. They hadn't expected Roy to use his Authority on Princess Alice. Hadn't His Majesty said he needed Princess Alice's witch power for the ritual? Why would he suddenly strike to kill? Had Princess Alice's actions angered him to the point of recklessness?

Just as Erica and Liliana were stunned, vast Magic Power descended upon Princess Alice in the form of the Evil Eye Authority. But contrary to their expectations, Princess Alice's body did not turn into a pillar of salt—instead, it vanished like smoke.

"It's an astral body! The Princess Alice here is her astral form."

As a fellow witch bloodline, Liliana recognized the technique Princess Alice had used. For witches, the highest level of witchcraft was the "Art of Crossing the Astral World"—using a human body to enter the Astral World. The Astral World was the source of a witch's Spiritual Vision, and mastering this art naturally greatly increased a witch's power.

The "Art of Crossing Yomi" was a supreme technique that even Liliana could not yet perform, and Princess Alice's ability to create an "astral body" was even more advanced. She could effortlessly shuttle between the Material World and the Astral World using this form, without expending much magic power.

"To greet His Majesty with an astral body—Princess Alice has gone too far!"

Even Erica was angered this time. Facing the arrival of His Majesty, Princess Alice had not come in person to greet him, but instead created an astral body to hide and observe from the side. This was nothing less than a slight to Roy, a trampling of His Majesty's dignity.

Liliana was also indignant. She and Erica were now Roy's knights. An insult to their lord was an insult to them, and an insult to the "Bronze Black Cross" and the "Bronze Black Cross." People instinctively magnified such matters in their hearts.

"Go on up. Our princess is waiting on the fourth floor."

Roy stepped over the housekeeper, who had completely turned into a pillar of salt, and climbed the stairs.

The housekeeper was not dead yet, but if Roy did not lift this Authority, or if the salt pillar she had become shattered, she would be as good as dead.

Princess Alice's residence was extremely luxurious, located in Hampstead, one of London's most exclusive upscale residential streets. It was the kind of home with a garden that money alone could not buy.

In this four-story residence, aside from Princess Alice and her housekeeper, the rest were maids—all Ordinary People. Seeing the housekeeper mysteriously transformed into a pillar of salt, they trembled in fear, none daring to block Roy's path as he and his companions climbed the stairs to Princess Alice's bedroom.

The solid wooden door was pushed open by Erica and Liliana. The fourth-floor room was strictly off-limits to anyone except the housekeeper and a very few personal maids. Yet now, a man and two women entered the princess's boudoir.

Princess Alice's boudoir was decorated in an antique and elegant style. Most striking was a princess bed draped with gauze curtains. A graceful figure was faintly visible behind the curtains, lying on the bed like a Sleeping Beauty, waiting for a prince's kiss.

"Roy, Your Majesty, please forgive Alice for not rising from bed to greet you. The reason I met you in my astral form was not out of deliberate neglect, but because my body does not permit me to receive you in person. However, for you to commit such a cruel act in a lady's chamber is most ungentlemanly."

A light, melodious voice came from behind the gauze curtains, but compared to the voice of Princess Alice heard earlier at the front door, this one sounded much weaker.

Her tone was elegant, yet within that elegance lurked a trace of anger—anger at Roy, an uninvited and unwelcome guest.

Roy said nothing, only signaling Erica and Liliana with his eyes. Erica quickly stepped forward and swept aside the gauze curtains of the princess bed, while Liliana fetched a chair from the room and placed it by the bed, allowing Roy to sit.

On that princess bed lay a frail young woman. Just as seen at the residence's front door, the Princess Alice before him still possessed a stunning countenance. The delicate form beneath the blanket rose in a gentle curve, forming a beautiful silhouette. But unlike the astral Princess Alice seen earlier, her true body was much thinner, her face pale and bloodless, easily evoking the image of a patient after surgery.

"So, are you satisfied seeing me like this, Roy, Your Majesty? As you can see, my physical condition is very poor—so poor that I can barely leave my bed. I require specialized massage just to maintain basic health."

Princess Alice gripped the blanket with her pale little hand, her breath coming in gasps, as if even this simple action exhausted her.

Only then did Erica realize that the world-renowned Princess Alice was actually a young woman as sickly as if she were at death's door. She quickly stepped forward, using her hands to help Princess Alice prop herself up, placing a soft cushion behind her back so she could rest steadily against the headboard.

"Thank you."

Princess Alice thanked Erica, her tone elegant and moving, even more aristocratic than Erica, the Italian maiden, like a noblewoman long accustomed to ballroom life.

She wore a frilly nightgown, only a slender wrist exposed. Her platinum-blonde hair was not as lustrous as one might imagine, but instead carried a heavy, lifeless quality.

"Your lifespan is short, Princess Alice. You are only twenty now; your body's functions can barely sustain your life. But in at most another ten years, your life will wither, fading at the very peak of a flower's bloom."

Roy swept a glance over Princess Alice's form and stated with certainty.

"This is what they call 'beauty meets ill fate,' I suppose."

Chapter 35: Pity Is Evil, Authority the Fifth!

Princess Alice was not surprised by Roy's death sentence. Her face showed neither shock nor fear, as if she had long anticipated this outcome.

Leaning against the headboard, she raised her bloodless jade hand, brushed aside a strand of platinum-blonde hair by her ear, and smiled at Roy. "...I am very familiar with my own condition, Roy, Your Majesty!"

"...Not to boast, but as a witch, I can claim to be the most powerful in the world. Yet I take no joy in this, for the price paid—as you can see—is my current body."

"From birth, I possessed extraordinary spiritual power. The 'magic' most difficult for witches to master, I had already grasped by the age of ten. This immense spiritual power allows me to easily enter 'Yomi,' gaining revelations and knowledge from that realm."

"This is also why, in the Council of Sages' highest organization, Diogenes—whose average age is that of the elderly—I became its chairwoman at just over ten years old. Part of my knowledge was learned, but a great portion was gained through 'Spiritual Vision.'"

Perhaps because she knew her life was finite, that she had already lived two-thirds of her existence, Princess Alice could face even a brutal and powerful Campione like Roy with equanimity, unafraid of death.

When one does not fear death, they lose fear, becoming both brave and reckless.

"My body can hardly leave this place, so I usually live in my 'astral body' form. The 'astral body' has its advantages—I can appear anywhere in the world in an instant, using 'Yomi' as a stepping stone to cross distances, visiting any beautiful scenery I wish to see."

Prolonged speech made Princess Alice's face even paler. She covered her mouth and coughed twice, panting heavily.

Beside her, Liliana poured some water from a bottle, carefully sat down next to Princess Alice, and brought the rim of the cup to her pale, thin lips to help her drink.

"Thank you. You're Liliana, aren't you? Though you look stern and imposing on the outside, you're actually a very thoughtful girl."

Princess Alice thanked her, then smiled delicately as she gazed at Liliana. Whether it came from the Witch's 'Spiritual Vision' or her own life experience, with just a few glances she saw straight through Liliana's heart.

"I—I am Liliana! But I am a knight. Saying I'm thoughtful or anything like that..."

Liliana's face flushed with panic. Facing Princess Alice, a senior on the path of the Witch, and her immense reputation, left Liliana, who was not good at handling such situations, even more flustered.

"Hehe~ There's nothing shameful about it, Liliana. You must keep yourself just as you are now—this contrast between an upright exterior and an extremely sensitive inner heart will win you even more of the 'King's' favor~"

Seeing Liliana so amusing, Princess Alice teased her a little more.

"Don't bully Lily."

Roy interjected at the right moment, earning a grateful look from Liliana.

"Princess Alice, while the 'Mental Body' is a very convenient ability that lets you travel anywhere in the world at any time, it also has a major flaw. Since you're only a mental body without a physical form, when you act as a mental body, you have no sense of taste or touch at all. Living in such a state, you can't even be called 'human'!"

Roy struck straight at the core issue, drawing a bitter smile onto Princess Alice's elegant face.

"Your Majesty is quite right. Without a sense of smell, I cannot distinguish the fragrance of perfume; without a sense of taste, no matter what I eat, it has no flavor. I truly lack the basic sensations of being human. Even I lament and grieve over this."

"...It's like a blind person. If someone is born blind, having never seen the colors of this world, they naturally wouldn't be too sorrowful. But if someone becomes blind later in life, having once seen the world's richness, losing all that brings even greater pain."

"When I was young, my body was still fairly healthy. I once tasted desserts, was infatuated with a lady's tea, and loved the fragrance of flowers. But I lost all that when I was just over ten years old. My body and stomach are very weak now; I can only survive on nutrient infusions, and I cannot leave this house—it would accelerate my death. My life now is just living one day at a time."

Princess Alice's tragic life left Erica and Liliana deeply shocked. The two fourteen-year-old maidens, at an age prone to sentimentality, listened to her account of a life like a vegetative state, and pity showed in their eyes.

"Don't look at me like that. It only makes me sadder."

Princess Alice, seeing the pity in the two maidens' eyes, spoke with some discomfort.