At the same time.
Deep within Las Noches, inside a silent palace.
On a stone chair at the very heart of it, a petite figure clad in a cherry-colored kimono reclined lazily.
Her exquisite face bore not the slightest expression. Her faintly reddened lips looked soft and lustrous as her slender white fingers casually toyed with a grotesque plant like some abyssal demon, its entire body concealed within darkness!
"Hisss..."
Though the plant looked incomparably ferocious, before the girl it was as docile as a pet, not daring to act the least bit presumptuously. It merely stuck out the tongue-like tendril from its blossom in a fawning manner, like a lapdog.
Just then.
The expression on the girl's fair little face shifted slightly. Her beautiful eyes lifted, seeming to peer through the palace walls as she looked into the distance.
The corners of her lips curved into a lovely smile. Her slender white hand gently clenched around the demonic plant as she said in a melodious voice.
"I never expected that boy to come looking for me himself... As expected... deep down, he still craves power more than anything..."
"Since that is the case, I'm even more eager to see what sort of reaction he'll have once he learns the truth..."
After murmuring those words, the girl's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly as she lowered her gaze toward the monster beside her.
"Hisss..."
The monster soon let out a strange sound, its enormous body hidden in the darkness seeming to shift slowly.
Before long, amid a rustling sound, a shadow slowly flashed through the palace. In the next moment, the monster had vanished from the girl's side.
Within the silent palace, only the kimono-clad girl remained. Her lips were slightly curved, and amusement gleamed in her beautiful eyes as she murmured