Volume 3, Chapter 12-4 – Bargain Mom Sells Bargain Daughter

The Nexus Council’s lounge area.

Countless trivial matters converged here, constantly branching into needless complications. Indulging themselves, acting without reason, wasting energy on matters completely unrelated to them. Such had always been the attitude of the demons of the Abyss.

A red carpet strewn with flower petals stretched in both directions, while demon lords and attendants carrying silver trays moved through the circular corridor.

At the center of the corridor, a great door engraved with intricate runes remained tightly shut.

Beyond it was Meeting Hall No. 1.

Discussion was about to begin regarding who would receive the authority to act on behalf of the throne, as well as whether an Abyss Supremacy Tournament needed to be convened for that purpose.

Vivian Valentine sat on a bench in the lounge area, her gaze falling upon the private lounge sections belonging to the other Electors.

Valentine, Faust, Mammon, Samael, Asmodeus, Bathory.

Even the Family Head of Belphegor, who represented sloth and eternal sleep, had arrived at the hall just in time.

It was obvious how seriously the major Electors regarded authority over the throne.

The political operating logic of the Abyss Nexus Council had always been extremely simple.

Every decision was jointly determined by the Seven Electors and one Speaker.

Eight votes in total.

The Seven Electors held permanent seats, while the Speaker of the Council was elected by the demons. If a proposal arose that could not be resolved through voting, the Speaker would ring the bronze bell and announce an adjournment.

That conveniently gave the major families ample time to maneuver, make deals, and negotiate behind the scenes.

By the time the meeting reconvened, the exchange of bargaining chips would be complete, and the issue would usually be resolved.

During the time since Vivian had left Lilith School, she had not been idling around the Valentine residence.

Through political maneuvering, she had successfully won over the Faust and Bathory families.

Faust was the Book Demon family, an exceptionally mysterious Elector family.

They possessed the largest network of libraries in the Abyss and controlled vast quantities of books, magical diagrams, and educational resources.

The Faust heir had remained secluded for years and had never shown herself in public. External negotiations and political dealings were usually handled personally by the Faust Family Head.

Bathory, meanwhile, was the Shadow Demon family.

They possessed the Abyss’ vast law-enforcement system and contract network.

Most of the demon contracts widely known throughout the Human Realm were their creations.

Faust, Bathory, and Valentine, three of the major Electors, all leaned toward preserving the current order of the Abyss.

Their interests aligned, so naturally, they stood together.

Although that meant sharing the Regent’s authority with them, there was no other choice.

Vivian currently held three votes.

The problem was the other side.

Vivian glanced toward where the Samael Family Head was standing.

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The draconic demon clad in dark-gold heavy armor was speaking with the Speaker behind a stone pillar.

The two whispered to each other in low voices. It seemed they had already joined forces.

Vivian had also offered an astronomical price in an attempt to buy off the Speaker, but judging from where he stood now, the price she had offered had not been as high as the Samael Family Head’s.

The Speaker held the crucial vote.

The Samael Family Head had already successfully won over Mammon, which represented greed and commerce, and Asmodeus, which represented lust and revelry.

Together with the Speaker, that made four votes.

Four to three.

As soon as the recess ended, the Samael Family Head could directly secure the authority to act as Regent, without any need to go through the process of convening an Abyss Supremacy Tournament.

Vivian raised her wineglass and took a sip.

Samael symbolized wrath and conquest.

Every member of the family was a restless draconic demon.

During the Pale War, they had served as the Pale Lord’s vanguard, charging at the very front.

After the war ended, although the Samael family had undergone a harsh purge and suffered severe losses, their population had now recovered. The shortage of resources caused by that purge had also left them deeply dissatisfied with the Abyss’s current order.

And…

Because draconic demons held grudges to an extreme degree, they had always been at odds with Valentine, one of the families that had carried out the purge. Any one of those old incidents could be dragged back up and would be enough to make the two families fight another war.

If the Regent’s authority fell into the hands of the Samael Family Head, Valentine would inevitably face trouble.

Vivian drained the remaining wine from her glass in one gulp.

She had to even the vote.

Vivian’s gaze settled on a divan in the corner.

A pink-haired female Nightmare reclined against a soft cushion.

The Belphegor Family Head.

The Nightmare race, rulers of sloth and eternal sleep.

Although they could weave illusions in dreams so realistic that they were indistinguishable from reality and possessed formidable psychic powers, they were innately poor at combat and had generally remained neutral throughout the Abyss’s many disputes.

Vivian stood up and straightened the hem of her skirt.

It was time to talk.

As long as she secured Belphegor’s vote.

Four to four, a tie.

The Abyss Supremacy Tournament would have to be convened.

Holding her wineglass, Vivian leisurely made her way through the crowd before finally stopping in front of the Belphegor Family Head.

“Sitting here alone, aren’t you bored?”

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The Belphegor Family Head raised her eyes.

“Bored?”

Her voice was very soft.

“Vivian, when have you ever seen me find something boring? I’m simply too lazy to deal with people. If it weren’t absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t even have bothered coming.”

“Is that so?” Vivian sat down beside her. “Then I’ll sit with you for a while.”

“What do you want to talk about?” The Belphegor Family Head cast her a seemingly casual glance.

“Let’s talk about forming an alliance.” Vivian did not beat around the bush.

“I refuse.” The Belphegor Family Head adjusted the position of her cushion. “I won’t abandon neutrality. Nightmares aren’t good at fighting. No matter which side we join, we’ll offend the others.”

She picked up a peeled grape and put it into her mouth.

“I have a great deal of property and many subjects to care for. At the same time, I also have a large family. I love my family. I can’t risk losing everything just to choose a side.”

Vivian lowered her eyes.

The Belphegor Family Head had not said it outright, but Vivian already understood what she meant.

If she truly had no intention of choosing a side, she would not have stated her concerns so plainly.

The Belphegor Family Head was merely waiting for a condition.

A condition that could put her mind at ease.

“You need a guarantee,” Vivian said.

“Yes.”

“A stable guarantee.”

“Yes.”

Vivian fell silent for several seconds.

“What kind of guarantee would put you at ease?”

The Belphegor Family Head did not answer.

She quietly looked at Vivian, no emotion visible in her pale-pink eyes.

Vivian waited.

“My guarantee is my daughter, Franleya.” The Belphegor Family Head swallowed the grape. “If I marry my daughter into a powerful family, then I can be certain that I have a guarantee of safety.”

Vivian raised an eyebrow.

A political marriage?

“Perhaps…” She said slowly. “You could find a suitable candidate among our allies.”

“Perhaps.” The Belphegor Family Head said. “But I want someone of matching status, and someone Franleya likes. I don’t want her to be unhappy.”

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Vivian fell silent.

Matching status.

The Faust heir had never even shown her face, while there were not many suitable candidates of marriageable age in the Bathory family either.

Neither was suitable.

Of course, even if they were, Vivian had no authority to decide for them.

“What about me?” Vivian said.

“You’re joking, right?”

The two looked at each other and both laughed.

“Then what about my daughter, Cheryl Valentine?” Vivian said leisurely. “What do you think of her?”

“Don’t try to brush me off. At the very least, offer me a legitimate heir, would you?” The Belphegor Family Head complained. “You scheming old fox.”

“Fair enough,” Vivian said as if nothing had happened. “Then… my other daughter, Stella Valentine?”

“She only just became your heir, didn’t she?” The Belphegor Family Head glanced at Vivian. “She might even be only seventy or eighty years old. She’s too young.”

“Stella is young, but her future is immeasurable.” Vivian folded her hands together. “Once she takes my position, she’ll never have anything to worry about for the rest of her life.”

“The Abyss has had heirs who lived for a thousand years. There are also countless demons with several wives, and even heaps of illegitimate daughters…”

The Belphegor Family Head pondered for a moment.

“But… put another way, Valentine’s ability to produce descendants is quite reliable… perhaps it isn’t a bad idea.”

She sat upright.

“I agree.”

The Belphegor Family Head nodded.

Vivian’s smile deepened as well.

Although selling Stella off like this really was a little unfair, Vivian could consider herself to have informed her beforehand. The letter she had sent to the school was proof.

The alliance formed by the four great families would not forget Stella’s sacrifice either.

As long as the engagement was settled, the position of Regent would not fall directly into Samael’s hands.

The Abyss Supremacy Tournament could also be convened as scheduled, and they would still have a chance to win everything.

Of course, if they lost the Abyss Supremacy Tournament…

Then it would be time to refuse to acknowledge the agreement.

“I’ll tell my daughter about the marriage alliance later.” The Belphegor Family Head said.

“Shh.”

Vivian raised an index finger and pressed it against her lips.

“Please don’t tell them yet… I want to give them a surprise.”

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Vivian walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window, her gaze falling upon the eternal night of the Abyss.

Judging by the time, the school recess had already begun.

That little girl Stella was probably holding the property deed right now, comfortably taking possession of Blood Demon Manor.

Although it had been abandoned for many years, Blood Demon Manor at the third intersection of Nightmare Street occupied an excellent location and covered an expansive area.

She could consider it a small compensation from Valentine to its newly appointed heir.

A sly smile flashed across Vivian’s lips.

Of course, it was also a test.

She truly wanted to see what kind of commotion her daughter with SSS+ talent could stir up in the Abyss with a single property.

‘In the future, would she be qualified to shoulder the banner of the Valentine family?’

‘Come to think of it, before purchasing Blood Demon Manor, the steward responsible for the handover seemed to have casually mentioned something.’

‘Apparently, the place is haunted?’

Vivian took a sip of wine.

‘Stella probably wouldn’t mind, right?’

She was a succubus, after all. Wasn’t living in a haunted mansion perfectly normal?

Maybe it could even help train her courage.

‘Mm…’

‘Probably not a problem.’

Translator Note

So it’s really a haunted house lmao xD

and and and…. Stella got a fiancee!!

Seeing the moms didn’t even bother to discuss about male demons, then isn’t it basically already guaranteed that it’s yuri novel!?

No matter what, I’m adding the yuri genre for this novel!

It could also be just yuri bait, but whatever.

Yuri is yuri!

It’s fine as long as I don’t add the romance genre, right?

Mm!