Volume 4, Chapter 2-3 – I Told You We’d Meet Again, Didn’t I?

The Fifth Watch.

Lilith School’s reception hall was brilliantly lit.

A dark-red velvet tablecloth covered the long banquet table, which was laden with all kinds of exquisite dishes and drinks. Attendants in crisp uniforms moved through the crowd carrying silver trays. The chandeliers overhead were ornate and elaborate, their lights weaving together with the reflections flashing between clinking glasses until the brilliance was almost dazzling.

Stella followed Vivian somewhat stiffly beneath that chaotic interplay of light.

Tonight, she had changed into a black evening gown. It had no elaborate lace, and the hem fell neatly to her ankles.

All around her were demon nobles of every kind.

Succubus noblewomen in elaborate formal gowns, dragon officers whose chests were covered in medals, mysterious figures shrouded entirely in shadow, and even several Mammon merchants who jingled with gold ornaments whenever they walked.

“Is that Valentine’s new heir?”

“She’s really young…”

“I heard her talent is SSS+. No wonder Vivian brought her back.”

“Tsk, tsk. Look at that hair. Silver and red intertwined. That’s definitely Valentine blood.”

Stella listened expressionlessly to the whispers around her.

Every few steps, someone would come up to speak with Vivian and take the opportunity to size Stella up.

Vivian handled them all with ease. Every now and then, she would pat Stella on the shoulder and exchange polite phrases such as “This is my daughter” and “Please look after her in the future.”

All Stella had to do was smile.

Her face was going stiff from smiling.

“How does it feel?” Vivian turned her head and asked quietly.

“It’s all right,” Stella replied just as quietly. “Just a little tiring.”

“Then you’re doing it right.” Vivian smiled. “Socializing is exhausting by nature. But you’ll have to get used to it. You’ll be dealing with these people plenty in the future.”

Vivian gestured with her wineglass toward a woman sitting quietly in the shadows of a nearby corner.

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The woman wore a black robe that wrapped her from head to toe, revealing only a face so pale that it was almost translucent.

She sat there completely motionless, like a statue. No one dared approach within three meters of her.

“That’s the Bathory Family Head of Commandment and Punishment.” Vivian said softly. “She belongs to the Shadow Demon race. They’re extremely rigid in how they conduct themselves. I’ve heard they barely experience any emotional fluctuations, and they never attend banquets unless absolutely necessary. The fact that she came at all means she’s showing us considerable respect.”

“An ally?” Stella asked.

“Not exactly an ally, but not an enemy either.” Vivian shook her head. “They only chose to stand with us because they want to preserve the current state of the Abyss. The Bathory family controls the Abyss’s law enforcement system. The last thing they want to see is unrest.”

Stella nodded.

“Another ally, the Faust Family Head and heir, are here tonight too.” Vivian took a sip of red wine. “But rumor has it that the Faust Family Head isn’t the one truly in power. The person actually calling the shots is their heir. But the Faust heir… is extremely mysterious. To this day, no one knows who she actually is.”

“No one knows?”

“Mm.” Vivian shrugged. “Book Demons have always been like that. But since they’ve come, we’ll see them tonight eventually.”

“As for our last ally…”

As soon as she finished speaking, a pink-haired noblewoman approached with a wineglass in hand.

She wore a pale-purple gown embroidered with intricate dream runes along the hem. Her steps were so light that it was almost as though she were walking on clouds. Her pale-pink hair was pinned high, revealing a long, fair neck, and her equally pale-pink eyes held a languid smile.

“Vivian, long time no see.”

“It’s only been a few days, Bella.”

Vivian stepped forward, and the two lightly embraced.

Stella stood beside them and looked at the Belphegor Family Head.

Pale-pink hair, pale-pink eyes…

The resemblance was overwhelming.

“This must be the heir you recently brought back?” Bella’s gaze traveled from Stella’s face all the way down to her ankles. “Mm… Not bad at all. Though she looks a little younger than I imagined…”

“How old are you?” She asked.

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‘How old?’

Stella froze.

Although her real age was fourteen, in the life cycle of succubi, fourteen years old would mean she’d barely hatched from her egg.

‘Forget it. I could just make up an age based on Cheryl’s.’

“Eighty,” Stella said without changing her expression.

“Then you’re almost twenty years younger than mine.”

Bella nodded, apparently quite satisfied.

“But to possess such talent and bearing at only eighty is truly rare.” Bella turned toward Vivian. “Vivian, you’ve produced quite a fine child.”

Vivian smiled without answering.

Bella brought her hands together and gave a single clap.

“Franleya.” Bella glanced behind her. “Come here.”

“Coming, Mother.”

The crisp sound of a bell rang out.

Jingle.

Jingle.

Someone slowly emerged from among the demon nobles.

Pale-pink hair, with a silver calming bell tied around her ankle.

Franleya Belphegor.

Tonight, she wore an aqua-blue gown. It was far more formal than what she’d worn at Cloudtop Manor, though her languid air hadn’t changed in the slightest.

Franleya walked to Bella’s side, and her gaze met Stella’s.

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“Mm?” She froze.

“Ah?” Stella froze too.

The two simply stared at each other, an indescribable awkwardness hanging between them.

“What?” Bella looked at Stella, then at her own daughter. “Do the two of you know each other?”

“N-No, no, no.” Stella vigorously shook her head. “We don’t know each other. Not at all.”

“Of course I know her.”

Franleya’s voice rang out at the same time.

Stella immediately started to panic.

Could it be that the absolute obedience command from the Eye of the Black Mass had stopped working?

Or had Franleya somehow broken free of the illusion ahead of time?

Was Franleya about to expose every shameful thing Stella had done, crawling under her bed and even subjecting her to private punishment, right in front of both Family Heads?

“The famous Stella Valentine.” Franleya’s cherry-pink lips curved slightly into a smile. “Who wouldn’t know her? After all, the front page of the last issue of Prophet Weekly was filled entirely with reports about her.”

Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

The command she’d placed on Franleya before was probably still in effect.

Since Franleya hadn’t turned hostile on the spot, tonight’s banquet probably wouldn’t be much of a problem.

As long as she endured another two Watches and returned to her dormitory, everything would be back on track.

Bella nodded in satisfaction and turned toward Vivian.

“Your child really is quite good.” She said. “That matter we agreed on… when are we going to announce it?”

“Bella, don’t be so impatient. Now isn’t the right time.”

Vivian raised her wineglass to her lips, then looked at Stella.

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“Stella, Bella and I have a few things to discuss,” Vivian said. “How about this. You and Franleya are around the same age, so you should have plenty to talk about. Let her show you around. Besides, this is your first time attending a social banquet like this, so you should familiarize yourself with it.”

Stella: “?”

‘No, wait.’

‘She wants me to be alone with Franleya?’

After Stella had crawled under her bed, countered her with an illusion, and even placed a compulsory command on her?

“Sure, sure.”

Franleya’s smile grew even brighter.

She stepped forward and naturally linked her arm through Stella’s.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. I’ll take very good care of her.”

Vivian nodded in satisfaction and disappeared into the crowd with Bella, leaving only Stella and Franleya standing where they were, staring at each other.

Stella could even hear her own heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump.

“See…” Franleya leaned closer. Her voice was so near that it felt like a whisper directly beside Stella’s ear, soft like the plump yet faintly prickly paw of a kitten scratching at her heart.

“I told you we’d meet again, didn’t I?”

Translator Note

What a cute couple ><