Idiot.

She wants to relinquish her power!?

This?!

Everyone turned their heads in surprise.

Meanwhile, Theresis, who should have been the happiest, remained expressionless.

He spoke calmly and slowly, as if he had no idea how much benefit this would bring him.

"You have done an excellent job, Your Highness... We understand your pressure, and we are aware of your thoughts, but, Your Highness, Kazdel can only have one Demon Lord..."

Theresis refused!

Theresis rejected Theresa's offer to share power!

Ah?!

For a moment, even the Royal Court leaders were dumbfounded.

They couldn't understand at all what Theresis was trying to achieve by saying those words.

In their view, wasn't Theresa's choice very advantageous for them?

Why refuse?

Why would they willingly hand over the power they've been pursuing?

Why?

Theresa's words confused them, and Theresis's reply left them equally bewildered.

Logically, shouldn't the roles be reversed? Theresis says the Demon King is too burdened and that they should help share the burden, while Theresa argues that Kazdel should only have one Demon King, right?

But now...

What's going on?!

But faced with the bewildered gazes of his followers, Theresis remained silent for a moment before raising his head without a word and looking at Maria beside him.

This action caused everyone to hesitate for a moment. Then, the brightest of the group suddenly felt a chill and broke out in a cold sweat!

They seem to have overlooked something...

Theresa said she was going to share her rights, but... she didn't say who she was going to share those rights with, did she?

They naturally categorized it as their own... because their long-held mindset made them feel that there was no one here who could compete with them.

Even if they did, the other party's reputation certainly wouldn't be enough to support that power.

But...

Things are different now.

Maria is back!

Maria's name entered the history of Sarkaz very early on... Theresa's literacy campaign over the years has not only brought many high-end talents to Kazdel, but more importantly, it has made everyone aware of Kazdel's history!

Maria's actions back then made her an almost perfect role model, so naturally she was included in the Sarkaz history book!

Countless people hold Maria in the highest esteem!

There will be no resistance as long as Maria announces her appearance and becomes Theresa's support.

Not to mention Maria's unique status as a princess.

It's important to understand that Theresa, who suddenly became a demon lord from a commoner, didn't have as many complicated relationships as previous demon lords.

In the past, there was only one Theresis.

But... Maria also has the status of a princess...

This, in a subtle way, further enhanced the legitimacy of Maria's acceptance of Theresa's rights...

Based on this, they don't have the advantage they imagined!

Furthermore, what they perceived as decentralization was that Theresa delegated power to capable individuals.

But in reality, the decentralization of power might have meant that she delegated her power to judge various Royal Court to Maria!

She simply wanted to forge herself into a Blades to face everyone through legitimate means!

Once they understood this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines.

The look in their eyes as they glanced back and forth at Maria and Theresa no longer held the same disdain as before.

It's terrifying...

Theresa is not as weak as she appears... She also has her own wisdom and strengths.

She had simply been restraining herself and hadn't taken the initiative, so her actions hadn't been as obvious.

Now... once he makes his move, everyone must consider the pressure they will face!

No!

We absolutely cannot allow her to succeed in taking over power.

Immediately, many Royal Court representatives rose to their feet and began to praise Theresa.

"Your Highness, your great achievements are evident to all of Kazdel... We cannot think of anyone else capable of undertaking such a heavy responsibility besides you."

"Yes, Your Highness, please consider this carefully again..."

"Yeah yeah..."

Many voices rose up, all sounding somewhat anxious.

Such a performance did not surprise Maria and Lamaline were standing nearby.

Clearly, they had anticipated all of this.

Everyone's reaction was expected.

Only...

Maria pulled down her hat brim and tilted her head back.

Right across from her, Theresis's eyes were also fixed on her.

His gaze... showed neither joy nor sorrow.

354

Chapter 354 Idiot.

Theresis looked at Maria calmly, her red eyes showing neither joy nor sorrow.

However, he didn't say much, but after a brief pause, he turned to look at Theresa beside him.

"Your Highness... I think perhaps you need to reconsider further."

"No need, I've already thought it through."

Theresa's words were calm, yet resolute.

She glanced at everyone present and then tapped the table lightly to show her attitude.

Royal Court, the representative standing to the side, wanted to say something, but she silenced him with a single glance.

She was truly different from before...

"... I see."

Even Theresa couldn't help but lower her head when she saw Theresis's firm stance.

Silently awaiting whatever comes next.

Fortunately, Theresa didn't really go too far.

Although she called it a decentralization, in reality she simply handed over the defense construction of Kazdel entirely to the Banshee Court, while leaving diplomacy and welfare facilities to the Babel...

It's simply a matter of enhancing what already exists.

As for Maria, she didn't mention her at all.

On the one hand, it was because Maria had said that she would not join the battle unless absolutely necessary.

On the other hand, it was because Theresa understood that Maria's most intimidating power over everyone was when she did nothing at all.

Once Maria takes action, it will inevitably be a fight to the death.

Clearly, neither Theresis nor Theresa wanted things to escalate to this point, whether from a personal or overall perspective.

So they all knew that Maria, though seemingly dangerous, was actually just a safety net... like a referee suddenly appearing on the field; her biggest role was to prevent anyone from cheating.

After completing the simple decentralization, Theresa didn't dwell on the topic any further. Instead, she turned around and began to outline Kazdel's goals for the coming year.

However, these things are clearly not so easy to explain; the first day was just a simple introduction.

In the afternoon, as Theresa waved, the many Royal Court representatives began to leave.

The crowd gradually dispersed from the furthest point to the nearest, and soon only three people remained in the meeting room.

"Phew... I think I did alright."

Once she realized there was no one else in the room, Theresa relaxed her tense expression and smiled slightly.

Although the discussion on decentralization only took up a small portion of the meeting, it put the most pressure on Theresa.

After all, everyone present could be considered a hungry wolf eyeing her, and even with Maria's protection, the pressure she would face was unimaginable.

Fortunately... there were three...

Everything is fine.

Lamaline smiled and spoke, easing Theresa's pressure.

"Your performance was excellent... They should really start to worry that you might hand over power to Maria, and they'll probably behave themselves for a long time to come."

"Yeah."

With Lamaline's affirmation, Theresa seemed much more relaxed, and her smile broadened.

Maria also took this opportunity to tilt her head slightly upwards.

What do you think of Theresis's performance?

"... this."

The two women were taken aback when Maria asked them the question.

But Maria was deep in thought.

"He didn't make the first move... we can't figure out what his purpose is..."

Ultimately, it was Theresis who requested that the meeting be held ahead of schedule, but the problem is that Theresis didn't react at all!

Throughout the meeting, he offered no opinions or ideas, seemingly intending to simply go along with Theresa's lead.

Such unusual behavior is truly perplexing.

Especially their clear expression of not giving up the competition during today's meeting has left them even more puzzled.

"Perhaps... it was because our words interrupted his thoughts?"

Theresa hesitated before speaking.

She was also a little confused.

In her mind, her brother was not someone who only took things one step at a time; he had a long-term vision.

Since he chose to request that the meeting be held earlier, it means that he had made some preparations.

The reason they don't speak out is more likely because their initiative disrupted the other person's rhythm, causing them to be unable to speak or to have to adjust their own plans.

These are all possible, but...

Is that so?

Lamaline frowned. Her instinctive feeling about Theresis made her think that things weren't so simple, but she couldn't get any answers just by thinking about it. She could only turn her gaze to Maria beside her.

I expect her to have some unique perspectives.

What did Maria think?

She had no idea.