Volume 1, Chapter 53 – Please Take Care of Me

‘My Mirror of Desire… My Eye of the Abyss… gone… they’re both gone…’

Only after staring at the Eye of the Abyss, now reduced to a pile of dust, for an entire minute did Gehenna finally recover from the blow. Slowly, she began moving again.

“Miss Stella Darkfallen.” Gehenna’s voice was filled with exhaustion. “I have two things to tell you.”

“First, the examination result has been determined.” She scooped up a handful of dust from the Eye of the Abyss, barely suppressing a sob. “Based on the Eye of the Abyss’ final conclusion, we can now confirm exactly where your bloodline originates.”

Stella blinked in confusion.

The Eye of the Abyss had already followed in the Mirror of Desire’s footsteps, yet it could still give one final death rattle and produce a result?

What a powerful magical artifact.

Judging by the expressions on these succubi’s faces, Stella had no idea what conclusion they had reached, but it seemed like she had successfully muddled her way through?

‘Heh, heh.’

Her prayers to the Lord really had worked. Just as the scriptures said, miracles would always be granted to a devout Saintess like her.

‘Praise the Lord!’

At the thought that the predetermined death sentence known as the bloodline examination was finally over, Stella secretly let out a long breath. Even though there was still a faint bitterness in her chest, she had to admit one thing.

Thank goodness.

The heart-stopping crisis ended here. What awaited her next would surely be a safe and leisurely school life without any disturbances whatsoever, aside from occasionally having to put on an act in front of Mara!

Of course, that was assuming she didn’t have to pay compensation for the Eye of the Abyss…

Vice Principal Mara would cover it for her, right?

Probably.

After all, she’d been smiling so happily just now.

Gehenna did not immediately announce the result.

She tilted her head slightly and gazed at Cheryl, who had just awakened on the sickbed.

The Valentine family served the ruler of Eternal Night with their lives and had been granted honor and longevity…

The oldest and most isolationist Elector family among the Seventy-Two Pillars occupied the fertile Eternal Night Corridor in the western reaches of the Demon Realm. They regarded themselves as the favored children of the night, and every year, countless demons died because of the endless conflicts surrounding the Valentine family and the other Elector families.

Assassinations, poisonings, political marriages, gatherings, and betrayals…

All of it should originally have belonged to Cheryl Valentine alone.

Gehenna withdrew her gaze and looked back at Stella, the world-weariness in her eyes growing even heavier.

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But… now, that was hard to say.

If she were merely an ordinary illegitimate daughter, that would have been one thing…

But a Valentine descendant whose rank had been determined as Daywalker, an echo of the Primordial Succubus even more orthodox than the orthodox bloodline itself.

How was this merely admitting a student into the school?

She had practically moved the center of the Demon Realm’s political storm for the next fifty years right onto her doorstep.

‘Why is everything involving the Valentine family always such a disaster?’

“There is no doubt about it, Stella Darkfallen. You are a descendant of the Valentine family who was born outside the family, an illegitimate daughter who possesses a Primordial Echo.”

Gehenna let out a long sigh.

Stella touched her cheek. For a brief instant, her brain completely short-circuited.

“…V-Valentine? Me? Primordial Echo? What? Seriously?”

“Um… is there any chance…” Stella swallowed, “that this is actually… a malfunction? Or some kind of error?”

“The Eye of the Abyss never makes mistakes.” Gehenna raised the dust in her hand. “Unless you’re telling me that a fabricated bloodline somehow managed to break a magical artifact with several hundred years of history.”

Stella had no idea how to explain herself.

She had indeed prayed to the Lord that any succubus bloodline would do, but wasn’t this situation…

Taking the joke a little too far?

Her original script had merely been to blend into the background as some nobody. She would have accepted being a mongrel demon without so much as a surname. Even if the examination had determined that she was some kind of low-ranking lesser demon, she could have relied on her silver tongue to fabricate an inspirational tale about rising from humble origins while harboring lofty ambitions.

‘And now they are telling me I am an illegitimate daughter of the Valentine family?’

‘That I belong to the same family as Cheryl Valentine?”

‘How is that possible?!’

She was a genuine human through and through. No matter how high-grade the succubus elixir was, there was no way it could actually give her a succubus bloodline, much less something called a Primordial Echo.

There was only one possibility left.

Stella’s gaze settled on Mara’s proud expression.

‘Vice Principal Mara…’

‘Just how much ridiculously potent stuff did you mix into that medicinal pool?’

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It was over.

This was a huge problem.

And there was no way to explain it either. Was she supposed to sincerely tell this irritable Archdemon Principal to her face, “I’m sorry, Principal. I’m actually a pure-blooded human. What happened just now was simply Holy Light and Abyssal magical power getting into a fight and blowing up your family heirloom. Everything is fake.”

The instant those words left her mouth, Principal Gehenna would probably tear her apart with her bare hands.

“Alright, now for the second matter.”

Gehenna clapped her hands.

“According to Chapter Three, Article Twelve of Lilith School’s Special Talent Management Act, once the bloodline affiliation of any freshman rated S-rank or above has been confirmed, the school must send a formal notice to that student’s family within twenty-four hours.”

She raised her eyes. Stella’s pale face was reflected in her pupils.

“In other words, before tonight, an urgent official letter bearing my Principal’s wax seal will be sent out. Within roughly a week, it will probably be sitting on the desk of the current head of the Valentine family. Its contents will be about you, about an illegitimate daughter, and about… the Primordial Echo.”

Stella felt as though the sky had collapsed.

Once the Valentine family received that letter, whether they wanted to purge their bloodline or welcome home a lost descendant, there was absolutely no way this counterfeit born from a bizarre series of coincidences would survive more than three days.

“Um, Principal, actually, I don’t think there’s any need to go to all that trouble…” Stella made one last attempt to struggle.

“Those are the rules.”

Gehenna coldly cut her off.

Then the petite Principal suddenly sighed and crooked a finger at Stella.

“Come here.”

Stella timidly shuffled closer, even though she was obviously taller than Gehenna.

Gehenna had no choice but to stand on tiptoe and grab Stella by the collar, pulling her down until they were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

The smell of black coffee hit Stella full in the face. Immediately afterward, a light sheet of parchment was slapped against her chest.

“One last thing. Sign this.”

Stella instinctively caught it.

“W-What’s this?”

“An installment compensation agreement for the Eye of the Abyss.” Gehenna somehow produced a quill pen and stuffed it into Stella’s hand, a kindly smile appearing on her face.

“I’ll let the matter with the Mirror of Desire go, but the Eye of the Abyss really did explode because of you. For Mara’s sake, I’ll account for depreciation, but you’ll still have to participate in the school’s volunteer services until graduation.”

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“Of course, if you don’t want to sign, I can always pursue compensation for the Mirror of Desire right now…”

“It can’t be helped. After all, Principal Gehenna has the final say.” Vice Principal Mara covered her face in embarrassment, but Stella could clearly see that she was laughing.

In front of her was the Valentine family eyeing her like prey. Behind her was a black-hearted little Principal forcing an innocent girl to sell herself into six years of unpaid labor.

With tears in her eyes, Stella tremblingly signed her name on the parchment.

‘…A full six years of volunteer service.’

‘Fine.’

‘I’d take it.’

“Remember to report to the Principal’s office next week.”

After putting away the agreement, Gehenna nodded in satisfaction and turned her gaze toward the sickbed. Cheryl was sitting on the bed with a calm expression.

“If this were still just a duel between students, I’d have no choice but to intervene. But now, it seems to be a conflict between sisters.” Gehenna yawned, clearly having lost all interest in this farce. “Settle it yourselves. I’m going to sleep… No, I’m going to write reports.”

The door opened, then closed again.

Gehenna and Mara left, leaving behind a room full of wreckage and two girls with entirely different thoughts on their minds.

Stella turned her head toward the sickbed.

What entered her vision was Cheryl’s gleaming crimson eyes.

She was now sitting completely upright, her disheveled red hair falling obediently over her shoulders.

Her pale lips parted, and her voice was soft and sweet.

“Please take care of me.”

“My dear… Elder Sister.”

‘Lady Inquisitor, save me!’

Compared to having her identity as a Saintess exposed, being treated as an older sister by a succubus…

Somehow seemed even more terrifying!

Translator Note

oof. she is screwed xD

Anyway~!

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I assume this is supposed to be the end of the prologue… Well, not exactly a prologue, but perhaps more like the end of the “fun times”?

A lot of interesting main plotlines will be introduced to us one after another starting from the next chapter~

It’s been over 50 chapters, so you should’ve known it already…

Don’t underestimate the power of misunderstandings of the side characters in this novel!

Something that was not true could be used for the greater plot~!

Isn’t it quite unique? The protagonist is not the one who decides the plot, but the side characters~!

I mean, look at Stella now. How the hell did she become Valentine’s illegitimate daughter? But since she can’t deny it, she could only follow what others think of her, thus, it become the plot lol xD

So, that’s it.

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From now on, the free chapters’ release rate will be 2 chapters/day.

During the first month of this novel’s release (September 2026), I will release 1 free bonus chapter for every 5 ratings or 1 review you leave on Novel Updates!

Yes, just a single review from you or 5 ratings from others for this novel guarantees a bonus chapter the very next day… unless I forget to check. Ehe~♥

I am generous, right? Hmph, hmph. *proud cutely

Just do note that your review on NU won’t appear in real time for other people even though it already appears on your own account. You can try to use incognito mode in your browser to check whether your review really already appears or not. If in 1×24 hours your review still does not appear in the incognito, then… you can either forget it, or email NU yourself so they can fix the problem.

I’ll only count what I can see with my account. I’ll post and update the counts every day on the announcement at the top of each chapter.

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As for the premium chapters… I usually translate about 10-30 chapters/day~ Could be more if I am in the mood. Could be less if I am a busy irl, though it is quite rare.

No matter what, I’ll try my best to translate more than the free chapters release rate, so you won’t feel waste to pour your kitkats into this novel~♥

And, since the chapters’ length vary quite a bit, the price would be dynamic ya~ I’ll set 1 kitkat/400 words, rounded down. That would make the standard length (1200-1599 words) cost 3 kitkats.

Thank you for your attention, enjoy reading~! ♥